Booking Conditions for Mill Cottage

1. Your booking

   All bookings are subject to availability. The party leader must be at least 18 years of age at the time of booking. Your booking is made as a consumer and you agree that no liability can be accepted by the Owner for any expenses, costs, losses, claims or other sums of any description which relate to any business, howsoever suffered or incurred by you. When the Owner issues a written confirmation to you, this signifies that the Owner has entered into a contract with you, which is subject to these Conditions. The Owner has the right to refuse any booking prior to the issue of your written confirmation, and if the Owner does this, the Owner will promptly refund any money you have paid. When you receive your confirmation, the details must be checked carefully. If anything is not correct, you should tell the Owner immediately.

2. Paying for your property

   When you book your property you should pay the amount then due by sending a cheque to the Owner or by transferring funds directly to the Owner's account. Providing the booking can be confirmed, the Owner will then send your written confirmation to you as soon as reasonably possible showing your booking details.

3. Cancellations or changes to your booking

   The Owner does not expect to have to make any changes to your booking, but occasionally problems occur and bookings have to be changed or cancelled. If this does happen, the Owner will contact the party leader as soon as is reasonably practical, explain what has happened and inform you of the cancellation or change.

4. Circumstances beyond the control of the Owner (Force Majeure)

   Except where otherwise expressly stated in these Conditions, the Owner shall not be liable, jointly or individually, for any changes, cancellations, effect on your holiday, loss or damage suffered by you or for any failure by the Owner to perform or properly perform any of their obligations to you which is due to any event(s) or circumstance(s) beyond the reasonable control of either the Owner (referred to as “force majeure” in these Conditions). By way of example, force majeure includes fire, flood, exceptional weather conditions, epidemics, destruction or damage of the property by any cause (other than negligence of the Owner or the Company) and all similar situations. In appropriate cases (for example where your booking has to be cancelled before departure) the Owner will, however, refund to you all monies paid by you for your booking. No compensation, expenses, costs or other sums of any description (including without limitation the cost of securing an alternative property/ accommodation) will be payable in such circumstances by the Owner to you.

5. Web site details

   The Owner aims to ensure that the information provided is accurately conveyed in the web site. However, the information and prices in this web site may have changed by the time you come to book. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the web site and prices at the time of publishing, changes and errors occasionally occur. You must therefore ensure you check all details of the property and arrangements (including the price) with the Owner at the time of booking. There may be small differences between the actual property and its description, as the Owners are always seeking to improve services and facilities. Occasionally, problems mean that some facilities or services become unavailable or subject to restriction. If this happens, the Owner will tell the party leader as soon as reasonably practical. The Owner cannot accept responsibility for any changes or closures to area amenities or attractions mentioned in the web site. The Owner makes reasonable efforts to ensure that information supplied to you in relation to the property or its facilities and/or services is accurate and complete as at the date given. The Owner will, however, use its best endeavours to notify you of any changes to or inaccuracies in any information contained in the web site or otherwise provided to you as soon as reasonably practical after the Owner becomes aware of the change or inaccuracy.

6. Liability

   The Owner shall have no liability for any death or personal injury. You must take all necessary steps to safeguard your personal property. No liability is accepted by the Owner in respect of damage to, or loss of, such personal property except, in the case of the Owner, where the damage or loss is caused by the negligence of the Owner or that of any employee of the Owner (providing they were at the time acting in the course of their employment). Please also refer to Section 4 (Force Majeure) above.

7. If you change or cancel your booking

   1. Changes

      If you want to change your booking once your confirmation has been issued, an administration fee of £25 will be payable to the Owner once any change has been made. However, it is important to realise that a change of property or dates may have to be treated as the cancellation of one booking and the making of another. In such cases cancellation charges may be incurred which may be as much as the total cost of your holiday booking. The Owner will advise the party leader if this is the case when the change is requested. The party leader must then inform the Owner as soon as reasonably possible to whether you still wish to change your booking. If you advise the Owner that you do or the party leader fails to contact the Owner as soon as reasonably possible, your booking will be treated as having been cancelled by you. So as to keep any period of uncertainty to a minimum, the Owner will, whenever reasonably possible, communicate with you by telephone and you are required to do the same.

   2. Cancellations

      If you have to, or wish to, cancel your booking, the party leader must telephone the Owner on the number shown on your booking confirmation as soon as possible. The party leader must also immediately confirm your cancellation in writing sent by recorded delivery to the Owner at the address shown on the confirmation. The day the Owner receives your telephone notification of cancellation is the date on which your booking is cancelled.

      Depending on your reason for cancellation, you may receive a refund of all monies you have paid to the Owner for you booking (including all booking fees but excluding, where applicable any amendment charges you have already incurred. The Owner will also retain a cancellation administration fee of £35 per week or per part week per booking.)

      Please note: The refund provisions referred to above only apply if the cancellation applies to all members of your party. Note: All prices are for the entire property and not on an individual basis.

      To qualify for a refund your reason for cancelling must be one of the following, must apply to a member of your party, and with the exception of pregnancy must have occurred after you booked your holiday and must prevent you from taking your holiday. Please note that you will not receive a refund for pregnancy where the party member is expected to give birth before or within 14 weeks of the arrival date home -

      Illness/Pregnancy (subject to medical evidence of unfitness to travel); Death; Redundancy (provided employment has been on a continuous basis with the same employer for at least 2 years); Jury or Witness service (in a Court of Law); Illness or Death of a close relative (a close relative is defined as one of the following - Spouse, Son or Daughter (in law), Parent (in law), Grandparent, Sister or Brother, Fiancé(e)); your home is rendered uninhabitable due to fire, storm, flood, subsidence or malicious damage; your presence is requested by the Police, following a burglary at your home or place of business, during the period of your holiday or within the preceding 7 days; your unexpected posting by HM Forces or cancellation of leave by HM Police (unless the cost of the lost holiday is recoverable from any other source); or compulsory quarantine. You may also receive a full refund if you are unable to reach your holiday destination due to snow or flood conditions or as a result of being involved in an accident en route (N.B. This only applies if you have made every effort to attempt to complete your journey. You will need to produce evidence from either the Police, RAC or AA). Although a refund is available in these circumstances you may prefer to delay your arrival. In these cases, a 25% refund is available for each 24 hour delay up to a maximum of 72 hours - 75% (For short breaks, a fixed refund of 50% applies for all arrivals delayed for more than 24 hours).

      The following reasons for cancellation do not qualify for a refund as set out above: suicide or attempted suicide, intentional self-injury, the effect of intoxicating liquor or drugs, or any other reason which is not specifically referred to.

      Where the reason for cancellation does not fall within one of the qualifications for a refund as set out above e.g. dis-inclination to travel, leave cancelled by employer (other than HM Forces or the Police) etc., a cancellation charge will be payable, based on the number of days before the arrival date at your properties that the Company receives notification of your cancellation, as shown in the following table. This means that if you have paid the balance of your total holiday cost and then have to, or wish to, cancel, you may receive a refund of part of such cost. However, if you have not paid your total holiday cost including, where purchased, the premiums for any insurances, by the time of your cancellation, you may be required to make a further payment by way of cancellation charge. For the purpose of this table, cost means the total cost of the booking, including any extra items after deducting any insurance premiums, booking fee, credit card charges and administration fee paid for making any change. Please note that no insurance premiums or any such administration fee are refundable.

      Number of days before arrival date that notification of cancellation is received	Cancellation Charge
      More than 56 days	Full Deposit (including any Balance of Deposit due)
      29-56 days	50% of cost or Full Deposit (including any Balance of Deposit due), whichever is the greater
      15-28 days	75% of cost
      1-14 days	90% of cost
      On arrival date or later	Total cost

      If any payment due in relation to your booking is not paid by the appropriate date, the Company on behalf of the Owner is entitled to assume that you wish to cancel your booking. In this case, the Company on behalf of the Owner will be entitled to keep all deposits paid or due at that date. The Company normally sends out a reminder to you before your booking is cancelled. If the Company does not cancel straight away because you have promised to make payment, you must pay the cancellation charges shown in clause above depending on the date the Company on behalf of the Owner reasonably treats your booking as cancelled.

      If you live outside the UK and have booked your holiday through a local agent, the term “cost” in the above cancellation charges table means the amount paid by your local agent to the Company after deducting any insurance premiums and any administration charge paid to the Company for making any change. For the avoidance of doubt, “cost” does not include any charges made by your local agent or other third parties for booking fees, flights, other travel services or any other amounts not paid to the Company.

   3. Curtailment of your holiday

      A refund as set out above is also available if your holiday is cut short for any of the qualifying reasons set out in (ii) above. In this case, you will be reimbursed for the appropriate proportion of the holiday charge. This only applies if the property is vacated by all persons in your holiday party. Where your holiday is curtailed for medical reasons affecting any persons in your party, you will need to produce a certificate from a local doctor, confirming the necessity of returning home. Please see section on cancellations.

8. Your property

   You can arrive at Mill Cottage after 3pm on the start date of your holiday rental and you must leave by 10.00am on the last day. If your arrival will be delayed beyond 8.00pm on the start date of your holiday rental, you must contact the person whose details are given on the location guide so that alternative arrangements can be made. If you fail to do so, you may not be able to gain access to the property. If you fail to arrive by 12 noon on the day after the start date of your holiday rental and you do not advise the person whose details are given on the location guide of your late arrival, your booking may be treated as having been cancelled by you. No refund of any monies paid by you will be made in this situation.

   You and all members of your holiday rental party agree both to keep the property clean and tidy and to leave the property in a similar condition as you found it upon your arrival. You and all members of your holiday rental party further agree not to use the property for any commercial purpose, including without limitation assigning or subletting it or otherwise allowing anyone to occupy it who has not previously been accepted by the Company on behalf of the Owner. You are responsible to the Owner for the actual costs of any breakage or damage in or to the property - along with any additional costs that may result - which are caused by you and/or any members of your holiday rental party, and the Owner can require payment from you to cover any such costs.

   The Owner is entitled at his/her sole and absolute discretion to refuse to hand over to you, or to repossess, the property (which includes the fixtures, fittings, furnishings and decorations) if the Owner reasonably believes that any damage is likely to be caused, has been caused or is being caused by you or any members or your holiday rental party. These circumstances will be treated as a cancellation by you. No refund of any monies you have paid in respect of your booking will be made and the Owner will not have any liability to you as a result of this situation arising (including for example any costs or expenses you incur due to not being able to occupy the property, such as your incurring the cost of securing an alternative property/ accommodation). In this situation, the Owner is not under any obligation to find any alternative accommodation for you. You must not allow more people than the web site states to occupy the property, neither can you significantly change the composition of the holiday rental party during your occupation of the property, nor can you take your pet into the property unless this has been arranged in advance and is shown on your confirmation. If you do any of these things, the Owner can refuse to hand over the property to you, or can repossess it. If the Owner does so, this will be treated as a cancellation by you. No refund of any monies you have paid in respect of your booking will be made and neither the Owner nor the Company will have any liability to you as a result of this situation arising (including for example any costs or expenses you incur due to not being able to occupy the property, such as your incurring the cost of securing an alternative property/ accommodation). In this situation, the Owner is not under any obligation to find any alternative accommodation for you.

   If you take a pet with you, it is not allowed on beds or chairs. Pets should not be left unattended in the property. Registered guide and hearing dogs belonging to those with visual and hearing impairments are allowed. Customers with allergies should be aware that we cannot guarantee that a registered guide and/or hearing dog has not stayed in Mill Cottage nor can we accept any liability for any suffering which may occur as a result of such animals having been present.

   You must allow the Owner and any representative of the Owner (including workmen) access to the property at any reasonable time during your occupation of the property (except in cases of emergency or where a problem needs remedying quickly and you cannot be contacted in time - in these situations the Owner is entitled to enter the property at any time without giving you prior notice).

9. Law

   The contract between you and the Owner is subject to English law and no other. It is agreed that any dispute you may have with the Owner will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only unless you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland in which case proceedings may be brought in the Courts of those countries.

10. Your rights

    Your statutory rights are not affected by anything contained within these Conditions.

11. This web site

    This web site was published in November 2005.

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