The Ski Company (UK) Limited T/A SnowSkool
A COMPANY INCORPORATED IN ENGLAND & WALES WITH REGISTRATION NUMBER 04798416 AND WHOSE REGISTERED OFFICE ADDRESS IS AT STUDIO C, 14 BACKFIELDS LANE, BRISTOL, BS2 8QW (“SNOWSKOOL” AND/OR “WE” AND/OR “US”)
All design, text, graphics & other materials on www.snowskool.com are subject to copyright. No part of www.snowskool.com may be reproduced by any means without prior written consent of The Ski Company (UK) Ltd.
Terms and Conditions
1. Bookings
1.1 All bookings for courses will be on these terms (or any terms SnowSkool) may issue to replace them from time-to-time) and by making any payment to us or attempting to make a booking with us you will be deemed to have accepted these terms and conditions.
1.2 In order to secure a booking you must complete the booking form and return it to SnowSkool together with the amount of deposit payable (as set out in our brochure/ website/requested of you) for each person. If you are booking within ten weeks of travel you will be required to pay a larger deposit or payment (as advised at the time of booking). In the unlikely event that SnowSkool cannot secure you a place on your chosen course or a replacement one of your satisfaction, it will return your deposit.
1.3 SnowSkool will then issue you a confirmation of payment invoice that confirms your deposit has been paid, the price of your course and what is included in the package. The confirmation invoice will also set out the dates when further payments are due (these will depend on your choice of course and your time of booking). No contract will exist between you and SnowSkool until a confirmation of payment invoice has been issued to you.
1.4 You will be required to send payment of the next installment(s) on the payment date(s) specified (the sums payable for each course and payment dates will be specified in the confirmation of payment invoice). SnowSkool will then return to you an updated confirmation invoice acknowledging your payment.
1.5 You must pay for your course in full no later than 10 weeks before the departure date.
1.6 Where exams are included in the price of your SnowSkool course, SnowSkool will only pay for your first attempt at the exam and not for any exam re-sits.
2. Price variations
2.1 SnowSkool has the right to vary the price of the course before accepting your booking.
2.2 Following SnowSkool’s receipt of your first installment, unless you pay in full at the time of the booking, the price of the course may increase or decrease in the event that there are variations due to Government levies, or the cost of tax or fuel or the applicable exchange rate as may be applicable. In the event that the price increases:
2.2.1 SnowSkool will absorb the first 2% (of the price of the course) of any increase (excluding amendment charges). Therefore, only amounts exceeding this 2% will be passed on to you in the case of a course booking.
2.2.2 If the total price of the course should rise by more than 10%, you may cancel your booking within 14 days of the date SnowSkool notifies you of the increase and obtain a full refund of all payments made to SnowSkool, except for any amendment charges previously incurred.
3. Amendment or cancellation by you
3.1 You may request an alteration to your course booking and SnowSkool will do its best to accommodate this. However, it may be beyond SnowSkool’s control to action all amendments. SnowSkool will charge an amendment fee of £50.00, plus any additional charges imposed by suppliers of components of your holiday package, where applicable.
3.2 If you are prevented from travelling, you may transfer your course booking to another person, as long as you give SnowSkool at least 21 days notice. You must also agree to pay any charges SnowSkool may incur or levy to make this change. For the purposes hereof, ‘prevented’ shall mean death, serious illness or accident, jury service or witness summons, or redundancy of you, a travelling companion or close relative.
3.3 Cancellation will only take effect when SnowSkool receives written notification from you by email or by post at: Studio C, 14 Backfields Lane, Bristol, BS2 8QW, UNITED KINGDOM
If cancellation notification is received in writing more than 12 weeks before departure, you will either forfeit your deposit or you will be liable for any and all costs actually incurred by SnowSkool in respect of your booking which SnowSkool is not able to recover or in respect of which SnowSkool is committed and is not able to lawfully avoid payment, whichever is the greater amount. If written notification is received less than 12 weeks prior to the departure date the following percentage charges of the total trip price will be payable by you.
If cancellation is:
- More than 8 weeks but less than 12 weeks prior to departure or accommodation commencing: 60%
- More than 4 weeks but less than 8 weeks prior to departure or accommodation commencing: 80%
- More than 2 weeks but no more than 4 weeks prior to departure or accommodation commencing: 90%
- 2 weeks or less prior to departure or accommodation commencing: 100%
3.4 Should you decide to curtail your holiday arrangements, for whatever reason, no refunds will be payable for any unused night’s accommodation or other components of the package.
3.5 SnowSkool will, at its discretion, offer, what SnowSkool considers, appropriate assistance to support you in making a claim against your travel insurance policy.
4. Amendment or cancellation by SnowSkool
4.1 SnowSkool shall endeavour to inform you as quickly as possible of any changes to your booked course. However, because in respect of many of the courses, SnowSkool has no control over the start dates, SnowSkool reserves the right to make alterations (such as change of UK group’s arrival time of up to a week, routings or overseas arrival airport) to the course arrangements without incurring any liability to you. In the event that SnowSkool has to make major alterations to the course arrangements (such as change time of arrival by more than a week or cancel your course, SnowSkool shall offer a comparable alternative or a full refund of all money paid.
4.2 SnowSkool may cancel or alter your course at any time if it, in its sole discretion, considers that it is dangerous or unsuitable.
4.3 Following a major alteration or cancellation in the circumstances set out in clauses 4.1 and 4.2, you may also be offered compensation, dependent on the amount of notice you are given of the alteration or cancellation prior to departure. The compensation guidelines payable to you based on the amount of notice you are given is set out below:
- 12 weeks or more: Nil
- 8 weeks or more but less than 12 weeks: £10
- 6 weeks or more but less than 8 weeks: £15
- 4 weeks or more but less than 6 weeks: £20
- 2 weeks or more but less than 4 weeks: £25
- Less than 2 weeks: £30
4.4 Compensation payments or refunds will not be made where the changes are caused by situations considered to be under the heading of force majeure, such as war, riots, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial disputes including strikes, natural disasters, epidemics, health risks, fire, technical problems to transport, closure or congestion of airports, stations or ports, cancellations or changes of schedules by carriers for any reason and similar events outside the control of SnowSkool; or if SnowSkool cancels the course for any of the reasons set out in clauses 4.5 and 4.6.
4.5 SnowSkool reserves the right to cancel your course booking if you fail to pay the balance of the cost of your course ten weeks prior to your departure date in which case you will be liable to pay the applicable percentage of the total holiday cost as set out in clause 3.3.
4.6 SnowSkool may cancel your course booking at any time up to four weeks before departure if an insufficient number of people have booked the course to make it financially viable to proceed. In such event, you shall be refunded all amounts paid by you in full unless you elect to book on another course offered by SnowSkool.
5. SnowSkool’s liability to you
5.1 SnowSkool accepts responsibility for the acts and omissions of its employees, sub-contractors and local agents acting in the course of their employment. Although SnowSkool does not control the day to day operation of its suppliers, SnowSkool accepts responsibility if it is proved that facilities or services which it contracts to provide are deficient.
5.2 SnowSkool cannot be held responsible for death, bodily injury or illness caused on holiday unless it is proved that it is due to the negligence of SnowSkool’s employees, agents, or sub-contractors acting in the course of their employment and this is brought to SnowSkool’s attention within 3 months of your return from holiday. In the case of accidents or claims arising from carriage by air, damages are limited in accordance with the relevant conventions. All bookings are subject to the Carrier’s Conditions of Carriage, some of which exclude or limit liability. Copies can be made available on request.
5.3 SnowSkool has no control over weather conditions, nor the forecasting or the reporting thereof. It is agreed SnowSkool cannot guarantee the sufficiency or quality of snow or snow conditions and accordingly does not accept any liability for cancellation, curtailment or interruption of your course of any kind as a consequence thereof or any factor/s over which it has no control or cannot reasonably foresee or cannot reasonably prevent. For the sake of clarity SnowSkool does not warrant that the pistes where you are undertaking your SnowSkool course shall be open or suitable for skiing, snowboarding or other snow based activities and you agree SnowSkool shall not be liable to make any refund or to compensate you nor arrange or pay for transport to or training at an alternate resort.
5.4 SnowSkool’s liability in any action (excluding that for personal injury, illness or death) will be limited to the cost of your course.
5.5 SnowSkool does not accept any responsibility or liability whatsoever in connection with any third-party service provider or provision of third party services, as per section 9 (Third party activities and excursions) of these terms and conditions below.
5.6 Photographs are often taken of participants in SnowSkool courses and these photographs may be used in SnowSkool publications and on SnowSkool websites. If you do not wish your photo to be used, please advise the SnowSkool office and confirm the instruction in writing otherwise you will be deemed to have consented to such photographs being used for this purpose. Furthermore, where photographs, videos or similar recordings of activities are provided to SnowSkool, the owner of such photographs, video or other recording shall be deemed to have provided SnowSkool with a royalty free licence to use, demonstrate and copy the same for its own marketing purposes in perpetuity.
6. Your responsibilities applicable to a course booking
6.1 You must purchase personal travel insurance before participating in the course. SnowSkool strongly recommends that you purchase your personal travel insurance immediately after booking your course.
6.2 You are responsible for ensuring that you arrive in resort for the start of your course. Dates for courses in the northern hemisphere will be finalised by 30 June in the year before the course starts while dates for the course in New Zealand will be finalised by 31 January. Should you commit to travel arrangements prior to these dates, SnowSkool will not be required to compensate you for any changes made to the dates of the course you are attending where SnowSkool have not arranged your travel to the resort as part of their group travel arrangements.
6.3 In making your travel arrangements, you must ensure you are eligible for entry to any relevant countries, including that where the course is being held as well as any country being transited on the way to/from the course. General information about passport, visa and insurance requirements applicable to British citizens is set out on the website but you are advised to check current requirements before departure, noting that drink driving charges may make you inadmissible or may require you to apply for visa. Whilst we will endeavour to ensure this information is correct and up to date, SnowSkool accept no responsibility for any errors and you are urged to check these requirements with the relevant authorities.
6.4 You agree to conduct yourself in an orderly fashion while on holiday and not disrupt the enjoyment of others or prejudice the reputation of SnowSkool. The expected code of conduct will be outlined once in the resort and SnowSkool reserves the right to remove any individual from the course for breaching the code of conduct (this includes being denied access to SnowSkool accommodation, meals and activities). No refunds will be payable for any unused components of the package.
6.5 The snow sports school providing the training can impose its own code of conduct for behaviour and personal presentation and also reserves the right to remove a student from their training program after repeated breaches of behaviour. No refunds will be payable for any unused components of the package.
6.6 You will immediately pay in full for any loss or damage to accommodation or property caused by you. In the event that loss or damage to accommodation or property occurs and the perpetrator is not identified to SnowSkool’s satisfaction, all the students who use the facility where the loss or damage takes place or who are accommodated in the establishment where the loss or damage takes place shall be jointly and severally liable to pay for such loss or damage. Please note that some accommodation providers require damage deposits to be paid. We will advise you when this is payable and this can be up to £500 per person. It is, therefore, in your best interests to leave the accommodation as it was found, as deductions for breakages, damage or leaving the accommodation unclean may be made. Subject to any deductions made, the deposit is refundable following your departure
6.7 You shall be liable for any excess baggage charges levied by any carrier.
6.8 You are aware that the course on which you are booking is a physically demanding one and it is your obligation to ensure that you are sufficiently fit and healthy to undertake the course. SnowSkool cannot accept any responsibility for you not being sufficiently fit and healthy to undertake the course and/or derive the full benefit from the same. You are responsible for telling SnowSkool of any medical condition that could have any affect on your performance on the trip and any pre existing medical problems/conditions. If your medical condition should adversely change during the course, you must immediately advise SnowSkool accordingly. Any medical information you submit to SnowSkool will be held in the strictest confidence and we will abide by all our obligations under the Data Protection Act and associated legislation.
6.9 You agree, for a period of 2 years after the conclusion of your course, not to, in any part of the world, engage or be concerned or interested, whether directly or indirectly, and whether as principal, partner, employee, adviser, agent, consultant or otherwise, in any trade or business which is directly competitive with SnowSkool’s business.
7. Problems and complaints
7.1 SnowSkool aims to settle any complaints amicably and quickly. Should you have any problems whilst on holiday, SnowSkool’s local representatives should be informed so that action can be taken without delay.
7.2 If you wish to complain, full details must be sent in writing to SnowSkool no later than 30 days after the end of your holiday.
7.3 If you have a dispute with SnowSkool that cannot be resolved amicably, you may call upon a scheme administered by the United Kingdom’s Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
8. Information
8.1 The descriptions contained in SnowSkool’s brochure and website and all other information supplied by SnowSkool is correct to the best of SnowSkool’s knowledge. Although the accuracy is not guaranteed, all descriptions and information are given in good faith and in the belief that they were true at the time of printing.
9. Third party activities and excursions
9.1 SnowSkool can assist in sourcing and booking many of the extra services and activities you need when on your course. In some cases we may be able to take payment for you and in others you will be required to pay the relevant third party service provider(s) directly. You will be informed in each case. In all cases, you will be contracting with the relevant service provider(s) directly and the relevant service(s) will be subject to the terms and conditions of those individual service provider(s). In no circumstances will these arrangements form part of your contract with us. Accordingly, our assistance in the sourcing or booking of such arrangements should not be construed as an endorsement or approval of such service provider or their services and we accept no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any such service provider or provision of services.
9.2 Any grievance with a third party service provider must be taken up with the relevant provider directly, pursuant to your contract with them.
10. Your Financial Protection
10.1 All the flights and flight-inclusive holidays booked with SnowSkool are protected by the ATOL scheme. The Ski Company (UK) Limited’s ATOL number is 9738.
10.2 When you buy an ATOL protected flight or flight inclusive holiday from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong.
10.3 We, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable).
10.4 If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.
11. General
11.1 This contract is governed by the laws of England and Wales and the parties agree to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
11.2 This contract will not create any right enforceable (by virtue of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999) by any person who is not a party to these terms.
July 2018