Terms and Conditions
COPSE COTTAGE, ALCOMBE - TERMS AND CONDITIONS
This is rather a lengthy document but it's important that you read it before making a firm booking!
In these terms and conditions, ‘you’ and ‘your’ means all people named on the booking form and in the holiday party. ‘We’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ means Janet and Bill Underhay, owners of Copse Cottage, Alcombe. When you book Copse Cottage you are entering directly into a contract with us, the owners.
1. Making your booking
All bookings depend on the property being available. The person making the booking must be at least 18 years old at the time of booking. By making the booking, you confirm that you are authorised to make the booking and that all other members of the party agree that the booking will be governed by these Terms and Conditions. The person making the booking is responsible for making all payments due to us. Bookings will not be accepted from parties of young people or single sex parties without agreement and we reserve the right to refuse or revoke any bookings from parties which may in our opinion be unsuitable for our property.
We will hold a provisional booking for 48 hours to allow time for payment of the deposit to be made. Once we have received the deposit, we will issue a Booking Confirmation email as soon as reasonably possible. This Booking Confirmation email is our acceptance of your booking, and the point at which a binding contract with us will begin. If no deposit payment is received within 48 hours then we assume the enquiry to be cancelled.
We have the right to refuse any enquiry before we send a Booking Confirmation email. If we do this, we will tell you by email and promptly refund any money you have paid to us. In this case we will have no legal responsibility to you.
The Booking Confirmation email will show your booking details and the amount you still owe (if applicable) for the booking. As soon as you receive this email, please check the details carefully. If anything is not correct, you should tell us immediately. It is your responsibility to check your emails regularly, and to let us know about any change to your email address.
Once we have received a final balance payment, due 6 weeks before the start of your holiday, we will send you a separate email detailing arrival instructions.
2. Payment
At the time of booking, a 25% non refundable deposit is due. This 25% is calculated from total cost (excluding the Security Deposit). We will hold a booking for 48 hours to allow time for a payment to be made. We accept payment by Paypal, in Pounds Sterling. We must then receive the rest of the money owed no less than 6 weeks before the start of your holiday. If you book less than 6 weeks before the start of your holiday, we must receive full payment at the time of booking.
If you do not pay any final balance payment due in relation to your booking by the appropriate date, we will assume that you want to cancel your booking. In this case, we will be entitled to keep all deposits paid.
3. Pricing
We will confirm the price of your booking when you make it. As changes and mistakes can happen, you must check all details at the time of booking.
All prices quoted or otherwise given to you include all charges. All prices are for the property and are not on a per person basis.
Our prices are inclusive of bed linen, towels* and electricity. Wi-fi is provided for reasonable use, unreasonable usage charges apply and we reserve the right to invoice for any usage we feel unreasonable. *We offer discounts if you will bring your own towels and tea-cloths.
One well-behaved adult dog is included in our pricing. Additional dogs by arrangement - please enquire when you make your booking. We would expect the property to be left in a clean state with no evidence of the dog left behind! (This includes the area immediately outside the cottage). We reserve the right to make a deduction from your Security Deposit if we have to clean any dog mess/accidents.
4. Brochure and website details
We aim to make sure that the information provided is presented accurately on our website, third party listing sites and in any promotional material we produce. There may occasionally be small differences between the actual property and its description. This is usually because we are always aiming to improve services and facilities. Occasionally, problems mean that some facilities or services are not available or may be restricted. If this happens, we will tell you as soon as reasonably practical after we become aware of the situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any changes or closures to local services or attractions mentioned on our website or advertised elsewhere. We make reasonable efforts to make sure that information we give you about the property and its facilities or services, is accurate and complete on the date given. We cannot accept responsibility for any inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information about our property or its facilities and services, unless this was caused by our negligence.
5. Changes to your booking
- Changes by you
If you want to change any detail of your confirmed booking (eg change dates), we will do our best to make the changes. We must receive this request by email from the person who made the booking. We can only make changes to your confirmed booking if the new dates are available. We cannot guarantee this request.
If we are unable to make the change requested, the original booking will continue to be valid unless cancelled in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.
- Changes by us
If in the unfortunate event we have to make changes to your booking (eg serious repair work needed at the property you booked), we will refund all sums paid by you for this booking. This will be our only obligation or liability to you in such circumstances.
6. Cancellations
- a) Cancellations by you
If you have to, or want to cancel your booking, you must phone us on 07976 512543 as soon as possible. The day we receive your notice by phone to cancel is the date on which we will cancel your booking. Where you cancel the booking (irrespective of the reason for cancellation) a cancellation charge will be retained as follows:
|
Time before the start date of your holiday that we receive your notice to cancel |
Cancellation charge |
|
More than 6 weeks |
The 25% Non-Refundable Deposit (paid at time of booking) |
|
Less than 6 weeks |
Total cost (excluding security deposit) |
We strongly recommend you have adequate holiday insurance in place to cover yourself for cancellation. We cannot be held liable for any cancellation costs incurred by you in the event of cancelling your holiday with us.
- b) Cancellations by us
We hope we do not have to make any cancellation or changes to your booking. However, in exceptional circumstances we have the right to do so. We will contact you as soon as is reasonably practical, explain what has happened and let you know about the cancellation or change.
7. Events beyond our control
We will not be legally responsible either jointly or individually for any compensation if we are prevented from carrying out our responsibilities under this contract as a result of events beyond our control. This means an event we could not, even with all due care, expect or avoid, including: natural disaster; acts of terrorism; malicious damage; keeping to any law or governmental order, rule, regulation or direction; insolvency or bankruptcy of an owner; fire, flood, snow or storm; other circumstances affecting the supply of goods or services.
8. Our legal responsibilities to you
We cannot be held responsible for noise or disturbance which comes from beyond the boundaries of the property or which is beyond our control. If we know about a problem before you arrive, we will contact you to let you know. We cannot be held responsible for the breakdown of equipment such as, boilers, washing machines, nor for the failure of public utilities such as water and electricity, but we will make every effort to rectify any such breakdown as quickly as is reasonably possible.
9. Insurance
We recommend that you take out enough travel insurance to cover you for your total stay. In particular we strongly recommend you have adequate insurance in place to cover yourself for cancellation. We cannot be held liable for any cancellation costs incurred by you in the event of cancelling your holiday with us.
10. Disabilities and medical problems
If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability that may affect your booking, please tell us as early as possible. If we reasonably feel unable to properly meet that person’s particular needs, we may refuse or cancel the reservation.
11. General
Arrival and departure – You can arrive at the cottage at any time after 3 pm on the start date of your rental period. You must leave by 10am on the last day. No refunds will be given in the case of late or non-arrival. We will occasionally offer an early check-in or late check-out, if we are able.
Condition of use – You and all members of your party agree to keep the property, its contents and outdoor areas, clean and tidy, to leave the property in a similar condition as you found it when you arrived, and to behave in a way at all times while at the property which does not break any law. You and all members of your party also agree not to use the property for any illegal or commercial purpose, including subletting it or otherwise allowing anyone to stay in it who we have not previously accepted.
You are responsible for the actual costs of any breakage or damage in or to the property – along with any extra costs that may result – which are caused by you or any members of your party. We reserve the right to deduct this cost from your Security Deposit, or ask for an extra payment from you to cover any related costs including extra cleaning costs.
We can refuse to allow you into the property or ask you to leave if we reasonably believe you or any member of your party is behaving illegally, or that any damage is likely to be caused, has been caused or is being caused by the behaviour of you or any members or your party. We will treat these circumstances as a cancellation by you.
Courtesy– we ask you to show courtesy to the occupants of other nearby properties in particular in terms of noise, parking and tidiness of any shared facilities.
Maximum occupancy – You also must not allow more people than our website states to stay overnight in the property (unless with prior agreement from ourselves). You cannot significantly change the number of adults or children during your stay. (For example, if you book for two adults and two children, you cannot arrive with four adults and no children.)
Usage – You must not hold events (such as parties, celebrations or meetings) at the property without our advance consent. If you do any of these things, we can refuse to hand over the property to you, or can repossess it. If we do this, we will treat this as you cancelling the booking. In these situations you will not receive a refund of any money you have paid for your booking, and we will not be legally responsible to you as a result of this situation. (This will include, for example, any costs or expenses you have to pay due to not being able to stay in the property, such as the cost of finding other accommodation.) We are not under any obligation to find any alternative accommodation for you.
You must allow us or a representative (including workmen) access to the property at any reasonable time during your stay with prior notice from ourselves (except in an emergency or if a problem needs sorting out quickly and you cannot be contacted in time. In these situations, we can enter the property at any time without giving you prior notice).
Pets – One small well-behaved adult dog is allowed, by prior arrangement. It is not allowed downstairs (bedrooms), on beds or furniture and you must bring your own suitable pet bedding. It must not foul on the shared lawn or around the outside of the cottage. You must not leave any pets unattended in the property. If you or any member of the party has a pet allergy, we cannot guarantee that dogs have not stayed in the property, nor can we accept any responsibility for any subsequent health reaction.
Smoking – this property is non-smoking and under no circumstances must smoking occur inside the property. If you smoke outside, please do not leave any cigarette ends.
Baby equipment – we will provide a travel cot, highchair and stairgate. You must bring your own cot linen/bedding. We will leave the equipment for you to erect (instructions will be provided). You should check all baby equipment before use and make sure you use it responsibly.
Safety– guests must accept responsibility for their own and their children’s safety. Baby equipment, any amenities or equipment provided must be used at your own risk. We accept no responsibility for personal injury to any guests or consequential loss or damage to their property.
13. Security deposit
We ask for £50 security deposit, for each booking, which we will return by Paypal as soon as possible following your departure and normally within 7 days (less any costs for breakages, damage etc, if it applies). This is in addition to the rental prices shown on our website.
14. Complaints
If you have a complaint during your stay, it should be reported to us immediately, during your stay to give us the opportunity to rectify any problem. Please don't wait until after you have returned home.
15. Governing law
Any dispute, claim or other matter which may arise in relation to your booking will be governed by English law and you must agree that any dispute will be dealt with by the courts of England and Wales.
16. Communicating with you
To process your booking we will need to collect and process personal information. From time to time we would like to send you by email, some information about Copse Cottage, including special offers. If you would rather that we did not do this, please tell us at the time of booking or you can email at anytime to unsubscribe from this list. We will not pass your details onto third parties.