Terms and conditions
These Terms and Conditions apply to all bookings made between July 2020 and June 2024
Once Glasscastle Ltd. have offered a provisional place on one of their programmes and the client has accepted it they will need pay a deposit in order to hold the place. The holding deposit is £500 per person. Payment of the holding deposit will hold the place until the the remainder payments are due. A place becomes legally binding from the date when Glasscastle Ltd receives the Client’s deposit. It is at this point that a contract between Glasscastle Ltd. and the ’Client’comes into existence. The contract is between Glasscastle Ltd. and the Client, being the person named on the confirmation invoice.
No agent or employee of Glasscastle Ltd. other than a director has the authority to vary or omit any of these conditions or promise any discount or refund.
Payment by the client
The holding deposit of £500 should normally be paid within 14 days of receiving the offer of a provisional place on the programme.
The remainder of the fee must be paid in two tranches, the first half of the remainder to be paid 180 days before the programme begins and the second half of the remainder payment to be paid 90 days before the programme begins.
CANCELLATION BY THE CLIENT
If the Client is obliged to cancel before they have paid any of the remainder payments then they will lose their deposit unless Glasscastle Ltd. are able to re-sell the place. If Glasscastle Ltd. are able to re-sell the place the Client will receive their deposit back minus an administration fee of £200.
If the Client cancels the booking after they have paid some or all of the remainder payment they will not receive any refund unless their country of origin will not allow them to travel to the programme and they can provide evidence of this restrictive policy in which case they will receive a refund of all the monies the Client has already paid Glasscastle Ltd. excluding an administrative fee. The administrative fee which will not constitute any more than 5% of the monies already paid to Glasscastle Ltd by the Client for the booking. Also if the Client need to cancel because another country on their flight path prevents them from reaching the programme and they can provide Glasscastle Ltd. with evidence of this the Client will receive a full refund of all monies paid excluding a small administrative fee. The administrative fee which will not constitute any more than 5% of the monies already paid to Glasscastle Ltd by the Client for the booking.
Payment should be made to Glasscastle Ltd. in the way that they stipulate when offering a place. Glasscastle Ltd. will not accept responsibility for any monies sent by post Glasscastle Ltd. reserves the right to pass on any charges relating to returned cheques and credit card charge backs.
Changes by Glasscastle Ltd.
Glasscastle Ltd. aims to operate the programme as advertised, but by entering into the contract the Client accepts that it may prove necessary or advisable to vary or modify the itinerary or its contents due to prevailing local conditions or any other reason. Glasscastle Ltd. reserves the right at any time to cancel or change any of the facilities or services described in our brochure or website, and to substitute alternative arrangements of comparable monetary value; and it accepts no liability whatsoever to the Client for loss of enjoyment as a result of these changes. Where a major change is made prior to departure the Client will have the choice of either:
(1) a choice of specified travel arrangements of a lower standard to those previously booked together with a refund of the difference in price; or
(2) cancelling the programme and obtaining a full refund.
Examples of major changes might be a change in the country visited or the kind of activities undertaken, for example heritage interpretation rather than heritage conservation.
Examples of minor changes include a change of accommodation to another commensurate to the standard as advertised within the brochure, for the specific programme as confirmed by the Client.
Cancellation by Glasscastle Ltd.
Glasscastle Ltd. reserves the right to cancel a programme in any circumstances but will not do so less than 42 days before departure, except for reasons of Force Majeure or Low Bookings. Glasscastle Ltd. will, upon cancellation, return all monies paid by each Client excluding a small administrative fee. The administrative fee which will not constitute any more than 5% of the monies already paid to Glasscastle Ltd by the Client for the booking. This administrative fee will not be charged to returning 2020 placeholders or other OPP alumni.
Surcharges
Glasscastle Ltd. reserves the right to increase the programme cost to take account of the following: government action, currency exchange rates, transportation costs (including the cost of fuel). If the surcharge results in an increase of more than 10% of the programme cost excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges, Glasscastle Ltd. must notify the Client as quickly as possible in order to enable him to take appropriate decisions, and the Client may then cancel the booking within seven days of being notified of the surcharge and obtain a full refund. If the client decides to cancel, Glasscastle Ltd. will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if the Client can show that she is unable to transfer or re-use his policy. Should she decide to cancel for this reason, she must exercise his right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on his final invoice. No surcharge will be imposed within 30 days of departure.
Travel insurance
The Client MUST take out suitable travel insurance in order to take part in a programme organised by Glasscastle Ltd. Clients are wholly responsible for arranging their own insurance. A suitable insurance policy should provide adequate cover for medical expenses arising through illness or accident before or during the programme and loss of holiday monies through cancellation and curtailment of the client's participation in the programme for insurable reasons. Clients making their own arrangements should ensure that there are no exclusion clauses limiting protection for the type of activities in their programme. Baggage and personal effects are at all times the Client’s sole responsibility. Glasscastle Ltd will be checking that each participant/Client has appropriate insurance upon arrival on the programme.
ABTOT Coverage
The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial
protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for
Glasscastle Ltd. Abtot member number 5361, and in the event of their insolvency, protection is provided for:
Non-flight packages
ABTOT cover provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled or repatriation if
transportation was included in your package. Please note that bookings made outside the
UK are only protected by ABTOT when purchased directly with Glasscastle Ltd..
In the unlikely event that you require assistance whilst abroad due to our financial failure,
please call our 24/7 helpline on 01702 811397 and advise you are a customer of an ABTOT
protected travel company.
You can access The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018
here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/made
You can find out more about ABTOT here: https://www.abtot.com/
Passports, visas and vaccinations
Clients must ensure they are aware of all relevant passport and visa requirements and allow adequate time to obtain them. Please note that many countries require that passports are valid for six months beyond the period of the Client’s stay. Requirements can change and it is the Client’s responsibility to comply with current passport, visa and health requirements and to bring all necessary documents with them. The Client will be solely responsible for any cost, loss or damage which he or Glasscastle Ltd. incurs as a result of a failure to obtain all necessary passports, visas and/or vaccinations.
Behaviour
It is the Client’s responsibility not to behave in a way which causes offence or danger to others or which risks damage to property belonging to others. In such circumstances all suppliers and Glasscastle Ltd. have the right to terminate arrangements made on the Client’s behalf, in which case Glasscastle Ltd.’s responsibility to the Client ceases immediately. Therefore, Glasscastle Ltd. will not be liable for any refunds, payment of compensation or reimbursement of any cost or expenses incurred as a result. Further, the Client will be liable to reimburse Glasscastle Ltd. for any expenses whatsoever that it incurs as a result of such behaviour.
Age, HEALTH, fitness and participation
All Clients are expected to satisfy themselves before booking that they are fit and able to complete the itinerary of their chosen programme as described in Glasscastle Ltd.’s brochures. No minors (i.e. those under 18 years of age) can be accepted on a programme run by Glasscastle Ltd.
All clients must abide by all local and national regulations relating to any circumstances caused by Force Majeure such as a pandemic. Glasscastle Ltd reserve the right to terminate a clients’s participation in a programme if they do not abide by these regulations. If a client arrives at the start of the programme with symptoms relating to the relevant pandemic or becomes ill during the programme with symptoms relating to the relevant pandemic we will follow the UK government guidelines at that time. If they are either taken to hospital or placed in quarantine they will not be permitted to start or continue the programme, if that is what is advised by the UK government. If they are not taken to hospital but are placed in quarantine the client will be obliged to pay for their accommodation for the duration of the quarantine although Glasscastle Ltd will help them to find this accommodation. The client cannot be permitted to share accommodation with the rest of the programme participants whilst in quarantine.
Clients agree to accept the authority and decisions of Glasscastle Ltd.’s directors, employees, programme leaders, and agents while on a Glasscastle Ltd. Programme. If, in the opinion of such persons, the health or conduct of a Client before or after the start of the programme becomes too poor to allow the client to fully participate in programme activities or appears likely to endanger the safe, comfortable or happy progress of the programme, the Client may be excluded from all or part of the programme, in which case all monies paid will be forfeited and Glasscastle Ltd. will not be liable to pay any compensation whatsoever to such Client.
Local laws
All participants in programmes operated by Glasscastle Ltd. are expected to obey the laws and regulations of the countries visited and any failure to do so will relieve Glasscastle Ltd. of all obligations that it may otherwise have under the contract. Clients will be expected to pay particular attention to the laws and regulations relating to the COVID 19 pandemic and to accept and abide by them at all times during the programme.
Illness or disability
Anyone suffering from illness or disability or undergoing treatment for any physical or medical condition must declare the true nature of such a condition at the time of booking and make arrangements for the provision of any medication or other treatment required during the programme. Failure to make such disclosure will constitute a breach of these booking conditions and may result in such persons being excluded from the programme. In such a case all monies paid will be forfeited and Glasscastle Ltd. will not be liable to pay any compensation whatsoever. If the chosen programme includes an excursion or transfer by boat of any sort the Client must make it known at the time of booking if he/she is unable to swim. This will not prevent the Client from participating in the programme but will enable Glasscastle Ltd. to take additional precautions for the Client’s safety at such times as may be appropriate.
Complaints
If the Client has a complaint about any of the programme arrangements, it must be brought to the attention of the programme leader or other representative of Glasscastle Ltd. at the time so that they may use reasonable endeavours to rectify the situation. Failure to complain at the time will affect the Client’s ability to claim compensation from Glasscastle Ltd. Should the problem remain unsolved a complaint must be made in writing to Glasscastle Ltd. within three months of the completion of the programme. Should the parties fail to resolve the matter, either party may refer it to arbitration scheme of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators at 68 – 71 Newman Street, London W1P 4AH, Tel + 44 20 7637 2444 (UK)
Responsibility of Glasscastle Ltd.
The programmes operated or supplied by the parent company Glasscastle Ltd have been designed to expose participants to the true nature of the environment visited and therefore involve an element of potential risk and exposure to potential hazards over and above those associated with normal ’package’ holidays. All bookings are accepted on the understanding that the Client appreciates such risks and hazards and that they undertake all programmes at their own volition. If a Client participates in an activity not included as part of a programme operated by Glasscastle Ltd., the Client:
(i) accepts all responsibility for taking part in such an activity
(ii) indemnifies Glasscastle Ltd. against any and all claims related to such an activity.
Where the Client suffers death, personal injury or any other loss whatsoever as a result of an activity forming part of the programme arrangements booked with Glasscastle Ltd, Glasscastle Ltd. shall ONLY accept responsibility if the death, personal injury or loss was caused by the negligent acts and/or omissions of Glasscastle Ltd.’s employees, officers, agents, suppliers or sub-contractors. For the avoidance of doubt, Glasscastle Ltd. shall not be liable for such death, personal injury or any other loss suffered whatsoever if there has been no fault on the part of Glasscastle Ltd. or its partners, or if the cause was the fault of the Client (including without limiting the generality of the foregoing the Client’s participation in any activity/option not specifically detailed as included on the programme or operated directly by Glasscastle Ltd.) or due to the actions of someone unconnected with the programme arrangements or due to circumstances which neither Glasscastle Ltd. nor its partners could have reasonably anticipated or avoided. The Client waives and releases any claim against Glasscastle Ltd. for any such loss, damage, injury or death, and by signing the booking form is confirming this waiver and release as a condition of participating in the Programme.
Glasscastle Ltd.’s acceptance of liability to pay compensation pursuant to this paragraph is limited, in the case of road travel or hotel accommodation, to the amounts set out in the provisions of, respectively, the Warsaw Convention 1929 (as amended by the Hague Protocol 1955), the Berne Convention 1961, the Geneva Convention 1973, the Athens Convention 1974 and the Paris Convention 1962. Glasscastle Ltd.’s acceptance of liability under this paragraph 16 is subject to assignment by the Client to Glasscastle Ltd. of the Client’s rights against any agent, partner or sub-contractor of Glasscastle Ltd. which is in any way responsible for the unsatisfactory programme arrangements or the Client’s death or personal injury.
Special requests
If the Client has any special requests, he should inform Glasscastle Ltd. at the time of booking. Glasscastle Ltd. and its suppliers will try to meet such requests but, as these do not form part of the contract, Glasscastle Ltd. does not guarantee to do so, including for pre-bookable seats. If Glasscastle Ltd. confirms that a special request has been noted or passed to the supplier or refers to it on the confirmation invoice or elsewhere, this is not a guarantee to meet it. The Client will not be specifically notified if a special request cannot be met. Glasscastle Ltd. does not accept bookings which are conditional on the fulfilment of any special request.
Your financial security
Once Glasscastle Ltd. has received your full payment we will issue you with a document which will offer you protection in the event of the financial failure of Glasscastle Ltd. We are a member of The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) which provides financial protection under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and PackageTours Regulations 1992 for Glasscastle Ltd.
THE CONTRACT CONSTITUTES THE ENTIRE AGREEMENT
The contract constituted by Glasscastle Ltd.’s acceptance of the Client’s booking, subject to these booking conditions, shall constitute the entire agreement between the Client and Glasscastle Ltd. in relation to the relevant booking, and shall exclude all other terms and conditions (except for the relevant suppliers’ conditions and any applicable international conventions) and shall supersede all prior or contemporaneous communication or information provided.
Governing law
The Contract (incorporating these booking conditions) and all matters arising from it, is subject to English Law and the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.
Privacy policy
Your personal information
OPP collects personal information about you and, in relation to your being a participant in OPP events, shares that information with other people and organisations. Your personal information and our use of it is protected by legislation, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and OPP takes seriously its obligations to protect your privacy and your data. This policy explains how we collect, manage, use and safeguard your personal information, including how we work with third parties.
Why we collect, and how we use, personal information
We collect personal information in order to help us process your application to participate in OPP events and, if your application is accepted, to organise your participation in one or more OPP group tours of historic and heritage sights in the British Isles. We need to keep in touch with you to organise your participation in the most effective and enjoyable ways, and to enable interactive contact among the members of your group (and past and future OPP participants, who find this network a valuable asset).
Examples of why we process your personal information include:
To consider your application to join an OPP group tour;
To communicate with you about your application and, if accepted, about your participation as a member of a group tour;
To process your payment(s) to OPP;
To inform you about the details of the tour including dates, venues, events, other participants in your group, event hosts, programme leaders and mentors;
To allow you to keep in touch with other members of your group, and past and future OPP participants, and vice versa;
To provide you with any necessary assistance in respect of UK entry formalities;
To process any applications from you for an OPP scholarship or to become a mentor for a group;
To provide references about you to third parties at your request.
The personal information that we collect about you will include:
Your name, date of birth, sex, nationality, academic and employment history;
Your contact details including postal and email address, telephone numbers, social media presence;
Any health matters that we need to know about to ensure safe and effective participation in a tour;
Any dietary needs or preferences;
Your bank details or other information relevant to your payment;
A photograph of you to help us and programme leaders/mentors to identify you;
A record of communications between us and you;
The tour that you have participated in, plus any other events that you have taken part in or enquired about;
Your feedback/evaluation about your OPP experience.
We collect information about you in various ways; usually, this will be directly from you via your application to participate in OPP events and subsequent correspondence between us.
We use social media to communicate information about the programmes before, during and after the programmes. We encourage participants to communicate with us and with each other using social media both for group postings and as a means of dialogue between individuals. OPP including group programme leaders and mentors (see section below) use social media to exchange information and plan, before and during group tours.
Passing personal information to other people
OPP tours involve visits to heritage ‘host centres’ such as museums, historic houses, archaeological sites. The host centres will normally need to have some information about individuals who visit them; as will the people/organisations involved in your transport and accommodation during your tour. OPP will provide the minimum information necessary for the particular purpose, usually names, nationalities and details relating to access, diet or other relevant special needs.
Each tour is supported by programme leaders and mentors (the latter usually previous OPP participants). OPP will provide them with relevant personal information about tour participants to enable them to support the activities of the group and the individuals. This will include the photograph that we ask you to supply us.
At the beginning of each tour, we ask the participants to introduce themselves to the rest of the group, and engage in ‘getting-to-know-each-other’ activities.
We will never pass on any of your personal information to any third party for commercial gain.
Marketing information
We may occasionally wish to raise the profile of OPP at conferences or other occasions, and may contact previous OPP participants to ask if they are interested in helping with that.
We will never give your details to any other organisation for their marketing purposes.
Legal basis
We will always make sure that we consider why we are processing your personal information and what the legal basis is for doing so. Often this will be on the basis of your haven given us your consent. We may also process your personal information in furtherance of our legitimate purposes relating to your participation in OPP, when we can reasonably conclude that such processing is not likely to be too intrusive, or to infringe unduly on your rights and freedoms (in legal terms, this is known as the ‘legitimate interests’ basis). We may also process your personal information where it is necessary to carry out the terms of a contract between you and OPP or when we are in the process of forming that contract with you.
Security and Retention of your personal information
OPP recognises its responsibility to protect the personal information that it holds. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy.
Data collected from you is stored digitally and/or on paper in England. We will not allow personal data to be transferred to a country or territory outside the EEA unless that country or territory ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of data subjects in relation to the processing of personal data. At present, there is no reason for data to be transferred outside of the UK.
We will never sell, trade, or rent any of your personal information to any third party.
How long we keep your information
We will keep your information for as long as we judge it is useful to you for OPP to do so – for example, if you ask us at some future time to confirm your OPP participation to a third party, or to provide a reference about you. If you ask us to delete your personal information, we will do so promptly.
Accessing your information and other rights
You have a number of rights relating to your personal information. These include:
Access
You have the right to request a copy of any personal information we hold about you.
If you would like a copy of any of your information please contact Jean MacIntyre (see OPP contact details below). We will process your request within a month.
Portability
If you have provided information on the basis of your consent or for a contract then you can request a digital copy so you can send it to another organisation.
To request a copy please contact Jean MacIntyre. We will process your request within a month.
Correction
If any of the information we hold about you is incorrect or incomplete then please let us know. You have the right to have your information corrected so that we hold accurate records about you.
Erasure
This is also known as the right to be forgotten. You can request that your personal information is erased if it is no longer necessary for the company to keep it, or you withdraw consent that you have previously provided, or you object and there is no overriding grounds to keep it or if it is unlawful to continue to keep it.
Restriction
You can request that the use of your personal information is limited to storage only and that we use it for no other purpose. This applies where you contest the accuracy of the personal information we hold, or our use of the information is unlawful, or we no longer need the information except in relation to legal claims, or you object to the use of your data and we need to verify whether or not our purpose for keeping it overrides the grounds of your objection.
How to object or withdraw consent
If you object to our use of your personal information then we must stop unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for continuing. Please contact Jean MacIntyre to explain your objection.
If you have provided your consent for the use of your personal information then you can withdraw this consent at any time, by contacting Jean MacIntyre.
How to complain
If you feel that we have let you down in relation to your information rights then please contact Jean MacIntyre. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, which is the statutory regulator for data protection law. Details of how to complain to the ICO can be found at ico.org.uk/concerns/.
OPP contact details
Jean MacIntyre – email macintyrejean25@gmail.com
Telephone: 0789 524 3812
Write to: Balderston House, Old Meeting House Yard, Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BW