Terms & Conditions

When you make a booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of you & your party the terms of these booking conditions. These booking terms cannot be varied or amended. A contract will exist as soon as we issue our confirmation invoice. In the case of a late booking a contract between us will exist as soon as you have received verbal confirmation from us and advised us of your credit card details. Late bookings are defined as all bookings made within 10 weeks of departure and must be made by telephone in order to ensure that the accommodation and ferry crossings required are available. If it is necessary for us to specially request services on your behalf in order to confirm your

booking you must provide a credit card authority in respect of such services before they can be requested. You will be liable to pay the costs of these services even if you decide not to proceed with the booking, as we are obliged to cover these costs as soon as the request

is made. In such cases a contract will come into existence as soon as we receive verbal confirmation from the supplier concerned. The information within this brochure is designed to be a general guide to the services offered. The implementation of specific resort services is at the discretion of the accommodation/resort management. Special requests are accepted on the basis that we will make every endeavour to accommodate them, but we will not be held responsible if circumstances beyond our control determine we were unable to comply.

The resorts we offer are subject to local regulations and bylaws. Additionally they will have their own rules, when you occupy the accommodation you accept to abide by the rules of the individual parc. Failure to do so may result in the parc owners requesting you vacate the premises, circumstances such as these are outside of our control and we will not be held liable for any other accommodation costs suffered in such cases, we will not refund unused

accommodation costs in these circumstances. We reserve the right to amend the information and prices relating to unsold holidays as necessary within the brochure. The contract is made in the terms of these booking conditions which are governed by English Law and we both agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the English Court at all times. We act as agents when we arrange ferry tickets, Eurotunnel crossing and insurance as set out in the brochure.

Welcome France is a registered trading style of French Freedom Holidays Ltd., 44 Newdown Road, Southpark, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, DN17 2TX England.

French Freedom Holidays Limited trading as Welcome France is licensed as a travel agent by the Commission for Aviation Regulation. License no. TA 0630.

When you make your booking you must pay a deposit of £200 (€300) per booking. The balance of the price of your travel arrangements must be paid at least 10 weeks before your departure date. For bookings made within 10 weeks of departure, the full cost of the holiday must be paid at the time of the booking. If the deposit and/or balance is not paid in time, we reserve the right to cancel your travel arrangements. If the balance is not paid in time we shall retain your deposit, and you will incur charges as per section 6. The price of your travel arrangements is fully guaranteed and will not be subject to any surcharges, however we do reserve the right to revise prices for new bookings in the event of any change in the rates.

If after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you wish to change your travel arrangements in any way, for example your chosen departure date or accommodation, we will do our utmost to make these changes but it may not always be possible. Any request for changes must be made by the person who made the booking. You will be asked to pay an administration charge of £30 (€50) [if your travel pack has already been sent or you have already travelled £50 (€75)], plus any costs we incur in making the alteration. We must receive payment for amendments at the time they are requested by credit card or cheque, if we are unable to accommodate the amendment your payment will be returned.

Note: Some travel arrangements cannot be changed after a reservation has been made and any alteration request will incur a 100% cancellation cost.

The ferry operators featured in this brochure have no responsibility for the contents therein, and clients are transported under the terms and conditions of the individual ferry company. We cannot accept liability for additional expenses incurred due to travel delays however caused.

If you have to cancel your holiday for any reason you MUST ring our office and obtain a cancellation reference number as evidence of cancellation. If you fail to follow this procedure and do not obtain a cancellation reference number we will consider the booking to still be active and as such you will be liable to pay the outstanding balance. You, or any member of your party, may cancel at any time. Since we incur costs in cancelling your travel arrangements, you will have to pay the applicable charges up to the maximum amount shown in this clause.

Note: No refunds are made on insurance premiums. If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges. 

Notice given to Welcome France before departure date

Cancellation charge as percentage of price less insurance:

• More than 70 days: Loss of deposit
• 70–35 days: 40% plus deposit
• 34–15 days: 75% plus deposit
• 14–0 days: 100%

It is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your holiday arrangements, but we do plan the arrangements many months in advance. Occasionally we may have to make changes and we reserve the right to do so at any time. Most changes are minor, for example, if we have to change your accommodation to another of the same category, an alteration to a sailing/train time of less than 12 hours, or a change of routing/carrier. We will advise you or your travel agent at the earliest possible date and in such cases, no compensation will be due. If we reschedule your transport or make minor changes to it, this will not give you the right to cancel your booking without incurring our normal cancellation charges. We also reserve the right in some

circumstances to cancel your travel arrangements, for example, reasons of force majeure or failure by you to pay the final balance. If we are unable to provide the booked arrangements, you can either have a refund of all monies paid or accept an offer of alternative travel arrangements of

comparable standard from us, if available. If it is necessary to cancel your travel arrangements, we will pay you compensation as set out in this clause. If we make a major change to your holiday, such as change of resort area as defined in the brochure, we will inform you or your travel

agent as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure. You will have the choice of either accepting the change of arrangements, accepting an offer of alternative travel arrangements from us if available (if it is more expensive you will have to pay the difference but if it is cheaper we will refund the difference to you), or cancelling your booked holiday and receiving a full refund of all monies paid. In all cases, except where the major change arises due to reasons of force majeure, we will pay compensation detailed below.

Period before departure within which notice of cancellation or major change is received by us or notified by you

Compensation per adult if we make a major change or cancel your holiday

• More than 56 days: Nil
• 56–43 days: £10 (€15)
• 42–29 days: £15 (€25)
• 28–15 days: £20 (€30)
• 14–0 days: £25 (€40)

Force Majeure. This means that we will not pay you compensation if we have cause to cancelcor change your travel arrangements in any way because of war, riot, industrial dispute,terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire or adverse weather conditions. This includescall circumstances that even with due diligence could not reasonably have been foreseen.

**Children’s clubs

Our activity/children’s club couriers are difficult to replace at short notice. Should illness orcunforeseen circumstances occur, we will always endeavour to offer the service as advertised butcwe cannot always guarantee the continuity of the service. The activities tend to be group based and as such require a minimum number of participants to enable it to function but if the minimum number are not present the sessions may be cancelled. For safety reasons it is necessary to limit to a maximum the number of participants and on occasions when demand is high we may have to enforce a first come first served arrangement. We will always endeavour to share the availability between all those wishing to attend. Clients will be required to sign parental consent forms before the participation of their children in the Koala Club activities is allowed.

If you have a problem during your holiday, please inform the relevant supplier (e.g. accommodation rep) so that they can put it right. If after speaking with our representative you still have difficulties, please call us on 0044 1724 282 303, so that we can take the matter up on your behalf. If you intend to complain to our office on your return home you must obtain a complaint reference form from our representative detailing your complaint and any action

offered or under-taken by our representative or the campsite management. It is essential that you communicate any complaint to the supplier of the services in question without delay. In any case, you must write to us within 28 days of your return from holiday. If you fail to follow this procedure we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint whilst you were in resort and this may affect your rights under this contract.

It is unlikely that you will have a complaint that cannot be settled between us. However disputes arising out of, or in connection with this contract, which cannot be amicably settled may be referred to arbitration under a special scheme which though devised by arrangement with ABTA, is administered quite independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The scheme (details on request) provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on the customer in respect of costs. The scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £1,500 (or euro equivalent) per person, £7,500 (or euro equivalent) per booking form, nor to claims which are solely or mainly in respect of physical

injury or illness or the consequences of such injury or illness.

i) We accept responsibility for ensuring that your travel arrangements, which you book with us, are supplied as described in this brochure. If any part of your travel arrangements are not supplied as promised, we will pay you appropriate compensation if this has affected the enjoyment of your travel arrangements. We accept responsibility for the acts and/or omissions of our employees, agents and suppliers except where they lead to death, injury or illness. Our liability in all cases shall be limited to a maximum of the cost of your travel arrangements.

Assistance shall be offered to a client who, through misadventure, suffers illness, personal injury or death during the period of their holiday arising out of an activity which does not form a part of our holiday arrangement. This assistance shall take the form of advice and initial financial assistance with legal expenses, where appropriate, at our discretion, up to a limit of £5000 (or euro equivalent) cost to ourselves per booking form. In the event of

there being a claim for costs or a suitable insurance policy (s) we are entitled to recoup the costs we have incurred.

Please note: The safety standards and regulations overseas are those of the country in question, and may not necessarily be the same as equivalent standard in the UK. These are often different from, and set standards lower than those to which we are used to in the UK. The responsibility for monitoring, enforcement and compliance with local and national laws and regulations is carried out by the appropriate authorities in the country concerned. Liability insurance requirements vary considerably from country to country, as does the responsibility placed on organisations by law. We would therefore advise you to take all reasonable precautions to protect yourself and your family whilst on holiday.

ii) We accept responsibility for death, injury or illness caused by the proven negligent acts and/or omissions of our employees or agents, our suppliers and subcontractors, whilst acting within the scope of, or in the course of their employment in the provision of your travel arrangements. We will accordingly pay to you such damages as might have been awarded in such circumstances under English Law.

iii) In respect of travel by sea and rail, and the provision of accommodation our liability will be limited in the manner provided by the relevant international convention. You can ask for a copy of these international conventions from our offices at Welcome France Holidays, 44 Newdown Road, Southpark, Scunthorpe,  North Lincolnshire, DN17 2TX