1. Your Holiday Contract

These booking conditions govern all bookings with Benz Travel Ltd whose registered office is at 3rd Floor, 3 Princes Street, London W1B 2LD. How the booking conditions apply to you vary depending on whether you have booked a 'package' or 'other travel arrangements'.

A package is a combination of at least two of the following a) transport b) accommodation c) another tourist service which forms a significant part of your booking, providing those two or more components are sold to you at the same time at an inclusive price with full payment being made to Benz Travel. Anything else (e.g. air tickets only, air tickets and accommodation booked at different times, cruises and packages arranged by a third party tour operator where we act as their agents) constitutes other travel arrangements.

If you book a package your contract is with Benz Travel. A contract arises between us once you have completed and signed our booking form or confirm you have read and understood the booking conditions shown on our websites, or made the appropriate payment to us and we have issued our confirmation invoice. If you book other travel arrangements, Benz Travel acts as a booking agent and your contract is with the supplier(s) (e.g. the airline or hotel supplier or cruise or tour operator) concerned. The booking conditions of that other company will also apply to you. You will see that certain of the terms and conditions below only apply if you have booked a package.

All contracts with Benz Travel and all matters arising from them are subject to English law and to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. You may, however, choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you wish to do so.

The person who makes the booking, who must be aged 18 or over, accepts these conditions on behalf of all members of the party and is responsible for all payment due from the party.

2. Payments

At the time of booking you must pay a deposit, the amount of which varies from £100 per person up to the total holiday cost, depending on the type of booking, and pay any balance of the cost of the holiday no later than 8 weeks before departure. If you book inside 8 weeks of departure full payment is required at time of booking. If you do not make the required payments your booking will be cancelled. If you have paid a deposit and fail to pay the balance on time you will lose your deposit.

Payment can be made by Switch/Delta Cards and all major Credit Cards. We levy a charge of 2% of holiday cost when you use Mastercard, Visa or American Express and a charge of 4% for Diner's Club.

3. Your Travel Documents

We aim to send out your documents 14 days prior to departure by first class post. We cannot be held responsible for documents lost in the post. Special, Recorded or Registered post can be arranged at an additional charge. If tickets are lost in the post and a new set of tickets has to be issued you may have to pay to re-issue the tickets. A form of indemnity will have to be filled in to claim your money back, which can take 6 months. The form of indemnity is subject to an administration fee of £75 per passenger. We would also like to draw your attention to the purchases by credit or debit cards where payment does not take place in person. In accordance with mail order regulations, all documents will be posted to the billing address of the credit/debit cardholder and not the address of the passenger (unless they are one and the same).

4. Alterations by you

If after booking you wish to change your travel arrangements, we will do our best to meet your new requirements. You will need to confirm your instructions in writing and pay an amendment fee of £35 per booking. Also you must pay any costs we incur in making the amendment, including any charges that may be levied by suppliers (e.g. airlines, hotels). Please note that some travel arrangements (e.g. Apex tickets) may not be changeable after a reservation has been made and any alteration request could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements.

5. Transferring your booking if you are prevented from travelling (packages only)

If you are prevented from travelling, you have the right to transfer your booking to another person subject to both the original client(s) and the transferee(s) paying all costs incurred by Benz Travel in doing so. However the arrangements must remain exactly the same. Benz Travel will use its best endeavours to facilitate the transfer and in cases where a transfer is made an additional administration charge of £100 per person must be paid.

6. Cancellation by you

You may cancel your booking at any time providing that the cancellation is made by the person making the booking and is communicated to us in writing. As we incur costs when you cancel, we will retain your deposit and additional cancellation charges may apply.

» If the reason for cancellation is covered under the terms of an insurance policy you may be able to reclaim these charges.

Packages

This means that we will not pay you compensation if we have to cancel or change your travel arrangements in any way because of unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control. These can include, for example, war, riot, industrial dispute, terrorist activity and its consequences, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather condition.

Other travel arrangements
Benz Travel is obliged and will endeavour to notify all changes before departure if it is possible to do so. (Please see section 14 Flights.) No compensation is payable by us in such cases. We will endeavour to find you a suitable alternative if appropriate.

8. Cancellation by Benz Travel

Packages
We reserve the right to cancel your holiday in certain circumstances. For example, if the minimum number of clients required for a particular holiday is not reached, we may have to cancel it. However we will not cancel your travel arrangements less than 8 weeks before your departure date, except for reasons of force majeure or failure by you to pay the final balance. If we are unable to provide the booked travel arrangements, you have the choice of purchasing another arrangement from us, if available, with the price difference payable/refundable as appropriate, or of receiving a full refund of all monies paid to us (except insurance premium). In addition, unless the cancellation has been caused by "force majeure" (defined in Clause 7 above) compensation will be paid on the scale set out in Clause 7 above.

Other travel arrangements
In the unlikely event that a booking has to be cancelled, for any reason other than non-payment by you, we will offer you alternative travel arrangements if these are available. Or, you can have a full and prompt refund of all monies paid to Benz Travel less any insurance premiums and amendment fees. No compensation is payable.

9. Pricing Policy

All of our travel arrangements and fares are subject to availability. Once a confirmation invoice has been issued the price shown on that invoice may only vary as outlined below or if you amend your booking (see Clauses 4 and 5).

Packages
The price of your travel arrangements can be varied due to changes in transportation costs (e.g. airfares and cost of fuel), changes in dues and taxes (including VAT) or fees payable for services (e.g. landing taxes or embarkation/disembarkation fees at ports and airports) or to reflect fluctuations in exchange rates. In the case of any small variation an amount equivalent to 2% of the invoice price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) will be absorbed or retained. For larger variations this 2% will still be absorbed for increases but not retained from refunds. In either case there will be an administration cost of £1.00 per person, together with an amount to cover travel agents' commission (if applicable). If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the invoice price you will be entitled to cancel the booking and receive a full refund of all monies paid (excluding amendment charges). We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy. If you decide to cancel in these circumstances you must do so within 14 days of the issue date on the surcharge invoice.

Other travel arrangements
For air tickets, after we have received full payment in cleared funds we will not increase the price. For all other situations, we reserve the right to pass on any cost increase levied by the suppliers.

10. Our Liability

Packages
(i) We accept responsibility for ensuring that the package booked with us is supplied as described. If any part is not provided as promised, due to the fault of employees, agents or suppliers, we will pay you appropriate compensation if this has affected your enjoyment of the package. Subject to (ii) below our liability in all cases is limited to a maximum of two times the cost of your travel arrangements.
(ii) We accept responsibility for personal injury, illness or death caused by the negligent acts and/or omissions of our employees, agents, suppliers or sub-contractors, 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) Our liability is limited in the manner provided in certain international conventions, in respect of travel by air, sea and rail.

If you suffer a personal injury, death or serious difficulties as the result of an activity which does not form part of the package you have booked with us, we will offer you such advice and guidance as is reasonable in all the circumstances and, where appropriate and at our discretion, financial assistance up to a limit of £5,000 per confirmation invoice (not per member of your party). Where legal proceedings are contemplated and you want our assistance, you must obtain our written consent prior to commencement of proceedings. Assistance must be requested within 90 days of the incident concerned and is repayable to the Company from any monies received from a third party or under any insurance policy.

Other travel arrangements
In consideration of the fact that we act only as a booking agent, we have no liability whatsoever for any aspect of the arrangements and, in particular, no liability for any loss, personal injury or death however incurred, except where caused by our own proven negligence.

11. Complaints

If a problem occurs, whilst you are abroad, you must inform the relevant supplier (e.g. hotel, tour operator, car rental company, airline) immediately so that the matter can be put right. If the supplier cannot resolve the problem to your satisfaction, at the time, you must also contact us immediately by telephoning London 0207 318 8219 so that we are given the opportunity to help. In the event that a complaint cannot be resolved at the time, you must write to us within 28 days of your return, quoting your original booking reference and giving all relevant information. Failure to take these steps will hinder our ability to resolve the problem and/or investigate it fully and in consequence, any right to compensation you may have may be extinguished or reduced.

12. Passport, Visa and Health Requirements

Please ensure that you are aware of all passport, visa and health requirements and that you allow adequate time to obtain them. You must check applicable requirements with the relevant Embassy, Consulate or Passport Agency. Please note that many countries require that your passport is valid for six months beyond the period of your stay. Requirements can change and it is your responsibility to ensure that you comply with applicable passport, visa and health requirements and take all necessary documents with you to gain access to any country or region to which you make travel arrangements or transit through. Benz Travel cannot accept any responsibility for customers who do not possess the correct documents and if you fail to do so, you will be solely responsible for any cost, loss or damage that you incur as a result of your failure. Helpful information can be found on the websites http://www.fco.gov.uk/travel and http://www.doh.gov.uk.

13. Suppliers' Conditions

Please note that, as between you and any of the suppliers whose services form part of your booking, the suppliers' standard terms and conditions will apply. The suppliers' standard conditions may limit or exclude liability, often in accordance with international conventions. Copies of these conditions may be requested in writing.

14. Flights

Please note that a flight described as "direct" will not necessarily be non-stop. All departure/arrival times are provided by the airlines concerned and are estimates only. They may change due to air traffic control restrictions, weather conditions, operational/maintenance requirements and the requirement for passengers to check in on time. Benz Travel will advise if there is any change to a departure/ arrival time previously given to you or shown on your ticket but you are also strongly advised to reconfirm your flights, including departure times, with the airline, 72 hours prior to departure. We are unable to make any special arrangements for you if you are delayed; these matters are at the sole discretion of the airline concerned.

15. Special Requests

If you have any special requests, these will be passed on to the relevant supplier but cannot be guaranteed by Benz Travel.

16. Financial Security

Benz Travel holds ATOL number 3448, which ensures that you would be refunded and/or repatriated in the unlikely event of our insolvency. Note however that if a valid scheduled ticket is despatched by the end of the working day following day of booking then this would constitute a "ticket provider" sale and therefore not be covered by our ATOL.

17. We strongly recommend that you take out travel insurance for your whole journey.