Applicable for winter bookings from November 2006

Booking Conditions

For all booking requests we shall send our confirmation, invoice and details of any applicable amendments or cancellations to you by post, although we reserve the right to send this by email. If you contact us by email (, you authorise us to reply using the email address you have used to contact us. You must accordingly check your e-mails on a regular basis. References in these Booking Conditions to “send” include e-mail and post, as appropriate.

These Booking Conditions only apply to arrangements which you book with us in the UK and which we agree to make, provide or perform (as applicable) as part of our contract with you. All references in these Booking Conditions to “holiday”, “booking”, “contract”, or “arrangements” mean such arrangements.

1 - Making a booking

Your contract is with Chris Lawson trading as Hedgehog Ski (hereinafter called ‘we’ or ‘us’). In all cases, these Booking Conditions together with the Booking Form, and the How to make a Booking section appearing on our website form your contract. References to ‘you’ and ‘the client’ include all persons on whose behalf a booking is made. Before making a booking with us, you must ensure you have read and understood these Booking Conditions (raising any queries you may have with us) and by asking us to confirm your booking, you will be regarded as having had the opportunity to do so and to have actually done so before a contract is formed between us. When you make a booking, the lead person on the booking must pay to us the damage deposit and full payment by cheque. Please note we cannot accept either credit or debit cards.

A binding contract between us comes into existence when:

1) We have received all appropriate payments in relation to a booking and

2) We have confirmed the booking to you over the telephone, by post, or have sent to you confirmation by e-mail.

A confirmation invoice will be dispatched to the lead person once a binding contract between us has come into existence as set out above.

Please note; all bookings are subject to availability.

Full payment must be made at the time of booking.  The lead person on the booking is liable for making full payment for all persons named on the booking (including anyone added or substituted at a later stage).

Please carefully read your confirmation invoice, and all other documents we send you as soon as you receive them. Contact us immediately if any information appears to be incorrect as it may not be possible to make changes later. We regret we cannot accept any liability unless we are notified of any inaccuracy in any document within 14 days of our sending it out. We will do our best to rectify any inaccuracies notified outside these time limits. However, you will be responsible for any costs and expenses involved in doing so except where we made the mistake and there is a good reason why you didn’t contact us within the time limit. Please note that we reserve the right to monitor/record telephone calls.

2 - Medical conditions and disabilities

If you or any member of your party have any medical problem or disability which may affect your booking, please tell us before making your booking so that we can advise as to the suitability of the chosen arrangements. In any event, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking. If we reasonably feel unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person concerned, we reserve the right to decline the booking or, if full details are not given at the time of booking, cancel when we become aware of these details.

3 - Prices

The prices quoted on our website or verbally to you by ourselves are in Euros and any Sterling equivalent is based on exchange rates as taken from the Financial Times from time to time. We reserve the right to make changes to and correct errors in advertised prices at any time before your booking is confirmed. We will advise you of any error of which we are aware of and the applicable price at the time of booking.

We will provide to you the details of a bank account in France into which payment is to be made in Euros.

4 - Amendments by You

All amendments to bookings must be requested by telephone to the following number 07884445697  or by e-mail to info@hedgehogski.co.uk . Changes made within 10 weeks of departure will be treated as a cancellation of the original arrangements by you and will be dealt with in accordance with clause 5. No amendment fee or cancellation charges will apply for a name change where the arrangements otherwise remain exactly as originally booked.  The accommodation is furnished to a high standard and it is a condition of each booking that the stated capacity for each accommodation is not exceeded, and if it is, we reserve the right to charge an amount not less than €250 per person which we may deduct from your damage deposit.

5 - Cancellation by You

Cancellation shall take effect only when written notification from the lead person on the booking is received by us and we have made contact with you. In all cases of cancellation the price paid will be forfeited unless we are able to make another booking for the duration of your booking.  If there is a difference in price we will refund to you the price you paid less any shortfall owing to the new booking being made at a lower price. We will only make a refund once we have received payment from another booking.

6 - Alteration/Cancellation by us

Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so. However, in no case will we cancel your confirmed holiday less than 4 weeks before departure except where we are forced to do so, or as a result of ‘force majeure’ (as defined in clause 7) or failure on your part to comply with any requirement of these Booking Conditions entitling us to cancel.

 
No compensation will be payable if we cancel as a result of your failure to comply with any requirement of these Booking Conditions entitling us to cancel or if the change made is a minor one. A minor change is a change which taking into account the information you give us at the time of booking or which we can reasonably be expected to know, we could not reasonably expect to have a significant effect on your confirmed booking. No compensation is payable for children aged 2 or under.

7 - Force Majeure

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these Booking Conditions, we regret we cannot accept liability where the performance or prompt performance of our obligations under our contract with you is prevented or affected or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss (as more fully described in clause 8 below) as a result of ‘force majeure’. In these Booking Conditions ‘force majeure’ means any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events are likely to include war or threat of war, civil strife, riot, industrial dispute, actual or threatened terrorist activity, natural or other disaster, fire, technical problems with transport, closure or congestion of airports, ports or roads, adverse weather conditions and all similar events outside our control including but not limited to closure of ski resorts and lift systems.

8 - Damage and Loss

We shall be entitled to recover from you the cost (reasonably estimated if not precisely known) of any damage or loss caused by you. If the actual cost of any damage or loss is less than the damage deposit paid by you at the time where only an estimate could be given, the difference will be refunded. Any extra must be paid if the actual cost turns out to be more than was paid at the time. You agree to behave reasonably and not to disrupt the enjoyment of others including the owners of the accommodation. We reserve the right to immediately terminate the booking of any client whose behaviour is such as in our reasonable opinion or in the reasonable opinion of any other person in authority does or is likely to cause distress, danger or annoyance to others or damage to property. In the event of such termination, our responsibility for the client concerned immediately ceases and we will have no further contractual obligations. We shall further be under no liability to make any refunds or meet any costs or expenses incurred by you as a result or pay any compensation.  We will deduct any sums payable by you from the damage deposit you have paid and once a contract comes into effect you authorise us to deduct from this damage deposit any sums payable in respect of damage.

9 - Liability

(1) We will try to make sure that the booking you have made is performed or provided with reasonable skill and care. This means that, subject to these booking conditions, we will accept responsibility if, for example, you suffer death or personal injury or your booking is not provided as promised or proves deficient as a result of the failure of ourselves, our agents or suppliers to use reasonable skill and care in making, performing or providing, as applicable, your booking. Please note it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim against us. In addition, we will only be responsible for what our employees, agents and suppliers do or do not do if they were at the time acting within the course of their employment (for employees) or carrying out work we had asked them to do (for agents and suppliers).

(2) We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (for example loss of enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which results from any of the following:

- the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the lead person or any member(s) of their party or

- the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party not connected with us and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable or

- 'force majeure' as defined in clause 7 above

(3) Please note, we cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities where we have not agreed to arrange them.  In addition, regardless of any wording used by us on our website, in any of our material or elsewhere, we only promise to use reasonable skill and care as set out above and we do not have any greater or different liability to you.

(4) The promises we make to you about any services we have agreed to provide or arrange as part of our contract - and the laws and regulations of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred - will be used as the basis for deciding whether the services in question had been properly provided. If the particular services which gave rise to the claim or complaint complied with local laws and regulations applicable to those services at the time, the services will be treated as having been properly provided. This will be the case even if the services did not comply with the laws and regulations of the UK which would have applied had those services been provided in the UK. The exception to this is where the claim or complaint concerns the absence of a safety feature which might lead a reasonable person to refuse to take up the booking.

(5) As set out in these booking conditions we limit the maximum amount we may have to pay you for any claims you may make against us.

For all claims which do not involve death or personal injury, if we are found liable to you on any basis the maximum amount we will have to pay you is twice the price (excluding amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of the lead person in total unless a lower limitation applies to your claim underthese booking conditions. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday.

(6) Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sum(s) of any description which (1) on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you or (2) did not result from any breach of contract or other fault by ourselves or our employees or, where we are responsible for them, our suppliers. Additionally we cannot accept liability for any business losses.

(7)You must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require. You must also tell us and the supplier concerned about your claim or complaint. If asked to do so, you must transfer to us or our insurers any rights you have against the supplier or whoever else is responsible for your claim or complaint (if the person concerned is under 18, their parent or guardian must do so). You must also agree to cooperate fully with us and our insurers if we or our insurers want to enforce any rights which are transferred.

10 - Insurance

All clients must have appropriate travel or other insurance which provides a level of cover consistent with the level of cover a reasonable person would expect to put in place.  You must also ensure that the insurance you purchase provides adequate cover in respect of any excursions and/or activities you undertake whilst on holiday.

11 - Website information and outside activities/excursions

(a) The information contained on our website and in any material we provide is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. Our website and descriptions may refer to other activities and/or facilitieswhich are available outside the accommodation. These activities and facilitiesare neither run nor controlled in any way by us. Accordingly, we regret we cannot accept any liability in relation to these outside activities and facilitiesand our acceptance of liability under clause 9 of our Booking Conditions will not apply to them. We do not however exclude liability for the negligence of ourselves or our employees resulting in your death or personal injury. We cannot guarantee accuracy at all times of information given in relation to such activities and facilitiesor about the resorts generally or that any particular outside facilityor activity will be available as these are not under our control.

12 - Complaints

Should you have a problem or complaint at any time during your holiday, you must report it immediately to us in writing at:-

Hedgehog Ski

Hedgehog Hill

Stockend Farm

Hampton Lovett

Droitwich

Worcestershire

WR9 0PD

or by email to help@hedgehogski.co.uk

within 28 days of your return from holiday, giving all relevant information. Please include your e-mail address and daytime and evening telephone numbers as this will enable us to respond to you more quickly. If you are not satisfied with our response we must be informed within another 28 days from the date of our correspondence. If you fail to follow this simple complaints procedure, your right to claim any compensation you may otherwise have been entitled to, may be affected or even lost as a result.

13 – Dispute Resolution

If we do end up in disagreement we both agree that we will give each other at least 30 days notice of any intention to take legal action and we both agree to use all reasonable efforts to resolve the disagreement amicably during that 30 day period.  If the disagreement is not resolved by the end of the 30 day period either party may proceed with legal action.

14 - Jurisdiction

We both agree that English Law (and no other) will apply to your contract and to any dispute, claim or other matter of any description which arises between us (except as set out below). We both also agree that any dispute, claim or other matter of any description (and whether or not involving any personal injury) which arises between us must be dealt with under the provisions of the paragraph above or by the Courts of England only.

15 - Data Protection

For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998, we are a data controller. In order to process your booking, we need to collect certain personal details from you. These details will include, where applicable, the names and addresses of party members, payment details and special requirements such as those relating to any disability or medical condition which may affect the chosen holiday arrangements. 

We need to pass on your personal details to the companies and organisations who need to know them so that your holiday can be provided. Such companies and organisations may be outside the European Union, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. We would also like to store and use your personal details for future marketing purposes (for example, sending you a brochure or details of a promotion). All details you give us in connection with your booking (including those relating to any disability or medical condition) will be kept but we will use only names and contact details for marketing purposes. Except where expressly permitted by the Data Protection Act, we will only deal with the personal details you give us as set out above unless you agree otherwise. We have appropriate security measures in place to protect this information.

If you do not wish to receive marketing from us please write to the address above or e-mail us at help@hedgehogski.co.uk

You are generally entitled to ask us (by letter or e-mail) what details of yours are being held or processed, for what purpose and to whom they may be or have been disclosed. We will charge a fee to respond to such a request. We will respond to your request within 40 days of receiving your written request and fee. In certain limited circumstances we are entitled to refuse your request. If you believe that any of your personal details which we are processing are inaccurate or incorrect please contact us immediately.

This privacy statement covers websites owned and controlled by Us only. Links to other websites and any information collected by these sites are not covered by this privacy statement.

As our privacy statement may change due to developments in the law, we would encourage you to reread our privacy statement from time to time so that you are aware of any changes in how we gather and use personal information.