ZAR R // TERMS & CONDITIONS ZAR R // TERMS & Topdeck's Details
Top Deck Tours Ltd, Company Number 04905253, 109 Power Road, London, W4 5PY, UK
Deposit
R1000 per person, payable at the time of booking.
Rolling Deposit
If you cancel your trip more than 60 days before the departure date you may request in writing at the time of cancellation that we provide you with a rolling deposit voucher for use against a future trip. The value and currency of the rolling deposit will be the value and currency of the original deposit paid. The rolling deposit cannot be redeemed by re-booking the same trip for the same departure date originally booked. The voucher must be redeemed within two years from the date of first cancellation. The rolling deposit can be transferred to a friend but cannot be transferred a second time. The passenger must be between 18 to 39 years old to travel. Only one voucher per person per trip is permitted. If redeeming against a trip with a higher deposit the balance will be payable at the time of booking. Rolling deposits cannot be redeemed or refunded for cash. If you cancel your trip within 60 days or less of the departure date you will forfeit your deposit and you will need to pay our applicable cancellation fee. Rolling deposit vouchers are not available for cancellations within 60 days of the departure date.
Travel Credits
Any Topdeck travel credit resulting from any cancellation, whether by you or by us, will exclude the amount paid by you in respect of flights and/or insurance as they have their own booking terms and conditions. Topdeck travel credit must be redeemed by its expiry date. Topdeck travel credit can be transferred to a friend but cannot be transferred a second time. One Topdeck travel credit per person per trip. Topdeck travel credits are subject to the Topdeck travel credit T&Cs (see below). Once you have made a booking using your Topdeck travel credit, these booking terms and conditions will apply to that booking. Change and Cancellation Fee (% of trip price)
Days before departure
Nil (changes)
Over 60 Change and Cancellation Fees
Governing law and jurisdiction
Nil
40%
40%
Nil
28-14
60%
60%
Nil
13-8
80%
100%
100%
7-1
100%
100%
100%
Departure day
100%
100%
100%
During trip
100%
100%
100%
These booking conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute in relation to these booking conditions shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
Our trips are designed strictly for young people between the ages of 18 to 39 years (with the exception of Gap Year trips, which are restricted to people between the ages of 17 to 20 years). Bookings can be made through your local travel agent or directly with us and must be secured with a deposit of the amount shown above. A contract between you and us will exist as soon as: (i) we issue an invoice in response to your request for a booking; and (ii) your deposit is paid to us or your travel agent. If your booking is made through a travel agent, we will address all correspondence to that agent. Please also read all information associated with your trip, including your Trip Notes, which can be located on our website. By booking a trip with us, you have agreed to be bound by the terms and conditions set out in these booking conditions, trip information as found on our website, and relating Trip Notes that apply. COVID-19 You acknowledge that you are choosing to travel at a time where you may be exposed to COVID-19. It is your own responsibility to acquaint yourself with all relevant travel information, including applicable health risks. We strongly recommend that you familiarise yourself with airline and government requirements around passenger safety and COVID-19. You acknowledge that other travel service providers, including airlines, hotels, activity and excursion providers, will need to comply with national and/or local guidance and requirements relating to COVID-19 and will have implemented certain measures as a result. This may include specific requirements regarding personal protective equipment, such as use of face-masks by customers and staff. We do not expect these measures to have a significant impact on your enjoyment of the trip and all measures will be taken with the purpose of securing your safety and those around you. Local regulations may require you to provide a negative test result for COVID-19, temperature checks and/or a self-declaration of health prior to departing and at certain venues on your trip. Any travellers displaying symptoms of illness may require a negative COVID-19 test and/or doctor’s clearance before continuing the itinerary. If you show symptoms of COVID-19 and are either unable or unwilling to be tested, Topdeck may remove you from the trip to prevent any risk to others. You acknowledge that your decision to travel is made based on your own consideration of this information, and you acknowledge and agree that you are aware of, and assume responsibility for, the associated risks. We will have no liability for any refunds, compensation, costs, expenses or other losses of any kind incurred by you (including, where applicable, the cost of medical treatment), in the following circumstances:
2.
Pick ups/transfers
Nil
59-29
Please read all booking conditions carefully. You must not make any booking unless you understand and agree with these booking conditions and any additional terms and conditions as indicated above and/or at the time of booking.
1.
Deposit (cancellations)
Pre/post accommodation
you fail any tests, checks or other measures imposed by a travel service providers or government body or fail to submit for testing or assessment when requested to do so, and as such you are denied entry to board the flight, entry to the destination, access to the services or you are otherwise unable to proceed with the trip, or that portion of the trip; or if you, or anyone in your group, test positive for COVID-19 and have to quarantine for a period of time, or are notified or otherwise become aware that you have, or suspect you may have, come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 (or where they otherwise suspect they may have COVID-19) and have to quarantine for a period of time.
If any of the above occur whilst you are on your trip, please notify us without delay and we will provide such reasonable assistance as we can in the circumstances. However, we will not be responsible for covering the cost of any curtailment of your tour, missed transport arrangements, additional accommodation required, or other associated costs incurred by you. You must ensure you have adequate travel insurance with specific COVID-19 coverage which covers these costs for you. PRICE & PAYMENT The deposit is non-refundable unless we cancel your trip. The balance of your trip must be paid no later than 60 days prior to your trip departure date. If you do not pay within this period, we may cancel your booking and your deposit will be forfeited. Full payment is required if you make a booking within 60 days of the departure date. If your booking is a special offer, we may require full payment (including any pre and post accommodation and sundry service charges) by such earlier time as specified in the offer. We may alter prices and other particulars (including these Booking Conditions) on our website at any time. When you make a booking, we will provide you with up to date prices and a link to our current Booking Conditions.
Offered discounts are subject to availability and may be withdrawn at any time without notice. All discounts apply to the trip price only and do not apply to any flights, visitor taxes, adventure passes, short breaks, stopovers, day trips, ski trips, gap year trips, pre & post accommodation or transfers. After you have booked, changes to (i) the price of fuel; (ii) the level of taxes or fees imposed by third parties including tourist taxes, landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports; and (iii) exchange rates, mean that the price of your trip may change. There will be no change within 20 days of your departure. We will absorb any increase equivalent to 2% of the price of your trip. However, we may charge you for the amount over and above that. If this results in an increase equivalent to more than 8% of the price of your trip, you will have the option of accepting a change to another trip (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value), or cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid. Should the price of your trip go down due to the cost changes mentioned above, then any refund due will be paid to you. We will deduct from this refund our administrative expenses incurred. Please note that trip arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your trip due to contractual and other protection in place. TRAVEL DOCUMENTS Please ensure you carefully read your invoice, tickets and all other documents we send to you as soon as you receive them and contact us or your travel agent immediately if any information appears to be incorrect. We will not accept any liability if you fail to notify us of any inaccuracy in any document within 14 days of us sending them to you or the travel agent. You are responsible for ensuring that you have the correct and valid travel documents including passports, visas and vaccination certificates. We strongly recommend that you verify current documentation requirements with your travel agent or us. Please note requirements change and you must check with your consulate for the most up to date information, including but not limited to visa requirements for the countries visited on your trip. Passports must have an expiry date of at least six months after completion of the trip. IF YOU CHANGE OR CANCEL YOUR BOOKING If you want to change or cancel any aspect of your booking including, but not limited, to a change to a trip of shorter duration or different departure date you must notify us in writing. You may make a request to transfer your booking to another person who satisfies all the conditions applicable to the trip. A transfer request must be made in writing not less than seven (7) days prior to departure and must include proof of acceptance of the transfer by the new traveller. Both you and the new traveller will remain jointly liable and responsible for any applicable travel service provider’s charges (including, but not limited to, booked airfares, train tickets, specifically allocated accommodation and non-refundable supplier charges). Please note that some third party travel service providers may refuse such requests and treat the transfer as a cancellation and rebooking. If you request a change to any aspect of your booking, we will do our best to accommodate your request, but it may not always be possible due to availability. We will not charge a fee for changes requested more than 60 days before departure except where we incur costs from a supplier, in which case we will advise you of the relevant supplier fees. If you cancel any aspect of your booking more than 60 days prior to departure, we will provide you with a refund (minus deposit) or, at your option, a travel credit for a future trip. If you opt for a refund, we will issue you a rolling deposit voucher for use against a future trip. The value and currency of the rolling deposit will be the value and currency of the original deposit paid. If you cancel within 60 days of departure, you will forfeit your deposit and you will be required to pay any applicable cancellation fee. All change and/or cancellation fees must be paid within seven (7) days of the invoice date or on the date of departure, whichever is the sooner. CANCELLATION OR MODIFICATION BY US Every effort will be made to operate all trips as advertised but it must be remembered that our trips are planned up to 18 months in advance. If insufficient bookings have been made as at 42 days prior to departure, we may (in our absolute discretion) cancel the scheduled trip or operate any trip below the minimum number of passengers required. We recommend you do not book your flights until your trip is guaranteed. The following terms apply to a cancellation by us, except in the event of unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances (which are dealt with in the section immediately following this one). To the extent permitted by applicable law: •
If your trip is cancelled by us, we will offer you in the first instance alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value), or a Topdeck travel credit for the full amount paid by you. Alternatively, we can offer you a refund of all money paid by you
in respect of the trip (which excludes flights and/or insurance as they have their own booking terms and conditions), minus any unrecoverable costs and cancellation fees. •
If your trip is cancelled after the trip has commenced, we will offer you in the first instance alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value), or a pro-rata Topdeck travel credit for the days that remain on your trip. Alternatively, we can offer you a refund of all money paid by you in respect of the days that remain on your trip (which excludes flights and/or insurance as they have their own booking terms and conditions), minus any unrecoverable costs and cancellation fees.
“Unrecoverable costs” means all reasonable and direct costs we have incurred in relation to your trip, and includes amounts paid by us to other relevant suppliers who are responsible for components of your travel arrangements and which may be non-refundable. UNAVOIDABLE OR EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES In the event of unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances, we may materially modify or cancel your trip as set out below, subject to our hardship policy. In these booking terms and conditions “unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances” means any cause outside our reasonable control which could not have been prevented or avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken by us (including, but not limited to, war, threat of war, riot, civil disturbances, industrial dispute, terrorist activity and its consequences, plague, epidemic, pandemic, infectious disease outbreak or any other public health crisis (including quarantine or other employee restrictions), natural or other disaster (such as volcanic ash or hurricanes or similar events), nuclear incident, fire or bushfires, adverse weather conditions (actual or threatened, including snow and fog), closed or congested airports or ports or other modes of transport, unavoidable technical problems with transport, unforeseen alterations to transport schedules, transportation disruptions or cancellations, domestic and/ or international travel restrictions, changes to travel advisories and restrictions, changes to health advisories and quarantines, changes to immigration, labour and free-movement laws resulting from BREXIT, rescheduling of aircraft or boats or other modes of transport, changes to applicable laws and/or other government mandates (including evacuation orders and border closures), and similar events). A material modification is one that has a serious impact on your trip and would cause substantial inconvenience to you (including a change of departure date, departure point or airport, or change of departure time of more than twelve hours). A change of accommodation type, size or style, or transport type, size, method or style, is not a material modification. For example, we may alter or substitute the type, size, method or style of transport mentioned in the brochure and website, depending on the number of passengers carried, which can vary from trip to trip. In certain countries there are strict laws governing drivers’ hours and this may necessitate utilising public transport in some cities. CHANGE OR CANCELLATION DUE TO UNAVOIDABLE OR EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES If your trip is cancelled due to unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances, we will offer you a travel credit for the full amount paid by you. If your trip is cancelled due to unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances after the trip has commenced, we will offer you a pro-rata travel credit for the days that remain on your trip. Travel credits are subject to the Topdeck travel credit terms and conditions (see below). If your trip is significantly changed due to unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances before departure, we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible and we will offer you the option to accept the changes and continue to travel, or cancel and accept a travel credit for the full amount paid by you. If your trip is changed due to unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances after the trip has commenced, we will advise you of any associated costs relating to the trip changes and you may accept the proposed trip changes and costs to remain on the trip. Alternatively, you may choose to leave the trip and accept a pro-rata travel credit for the days that remain on your trip. Travel credits are subject to the Topdeck travel credit terms and conditions (see below). SUPPLIER CHANGE AND CANCELLATION FEES Changed or cancelled bookings for any reason (including by reason of matters outside your or our control) may also incur travel service provider fees, which can be up to 100% of the cost of the booking, regardless of whether travel has commenced. Travel service provider fees may also apply where a booking is changed for any reason and when tickets or documents are re-issued. Where we incur any liability for a travel service provider change or cancellation fee for any booking which is changed or cancelled for any reason, you agree to indemnify us for the amount of that fee. Where you seek a refund for a changed or cancelled booking for PAGE 1 of 2