Who we are
"We", "us" and "our" in Our Agreement means The Web Dept Ltd., Unit 33, Samson House, Arterial Road, Laindon, Basildon, Essex SS15 6DR, United Kingdom. Registered Office, Unit 33, Samson House, Arterial Road, Laindon, Basildon, Essex SS15 6DR. Registered Number 5223788 . Registered in England.
Accommodation and/or transfers financial protection is administered by purchasing Columbus Travel Insurance.
Our Agreement with You
Our Agreement with you is designed to protect your interests; it means you'll always get a fair deal when you book your accommodation and/or transfers with The Web Dept Ltd..
1. Your accommodation and/or transfers booking
You can book the accommodation and/or transfers and take up the offers advertised if they are still available. There may be other restrictions on some offers, but these are explained in the details of those offers. You will have to pay when you make the booking. By doing this, we are accepting the booking on the terms of this Agreement. If you book for a group then you accept the terms of this Agreement on behalf of the group. Next, we will send you a accommodation and/or transfers Invoice to check the details of your accommodation and/or transfers booking. If you are booking for a group, you are ultimately responsible for paying the accommodation and/or transfers Invoice even though, by booking on behalf of the group, you are representing that each group member accepts that they are bound by this Agreement. If any detail on the accommodation and/or transfers Invoice is not correct, please call and tell us immediately.
2. Your accommodation and/or transfers price
All prices on the website are accurate at the date of quoting only, but we reserve the right to change any of those prices from time to time. Prices can go up or down. Your accommodation and/or transfers Advisor will be able to tell you the up-to-date price of your chosen accommodation and/or transfers and of any other services advertised on this website before confirming your booking.
We reserve the right to increase the price of your accommodation and/or transfers after you have booked. In the unlikely event of changes in our costs occurring more than ten weeks before your departure date then, about eleven weeks before departure, we will send a Final Invoice (to replace your accommodation and/or transfers Invoice), showing the amount you still owe us. Any increase to your accommodation and/or transfers price will be as the result of changes in our costs of supplying your accommodation and/or transfers resulting from transportation charges, currency fluctuations and government action. (See also Exchange Rates in the A-Z Guide.) An administration charge and any relevant travel agent's commission is included within these amounts.
If the increase would be 2% or less of the accommodation and/or transfers price shown on your accommodation and/or transfers Invoice (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), we will absorb the changes in our costs described above and will only pass on any increase above that level. If any change in our costs would cause a reduction in your accommodation and/or transfers price, we will not make refunds of amounts less than 2% of your accommodation and/or transfers price (calculated as above), but we will refund in full amounts exceeding such 2%, after deducting an administration charge.
If the increase is more than 10% of the accommodation and/or transfers price (calculated as above), then –
1. You may cancel your booking within 14 days of the Final Invoice date and receive a refund of all monies paid to us except any amendment charges; we will only consider an appropriate refund of insurance premium paid if you can show us that you are unable to transfer or re-use your policy; and
2. the increase will be considered a Major Change as described in section 4 below and, unless you choose to cancel under paragraph 1 above, you will be entitled to the alternatives set out in section 4 for those circumstances, but in either case you will receive compensation in accordance with section 4.
The price quoted on the Final Invoice is guaranteed, unless you change your booking after it is issued. Any increases in our costs which occur after the Final Invoice has been sent will be borne by us.
3. If we cancel your accommodation and/or transfers
Our aim is to provide your accommodation and/or transfers as booked. If we cancel your accommodation and/or transfers, you can either have a refund or accept a replacement accommodation and/or transfers from us of equivalent or closely similar standard and price, (if one is available). In either case, we will pay you compensation, using Scale A in the Compensation box, unless we cancel your accommodation and/or transfers because of one of the events listed in the 'Important Note', and we will always refund the difference in price if the replacement accommodation and/or transfers is of a lower standard and price.
We will not cancel your accommodation and/or transfers less than eight weeks before you go, unless this is the result of one of the events in the 'Important note - events beyond our control'.
4. If we change your accommodation and/or transfers
We hope that we will not have to make any change to your accommodation and/or transfers but, we sometimes do need to make changes. We reserve the right to do this at any time. We will let you know about any important changes when you book. If you have already booked, we will let you know as soon as we can, if there is time before your departure.
Occasionally, we have to make major changes to your transfer or accommodation. If we tell you about any of these changes after we have confirmed your booking, you can either accept these new arrangements or accept a replacement accommodation and/or transfers from us of equivalent or closely similar standard and price, if one is available. Either way, we will pay you compensation, using the Compensation table shown, unless the change is for reasons beyond our control – see the 'Important Note' in the Compensation box, and 'Events Beyond our Control' in the A-Z Guide – and we will always refund the difference in price if the replacement accommodation and/or transfers is of a lower standard and price.
Major changes to your accommodation and/or transfers
Major changes for which we will always pay compensation, using the scale shown, may include the following changes. These changes are only examples and there may be other significant changes which constitute major changes. This standard payment will not affect your statutory or other legal rights.
We will only make one payment for each full-fare-paying adult in the booking. Any children not paying the full adult fare will receive 50% of these amounts. Children using a free child place will not receive any compensation.
Changes from named accommodation
If we offer you accommodation of the same, similar or higher brochure rating in the same resort area - Scale B
If we offer you accommodation of a lower brochure rating or in a different resort area - Scale A
Compensation
These scales are based on how many days before your booked departure we tell you of a major change. See also the 'Important note - events beyond our control'. Each amount is for each full-fare-paying adult.

If the change is not acceptable to you
If any major change indicated above is not acceptable to you, you can cancel your booking. In this case, we will refund all the money you have paid us and will pay you compensation using the scale below, depending on how many days before your accommodation and/or transfers we tell you about the change. This standard payment will not affect your statutory or other legal rights.

Important note - events beyond our control
Events beyond our control include: war, threat of war, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist activity, industrial disputes, natural and nuclear disasters, fire, epidemics, health risks, technical problems with transport beyond our control or that of our suppliers, 9am to 6pm or congested airports or ports, hurricanes and other actual or potential severe weather conditions, and any other similar events. See also 'Events Beyond our Control' and 'Weather Watch' in the A-Z Guide.
5. What happens to complaints
We can usually sort out any complaints you may have. But if we cannot agree, you can take the matter to an arbitrator appointed by The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
The arbitrator will only deal with your complaint if:
you are claiming up to £5000 for each person or £15000 for each booking;
you contact them within 9 months of the end of your accommodation and/or transfers; and
your complaint does not involve major physical injury or illness.
This is a cheap and simple way of sorting out complaints and there are limits on the costs you might have to pay. You do not have to appear in person, but can send documents to explain your complaint. If you would like more details, please ask our Customer Service Department. If you prefer, you can take your complaint to the County Court or another suitable court.
6. Our responsibility for your accommodation and/or transfers
We will arrange for you to receive the services that make up the accommodation and/or transfers that you choose and that we confirm. These services will be provided either directly by us or by independent suppliers contracted by us.
We are responsible for making sure that each part of the accommodation and/or transfers you book with us is provided to a reasonable standard and as described. If any part of your accommodation and/or transfers is not provided as described and this spoils your accommodation and/or transfers, we will pay you appropriate compensation (see the 'Important note - events beyond our control' in section 4). Also, if you buy a local excursion or tour through a uniformed The Web Dept Ltd. accommodation and/or transfers Rep, we will pay you reasonable compensation if it is not as advertised on The Web Dept Ltd. or The Web Dept Ltd. website.
We have taken all reasonable care to make sure that all the services which make up the accommodation and/or transfers advertised by us, or which form excursions available from our representatives, are provided by efficient and reputable businesses. These businesses should follow the local and national laws and regulations of the country where they are provided. However, overseas safety standards are generally much lower than in the UK, for example few hotels yet meet EC fire safety recommendations even in Europe.
7. Personal Injury 1
This section covers injury, illness or death while you are using the services that we have arranged for you.
We have no direct control over the way our suppliers provide their services. But everyone employed or contracted by us or by our suppliers is expected to carry out their duties properly. If they do not carry out their duties properly (or at all) and that fault results in your injury, illness or death, we may make a payment to you. We will not make any payment if your injury, illness or death was caused by an event or circumstances which that person could not have predicted or avoided even if they had taken all necessary and due care. We will not make any payment if your illness, injury or death was your own fault. If we do make a payment, it will be similar to one you would receive under English law in an English court.
Note: We will make such payments for injury, illness or death on the basis that you are expected to accept that:
You must tell us and the supplier involved about your injury or illness while you are in the resort (see section 13). You should also write to our Office about your claim within three months of coming home from your accommodation and/or transfers. Please include a letter about your injury or illness from your doctor if you can.
You should transfer to us any rights you have against the supplier or any other person.
You should co-operate fully with us if we or our insurers want to enforce those rights.
Any payments we make may be limited in accordance with international conventions
We ask you to transfer your rights to us so that we can claim back from suppliers any payments we make to you, plus any legal or other costs. We will not make a profit from this. If we get back from the supplier more than we have paid you plus these costs, we will give the extra money to you.
8. Personal Injury 2
This section covers injury, illness or death which is not connected with the arrangements made by us.
If you, or someone on your accommodation and/or transfers booking, is injured, falls ill or dies while taking part in an activity which is not part of the accommodation and/or transfers or excursion arranged by us, we will try to help if we can. For example, we can help by:
* 1. providing translation services 2. communicating with authorities and others in foreign resorts 3. recommending foreign lawyers (if necessary) 4. explaining the procedures you should follow 5. telling you of any time limits
We will help everyone on your booking up to a total cost to us of £5,000 as long as the following conditions are met:
You must ask us for help within three months of coming back from accommodation and/or transfers.
You must make a claim under your insurance policy's legal expenses section. You must show us proof that your insurance company has received your claim and, if you get back the cost of legal expenses, you must repay us the money we have spent in helping you.
Your Agreement with Us
9. Your accommodation and/or transfers contract
By asking your accommodation and/or transfers Advisor to confirm your accommodation and/or transfers booking, you are accepting the terms of this Agreement and consent to our processing personal information about you and other members of your party (see Data Protection in the A-Z Guide). Your contract with us is made on the terms of this Agreement, subject to the exclusive laws and jurisdiction of the Courts of the United Kingdom alone.
10. Paying for your accommodation and/or transfers
You pay when you book. This is your only commitment.
You must pay the amount on the accommodation and/or transfers Invoice (or on any Final Invoice issued) at least nine weeks before you go on accommodation and/or transfers. If you don't, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled and to charge you a cancellation charge up to 100% of the total on the accommodation and/or transfers Invoice or 100% of the funds paid to this date (or the Final Invoice if issued), in accordance with the scale in section 12.
11. If you change your booking
If you want to change any details of your booking (such as changing to a different hotel or changing your departure date or airport) or to cancel an optional extra you have booked, we will do our best to help. Unless we agree otherwise when you book your accommodation and/or transfers, the first person named on the booking must tell us about any changes which need to be made. To ask for changes you should call our After Sales Service team on 0871 6661 747. We charge an 'amendment fee' for each person named on the booking and for each detail of the booking which you change. If you make the change more than 56 days before departure, the fee will be £25 per person or change. If you make the change within 56 days of departure, the amendment fee will be £45.
The price of your new accommodation and/or transfers arrangements will be based on the prices that apply on the day you ask for the change. These prices may not be the same as when you booked your accommodation and/or transfers. But if, within 56 days of departure, you want to change to a different accommodation and/or transfers that is 10% or more cheaper or you wish to change your departure date to a later date, you will have to pay cancellation charges (see section 12). If the change means we must send you new tickets, we cannot give you any refund until we have received all your old travel documents, including tickets.
Some types of accommodation (such as apartments, or hotel rooms with reductions for three adults) are priced according to the number of people staying there. If your booking changes because someone in your party cancels, we will recalculate your accommodation and/or transfers cost based on the new number of people going. If fewer people share the accommodation, then the cost for them may go up. This extra cost is not a cancellation charge, and it is not covered by our recommended Insurance.
If you are prevented from taking the accommodation and/or transfers you have booked, you may transfer your booking to another person, provided you meet the following conditions:
a) You must sign an amendment/cancellation form authorising us to make the transfer;
b) The person to whom you transfer your booking must comply with all terms of the existing booking;
c) That person must sign a booking form accepting the transfer and the terms of Our Agreement;
d) That person must show us new evidence of their accommodation and/or transfers insurance, as your policy cannot be transferred to another person (and the premium cannot be refunded);
e) We will charge a fee of £50 per person if the transfer is more than 56 days before departure, or £75 per person if the transfer is within 56 days (but more than 14 days) of departure to cover the costs of processing your transfer. This will be added to the new accommodation and/or transfers Invoice issued to that person;
f) You will remain responsible for the payment of any balance on that new accommodation and/or transfers Invoice (or any Final Invoice issued) should that person fail to pay it;
g) You cannot transfer a booking within 14 days of departure date.
Please note: Name change, and or departure time changes are not always allowed by the airline. Whilst we will do our best to change the details of the booking, please bear in mind that most scheduled airlines treat name changes as a cancellation and charge accordingly. These charges will be passed on to you. Once tickets have been issued, and sometimes even before they have been issued, any changes made to the ticket, including names or initials, will result in your having to pay for the cancelled ticket and buy a new ticket at full cost.
12. If you cancel your accommodation and/or transfers
If you want to cancel your booking or part of it, please call our After Sales Service team on 0871 6661 757. We will tell you if you need to send us written confirmation of your cancellation. If so, send your confirmation to After Sales, The Web Dept Ltd. Ltd, Unit 33, Samson House, Arterial Road, Laindon, Basildon, Essex SS15 6DR. The person who made the booking must tell us about the cancellation and sign the written confirmation, if required.
To cover the cost of processing your cancellation and to compensate us for the risk that we may not be able to resell the accommodation and/or transfers, we make a cancellation charge on the scale shown below. The person who made the booking is responsible for paying this charge. The size of the charge depends on when we receive your form or letter – the more notice you give, the less we will charge.
Note: If you have taken out our recommended Insurance policy, you may be able to claim for the cancellation charge. You will find details on the Insurance page. If you have taken out other accommodation and/or transfers insurance, please check your policy.
Cancellation charges
These charges are based on how many days before your booked departure we receive your cancellation. These charges are a percentage of the total cost of your accommodation and/or transfers, not including your insurance premium.
Number of days Amount you must pay
More than 56 days Deposit
56-29 days 50% of accommodation and/or transfers cost or deposit if greater
28-22 days 70% of accommodation and/or transfers cost or deposit if greater
21-8 days 90% of accommodation and/or transfers cost or deposit if greater
7 days or less The total cost of your accommodation and/or transfers

13. If you have a complaint
If you have a complaint about your accommodation and/or transfers, please tell your The Web Dept Ltd. accommodation and/or transfers Rep or reception immediately. They have the power to deal fully with your complaint. It is always easier to sort things out on the spot, when your Rep can see and understand the exact nature of the problem. If they cannot sort things out, they will ask you to record details of the problem on a 'accommodation and/or transfers report' form and will give you a copy of the form. You must also report the problem to the supplier of the service you are complaining about.
If your complaint was not sorted out abroad, you must then follow it up by writing to the tour operator or The Web Dept Ltd. Customer Service Department at The Web Dept Ltd., Unit 33, Samson House, Arterial Road, Laindon, Basildon, Essex SS15 6DR within 14 days of returning from your accommodation and/or transfers. Please write your accommodation and/or transfers reference number and the number of your accommodation and/or transfers report form on your letter, and include your daytime and evening telephone numbers. If you do not give us the opportunity to resolve any problem in resort by reporting it to the supplier and The Web Dept Ltd. accommodation and/or transfers Rep or 24-hour service line immediately, then we may not be able to deal positively with any complaint on your return. Please submit any complaint within 14 days to allow it to be investigated properly.
14. Accommodation and/or transfers participation
We reserve the right to refuse to accept you as a customer or continue dealing with you if your behaviour is disruptive or affects other holidaymakers or is threatening or abusive towards our staff or agents in the UK or resort, on the telephone, in writing or in person. In such circumstances no refunds or compensation will be paid to you. If the Captain of your flight believes that you could be disruptive, they can refuse to let you on the flight. If this means you are not allowed to board the flight to your accommodation and/or transfers resort, we will treat your booking as cancelled by you from that moment, and you will have to pay full cancellation charges (see section 12). Civil or criminal proceedings may be instigated.
15. Your accommodation and/or transfers
The accommodation we arrange for you must only be used by those people named on your accommodation and/or transfers Invoice (or on any Final Invoice issued). You are not allowed to share the accommodation and/or transfers or let anyone else stay there or use them.
16. The conditions of your ticket
When you travel by air, by road or by sea, your journey may be subject to certain international conventions such as the Warsaw Convention, Montreal Convention or Athens Convention. You agree that the transport company's own 'Conditions of Carriage' will apply to you on that journey. When arranging this transportation for you, we rely on the terms and conditions contained within these international conventions and those 'Conditions of Carriage'. You acknowledge that all of these terms and conditions form part of your contract with us as well as with the transport company. You can ask us or the travel agent booking your accommodation and/or transfers to provide you with a copy of any of the conditions applicable to your journey.
©Copyright The Web Dept Ltd. Ltd, 2008. The Holiday Factory is a division of The Web Dept Limited, which also comprises 1stTaxis, Ezze Taxis and Holiday Minibuses and other trading names.