GENERAL CONDITIONS FOR PACKAGE TRAVEL CONTRACTS
Organization
The technical organization of these Package Travel has been carried out by Argentravel, S.L, con CIF B-76043256, y domicilio social en Harald Flick 10, 35007 Las Palmas..
1. Booking Request
1.1. The consumer who wishes to contract a package tour makes a “booking request”. Following this request, the travel agency or, where applicable, the tour operator, undertakes to make the necessary arrangements to confirm the booking in accordance with the number of available places and the length of time requested.
1.2. At the time the consumer makes the booking request, the agency may ask him/her to pay a deposit of a sum equivalent to a maximum of 20% of the cost of the trip for which the booking request has been made. If the booking is confirmed, this sum will count towards the total cost of the trip. If the consumer withdraws his/her booking request before the confirmation, he/she will be reimbursed the deposit after deducting, if applicable, any reasonable handling fee.
1.3. If the consumer asks for a tailor-made package tour to be prepared, the agency may solicit a fee for undertaking this project. If the consumer accepts the package tour offer drawn up by the agency, and the agency can confirm the services it includes, the sum paid by the consumer will count towards the total cost of the trip. If they agency cannot confirm these services, it should return the fee paid to the consumer.
1.4. In all the above cases, if the agency cannot provide the requested trip and offers the consumer a similar one or another different trip, it should be understood that this option is being held for 24 hours unless expressly stated otherwise. In these cases, the contract will be finalised if the consumer accepts the offer within this time, or within the time specifically established.
2. Booking confirmation
The finalisation of the package travel contract takes place with the booking confirmation. From this point the package travel contract is binding upon both parties.
3. Payment
3.1. At the time the contract is finalised, the consumer should pay a sum corresponding to 20% of the package travel price or, if applicable, top up any sums he/she has already paid on account until this deposit is reached. If the consumer does not make this payment, the agency may demand it is paid within a reasonably brief period, to be set by the agency.
3.2. Payment of the remaining amount will be made when the agency delivers the consumer the travel vouchers or any other essential document for the arrangements making up the package tour to be provided (except for the flight tickets that must be paid in advance). If the customer does not make this payment, the agency may demand it is paid within a certain period of time. If the agency does not specify a date, it will be understood that payment must be made no later than 15 days before the departure date.
3.3. The agency may terminate the contract and apply the regulations established for this event before the departure date if the customer fails to make any of the payments mentioned in the previous paragraphs by the established deadline.
4. Arrangements
4.1. The services that make up the package travel contract derive from the information provided to the consumer in the travel brochure or programme as well as the instructions relating to this information that have been given on confirming the booking.
4.2. However, the travel agency or tour operator reserves the right to modify the information in the brochure before the contract is finalised. In order for this to be valid, any changes to this information must have been clearly notified to the consumer in writing.
5. Accommodation
Unless otherwise indicated in the brochure or described in the specific conditions:
a). With regard to countries where there is an official classification system for hotel establishments or other types of accommodation, the brochure should contain the tourist classification granted by the relevant country. In cases where there is no official classification system, the category quoted in the brochure is purely for guidance purposes. In any event, the agency must ensure that the classification used corresponds as closely as possible to the expectations it may reasonably give rise to in a Spanish consumer.
b). The check-in time will depend on the regulations established by each country. As a general rule, rooms can be occupied after 14.00 hours on the day of arrival and should be vacated by midday on the day of departure, regardless of the planned time of arrival or departure at the hotel.
c). Triple or quadruple rooms are generally double rooms to which one or two extra beds have been added, which tend to be sofa-beds or fold-up beds, except in certain establishments where, instead of extra beds, two double beds are provided.
6. Transport
6.1. The consumer should present him/herself at the relevant departure point at the time indicated by the agency or, if not given by the agency, as stated in the brochure. As a general rule, for air transport the minimum is one-and-a-half hours before the scheduled departure time.
6.2. If the consumer is unable to make the trip because he/she has not arrived in time, the conditions described in section 14 on failure to show for departure will apply or, if applicable, the conditions in section 12 on cancellation/abandonment by the consumer.
6.3. Any losses or damages occasioned to the hand luggage or other objects carried by the consumer or in his/her possession are solely his or her own responsibility.
7. Other services
7.1. As a general rule, ‘full board’ includes continental breakfast, lunch, dinner and accommodation. ‘Half board’, unless otherwise stated, includes continental breakfast, dinner and accommodation. Generally speaking, these meals do not include any drinks.
7.2. Special diets (vegetarian or other) can only be guaranteed if they have been agreed to and specified in the Special Conditions.
8. Amendments to the contract
8.1. If at any time prior to the customer’s departure he/she requests any changes to the destination, the means of transport, the duration of the trip, the dates, the itinerary of the contracted trip or any other aspect relating to the arrangements, and the agency is able to make these changes, the agency may ask the customer to pay any justifiable additional expenses incurred by these modifications as well as a fee for changing the booking, which should not exceed 3% of the total cost of the trip.
8.2. Before departure, the agency can only make whatever changes are necessary for the good of the package tour which are not significant changes. ‘Necessary changes’ will be regarded as significant if they prevent the package tour from proceeding in accordance with its general or specific characteristics.
8.3. In the event that the agency is obliged to make significant changes, it will immediately notify the customer of these changes. The customer may choose to accept the amendment of the contract, in which the changes made and their impact on the price, if any, should be specified, or to terminate the contract. The customer must notify the agency of his/her decision within three days of having been notified of the change. If the customer does not notify the agency of his/her decision within this period, it will be understood that he/she has chosen to terminate the contract.
9. Price alterations
9.1. The agency may only alter the price, whether higher or lower, if this revision takes place more than 20 days before the departure date and is not significant; i.e. no higher than 15% of the price of the trip. Moreover, this alteration can only be made to adjust the price of the trip in line with the following variations: a) The exchange rates that apply to the organized trip. b) The price of the transport forming part of the trip, including the cost of fuel. c) Taxes relating to certain services, such as airport taxes, embarkation tax, disembarkation tax and similar taxes included in the price.
9.2. The revised price will be determined by taking as a reference the exchange value of the currency of the destination country and the prices, taxes and charges applicable on the date the brochure was released. In the case of tours that include two or more countries, the exchange rate taken as a reference will be the US dollar on that date.
9.3. If the revised price entails an increase of more than 15% of the original package price, the agency must notify the customer immediately, who will have the right to terminate the contract. The customer must notify the agency of his/her decision within three days of receiving notification of the price change. If the customer does not notify the agency of his/her decision within this period, it will be understood that he/she has chosen to terminate the contract.
10. Consumer rights in the event of termination of the contract
10.1. In the event that, in accordance with the above clauses, the customer decides to terminate the contract, he/she may choose: a) For all amounts paid to be reimbursed within a maximum of one month, or b) That, so long as this proposal comes from the agency, the agency offers him/her another package tour with the same or higher quality. If the trip offered is of a higher value, the agency may not ask the customer to pay any kind of supplement. The customer may also opt to accept a trip of inferior quality, but in this case the agency must deduct the difference in price.
10.2. In both cases, the customer has the right to claim the compensation envisaged for travel cancellations described in clause 13 and under the same terms.
11. Transfer of the booking
11.1. The customer may transfer his/her booking to another person who meets all the conditions stipulated in the brochure and in the contract to take the package tour in question.
11.2. This transfer should be notified to the agency in any format and will be free of charge if the agency receives this notification at least 15 days before the start of the trip. If this change takes place within 15 days of the start of the trip, the agency may accept the change but can also ask the customer to pay an amendment fee that shall not exceed 3% of the cost of the trip.
11.3. In any event, the customer and the person to whom he/she has transferred the booking shall be jointly liable to the agency for the payment of the rest of the price as well as any additional justifiable expenses that this amendment may have incurred.
12. Consumer’s right to withdraw
12.1. The consumer has the right to withdraw from the contracted package tour at any time before departure. However, if this withdrawal occurs within 15 days of the trip, the customer will be obliged to pay a cancellation charge depending on the time remaining before the departure date, which will be as follows: a) 5% of the price of the trip if cancelled between 15 and 10 days prior to departure date. b) 15% of the price of the trip if cancelled between 10 and 3 days prior to departure date. c) 25% of the price of the trip if cancelled within 48 hours of departure date.
12.2. Consumers will not be obliged to pay any cancellation fees whatsoever if this abandonment is caused by force majeure. For this purpose, ‘force majeure’ will be regarded as the death, accident or serious illness of the consumer or any of the people with whom he/she lives or any similar incident that prevents him/her from taking the trip.
12.3. In all cases, the consumer will be liable to pay the administration and cancellation charges involved in this abandonment of the trip.
12.4. The abandonment is regarded as having taken effect from the point that the agency becomes aware of the consumer’s intention to withdraw.
12.5. Once it has been informed of the customer’s abandonment, the agency will refund the sums he/she has paid within a maximum of one month, having deducted the administration fees and, where applicable, any justified cancellation and penalty charges.
12.6. If the package tour is subject to special economic terms such as the charter of aircraft, special rates or other similar components, the administration, cancellation and penalty charges will be those indicated specifically in the brochure for that particular trip or those expressly agreed to in the specific conditions of the contractual document.
13. Cancellation of the trip by the organiser
13.1. The cancellation of the trip for any reason that is not attributable to the consumer gives him/her the right to terminate the contract in accordance with the rights described in clause 10.
13.2. If the cancellation is notified within two months prior to the departure date, the agency shall be obliged to pay the consumer compensation in relation to the amount of time still remaining before departure, which as a minimum shall be: a) 5% of the price of the trip if the cancellation is made between 2 months and 15 days prior to departure date. b) 10% of the price of the trip if the cancellation is made between 15 and 3 days prior to departure date. c) 25% of the price of the trip if the cancellation is made within 48 hours of the departure date.
13.3. There is no obligation to pay compensation in the following circumstances: a) When the cancellation is due to the fact that the number of people who have booked the trip is lower than the minimum number specified in the brochure or in the contract for the package tour. In this case, the agency must notify the customer in writing of the cancellation before the deadline specified in the brochure or contract. If no deadline is specified, the agency must notify the consumer of this cancellation a minimum of 10 days before the departure date. b) When the cancellation is due to force majeure. In this case, ‘force majeure’ will be regarded as circumstances over which the agency has no control or abnormal or unforeseen events, whose consequences could not have been avoided, despite the agency having acted with due diligence.
14. Failure to show for departure
14.1. The consumer will be regarded as a ‘no-show’ if he/she does not notify the agency of his/her intention not to take the package tour and does not appear on the planned date and time for departure. In this case, the customer loses any right to a refund of the amounts paid and is still under obligation to pay any amounts that may be outstanding.
14.2. However, if the failure to show is due to force majeure, the customer has the right to be reimbursed the amounts paid after having deducted any administration and cancellation charges. For this purpose, ‘force majeure’ shall be regarded as the death, accident or serious illness of the consumer or any of the people with whom he/she lives, or any similar circumstances that prevent him/her from taking the trip and from notifying the agency of this situation before departure.
15. Breach of contract or failure to provide services
15.1. When the consumer becomes aware during the trip that there is some kind of fault or that the contracted services are not being provided, he/she should notify the organiser or tour operator on the spot as soon as possible as well as, the person providing the service in question, if applicable. This notification should be done in writing or any other way that can be provided as proof. After receiving this notification the organiser or tour operator should take the necessary steps to find the appropriate solution.
15.2. If this notification is made at the time and in the way specified above, the document accrediting this notification will exonerate the consumer from providing subsequent proof on the existence of any such fault, unless the organiser or tour operator or provider of the service has proven in the presence of the consumer that any such fault does not exist or does meet the stated characteristics and this has been categorically stated.
15.2. If the consumer does not make this notification within the time and in the manner indicated, he/she shall have to prove the alleged defects in accordance with the generally accepted criteria of proof, and will be responsible for any damages caused or aggravated by his failure to notify.
16. Tour organiser’s inability to provide a significant part of the services
16.1. The agency should adopt the appropriate solutions to continue the trip if, once it has started, it cannot deliver, or realises it cannot deliver, a significant part of the services envisaged in the contract. A ‘significant part of the services envisaged in the contract’ refers to those whose lack impedes the normal progression of the package tour and mean it would be unreasonable to expect the average consumer to continue the trip under these circumstances.
16.2. The agency may not ask for any kind of supplement for the solutions it adopts to enable the trip to continue and shall pay the consumer any difference between the arrangements envisaged and those actually provided.
16.3. If the consumer explicitly or tacitly accepts the solutions proposed by the agency, he/she will not have any right to compensation for these changes. It will be understood that he/she has tacitly accepted these proposals if he/she continues the journey with the solutions provided by the organiser.
16.4. If the solutions adopted by the organiser are not viable or the consumer has reasonable cause to reject them, the agency must: a) Provide a means of transport equivalent to that contracted for the trip for the customer to return to his/her departure point or any other point they may have agreed upon, if the contract includes a return journey. b) Refund the price paid, having deducted the amount relating to the arrangements already provided up to the end of the trip, except if the defect that prevents the continuation of the trip is attributable to the consumer. c) Pay any compensation that may be applicable.
17. Abandonment of the customer during the trip
17.1. The consumer has the right to abandon the package tour contract once the trip has started, but cannot claim a refund of the sums already paid and will still be obliged to pay any sums still outstanding.
17.2. If the abandonment is due to an accident or the illness of the consumer that prevents him/her from continuing the trip, the agency is obliged to provide the necessary assistance and, where applicable, to refund the difference between the arrangements contracted and those provided, having deducted any justified cancellation charges.
17.3. In both cases, any additional expenses entailed by the consumer’s abandonment, especially those of repatriation or transfer back to the place of origin, are payable by the consumer.
18. Duty of cooperation of the consumer with the normal travel arrangements
18.1. The consumer should abide by the instructions issued by the agency for the normal progress of the trip as well as any regulations that apply generally to the users of the services that form part of the package tour. In particular, on group trips customers should observe the appropriate respect towards the other people in the group and behave in such a way that is not detrimental to the normal course of the trip.
18.2. Any serious infringement of these responsibilities shall give the agency the authority to terminate the package tour contract. In this event, if the contract includes a return journey, the agency will provide the customer with a means of travel equivalent to what has been contracted to return to his/her point of departure or any other point they may have agreed upon. The agency will also have the right to claim compensation for any damages which may have resulted from the customer’s conduct.
19. Apportionment of liability
19.1. The tour operator and the travel agency shall be answerable to the consumer in complying correctly with the package travel contract in terms with the obligations that correspond to them in their respective fields of managing the package tour.
19.2. The tour operator and the travel agency shall be answerable to the consumer whether they themselves operate the arrangements comprising the package tour or whether these arrangements are operated by auxiliary staff or other service providers.
19.3. The tour operator, as the planner of the package tour, shall be answerable for any damages caused to the consumer due to the failure to operate or the defective operation of the arrangements comprising the package tour, as well as any damages resulting from the breach of any other obligation relating to its field of management in accordance with applicable legislation.
19.4. The travel agency, as the agency selling or offering for sale the package tour proposed by the tour operator, shall be answerable for the damages caused to the consumer by any errors it makes in providing information on the package tour, or by omitting information that should have been provided, or by not having provided the necessary documentation for the trip, or, in general, for failing to comply with any other obligation relating to its field of management in accordance with applicable legislation.
19.5. When the package tour contract involves different organisers or tour operators, whatever their category and regardless of the relationship between them, the tour operators and/or travel agencies shall all be jointly and severally liable.
20. Causes for exoneration of liability
The liability of tour operators and travel agencies shall not apply if any of the following circumstances should occur: a) That the defects observed in the operation of the contract are attributable to the consumer; b) That these defects are attributable to a third party who is not connected with the provision of the arrangements detailed in the contract and are of an unforeseeable or unavoidable nature. c) That the defects referred to are due to force majeure, this being understood as circumstances beyond the control of the person citing them, or abnormal or unforeseeable circumstances whose consequences could not have been avoided despite having acted with due diligence. d) That the defects are due to an event which neither the travel agency nor the tour operator can either foresee or overcome despite having acted with all due diligence.
21. Duty of the consumer to reduce damages
In all cases, the consumer is obliged to take appropriate and reasonable measures to try to reduce any damages that may derive from the non-execution or poor execution of the contract, or to avoid these from worsening. Any damages arising from not having taken these measures will be the responsibility of the consumer.
22. Duty of care of the agency
22.1. Even if the tour operator and the travel agency are exonerated from any liability, they are still obliged to provide the necessary assistance to any customer who is in trouble.
22.2. The duty of care referred to in the above paragraph will not apply when the defects caused during the execution of the contract are attributable exclusively to the intentional or negligent conduct of the consumer.
23. Limited liability of international agreements
When the arrangements in the package tour contract are governed by international agreements, the compensation of tangible and non-tangible damages resulting from the breach of contract or poor execution of the contract will be subject to the limitations established by those agreements.
24. Information on passport, visa and vaccination regulations
24.1. The agency has the duty to inform its customers about the health formalities necessary for the trip and their stay as well as the conditions that apply to European Union citizens with regard to passports and visas, and will be answerable for the accuracy of the information it provides.
24.2. The consumer should obtain the documentation necessary for the trip, including passport and visas, and those relating to health formalities. Any damages arising from the lack of this documentation will be the consumer’s responsibility, especially the costs involved in interrupting the trip and his/her eventual repatriation.
24.3. If the agency accepts the consumer’s request to process the necessary visas for any of the destinations on the itinerary, it may ask the consumer to pay for the cost of the visa as well as the expenses involved in the procedures the agency has to undertake with the relevant diplomatic representation or consulate. In this case, the agency shall be answerable for any damages that may be attributable to it in accordance with the diligence normally expected for any delays in obtaining the necessary documentation, or for the lack or insufficient accuracy of said documentation.
25. Limited liability of international agreements
If an airline cancels a flight or incurs a lengthy delay, it is responsible for providing the necessary assistance and attention to the passengers affected, and for the costs of meals, telephone calls, transport and overnight accommodation, if applicable, by virtue of the provisions of EC Regulation 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights. In the case of a flight cancellation, the airline is also obliged to pay passengers the relevant compensation and refund the price of the airline ticket if the passenger chooses this option. If the cancellation is due to extraordinary circumstances which cannot have been avoided even if every reasonable measure has been taken, the airline responsible for providing the flight shall not “Clausulado 2000” 12 be obliged to pay any compensation, though it will be liable to provide the relevant assistance and attention to the passengers affected and refund them the price of the airline ticket if they choose this option.
26. Liability for arrangements not included in the package tour
26.1. The regulations for the contractual liability of package tours do not apply to arrangements such as excursions, attendance of sporting or cultural events, tours of exhibitions or museums or any other similar activities that are not included in the overall price of the package tour and which the consumer contracts optionally at the same time as or during the course of the tour. In these cases, the agency should inform the consumer of the optional nature of this arrangement and that it forms no part of the package tour.
26.2. If the agency is involved in contracting these arrangements, it will be liable in accordance with the specific regulations of the contract in question.
27. Applicable law
This package tour contract is governed by what has been agreed by the parties concerned and by these general conditions, the autonomous community regulations in force in the place where the contract is signed, and in the absence of any of these, by the provisions of Law 21/1995, of 6 July 1995, regulating package tours.
28. Claims to the agency
28.1. Without prejudice to any legal actions to which they may be entitled, consumers can send a written claim to the travel agency for the non-execution or poor execution of the contract within a maximum of 30 days from the date the trip should have ended.
28.2. Within a maximum of another 30 days the travel agency or tour operator, depending on the obligations corresponding to each of them in their respective field of management in the package tour, are required to answer the claims made in writing.
28.3. At this stage, the consumer and the agency may resort to the mediation of the competent administration or other bodies set up for this purpose for them to find a solution to the dispute that is acceptable to both parties.
28.4. If the dispute cannot be resolved through submitting a claim to the agency, the consumer may submit the case to consumer arbitration if the agency in question has previously joined a consumer arbitration system, or alternatively by taking legal measures.
29. Consumer arbitration
29.1. If the agency against which the claim is being made has previously joined a consumer arbitration system, the consumer can send his/her claim to the Consumer Arbitration Court of the competent autonomous community where the contract was formalised, or to the Arbitration Court to which the agency belongs, within a maximum of 3 months from the date the trip should have finished.
29.2. Any claims involving intoxication, injury, death or where there are reasonable indications of crime cannot be dealt with by the consumer arbitration courts.
29.3. Unless otherwise specified in the public bid to submit the case to consumer arbitration, the arbitration will be by Law and the procedure will be governed by “Clausulado 2000” 13 the provisions of Royal Decree 636/1993 of 3rd May 1993. Compensation shall be limited to a maximum of 1,000 euros per person and a total of 5,000 euros per claim.
29.4. The decision reached by the arbitration tribunal designated by the Consumer Arbitration Court in response to the claim submitted will be definitive and binding on both parties.
30. Legal action
30.1. If the dispute is not submitted to the consumer arbitration court, consumers may opt for the judicial route before the courts in the locality where the contract was formalised.
30.2. The consumer can only be sued in the courts of the locality where the contract was formalised.
30.3. Any legal actions deriving from the package travel contract shall expire after two years have elapsed from the day the trip in question should have finished.
