Whilst we make dreams come true and that’s an intangiable
thing, there are some processes in place for your peace of mind.
1. Our Agreement with You
Your contract will be with Platinum Dreams which is a member of the Travel
Trust Association (TTA U5764). The air holidays and flights in this website
are ATOL Protected, since we hold an Air Travel Organisers License granted
by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL T7277. In the
unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not
stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to
us for an advance booking. For further information, visit the ATOL website
at www.atol.org.uk.
All travel arrangements are sold subject to the following booking
conditions:
2. Booking
The terms and conditions vary depending on whether you purchase a package
holiday consisting of transport and accommodation booked at the same time
and invoiced as a fully inclusive cost or ‘Other Travel Arrangements’
which is anything else, including accommodation or transport booked together,
but quoted separately and subsequently itemized on your invoice.
Please note that where a supplier’s services forms part of your
booking, the supplier’s standard terms and conditions will also
apply. These are important in the case of ’Other Travel Arrangements‘where
Platinum Dreams acts only as an agent between you and our suppliers. All
travel arrangements that include flights are based on scheduled IATA airlines
and are subject to their conditions of carriage. Copies of these conditions
may be requested in writing.
2.1 Insurance
It is important that you have insurance cover and that it is adequate
for your needs. You can take out cover through Platinum Dreams, in which
case the premium will be added at the time of booking. Should you decide
to arrange a policy yourself, please check carefully to ensure that it
provides an equal or higher level of cover. Travel insurance sold
by Platinum Dreams is only valid for UK residents. For those
who participate in sports and activities whilst on holiday that have been
organised and arranged independently of us, it should be understood that
participation is at the individual’s own risk and it is your responsibility
to obtain the relevant insurance.
3. Deposits & Payment
(a) When making a booking we require a minimum deposit of £250
per person. Occasionally airlines require full payment to secure the seats
and where this is the case, we will advise you before you book and will
require additional amounts to cover this requirement. We will then send
you a confirmation invoice, after which a contract exists, subject to
English law unless otherwise agreed. We will require payment of the remaining
balance as shown on your confirmation invoice, not less than twelve weeks
before your departure from the UK. If you book within twelve weeks of
departure from the UK we will require full payment at the time of booking.
Deposits are non-refundable and should you fail to pay the money when
it is due we reserve the right to cancel your booking and retain the deposit
that has been paid. Travel documents will not be released until we have
received full payment.
(b) Airline Ticket Deadlines: For ‘other travel arrangements’,
where we act as agent between you and our suppliers, airlines may on occasion
request that payment be brought forward in which case we will notify you
of this change of payment date. This usually occurs when an airline withdraws
a fare and request that all tickets in the old fare are issued by a particular
date. Regrettably your booking cannot be held after this ticket deadline
date and will have to be cancelled if payment is not made.
4. Cancellation by You
(a) Packages: If you need to cancel a confirmed booking you must contact
us as soon as possible. To cover the cost of administration and cancellation
charges imposed by suppliers and for the possibility that we will not
be able to resell the holiday we have to make a cancellation charge. Should
you cancel your confirmed booking or part of your booking, then the following
cancellation charges will apply:
More than 56 days prior to departure: Deposit only
29 – 55 days: 50% of the total cost
15 – 28 days: 75% of the total cost
14 days or less: 100% of total cost
Note: These cancellation charges apply to all bookings,
except in circumstances where a booking includes items or services where
our suppliers own cancellation charges exceed those shown above. In these
circumstances any additional cancellation charges will be advised at the
time of booking.
(b) ‘Other Travel Arrangements’: Cancellation charges vary
depending on the services booked and will be clearly stated at the time
of booking. In all cases a minimum cancellation fee of your deposit will
apply regardless of the value of the service cancelled. In some cases
it may not be possible to offer any refunds for certain services such
as air tickets once a booking has been made.
5. Alteration by You
If you wish to make a change to a confirmed booking please contact Platinum
Dreams immediately. Any changes made up to 56 days before departure will
incur a minimum charge of £50 per person. In some cases airlines
require tickets to be issued on booking and where tickets have been issued
changes may be treated as a cancellation and will be subject to the charges
shown in section 4.
Please Note: A change to the travel departure date once
confirmed, is regarded as a cancellation and rebooking, not an alteration
to the booking. Some suppliers, particularly airlines, whose special fares
in some cases are non-refundable, may consider a name or other change
to an existing booking, as a cancellation and rebooking, with up to 100%
cancellation charges.
If the services booked are dependent on a minimum number of people using
the service, we will have to recalculate the total cost based on the new
number of passengers travelling. The cost may therefore increase but as
this is not a cancellation charge, it may not be covered by your insurance.
No refunds will be given for unused services unless an amendment or cancellation
has been made in which case the charges shown above will apply.
Name changes: If you are prevented from taking a package
holiday we will be happy to arrange a change of name provided you give
us at least 21 days notice prior to departure, provide evidence of your
inability to travel and pay the cost of the changes. We will charge £50
per name change in addition to any charges levied by the service providers
such as the airlines.
6. Cancellation by Us
(a) Packages: We aim to provide the travel arrangements you have booked
without any changes, however, it is possible that cancellations may be
necessary due to changes made beyond our control by airlines, hotels or
other suppliers. For some “package holidays’’ to operate
a minimum number of people may be required. If sufficient bookings are
not received we reserve the right to cancel the holiday, but will do so
at least eight weeks before departure.
In the unlikely event that your travel arrangements must be cancelled
we will advise you as soon as is reasonably possible and you will be offered
an alternative or a full refund.
If we have to cancel your package holiday as a result of any other circumstances,
we may offer you additional compensation where deemed appropriate.
Note: Compensation will not be payable when the cancellation
is due to events beyond our control, such as war, threat of war, riots
or disturbances, terrorist activities, industrial disputes, fire, nuclear
or natural disasters, health risks, problems with transport, severe weather
conditions or any other similar events. Please ensure that you have adequate
travel insurance to protect you from such events.
(b) ‘Other Travel Arrangements’: In the unlikely event that
a booking has to be cancelled by us, for any other reason than non-payment,
then a full refund will be made of all monies paid, less any amendment
fees or insurance premiums.
7. Alteration by Us
(a) Packages: Although it is unlikely, we may unfortunately have to make
changes to your travel arrangements and we must reserve the right to do
so. We will inform you of any major changes at the time of booking, or
as soon as possible afterwards if you have already booked. If a major
change is necessary, such as an alteration of your outward/return flights
by more than 12 hours, change of resort, or reduction in standard of your
accommodation, you will be offered the choice of:
(i) Accepting the change
(ii) Accepting an alternative
(iii) Receiving a full refund of all monies paid.
If the alteration results in a reduction in the total cost of your travel
arrangements, we will make an appropriate refund. We will offer appropriate
compensation for the charge imposed providing that it does not arise from
circumstances outside our control.
(b) ‘Other Travel Arrangements’: Where we only act as a booking
agent, particularly in the case of air tickets, we may not be notified
of a major change before you travel. However, where we are notified, we
will advise you or your travel agent as soon as is reasonably possible.
If the changes are not acceptable to you, we will offer you an alternative
if available, or a full refund. If your chosen alternative costs more,
you must pay the difference.
8. Lost tickets or vouchers
If your travel documents have not been received by you, or you have mislaid
your travel documents, you must inform us at least 10 days prior to departure.
Failure to do so may result in additional charges as special arrangements
will have to be made. Tickets once sold towards a sporting event cannot
be replaced if lost.
9. Changes in Price
We reserve the right to increase the price of your holiday after booking
if any increase in price occurs in respect of:
(i) Air fares or other transport costs,
(ii) Taxes or duties payable, including new taxes introduced by any government
(iii) Adverse changes to currency exchange rates
In all cases we will pay any increase which is less than 2% of your package
holiday cost, not including insurance premiums or amendment fees but increases
in excess of 2% will be payable by you. If the cost of your holiday increases
by more than 10% you may decide to cancel the holiday and have a full
refund except for the insurance premiums or amendment fees paid after
booking. If you want to cancel you must tell us within 14 days of being
advised of the increase. In return we will not change the cost of your
holiday within eight weeks of departure. The only exception to this offer
is in respect of any government imposed charge that may be introduced
to provide consumer financial protection which we may be required to collect
on behalf of the government.
10. Our Liability
(a) Packages: Should you or any member of your party suffer illness, personal
injury or death, through any misadventure out of any activity which does
not form part of our package holidays, nor part of an excursion sold through
us, we shall offer you every assistance we can. This includes advice,
guidance and initial financial assistance in the form of legal expenses
insurance, where appropriate, up to a limit of £5,000 per person.
All requests for assistance must be made within 90 days from the date
of the misadventure. Where legal action is contemplated, our authority
must be obtained prior to commencement of any proceedings, and subject
to your undertaking to assign any costs recovered or any benefits received
under an appropriate insurance policy to ourselves. Assistance is given
at our reasonable discretion.
We are responsible for ensuring that your package holiday is of a reasonable
standard and as described to you. If any part fails to reach this standard
and affects the enjoyment of your holiday, we will offer reasonable compensation
providing it is not due to events outside our control. Our liability in
all these cases is limited to a maximum of three times the value of the
services affected.
(b) Our costs include the £2.73 TTA Fidelity insurance paid on all
packages and flights, which guarantees your financial protection in the
event of our insolvency.
11. Complaints Procedure
If you have a problem during the course of your holiday, you must inform
the supplier of the service, plus a representative whose details we have
provided, or telephone our offices immediately, failure to do so may reduce
or extinguish any possible claim. We will endeavor to put things right
as soon as possible. We will acknowledge all complaints on their receipt
and deal with them promptly and efficiently.
12. Data Protection Act 1998
By making a reservation with us you agree to the use and disclosure of
the information you provide for the following purposes: to enable us to
process your booking (when it may be transferred abroad), if you purchase
insurance we may process your information (including medical information)
about you or your travelling party and pass it to insurers; for market
research and analysis purposes; to avoid fraud and to enable us to contact
you by letter, telephone or e-mail, SMS or any other technology we feel
appropriate, with details of our products or those of our suppliers.
If you pay by Credit Card, then we may disclose your payment and booking
details (including those of your travelling party) to other companies
who require these details in order to process your payment, and / or if
the company that issued your card fails to settle your payment or requires
a subsequent repayment. If you would prefer not to receive marketing information
please email your name and full postal address to optout@platinumdreams.co.uk.
13. Web site accuracy
We rigorously check the information provided on our web site about accommodation,
resorts, itineraries etc, to ensure it is correct at the time of being
added. However, please bear in mind that hoteliers, restaurateurs, night
club owners etc, may wish to maintain or improve their facilities, or
even take a break themselves. Tour, excursion, cruise or safari itineraries
may change as a result of local conditions. Circumstances such as these,
or weather conditions, time of year etc, may cause some of the amenities
we have described to be unavailable or different from those advertised
on our web site. When we are told of any significant or long term changes
we will always endeavour to advise you prior to departure.
13.1 Web site Copyright
The copyright in the material on this web site rests with Platinum Dreams
and its suppliers. Your access to it does not imply a licence to reproduce
and/or distribute this information. This means that you cannot reproduce
or distribute this information.
14. Credit Card Charges
We accept all major credit cards; there will be an additional 1.5% credit
card fee charged to your booking if you pay by Visa or MasterCard and
2% if you pay by American Express. Payment by cheque, Debit Card or BACS
will not incur a fee.
