INTRODUCTION
Your contract is with Val Heli Ski LLP a limited liability partnership registered in France (Siret 801 050 659 00029) whose registered office is at 6B Sabaudia, Chemin Crouze, Tignes Le Lac 73320, France.
Your contract for the provision of heli ski or other off piste skiing activities supplied by us incorporates these Conditions and by making a booking with us you confirm your acceptance of these Conditions.
Please note that accommodation is not provided by us and that any contract for the supply of accommodation is with Val Heli Ski LLP (Siret 801 050 659 00029) and will be subject to their terms and conditions.
A. BOOKING AND PAYMENT
A1. YOUR BOOKING
A1.1
When you make a booking and pay your deposit, we will reserve your place on the basis of these Conditions. Your booking will be taken as confirmed in respect of all persons named on your booking and a binding contract between us will come into existence when we confirm acceptance of your booking in writing.
A1.2
Any contract for a group booking is with the “Lead Name” as shown on the Booking Form and the Lead Name is responsible for ensuring that other members of his/her group are aware of these Conditions and that they consent to him/her acting on their behalf in dealings with us.
A2. PAYMENT TERMS
A2.1
We reserve the right to alter prices shown in any of our marketing literature or on our website and we will inform you of any price changes at the time of booking.
A2.2
Payment by credit card a surcharge of 5%. This will be automatically added to the amount required for payment. No charge is made for payments by debit card or by direct credit transfer into our bank account or cash payments made on the day.
A2.3
Payment of the balance of the price of your trip is payable on the day.
A2.4
Charges of 4% will be made for overseas card payments which is to cover the bank charges. It is cheaper to make direct transfers.
A3. PARTY NUMBERS
Prices for heli-skiing are usually based on us being able to take a party of 4 on each trip. Where your party consist of less than 4 persons (or a multiple thereof) then we will endeavour to sell other places on the trip to others. Where this is not possible then we reserve the right to make an additional charge or otherwise alter the trip to take into account the shortfall in participants.
A4. EQUIPMENT RENTAL AND USAGE
A4.1
Any client who loses or damages any Val Heliski equipment whilst in his/her care will be charged by Val Heliski for the appropriate replacement or repair cost of that equipment as determined by Val Heliski. Anyone renting equipment from Val Heliski does so at their own risk. Val Heliski can’t be held responsible for any accidents that occur due to equipment issues or failures.
A4.2
Any payments made to Val Heliski in advance for rental equipment will be taken and if there is insufficient stock at the time of the agreed rental, a full refund only will be offered to the client.
B. CHANGES AND CANCELLATION
B1. IF WE CHANGE DETAILS OF YOUR TRIP
We hope and expect to be able to provide you with your booked trip. On occasions changes do have to be made and we reserve the right to make these.
B2. IF WE CANCEL YOUR TRIP
If we need to cancel your trip (for example as a result of adverse weather or snow conditions) we will tell you as soon as possible. Where we have to cancel we will endeavour to rearrange the trip for another day during your stay in resort. Where we are unable to rearrange any heli skiing trip for another day we will substitute the heli skiing trip for off piste skiing for a half or full day (depending on the numbers in your original party) with the same guide or instructor if possible and your deposit will be used as payment for this. Where this is not possible we will refund all monies paid.
B3. CHANGES DURING A TRIP
In accordance with the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 and unless we have already provided the services we have contracted with you to provide or your booking is made in resort, you have the right to cancel your booking at any time up to the end of the 7th working day after the booking is accepted by us. You may do this by writing to us at the above address and you will receive a full refund of any monies paid.
B4. IF CLIENT WISHES TO CANCEL
If you decide to cancel your activity for what ever reasons our terms and conditions state that you will lose your deposit up to 7 days in advance and lose the full payment after that. Cancellation by yourself due reasons such as; a change of heart, you don’t believe the conditions are good or you are no longer available will all result in full payment being taken from your card for your Heliskiing activity booked. This is due to the costs we have incurred in advance paying our guides, pilots and also in the case of shared Heliski groups not disappointing the rest of the group who have committed by payment too.
B5. REFUNDS
All refunds will be net of banks costs. Banks charge for exchanging the money between currencies, so we will deduct these charges from your refund. We cannot control these fees. Please bare in mind US credit cards charge large Dollar to Euro exchange charges.
C. LIMITATION OF OUR LIABILITY TO YOU
C1
We will not be liable where any failure in the performance of any contract with you is due to:
C1.1
you; or
C1.2
a third party unconnected with the provision of the trip arrangements
and where the failure is unforeseeable or unavoidable; or
C1.3
unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the
consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due
care had been exercised or an event which we or our suppliers, even
with all due care, could not foresee or forestall.
C2
Our liability, except in cases involving death or personal injury, shall be limited to the
refund of the amounts payable by you for the provision of the trip in question.
C3
The provisions of clauses C1 and C2 are in addition to any other limitation of liability
contained in these Conditions
C4
Nothing in these Conditions affect any statutory rights that you may have under the
relevant jurisdiction applicable pursuant to clause F3
D. YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
D1. HEALTH & FITNESS PRECAUTIONS
D1.1
Most of our trips require a reasonable degree of physical fitness and experience of off piste skiing. All participants will be normally be expected to have reasonable off piste experience and be able to comfortably undertake red run equivalent gradient off piste runs.. Whilst we endeavour to give guidance as to the likely levels of fitness and experience required, it is only guidance and it is your responsibility to ensure that you have the levels of fitness and experience required for any particular trip that you book. If you are in any doubt as to your levels of fitness please consult your doctor. We, and those retained by us to supervise any trips, have an absolute right at any time (even after a trip has commenced) to prevent you from undertaking the trip (or a part of it) if we reasonably believe that you do not possess the necessary levels of fitness, experience or skiing ability. In such circumstances we shall not be liable for any losses or compensation arising.
D1.2
If you do not give us full details of any medical or physical problem or disability at the time of booking and/or promptly inform us of any adverse change to or a new medical or physical problem or disability that arises after booking, then we can cancel the relevant individual’s place on the trip when we find out the full details if, in our reasonable opinion, the trip is not suitable for the individual in question. In such circumstances we shall not be liable for any losses or compensation arising.
D1.3
We will need full details from you of any illness, medication currently being taken, known medical conditions and allergies. This information is required purely to assist in the case of an emergency and will otherwise be kept strictly confidential.
D1.4
Prior to departure we will require all participants to sign a declaration acknowledging the risks of off piste skiing and confirming fitness and medical conditions etc. Participants will not be permitted to take part in the trip without first having signed the relevant declaration.
D2. INSURANCE
We require that all participants taking part in our trips have comprehensive travel insurance to cover, in particular, illness, accident and emergency repatriation. Such insurance must cover participants for off piste skiing. We reserve the right to require participants to produce evidence of such insurance being in place prior to embarkation and if it is not provided then we reserve the right to terminate that participants place on the trip and in such circumstances we shall not be liable for any losses or compensation arising.
D3. BEHAVIOUR
You must be responsible for the behaviour of yourself and your party. In particular we require that all participants abide by any rules, regulations or other codes of conduct imposed by us, our guides and pilots. We reserve the right to curtail a trip if behaviour is or is likely to be, in our reasonable opinion, or in the reasonable opinion of any our guides or pilots, disruptive, upsetting or dangerous to yourself or anyone else. We will not pay any refund, compensation or other sum whatsoever or any costs or expenses incurred by you if we have to terminate the trip due to such unacceptable behaviour or any failure to follow regulations or instructions. In this situation we will then have no further responsibility for you or any other member of your party.
E. IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT
If you have cause for complaint, you must bring it to the attention of our representatives immediately. They will do their best to rectify the situation. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please follow this up within 28 days of your return home by writing to our Customer Service Department at 6B Sabaudia, Chemin Crouze, Tignes Le Lac 73320, France or by email to
info@valheliski.com giving all relevant information. Please keep your letter/email concise
and to the point. This will assist us to quickly identify your concerns and speed up our response to you. It is strongly recommended that you communicate any complaint to the relevant representative without delay and complete a report in resort. If you fail to follow this simple procedure we may be deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint during your stay and this may affect your rights under this contract
F. MISCELLANEOUS
F1. CHANGES DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND OUR CONTROL
We will not be liable to pay any compensation if we are forced to cancel or in any way change a trip as a result of unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even with all due care. These include bad weather, adverse snow conditions, unavoidable technical problems with transport, war or threat of war, civil strife, industrial disputes, natural disaster, epidemic or terrorist activity.
F2. DATA PROTECTION
Information about you and members of your party, including your names, contact details and any special needs, disabilities or dietary requirements is collected by us when you request information or make a booking with us. We may disclose this information to our service providers for the purpose of providing you with your trip. Only information necessary for this purpose will be disclosed to them. We may use your information for the purposes set out in our data protection registration with the Office of the Information Commissioner. We may disclose the same to companies who act as data processors on our behalf. Some information, for example relating to your religion or health, may be “sensitive personal data” within the meaning of the Data Protection Act 1998. We need this information to cater for your needs, but it is collected on condition that we have your positive consent. If you do not agree to our use of your information, we cannot accept your booking. From time to time we may contact you by post or email with information about special offers or services that we provide. If you do not wish to receive such information, please notify us. You have the right to ask us in writing for a data subject access request form to obtain a copy of the information which we hold about you. You will be charged a fee for this. Any request should be addressed to us at 6B Sabaudia, Chemin Crouze, Tignes Le Lac 73320, France or by email to info@valheliski.com
F3. JURISDICTION/GOVERNING LAW
We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter of any description (and whether involving personal injury or not) which arises out of or in connection with your booking or travel must be brought in the Courts of England and Wales only (unless you are a resident of Scotland or Northern Ireland in which case any proceedings must be brought in either the Courts of your own country or those of England and Wales). We both also agree that English law (and no other) will apply to your contract (unless proceedings are brought in Scotland or Northern Ireland, in which case Scottish or Northern Irish law, as applicable, will apply instead). If this provision is not acceptable to you, you must tell us at the time of booking.
F4. HELI OUT
In the event that we will need a helicopter in or out of the heliskiing areas due to poor weather or dangerous avalanche conditions, your group will be required to pay €99.00 PP each way. By accepting a booking with us you have agreed to pay this if required.