Terms & Conditions

In these Booking Conditions, 'you' and 'your' means all persons named on the booking form (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date). 'We', 'us' and 'our' means Harvester Cottages . Before booking with us, please read these Booking Conditions carefully and all the other information relevant to your booking, including the Property Rental Conditions (which means all information contained in any specific conditions or restrictions set out in the brochure or website description of your chosen property[ies] and the Important Information section of the brochure or the website or otherwise advised to you.) In these Booking Conditions, unless the context otherwise requires, words in the singular shall include the plural and vice versa.

1. Making your booking All bookings are subject to availability. The party leader must be at least 18 years at the time of booking. The party leader must be authorised to make the booking on the basis of these Booking Conditions by all other members of the party. By making the booking, the party leader confirms that he/she is so authorised and that all other party members agree that the booking is subject to these Booking Conditions. The party leader is responsible for making all payments due to us. Subject to availability and receipt of all applicable payments by us, the party leader will be issued with a written confirmation (see below) as soon as reasonably possible showing your booking details and the balance of your total booking cost remaining due. Your binding contract with us comes into existence when the written confirmation is issued. For bookings made within 14 days of departure, a binding contract with us comes into existence when we give verbal confirmation of your booking to you and you have made the appropriate payments to us. Receipt and banking of any deposit monies will not constitute acceptance of a booking. Please note we will provide you with your written confirmation either by post, electronically or by email. If you book by post, telephone or email we will send your confirmation to you by email unless you advise us at the time of booking that you would prefer it to be provided by post. It is your responsibility to check your emails regularly and to advise of any change to your email address. We have the right to refuse any booking prior to the issue of your written confirmation. If we do this, we will tell you in writing and promptly refund any money due that you have paid to us. In this case we shall not have any liability towards you. As soon as your confirmation is received, you must check the details carefully. If anything is not correct you should tell us immediately.

2. Payment When you book you should pay the deposit amount then due by bacs, chaps , or by sending a sterling cheque to us. The balance must be received by us no less than 10 weeks before the start of your arrangements. However, if you book less than 10 weeks before the start of your arrangements, full payment of the total cost must be paid at the time of booking. For any accommodation booked less than 2 weeks before departure your booking must be paid for in full by bank transfer, at the time of booking. If any payment due in relation to your booking is not paid by the appropriate date, we are entitled to assume that you wish to cancel your booking. In this case, we will be entitled to keep all deposits paid or due at that date. . If your payment is not honoured for any reason whatsoever, we are entitled to make an administration charge of £35.

3. Pricing The prices of unsold products and services may be increased or decreased and corrections made to errors in advertised prices at any time before your arrangements are confirmed. The price of your chosen arrangements will be confirmed at the time of booking. As changes and errors occasionally occur, you must check all details at the time of booking.

All prices quoted or otherwise advised to you include all charges and any UK taxes or governmental levies that apply to your holiday at the time of booking. We reserve the right to pass on to you in full, after your booking has been confirmed, all costs and/or charges incurred or imposed by the Owner and connected with your accommodation, including any price increases due to currency fluctuations.

4. Low Initial Deposit Offers Occasionally, offers are made giving you the chance to book properties at either a lower than usual, or a nil, initial deposit. Details of any additional terms specific to the offer will be notified to you prior to or on making your booking and should be read in conjunction with these Booking Conditions. If you book a property at either a lower than usual, or a nil initial deposit, you also agree to pay the difference between the amount paid and the usual deposit, plus any booking fee and any insurance premiums due, either at the time the balance of your booking is due, or at the time of cancellation if you cancel your booking. If you cancel you must also pay all other applicable cancellation charges. Please refer to Section 7 for details regarding cancellations. Any insurance premiums must still be paid at the time of booking. We reserve the right to extend any Low Initial Deposit offer.

5. Brochure or website details We aim to ensure that the information provided is accurately conveyed on our website, in brochures and other promotional literature or material produced and circulated by us. There may be small differences between the actual property and its description, as we are always seeking to improve services and facilities. Occasionally, problems mean that some facilities or services become unavailable or subject to restriction. If this happens, we will tell the party leader 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, by our advisers or advertised elsewhere. We makes reasonable efforts to ensure that information supplied to you in relation to your property and its facilities and/or services as well as advertised travel and other services is accurate and complete as at the date given. We cannot accept responsibility for any inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information about any property or its facilities and services, except where any such information has arisen out of our negligence.

6. We carry full liability insurance a copy of which is available on request.

7. If you change or cancel your booking (i) Changes If, you wish to change any detail of your confirmed booking we will do our best to make the changes, provided that notification is received in writing at our offices by the party leader. However, we cannot guarantee we will be able to meet any such request. This notification must be accompanied by a payment of £25 for each change or £40 for each change if travel documents have been issued, together with any costs incurred by us. Please be aware that any amendment will be made at the current price, which may differ from the price from which you booked your chosen arrangements. Please note that changes to your dates or accommodation may be treated as a cancellation of the original booking and hence be subject to cancellation charges. (ii) Full Cancellations

If you have to, or wish to, cancel your booking, the party leader must telephone us on the number shown on your booking confirmation as soon as possible. The day we receive your telephone notification of cancellation is the date on which your booking is cancelled.

Depending on your reason for cancellation, you may receive a refund authorised by us of all monies you have paid to us for your booking (excluding , where applicable, any amendment charges. We will also retain a cancellation administration fee of £35 per week or per part week per booking.)

Please note: The refund provisions referred to above only apply if the cancellation applies to all members of your party. All prices are for the entire property and not on a per person basis.

Under your contract, in order to qualify for a refund your reason for cancelling must be one of the following, must apply to a member of your party, and with the exception of pregnancy must have occurred after your booking and must prevent you from taking your trip. Please note that you will not receive a refund for pregnancy where the party member is expected to give birth within 14 weeks of the arrival date home .

Illness/Pregnancy (subject to medical evidence of unfitness to travel); Death; Redundancy (provided employment has been on a continuous basis with the same employer for at least 2 years); Jury or Witness service (in a Court of Law); Illness or Death of a close relative (a close relative is defined as one of the following - Spouse, Son or Daughter (in law), Parent (in law), Grandparent, Sister or Brother, Fiancé(e)); your home is rendered uninhabitable due to fire, storm, flood, subsidence or malicious damage; your presence is requested by the Police, following a burglary at your home or place of business, during the period of your holiday or within the preceding 7 days; your unexpected posting by HM Forces or cancellation of leave by HM Police (unless the cost of the lost holiday is recoverable from any other source); or compulsory quarantine. You may also receive a full refund if you are unable to reach your holiday destination due to snow or flood conditions or as a result of being involved in an accident en route (NB: This only applies if you have made every effort to attempt to complete your journey. You will need to produce evidence from the Police, RAC or AA). Although a refund is available in these circumstances you may prefer to delay your arrival. In these cases a 25% refund is available for each 24 hour delay, up to a maximum of 72 hours = 75% (For short breaks, a fixed refund of 50% applies for all arrivals delayed for more than 24 hours). You will be asked to complete a Booking Cancellation form which may require signing by a Medical Practitioner or employer and in which we may request further information from a third party.

The following reasons for cancellation do not qualify for a refund as set out above: suicide or attempted suicide, intentional self-injury, the effect of intoxicating liquor or drugs, or any other reason which is not specifically referred to.

Where the reason for cancellation does not fall within one of the qualifications for a refund as set out above, eg: dis-inclination to travel, leave cancelled by employer (other than HM Forces or the Police) etc, a cancellation charge will be payable, based on the number of days before the arrival date at the property that we receive notification of your cancellation, as shown in the following table. This means that if you have paid the balance of your total holiday cost and then have to, or wish to, cancel, you may receive a refund of part of such cost. However, if you have not paid your total holiday cost, you may be required to make a further payment by way of cancellation charge. For the purpose of the table below, Accommodation Cost means the total cost of the accommodation booking, including any extra items.

Administration fees for making any changes will still be payable in full by you.

Please note that, where already paid, such insurance premiums, booking fees, credit card charges administration fees are not refundable in the event of your cancellation.

CANCELLATION CHARGES

(iii) Curtailment of your stay A refund as set out above is also available if your stay is cut short for any of the qualifying reasons set out in (ii) above. In this case, you will be reimbursed for the appropriate proportion of the cost of your stay. This only applies if the property is vacated by all persons in your party. Where your stay is curtailed for medical reasons affecting any persons in your party, you will need to produce a certificate from a local doctor, confirming the necessity of returning home. (iv) Partial Cancellations Where only part of your party needs to cancel this will not normally affect the total cost of your booking unless any travel arrangements or additional services which are charged on a per person basis are cancelled. In these instances any such per person charges paid will be refunded after deducting any cancellation charges made by us.

8. Cancellations or changes by the us We do not expect to have to make any changes to your booking, but sometimes problems occur and bookings have to be changed or cancelled or errors in details corrected. We reserve the right to do so. If this does happen, we will contact the party leader (by telephone where reasonably possible in the case of a significant change or cancellation; minor changes will be notified by post) as soon as is reasonably practical, explain what has happened and inform you of the cancellation or change.

9. Force Majeure Except where otherwise expressly stated in these Booking Conditions, we, regret that neither we can, either jointly or individually, accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of the obligations under your contract by us is prevented or affected by or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss as a result of “force majeure”. In these Booking Conditions “force majeure” means an event beyond our reasonable control and which we could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid including, but not limited to strike, lock-out, labour dispute, act of God, acts of terrorism, war, riot, civil commotion, malicious damage, compliance with a law or governmental order, rule, regulation or direction, accident, breakdown of plant or machinery, insolvency or bankruptcy , fire, flood, snow and storm, difficulty or increased cost in obtaining workers, goods or transport and other circumstances affecting the supply of goods or services.

10. Our liability to you . We regret we cannot accept any liability if we are not so notified. Our maximum liability to you if we are found to be at fault in relation to any service we provide is any unrecoverable expenses directly related to your booking, which we agree are reasonable and which you incur as a result of that failure. We do not exclude or limit any liability for death or personal injury which arises as a result of our negligence or that of our employees whilst acting in the course of their employment, or for our own criminal act. We cannot be held responsible for noise or disturbance originating beyond the boundaries of the property or which is beyond our control. In the event that a source of reasonably obvious noise has been in existence prior to your arrival and we are informed of this, we will contact you to inform you of the disturbance. We cannot be held responsible for the breakdown of mechanical equipment such as pumps, boilers, nor for the failure of public utilities such as water, gas and electricity.

11. Insurance We recommend that you take out adequate travel insurance to cover you for the duration of your stay.

12. 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 before you confirm your booking and give us full details in writing as early as possible before you travel. If we reasonably feel unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person concerned we reserve the right to decline or cancel the reservation.

13. Your Property You can arrive at your property at any time after 3.00pm (unless advised otherwise, for example on your confirmation) on the start date of your rental period and you must leave by 10.00am on the last day. If your arrival will be delayed beyond 8.00pm on the start date of your rental period, you must contact the person whose details are given on the location guide. If you fail to do so, you may not be able to gain access to the property. If you fail to arrive by 12 noon on the day after the start date of your rental period and you do not advise the person whose details are given on the location guide of your late arrival, we may treat your booking as having been cancelled by you. No refund of any monies paid by you will be made in this situation. We may require you to pay a security deposit on arrival. If this applies to your chosen property you will be advised of the amount at the time of booking. The security deposit will be refunded at the end of your rental period (less any costs for breakages, damage etc if applicable). You and all members of your party agree to keep the property clean and tidy, to leave the property in a similar condition as you found it upon your arrival, and to behave lawfully at all times whilst at the property. You and all members of your party further agree not to use the property for any unlawful or commercial purpose, including without limitation assigning or subletting it or otherwise allowing anyone to occupy it who has not previously been accepted by us . You are responsible to us for the actual costs of any breakage or damage in or to the property - along with any additional costs that may result - which are caused by you and/or any members of your party, and we can require payment from you to cover any such costs. We are at our sole and absolute discretion to refuse to hand over to you, or to repossess, the property if we reasonably believe you or any member of your party is behaving unlawfully, 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. These circumstances will be treated as a cancellation by you. You also must not allow more people than the brochure states to occupy the property, neither can you significantly change the composition of your party during your occupation of the property. If you do any of these things, we can refuse to hand over the property to you, or can repossess it. If we do so, this will be treated as a cancellation by you. In these situations no refund of any monies you have paid in respect of your booking will be made and we will have any liability to you as a result of this situation arising (including for example any costs or expenses you incur due to not being able to occupy the property, such as the cost of securing an alternative property/ accommodation or the payment of any compensation to you). We will not be obliged to find any alternative accommodation for you. You must allow us and any representative (including workmen) access to the property at any reasonable time during your occupation of the property (except in cases of emergency or where a problem needs remedying quickly and you cannot be contacted in time - in these situations we are entitled to enter the property at any time without giving you prior notice). Pets are not allowed unless stated. If you take a pet with you, it is not allowed on beds or furniture, or in any communal facilities, except where expressly allowed. Pets should not be left unattended in the property, and dogs should be kept on a lead within the boundaries of a property including the garden. Registered guide and support dogs belonging to those with visual and hearing impairments are allowed in all properties even where the property description states that pets are not allowed. Customers with allergies should be aware that we cannot guarantee that a registered guide and/or support dog has not stayed in their chosen property nor can we accept any liability for any suffering which may occur as a result of such animals having been present. You should also refer to the information regarding taking pets on holiday included on our website.

14. Special requests If you have any special requests you must advise us at the time of booking and confirm them in writing. No guarantees can be given that any request will be met. Bookings cannot be made subject to a special request

15. Complaints If you have any cause for complaint then we are anxious that remedial action is taken as soon as possible. It is essential that you contact us immediately if any problem arises so that it can be speedily resolved. It is often extremely difficult (and sometimes impossible) to resolve difficulties properly unless we are is promptly notified. Discussion of any criticisms with us whilst you are in residence will usually enable shortcomings to be rectified straightaway. In particular, complaints of a transient nature (for example, regarding preparation or heating of the property) cannot possibly be investigated unless registered whilst you are in residence. If, after this, you feel that the problem has not been resolved to your satisfaction, then the party leader must, within 30 days of returning from your holiday rental, put your complaint in writing to us at SAE Holiday Rentals Limited, Parkside House, Crosslane, Sacriston, Co Durham DH7 6BA by recorded delivery. This procedure is designed to ensure the speediest possible investigation and rectification of complaints. Please help us to help you by following this procedure. If you fail to do so, this may affect your entitlement to claim compensation where this would or may otherwise have been appropriate.

16. Passports, visas and health requirements We regret we cannot accept any liability if you or any members of your party are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to the failure on the part of the person concerned to carry or supply correct documentation. If you or any member of your party is not a British citizen or holds a non-British passport, you must check passport and visa requirements with the Embassy or Consulate of the country(ies) to or through which you are intending to travel. If failure to have or to supply any necessary travel or other documents results in fines, surcharges or other financial penalty being imposed on us , you will be responsible for reimbursing us accordingly. We reserve the right to request any personal details, including passport numbers, if required to do so by the authorities or by law.

17. Governing law It is agreed that any dispute, claim or other matter which may arise in relation to your booking will be governed by English Law and the parties agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.

18. Communicating with you For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998, Harvester Cottages is the sole data controller of all personal data provided to us by customers and prospective customers. In order to process your booking we need to collect certain personal details from you, for example names and addresses of party members, payment details, special requirements such as those relating to any disability or medical condition which may affect any party member’s holiday arrangements. If we need any other personal details, we will tell you before we obtain them from you. We need to process and store your personal details for our own administration, market analyses and operational reviews. We would also like to store and use your personal details for future marketing purposes (for example, sending you brochures, emails or details of promotions and offers which we feel may be of interest to you). All details you give to us at any time will be kept, but only names, contact details and any booking preferences will be used for marketing purposes unless you are informed otherwise when you provide the information. We may also disclose your details to immigration or law enforcement authorities where we are required to do so. If you do not wish to receive any or all of the communications set out in this Section, then please let us know as soon as possible by telephone, letter or e-mail. We are entitled to assume that you do not object to being communicated with unless you have indicated otherwise either at the time you gave your details to us or subsequently. Except where expressly permitted by the Data Protection Act 1998, we will only deal with the personal details you give to us as set out above unless you agree otherwise. You are generally entitled to ask us (by letter or e-mail) if and how we are processing your personal details. We are entitled to charge a fee in responding to such a request. We promise to respond to your request within 40 days of receiving this in writing and payment of the appropriate fee (if required by us). In certain limited circumstances we are entitled to refuse your request. We may also record or monitor telephone calls to and from us for staff or training purposes.