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Terms of Business |
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HELPFUL HOLIDAYS Ltd ("we/us") act as booking agents on behalf
of the owners of accommodation let for holidays ("the owners"), to customers
("you"). We make booking contracts between you, and the owner of the property.
Our fee for making bookings and for providing information and advice to you is included
in the price for the holiday. We will use our reasonable endeavours to resolve any
problems that arise but any dispute relating to the holiday itself will be a matter
directly between you and the owner. |
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Bookings |
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Your booking, which must be on our Booking Form or via our website and sent to us
with a deposit of one-third of the total price, will only be effective when confirmed
by us in writing. The balance, together with a "Cautionary Deposit" of £50 or such
other sum as is applicable (see Condition 3 below), must be received by us (as agents
for the owner) not later than six weeks before the beginning of your holiday. In
the event of cancellation, subject to condition 11, you will be liable for the whole
quoted price for the period booked. VAT is included in the price quoted. If there
is a change in the VAT rate, the quoted price may be adjusted accordingly. |
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2 |
Occupying the property |
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2.1 |
Properties are, unless otherwise stated in the property's description, available
for occupation between 3pm and 4pm on the first day of your holiday and must
be vacated by 10am on the last day. The licence from the owner shall permit
you and the members of your party as named on the booking form only to occupy the
property. For the avoidance of doubt you may invite friends over to visit but the
number of people in the property must at no time exceed the amount of people we
have stated the property 'sleeps' in the brochure, unless you have the owner's prior
consent. No-one other than those on the Booking Confirmation form may sleep at the
property. Failure to observe these rules is a serious breach of these Terms of Business
(see Condition 8). You may not sub-let the property. |
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2.2 |
You must use the property responsibly and comply with any reasonable rules laid
down by the owner. If the owner does not communicate any such rules to you, you
must assume that "normal" rules (such as consideration for neighbours) apply. You
may not use the property for business purposes without the prior agreement of the
owners. The owner reserves the right to enter the property at any reasonable time
provided reasonable notice is given to you. |
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2.3 |
You must inform us on the booking form or subsequently in writing of the names,
nationality (if not British or Irish) and the ages of all the people who will occupy
the property during your stay. Failure to do so may invalidate the owner's insurance
and will be a serious breach of these Terms of Business (see condition 8).
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3 |
Cautionary Deposit |
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3.1 |
You must keep the property clean and in good order and you will be responsible for
any breakages. The owner shall be entitled to deduct from the Cautionary Deposit
the cost of remedying any breach of these obligations together with the cost of
any service or goods provided. The amount of the Cautionary Deposit is normally
£50, however a larger deposit may be required and will be stated at the end of the
property description. |
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3.2 |
We accept the Cautionary Deposit as agent for the owners and therefore we cannot
act on your behalf in any dispute between the owner and yourself concerning it.
Such disputes should be settled directly with the owner.
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3.3 |
The whole amount or the balance after any deduction (as set out in Condition 3.1)
of the Cautionary Deposit will be refunded to you promptly following the end of
the letting. We normally send a post-dated cheque with your booking confirmation.
If you do not cash this cheque (or ask us to re-issue it) or otherwise reclaim your
deposit within twelve months of the end of your holiday we will have the right to
cancel the cheque and levy a fee to cover the costs of permanently removing this
liability from our accounting systems. The fee will be equal to the outstanding
value of the Cautionary Deposit and as a result your right to claim this deposit
back will be lost.
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4 |
Descriptions of Properties and Changes |
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4.1 |
We have inspected all the properties and used reasonable endeavours to ensure the
information in our brochure is true and accurate. We do not accept any liability
for errors contained in the brochure or for any misrepresentation based on information
provided by the owner. In any event, you acknowledge that minor differences may
arise between our photographs, illustrations and descriptions of a particular property
and the actual property.
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4.2 |
Although we inspect properties and take seriously any complaints we receive from
customers, we do not accept any liability for the failure of the owner to keep the
property and its contents in good condition. The owner is ultimately responsible
for resolving any difficulties which you may experience with the property you have
booked. |
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Difficulties and Maintenance |
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5.1 |
If you have any difficulties with a property, require maintenance, or have any complaints,
you should notify the owner in the first instance. Owners will only investigate
complaints which are notified to them promptly and before the end of your holiday.
If you experience difficulties and are unable to contact the owner or their representative
you should contact us.
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6 |
Unavailability of Your Property
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The owner may cancel bookings made if the property becomes unavailable for reasons
beyond the owner's reasonable control, including without limitation: flooding; fire;
significant damage to the property; or failure of utility services to the property.
We will try to find you an appropriate alternative property or, at your option,
we will refund to you any sums you have paid. Neither we nor the owner shall have
any other liability to you.
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7 |
Our Liability to You |
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7.1 |
We will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by you or any member of your
party or to your or their property, except where such loss or damage is due to our
negligence. If we are negligent our liability to you will be limited to the loss
or damage which was a foreseeable result of such negligence. Except in the case
of death or personal injury resulting from our negligence, our total liability to
you in respect of any breach of these Terms of Business or tort or other act or
omission by us in connection with this contract shall be limited in aggregate to
the price agreed to be paid by you for the right to use the property for the period
agreed.
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7.2 |
Where you are a customer acting in the course of a business, this Condition 7.2
shall apply instead of Condition 7.1. We do not accept liability to customers acting
in the course of a business for losses of profits, business, contracts, goodwill,
anticipated savings, expenses, consequential losses or other similar losses, for
any reason whatsoever. To the extent permitted by law and except in the case of
personal injury or death resulting from our negligence, the maximum limit of our
liability to business customers, whether in contract, tort, negligence, breach of
statutory duty or otherwise shall be the price agreed to be paid by you for the
right to use the property for the period agreed. |
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7.3 |
You acknowledge that the choice of the property is ultimately your responsibility. |
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8 |
Breaches of These Terms of Business |
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If you commit a serious breach of these Terms of Business the owner or his agent
will have the right to terminate your booking and if you are already at the property
the owner may require you to vacate it immediately. A serious breach of these Terms
of Business includes, without limitation, failure to comply with rules of the house
or health and safety advice or circumstances where your behaviour, or that of your
guests or pets, is likely to have a significant adverse effect upon those staying
or living nearby the property. In the event of you committing a serious breach of
these Terms of Business no refund of the fees you have paid will be returnable to
you. |
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9 |
Changing Dates |
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Once dates of a booking have been confirmed in writing to you, they can only be
changed with the owner's agreement. Where the owner agrees to a change in the dates
of your holiday we reserve the right to make an administration charge. |
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10 |
Cancellation |
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If you are unable to occupy the property you should inform us immediately of your
wish to cancel the booking. Our cancellation terms may offer a full refund of any
money you have paid provided the reasons for you cancelling are covered by our cancellation
terms (see condition 11). |
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11 |
Cancellation Terms |
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11.1 |
For the purposes of this clause 11, the following words have the following meanings:
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"you/your" means the person to whom the Helpful Holidays booking confirmation
is addressed and each person named on that booking confirmation; |
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"relative" means any person closely connected to you by blood, marriage or
civil partnership and includes a partner with whom you are living at the same address. |
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11.2 |
Subject to the conditions set out in 11.3 we will reimburse you in respect of all
monies paid or contracted to be paid for the property you have booked provided the
booking must be cancelled as a direct consequence of any of the following events
occurring between the date on your holiday confirmation and 10 am on the last day
of your holiday. The event must necessarily and unavoidably prevent you from
fulfilling your booking: |
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Death, serious personal injury, serious sickness, hijacking or kidnap of you, a
relative, or any person with whom you intend to travel. |
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Jury service or witness summons of you or any person with whom you intend to travel. |
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Your home being made uninhabitable within 14 days of your holiday. |
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You being made redundant (provided that such redundancy qualifies for payment under
the United Kingdom's Redundancy Payments Acts). |
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The Police requesting your presence following a burglary at your home. |
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Cancellation of normal transport services due to riot or civil disorder. |
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If you are a member of the armed forces or emergency services, the cancellation
of previously agreed leave. |
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Government restrictions which prevent access to the property. |
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Claims related to pregnancies known about at the time of booking are excluded. If
a pregnancy is confirmed after booking your holiday we will cancel the booking
as long as the reason for cancelling is included in the events above. We will not
reimburse cancellations due to a disinclination to travel. |
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11.3 |
The following conditions apply to cancellations and if they are breached by you
we shall be entitled to refuse your request to cancel: |
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11.3.1 |
At the time of booking you must disclose all facts likely to be important in our
assessment of your risk of cancellation, such as your state of health at the time
the booking was made, or that of any person in respect of whose state of health
cancellation was made. |
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11.3.2 |
You must not make any fraudulent or misleading statement prior to or whilst arranging
your booking. |
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11.3.3 |
You or any member of your party must not have booked or started the holiday contrary
to medical advice or after a terminal prognosis has been made or if any circumstances
known to you at the time you booked your holiday could reasonably have been expected
to give rise to cancellation or curtailment of the holiday. |
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11.3.4 |
Reasons for cancellation must be given in writing and where relevant a medical certificate
provided. In the event of curtailment, reasons must be given for curtailment supported
by a medical certificate, if due to medical reasons, confirming that curtailment
of the holiday was necessary. Certificates, information and evidence to support
a cancellation shall be provided by you at your expense. You shall, if necessary,
submit to medical examination at our expense. |
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11.4 |
If you cancel the holiday pursuant to this clause 11 we shall not be liable to you
in respect of any consequential or indirect loss whatsoever and any costs, monies
or claim recoverable under any other insurance policy you may have taken out. |
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Pets |
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12.1 |
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If you cancel the holiday pursuant to this clause 11 we shall not be liable to you
in respect of any consequential or indirect loss whatsoever and any costs, monies
or claim recoverable under any other insurance policy you may have taken out.
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12.2 |
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Where pets are allowed, you must ensure that no damage is caused by them to the
property and that they cause no disturbance within the surrounding area. Pets must
be supervised and under control at all times and their access to areas of the property
that are unsuitable for pets or would compromise reasonable standards of hygiene
must be prevented by you. Pets are not allowed on furniture or upstairs. You must
always clear up after your pets and you must remove all trace (inside and in the
garden) of your pets having been present before you leave the property. If you do
not, the owner may retain some of your Cautionary Deposit. |
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13 |
Miscellaneous |
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13.1 |
These Terms of Business override and supersede all previous versions and any previous
course of dealing between the parties. |
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13.2 |
In the event of any inconsistency between these Terms of Business and any of our
other literature, whether found in our brochure or on our website or otherwise,
the provisions of these Terms of Business will prevail. |
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13.3 |
When you book your holiday with us, we collect personal information such as your
name, email address, home address, telephone number, credit or debit card number
and the card's expiry date. This allows us to book the property for you. We will
also collect non-transactional data should you enter a competition, request a brochure
or take part in a survey, for example. We may use the information that we collect
to occasionally notify you about news and information we think you may find valuable.
For example, we may send you our latest brochure, supplements, newsletters and special
offers. If at any stage you decide that you would rather not receive such information,
please contact us by telephone, email or post. We employ other companies and individuals
to perform functions on our behalf such as sending postal mail, removing repetitive
information from lists of our customers, analysing data, providing market assistance
and processing credit card payments. We also reveal your identity to the owner of
the property you wish to book. Our contractors have access to personal information
needed to perform their functions, but may not use it for other purposes. |
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13.4 |
If any provision of these Terms of Business is prohibited by law or judged by a
court to be unlawful, void or unenforceable, the provision shall, to the extent
required, be severed from this agreement and rendered ineffective as far as possible
without modifying the remaining provisions of this agreement, and shall not in any
way affect any other circumstances of or the validity or enforcement of these Terms
of Business. |
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13.5 |
The agreements between you and us and between you and the owner are subject to English
law and to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. |
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13.6 |
It is not intended that any third party (other than owners) should have the right
to enforce any of these Terms of Business under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties)
Act 1999. It is intended that owners may enforce the terms and conditions contained
in these Terms of Business against you. |
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Helpful Holidays is a trademark of Helpful Holidays Ltd, Mill Street, Chagford,
Devon, TQ13 8AW. |
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©Helpful Holidays 2008
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