GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
1. LEGISLATION
The travel contracts are ruled by the terms stated on the travel documents given to the consumer and, as far as all what is not provided for, by binding current rules and in particular under the provisions of which in Law no. 1084 of 12/27th/1977 ratifying and enforcing the International Convention regarding travel contracts (C.C.V.), signed in Bruxelles the 4/23rd/1970, and under DLT 111/95 which brings about the Directive no. 90/314/CEE of the Council held on June 13th 1990 concerning travel, vacation and all-inclusive tours and providing, for consumer protection, what follows:
– the organizer and the retailer of the holiday package must be in possession of the administrative licence for the execution of their activities;
– the consumer has the right to receive a copy of the holiday package deed of sale (article no. 6, DLT 111/95), being this a necessary and essential document for the possible access to the Guarantee Fund of which in the article no. 18 of the present Terms and Conditions of agreement.
Le Vie della Perla is the organizing subject of travels, vacations and “all inclusive” tours, marketed directly or through retailers.
The notion of holiday package is defined by article no. 2, paragraph no. 1, DLT 111/95, as follows: “holiday packages include travel, vacation and all-inclusive tours obtained from the set combination of at least two of the elements listed below, sold or offered on sale at a flat rate, with a duration exceeding the twenty four hours or extending over a time period including at least one night:
1. transportation;
2. accommodation;
3. tourist services other than accessories to transportation or accommodation as detailed in article no. 7, letters 1) and m), which are significant parts of the holiday package”.
2. TECHNICAL FORM
The organizer realizes, in catalogue or in the programme off-catalogue, a technical form which will have to contain:
– administrative authorization details of the organizer;
– third-party liability insurance policy details;
– term of the catalogue or of the programme off-catalogue;
– change of reference for currency adjustments, day or value.
3. BOOKINGS
The deed of sale of the holiday package must be written drown in clear and precise terms. A copy of the agreed contract – signed or rubber-stamped by organizer or retailer – is issued to the consumer. The booking acceptance by Le Vie della Perla is subordinated to the availability of places communicated by its suppliers. The deed of sale is finalized on the confirmation communication by Le Vie della Perla to the consumer, also through the retailer travel agency. Information on the holiday package not included in the contractual documents, booklets or other written means of communication, shall be supplied by the Organizer sufficient time before the departure day.
4. PAYMENTS
Entrance fee must be fully paid on booking as well as a down payment of 30% of the participation fee. Balance must be paid at least 30 days before the departure day. Should the booking be placed during the thirty-day period preceding the departure date, the outstanding amount must be paid when the booking is placed.
5. PRICE
Stay and travel fees are fixed on the basis of the catalogue and of the off-catalogue programme, they can be raised until the twenty first day before the departure date, only as a consequence of the variation of transportation fees, including fuel price, of rights and duty fees on certain services such as, by way of an example, landing fees, disembarkation or boarding fees in ports or airports, exchange rates imposed to all-inclusive services. Should the price raise more than 10% of the full cost of the tour, the consumer is given the option of accepting the rise in price or back out of the contract, upon communication to Le Vie della Perla within the deadline of 8 days after the acknowledgement of the new price. In such case, the consumer can decide to benefit from the whole refund of what has already been paid or to choose another service of the same or superior value which might be offered. The fixed price cannot, in any circumstance, be changed during the twenty days preceding the departure date.
6. RECESSION OF THE TOURIST
The tourist/consumer can back out of the contract without paying the penalty if the price raise more than 10% of the original amount and in case of significant change introduced before the departure date from the organizer or from the retailer, not approved from the consumer and involving one or more essential elements of the contract and therefore considered like fundamental, in order to benefit the tourist package.
In the aforementioned circumstances, the consumer has also the faculty to choose between: another tourist package of equal or superior value with no extra charges or a less valuable tourist package but with the refund of the difference in price or also demand, within seven working days from the recession or cancellation moment, the refund of the already paid amount. The choice will have to be communicated from the consumer within the final deadline of two working days from the receiving of the communication regarding the change, without return communication the change would be considered accepted.
Excluding the recession hypothesis regulated by the DLT 111/95, to which we refer to, in other circumstances of travel package recession, the consumer is anyway obliged to pay the registration fee and to pay the consideration for the recession quantified as follows:
– 10% until 31 working days preceding the established departure date;
– 30% from 30 to 21 working days preceding the established departure date;
– 50% from 20 to 10 working days preceding the established departure date;
– 75% from 9 to 4 working days preceding the established departure date;
– 100% from 3 to 0 working days preceding the established departure date.
Beyond these terms, no refund is due to the consumer, even if the missed departure is due to the lack or imprecision of necessary personal documents or in case of cancellation during the course of the stay.
7. CHANGES IN THE CONTRACT TERMS
– Should the tourist package, before the departure, be cancelled for any reason excluding consumer’s responsibility, in other words should the organizer or the retailer communicate to the consumer a significant change of one or more objectively essential elements of the contract, the consumer may, if refusing the proposed change, back out of the contract without paying any penalty, also taking advantage of the alternatives provided for by Article “RECESSION OF THE TOURIST” of the herein contract terms.
– Should there be reasonable causes, the organizer may introduce changes in the programme, as long as the offered services are not objectively inferior to the original ones (i.e. accommodation in a different hotel of classification non inferior to the one indicated on the programme).
– Should the organizer, after the departure, be unable to provide an essential part of the agreed services, unless the impossibility is caused by consumers, third parties, chance events or uncontrollable events, the organizer, if possible, proposes suitable alternative solutions for the prosecution of the programmed tour with no further costs at the consumer’s expense, or refunds the latter the difference between the originally planned services and the ones put into effect, excluding damages refunds.
– Should there be no alternative solutions, or should the consumer not accept the proposed alternative solution, justifying his/her decision with serious and objective reasons, the organizer places equal value means of transport at consumer’s disposal for returning to the departure place or to another arranged place, with no further costs at the consumer’s expense and refunding the difference between the originally planned services and the ones put into effect.
– Should the tour be cancelled by the organizer or the retailer for the missed achievement of the minimum number of participants as provided for in the contract, communication will be given twenty days before the departure date and the consumer will have the faculty to benefit from the alternatives provided for by Article “RECESSION OF THE TOURIST” of the herein contract Terms and Conditions.
8. REPLACEMENTS
The customer can, before the departure, replace him/herself with somebody else, transferring the travel contract to whomever meets all specific and general terms for the fruition of the service as long as he/she communicates in writing to the organizer or to the retailer, within 4 working days before the departure date, that it is impossible for him/her to take part in the tour, communicating as well the particulars of the person he/she will be replaced with. The consumer who renounces the tour will have, in any case, to pay the registration fee, if arranged. The transferor and the transferee are strongly bound to pay the costs and any further extra for the transfer to the organizer or retailer.
9. OBLIGATION OF PARTICIPANTS
Holiday participants must be in possession of a personal passport or some other document valid for travel in the countries to be visited, as well as any tourist and transit visas and health certification that might be required. They must also respect the normal rules of prudence and diligence, all information provided to them by the organizer and also any regulations and administrative or legislative requirements regarding their travel. Participants will be liable for all and any damages that may be incurred by the holiday organizer that may be caused by their failure to respect the above conditions. Travellers must provide the organizer with all documents, information and other elements in their possession required for the exercise of organizer’s right of subrogation with regard to third parties responsible for damages. The traveller is liable towards the organizer for any compromise to the right of subrogation. The consumer must also inform the organizer in writing, at the moment of booking, of any special personal requests that may be the subject of specific agreements on details of the holiday, as long as these requests are possible to implement.
10. HOTEL CLASSIFICATION
Both the hotels and the tourist residences are classified according to standards established by the Region on the basis of acts of address and coordination of the Government, foreseen by Law L 05/30th/1995, no. 203. Shall there be a lack of official classification recognized by public authorities in charge, it will be established by the organizer according to its own evaluation criteria of the quality standards.
11. RESPONSABILITY EXEMPTION
Not the organizer nor retailer are to be considered responsible for the non-execution or inaccurate execution of the contract caused by customers, third parties, chance events or uncontrollable events. The organizer or retailer, who refunded the consumer, are replaced in all the latter’s rights and actions towards third party responsibility. The customer has the duty to provide the organizer or retailer with all documentation, information and elements in his possession in order to enable the right of replacement.
12. ASSISTANCE DUTY
The organizer has the duty to give assistance to the traveller according to the common standards of professional care and respecting the obligations dictated by law or by the contract.
13. COMPLAINTS
Every deficiency in the execution of the contract must be reported by the consumer with no delay, so that the organizer can find a solution to the problem. Possible complaints can be reported by sending – to the organizer or to the retailer – a recorded delivery letter with advice of delivery, within ten working days from the date of the return. Shall the complaints be reported in the place of execution of the tourist services, the organizer is obliged to give the consumer the required assistance, within the limits of the aforementioned Article “ASSISTANCE DUTY” of the herein Terms and Conditions, in order to find a prompt and fine solution. The traveller has no right to ask for a refund of loss of money, very valuable objects and other goods unless he/she had reported them in written – and consequently insured them – before the beginning of the tour.
14 – NATIONAL GUARANTEE FUND
The Presidency of the Council of Ministers has constituted a National Guarantee Fund to which consumers may apply under the terms of Art. 51 of the Tourist Code, in the case of insolvency or bankruptcy of sellers or organizers, for the protection of these rights:
a) Reimbursement of price paid;
b) Repatriation in case of holidays abroad.
The fund must also ensure immediate availability of economic assistance in the case of obligatory return of holiday makers from non-European Union countries due to emergencies ascribable or otherwise to the conduct of the organizer. The details of the use of the fund are governed by Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers no. 349 dated 23 July 1999. The organizer contributes to this fund for the amount established by point 2 of the aforesaid Art. 100. Applications for reimbursements from this fund are not subject to any expiry date.
SALE OF SINGLE SERVICES
Contracts regarding the sale of single services (accommodation, transport, etc) and that therefore do not regard a tourist package, are governed by Travel Contracts art. 1 – 3 and 6, arts. 17 to 23 and arts. 24 to 31, with the exclusion of references regarding contracts for organized travel. The other general conditions of sale outlined above are also applicable, without constituting under any circumstances whatsoever a tourist package.
ART. 17 L. February 6th 2006 No. 38 (ex L 269/98 art. 16):
Italian law provides for prison sentences for crimes involving prostitution and underage pornography, also when committed abroad.
PRIVACY – DECLARATION UNDER TERMS OF ART. 13 LEGISLATIVE DECREE 196/03
In compliance with current laws of privacy, Le Vie della Perla guarantees the maximum confidentiality of data provided. These will be treated in compliance with art. 11 of Legislative Decree 196/03.
ABOUT COMPANY
Tour Operator: Le Vie della Perla sas, Viale G. Mancini snc- 87100 Cosenza – ITALY
Officially authorized by the Calabria Region, with authorization license n. 22/617.
Insurance Policy n. 8900421 with Europassistance.
