Fair Trading Agreement - Translink
Fair Trading Agreement
Why should I read this?
Because it is important. This Fair Trading Charter together with the Important Holiday Information form the basis of a legally binding contract between you (the person making the booking and everyone else named) and us (Ulsterbus, Europa Buscentre, Glengall Street, Belfast BT12 5AH). If you take a few moments to study them you will see that they set out, in simple terms, what responsibilities we each have under the contract. Reading it now may help you avoid problems later. Our Fair Trading Agreement and holiday information set out clearly and simply the responsibilities which we at Ulsterbus have to you and which you in turn have to us when a contract is made between us.
How do I make a contract?
You can make a contract in a number of ways, by writing to us or by phoning us. The contract between us is made when your booking is entered on our computer and a booking reference number is produced. At that moment, the contract between us begins. We will send you a confirmation within 2 weeks – please check it carefully to ensure all the details are correct.
Financial security
Ulsterbus is a household name in Northern Ireland, a name that is associated with reliability and security. It is now one of the very few government owned bus and coach companies in Great Britain. Our ownership provides you with the peace of mind to know that your money is safe and secure. As if this security were not enough, Ulsterbus Tours are members of the Confederation of Passenger Transport and adhere strictly to the requirements of the EU on Package Tours. All monies received for tours in this brochure are financially secured by a bond with the Bank of Ireland.
Your Contract with Ulsterbus
1. You pay a deposit
Your tour includes insurance, details of which will be provided at time of booking or on request.
2. You pay the balance
The balance of the fare must be paid via the office at which you made your booking at least 6 weeks before the holiday departure date. If you book within 6 weeks of the departure date you must pay the full holiday cost at the time of booking. If the balance is not paid in time we reserve the right to cancel your holiday, retain your deposit, and apply cancellation charges set out in paragraph 4 ‘If you cancel your holiday’. All tour fares are payable in sterling currency.
3. If you change your booking
If you want to make any changes to your booking such as changing the date or room type or joining point, we will do our best to help but we cannot guarantee to make the changes that you want. If we do manage to make the changes we will normally charge £10 per booking to cover our administration costs - plus any extra charges if you are buying a more expensive holiday. Some changes however are so significant that we will treat them as cancellations and you must pay the cancellation charges set out in paragraph 4. Significant changes include; transfer to a different holiday or departure date within the balance due date. If it is impossible to go on holiday then, in some circumstances, you may transfer your booking to someone else (a transferee) if you give us reasonable notice. The transferee must be someone who satisfies all the conditions for the holiday. We will make an administration charge of £10 per person for every transfer we make. We will also charge you for any extra costs caused by the transfer. Both you and the transferee remain responsible for paying for the holiday. If you do transfer your booking to someone else, that person must take out separate insurance in accordance with paragraph 9.
4. If you cancel your holiday
You, or any members of your party, may cancel your holiday at any time provided that the cancellation is made by the person signing the booking form and is communicated to us in writing via the office at which you made your booking. As this incurs administration costs we will retain your deposit and, in addition, apply cancellation charges up to the maximum shown below.
| Period before departure within which written cancellation is received | cancellation charge as % of holiday price |
| More than 42 days | Deposit |
| 42 - 29 days | 30% |
| 28 - 15 days | 45% |
| 14 - 8 days | 50% |
| 7 - 1 days (UK & Ireland) | 75% |
| 7 - 1 days (Europe) | 90% |
| Departure date, or after | 100% |
Note: If the reason for the cancellation is covered by our Holiday Insurance Policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges.
5. If you have a complaint
If you have a complaint during your holiday, please inform our driver/courier, or representative who will do his/her utmost to resolve the problem immediately. If the matter cannot be put right on the spot you must notify us in writing after the tour ends. Please address your letter to: Ulsterbus Tours, The Travel Centre, Europa Buscentre, Belfast BT12 5AH, and give the tour title and departure date. Failure to establish your complaint immediately in accordance with the above procedure may effect the outcome of it.
6. Statutory Authorities
This brochure is issued subject to applicable Acts of Parliament and Government Regulations and the company reserves the right to modify itineraries to conform with requests from the competent authorities in the United Kingdom and any other sovereign state through which the tours run.
7. Conditions of Carriage
When travelling on an Ulsterbus coach you are carried under the Ulsterbus Ltd. Conditions of Carriage. When travelling on a ferry or transport provided by any other Courier, the Conditions of Carriage of that Courier apply and are subject to any applicable National Conditions or International Conventions which may limit or exclude liability. The Public Service Vehicle (Conduct of Drivers, Conductors and Passengers) Regulations as amended 1990, apply to all coaches throughout any holiday in the UK.
8. Other items
On holiday you may not:
(a) bring a pet or any other animal (other than a guide dog in the UK and Eire, and only by arrangement)
(b) play a radio or cassette player on a coach
Ulsterbus reserves the unconditional right to refuse a booking or terminate a client’s holiday in the event of unreasonable conduct which in Ulsterbus’s opinion is likely to cause damage, distress, danger or annoyance to other clients, employees, property or to any third party. If you are prevented from travelling or continuing your holiday by such a termination Ulsterbus’s responsibility for your holiday thereupon ceases. Full cancellation charges will apply and Ulsterbus will be under no obligation for any refund, compensation or loss which you may incur. You are responsible for ensuring that you are at the correct departure point at the correct time and we cannot be liable for any loss or expense suffered by passengers because of their late arrival at any departure point.
Excursions are included in the price of most holidays and refunds cannot be made for passengers not wishing to go on these excursions. Admission fees to buildings, grounds, use of guides etc. are included in the price of the holiday unless otherwise stated in the brochure.
9. Passport
We cannot accept responsibility if passengers are not in possession of the correct valid travel documents. For all Continental holidays you will require either a full 10 year British/Irish Passport. If you have any doubts about your status as a resident British/Irish subject or you do not hold a full British/Irish Passport, you must check with the Embassies or Consulates of the countries to be visited to confirm the passport or visa requirements needed in your particular circumstances. Application for a 10 year passport can often take over 3 months. Therefore please ensure you apply to your Area Passport office in sufficient time.
10. Health
Under normal circumstances most Western European countries do not require visitors to be inoculated or vaccinated, and at the time of publication of this brochure none were required for the countries visited in our itineraries. However, we will indicate any known vaccination or other health requirements where possible for each country to be visited, if the need arises. If you are not sure of the health requirements of the country you are visiting, you are advised to check with your own doctor before travelling.
11. European Health Insurance
From January 2006 the E111 was replaced by the European Health Insurance Card (E.H.I.C.). The E111 form is no longer valid – all UK residents travelling to Mainland
Europe need an E.H.I.C. in order to receiver necessary health care while visiting a European Union Country or Switzerland. All UK residents are entitled to receive an E.H.I.C. – you can apply on line, by phone or post www.ehic.org.uk. Tel 0845 606 2030 or pick up a form and pre-addressed envelope at the Post Office.
Our Promise to You
1. We reserve your holiday
When you or your travel agent has provisionally confirmed that we have available space on the holiday of your choice, a confirmation/invoice will be forwarded to you normally within 3 weeks of your signed booking form and the contract is made between us when you receive this confirmation.
2. Your holiday price
UK Holidays
The price of your holiday is guaranteed and will not be subject to any surcharges except for those resulting from fuel, government action, including additional bonding or licensing requirements and VAT. In all cases we reserve the right to pass these amounts on in full. Holiday prices include all coach travel, hotel accommodation and meals specified in the holiday description and VAT at the current rate 17.5% where applicable. Morning coffee, afternoon tea and other refreshments are not included. Some hotels may make a small additional charge for porterage and tea and coffee served after lunch and dinner. Gratuities to the hotel staff and driver/couriers are discretionary.
European Holidays (including Ireland)
Price guaranteed except for government action. We guarantee that the price of your holiday will not be subject to any surcharge except for those resulting from governmental action, including VAT. Even in this case, we will absorb an amount equivalent to 2% of the holiday price which excludes insurance premium and any amendment charges. Only amounts in excess of this 2% will be surcharged, but where a surcharge is payable there will be an administration charge of 50p together with an amount to cover agent’s commission. If this means paying more than 10% of the holiday price, you will be entitled to cancel your holiday with a full refund of all money paid except for any premium paid to us for holiday insurance and amendment charges. Should you decide to cancel because of this, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days. Whatever happens to the value of the pound, the price of your holiday will not be subjected to any currency surcharges except for government devaluation. The price of your holiday is, however, subject to surcharges on the following items: governmental action including VAT and devaluation, etc. Surcharges will not be imposed within 30 days of departure.
3. If we change your holiday
The arrangements for holidays in this brochure are made many months in advance and changes are sometimes unavoidable. Most of these changes may be very minor but where they are significant we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible before your departure date. A significant change would be regarded as changes in departure date, departure point, or resort area, reducing the quality of your main hotel (not single overnight hotels on touring holidays) or a change of tour itinerary which involved a destination being completely eliminated from the revised itinerary. In the event of a significant change you may decide to:
(a) continue with the holiday as amended or
(b) accept an alternative holiday which we may offer to you or
(c) cancel your booking.
If you choose (a) or (b) we will pay you compensation on the scale below. If you choose (c) we will refund all monies paid by you, plus compensation on the scale below, no other claims for compensation or expenses will be considered.
| Period before departure within which a “significant change” is notified to you or your travel agent |
Compensation Per Person |
| More than 42 days | Nil |
| 42 - 29 days | £10 |
| 28 - 15 days | £15 |
| 14 - 8 days | £20 |
| 7 - 0 days | £25 |
4. If we cancel your holiday
Ulsterbus reserves the right to cancel a tour if the number of passenger bookings is less than 35. If, in the unlikely circumstances this option crystallises and we have to cancel your holiday we will return to you all the money you have paid to us, or offer you a suitable alternative. However, we will only cancel your
holiday:
(a) immediately prior to the departure date if you have not paid for your holiday in full. If we do cancel your fully paid holiday you will be entitled to either a comparable holiday or a full refund.
(b) after the balance due date, as a result of hostilities, political unrest or other circumstances amounting to force majeure.
If we cancel your holiday at any time, Ulsterbus is liable only for any monies you may have paid to Ulsterbus at the time of cancellation and for the compensation payments as detailed in paragraph 3 above.
5. What happens to complaints?
All the complaints which are received are thoroughly investigated and customers are kept informed at each stage of the investigation. Sometimes the investigations can take time when awaiting a response from the hoteliers. We can normally agree an amicable settlement of the few serious complaints we receive, if the complaint is found to be genuine. Check above ‘If you have a complaint’ paragraph 5 under heading ‘Your Contract with Ulsterbus’.
6. Our responsibility to you
We accept responsibility for ensuring that all component parts of your holiday as described in this brochure are supplied to you to a reasonable standard and this includes Optional Excursions purchased through our employees or agents. If any such part is not provided in the advertised manner, we will pay you reasonable compensation unless the non-provision was due to circumstances which we could not predict and which were beyond our control such as adverse weather, road or traffic conditions or the matters referred to in paragraph 4(b).
(a) Please remember that some amenities (eg. hotel lifts, swimming pools, etc.) require servicing and cleaning and may not therefore be available at all times. Some services may be affected by weather conditions and their availability is entirely at the discretion of the provider of the service. Entertainment (particularly live entertainment) provided by hotels is frequently subject to demand and its nature and/or frequency may be varied if there is lack of demand or insufficient numbers staying in the hotel.
(b) some excursion itineraries include the use of ferries and other forms of transport which can be affected by inclement weather, and may have to be cancelled or arrangements changed. Whenever possible a suitable alternative excursion will be offered.
(c) The published running times of services are estimates only and we will not be liable for any loss (however caused) arising from delay or failure to operate services in accordance with published timings.
7. Personal Injury
(Whilst participating in arrangements made by us)
Ulsterbus has taken all reasonable and proper steps to ensure that proper arrangements have been made for all the holidays which are advertised in this brochure, including Optional Excursions offered by our employees or agents, and that the suppliers of all the services are efficient, safe and reputable and that they comply with the local and national laws and regulations of the country in which they provided those services (note: Laws, Regulations and Standards of other countries may differ from those in the UK). Whilst we have no direct control over the provision of services to you by suppliers, we will pay our clients the equivalent of such damages as they would be entitled to receive under Northern Ireland Law for any personal injury to the client, including illness or death, caused by the failure to perform or the improper performance of such services by the servants or agents of ourselves or any of our suppliers contracted or subcontracted by us to provide any part of the arrangements for your holiday as described in this brochure where such failure or improper performance is due to the fault of such person and not an event which such person could foresee or forestall even if they had taken all due care.
Note: We will make payments as stated above provided: (a) that claims for personal injury are notified to us within 3 months of the return from holiday (b) the injured client(s) assign to Ulsterbus any rights against a supplier or other person or party they may have relating to the claim (c) they agree to co-operate fully with us should we or our insurers wish to enforce those rights which have been assigned to us or to which we are subrogated and (d) such payment is limited in the case of transport by water or air to a maximum of such sums as would be obtained under the provisions of the appropriate International Conventions. This assignment is necessary to enable us to try and recover from suppliers any compensation we have paid to clients, and associated costs, arising from personal injury to clients by fault of those suppliers. If we recover more than such compensation and costs, any excess will be paid to the injured clients.
8. Personal Injury
(Unconnected with arrangements made by us)
Where appropriate and subject to our reasonable discretion, we will afford general assistance to clients who through misadventure suffer illness, personal injury or death whilst travelling on an Ulsterbus holiday arising out of an activity which does not form part of the advertised itinerary nor part of an excursion offered through the company, and which is the responsibility of a third party.
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