Your contract for travel, accommodation and other services is with Peak Dynamics (London) Ltd which is registered in England and Wales with registered no. 09237812 at 34 Park Street London W1K 2JD.
1. Your Agreement
1.1) When you make a booking you confirm that you accept these Conditions which shall apply to your booking to the exclusion of all other terms and conditions.
1.2) When making a booking, you must submit to us your signed booking form. The contract between us will come into existence once we have issued to you our confirmation invoice for the trip for which you have booked as set out in Condition 1.3 below. The Contract shall continue until the Arctic trip has ended but such expiry shall not affect accrued rights and liabilities of the parties and shall not affect any continuing obligations of the parties under the contract.
1.3) An invoice will be issued within 14 days of receipt of your completed and signed booking form. Please check the contents carefully and, in the event of any discrepancy, contact us immediately. Any discrepancies which are not notified to us within the timescale prescribed in these Conditions may lead to you incurring additional costs and charges.
1.4) You confirm that the booking form has been completed fully and accurately and you will inform us in writing as soon as possible before the date of departure of the Arctic trip (“Departure Date”) if any of the details provided on the application form have changed.
1.5) Subject to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, all conditions and terms implied by statute or common law are excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
1.6) The Arctic itinerary and details are prepared many months before the trip commences and although every effort is made to ensure complete accuracy. If some of the prices or details have changed since the Arctic document and/or website containing the Arctic trip details were printed/created, we will inform you prior to entering into the contract of any changes to the Arctic trip that we are aware of at that time.
2. Special Requests and Health
2.1) If you have any special requests, you should inform us of such requests on the booking form. We will advise the relevant the team of your requirements, but we cannot guarantee that such requests will be met. Furthermore, we have no liability to you if such requests are not met. Confirmation that a special request has been noted or passed on to the team or the inclusion of the special request on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation is not confirmation that the request will be met.
2.2) If you have any medical problem or disability, please tell us before you make your booking so that we can advise as to the suitability of the Arctic trip. If any medical problems or disabilities are suffered or arise between the booking form being submitted and the Departure Date you must notify us immediately. We reserve the right to decline or cancel a booking without having to pay any compensation if:
2.2.1) Any medical problems or disability is disclosed to us on the medical questionnaire;
2.2.2) Any medical problem or disability is disclosed to us after the booking form is submitted to us but before the Departure Date; or
2.2.3) Any medical problem or disability is not disclosed to us;
2.3) If it is later discovered that a medical problem or disability was not declared to us, and such problem or disability would, if we had knowledge of it, have led to our refusal to accept or to cancel your booking, we reserve the right to request or seek confirmation from a medical expert approved by us that you are fit to travel and/or withdraw you from the Arctic trip without any refund or recompense. In such event, you shall reimburse to us any reasonable costs, losses or expenses which we incur or suffer as a result. In the event of you being withdrawn from the Arctic trip, no refunds will be given and we will not be responsible for (and you agree to indemnify us against) any costs, claims, losses and expenses arising including costs of repatriation e.g. flights and legal expenses.
2.4) By signing the declaration on the booking form you confirm that you appreciate the risks involved in the Arctic trip and that you do not suffer (or have ever suffered) from any pre-existing medical condition that may actively prevent you from actively participating in the Arctic trip other than those that have been declared to us.
2.5) It is your responsibility to ensure that you are medically and physically fit enough to undertake the Arctic trip and to ensure that you have received the necessary inoculations and medications (and taken them as prescribed by your doctor) relevant to the destination country of Sweden. Unless informed otherwise in writing we will assume that you are in good health and are not aware of any reason why you may be unsuited to taking part in the Arctic trip. We recommend that you consult your Doctor before making a booking to ensure that you are medically fit and are fully aware regarding the immunizations and medical issues related to your destination country
2.6) By agreeing to these Conditions, you provide your consent to us and our insurers obtaining your medical records should we consider it necessary. You will be responsible for any charges for the provision of the information.
2.7) If the information provided by you is incorrect and we discover that the correct information affects your suitability to take part in the Arctic trip, we may terminate the Contract and withdraw you from the Arctic trip without refund or recompense, including during the Arctic trip. In such event, you shall reimburse to us any reasonable costs, losses or expenses which we incur or suffer as a result. In the event of you being withdrawn from the Arctic trip, no refunds will be given and we will not be responsible for (and you agree to indemnify us against) any costs, claims, losses and expenses arising including costs of repatriation e.g. flights and legal expenses.
2.8) You agree and acknowledge that certain activities undertaken whilst you are on the Arctic trip may be inherently hazardous and have risks associated with them. You agree to abide by all instructions given to you by the leader of the Arctic trip or anyone else appointed by us whilst you are on the Arctic trip and you acknowledge that we cannot be held responsible for any injuries that may arise as a result of you failing to comply with such instructions.
3. Your Responsibilities
3.1) By signing the booking form you confirm that you are aware of, understand and consent to the likely physical demands of the Arctic trip. You confirm that you are aware of the possible effects of such things as, but not restricted to, cold and other inhospitable environments and declare yourself to be sufficiently physically fit and medically healthy to participate safely. You confirm that you accept the authority of the leader of the Arctic trip (Sandy Loder).
3.2) Whilst we may offer guidance and general advice in good faith about how to stay healthy while on the Arctic trip, we will suggest further sources of information which you should familiarise yourself with.
3.3) By signing the booking form you confirm that you are aware that overseas standards of health and hygiene vary from country to country and are seldom as high as they are in the UK. The Arctic trip may be challenging and include visits to remote areas.
3.4) You are responsible for your own equipment and belongings during the Arctic trip and bear the sole responsibility for wear and tear and incidental or accidental damage to your own equipment. We recommend that you take out adequate insurance to cover your equipment. You will be provided with a list of all equipment required to bring on to the Arctic trip and it is your responsibility to ensure that such equipment is provided by you and fit for purpose prior to the Departure Date and for the duration of the Arctic trip. Should you fail to bring with you all items of equipment specified on the list, we reserve the right to exclude you from the Arctic trip. In the event of you being excluded from the Arctic trip under the provisions of this Condition 3.4, no refunds will be given and we will not be responsible for, and you agree to indemnify us against, any costs arising including costs of repatriation e.g. flights, losses or expenses.
3.5) You must at all times throughout the Arctic trip abide by the laws and customs of the countries visited and behave in a respectful and considerate manner to local people and to other members of the Arctic trip.
3.6) Your behaviour during the Arctic trip must not prejudice the safety and wellbeing of any member of the Arctic trip (including yourself), or its satisfactory progress. You agree to wear any safety clothing or equipment deemed necessary by the Company or its service providers.
3.7) Any arrangements which you make independently which do not form part of the published Arctic trip itinerary are entirely at your own risk and we shall have no liability or responsibility to you for such arrangements or your participation in them.
3.8) We will provide equipment for the Arctic trip, including but not limited to, clothing and we are responsible for the maintenance of such equipment. Where you deliberately or recklessly cause damage to any such equipment, during the Arctic trip you shall indemnify us and keep us indemnified from all losses arising from any such wilful or reckless damage so caused including legal costs of making a recovery against you.
3.9) You will be responsible for arranging transfers to your departure airport for the Arctic trip and from your arrival airport upon your return from the Arctic trip. You will be responsible for flights, airport taxes and other costs of travelling to and from the Arctic trip but not the transfer to and from the airport at Kiruna to the kennels and vice versa at the end of the trip.
4. Your Arctic trip price
4.1) We reserve the right to alter the price of the Arctic trip at any time.
4.2) When you make your booking you must pay the fee as set out in the Arctic document on receipt of the invoice.
4.3) Changes in transportation costs, including the cost of fuel, taxes, duties or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports and fluctuation in exchange rates mean that the price of your Arctic trip may change after you have booked. There will be no change within 30 days of your Departure Date.
5. If You Change Your Booking
5.1) We start to incur costs from the moment you make your booking. If, after our confirmation has been issued, you wish to change your Arctic trip in any way, we will do our utmost to make these changes but it may not always be possible. Any request for changes to be made must be in writing/email from you. You will be asked to pay an administration charge of seventy five pounds (£75.00) and any further cost we incur in making this alteration (an “Amendment Charge”). You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the Departure Date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible if you need to amend the booking.
5.2) We may, at our discretion, allow you to transfer your booking to another person provided that such other person indicates their acceptance of these Terms and Conditions. In the event of such a transfer an Amendment Charge shall be payable by you to cover the costs incurred by us in making this alteration. We accept no liability to you if we refuse to transfer your booking to another person for any reason.
6. If You Cancel Your Arctic trip
6.1) You may cancel your Arctic trip at any time. Your written notification must be sent to our office. Since we incur costs in cancelling your Arctic trip, you will have to pay the applicable cancellation charges up to the maximum shown below. We recommend that your travel insurance provides for your reimbursement in the event of a cancellation. You will remain liable for any losses arising from your breach of the Conditions of the Contract.
Amount Refundable
6.2) Cancellation from date of booking until 90 days prior to Departure Date: No fee. Cancellation between 90 and 60 days prior to Departure Date: Loss of 50% of Arctic trip cost. Cancellation within 60 days of Departure Date: Loss of 100% of Arctic trip cost.
6.3) If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges but it is your sole responsibility to do so and we accept no liability for any acts or omissions of your insurance company.
7. If We Change or Cancel Your Arctic trip
7.1) It is unlikely that we will need to make any changes to your Arctic trip, but we have been planning this Arctic trip many months in advance. Occasionally, we may have to make changes and we reserve the right to do so at any time. Most of these changes will be minor and we will advise you of them at the earliest possible date. We also reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your Arctic trip. For example, if the minimum number of clients required for a particular Arctic trip is not reached, we may have to cancel it. However, we will not cancel your Arctic trip less than 42 days before your Departure Date, except for reasons of Force Majeure or failure by you to pay the final balance. If we are unable to provide the Arctic trip, you can either have a refund of all monies paid or accept an offer of an alternative Arctic trip of comparable standard from us if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value). If it is necessary to cancel your Arctic trip for reasons other than Force Majeure, we will pay to you compensation as set out in the table over Condition 6.2. If we cancel the Arctic trip we will not be liable for any indirect or consequential loss suffered by you such as, but not limited to, prior or subsequent travel arrangements, tours or flight arrangements.
7.2) If we make a major change to your Arctic trip, we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your Departure Date. You will have the choice of either accepting the change of arrangements, accepting an offer of an alternative Arctic trip of comparable standard from us if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower price), or cancelling your Arctic trip and receiving a full refund of all monies paid.
If we make a major change to or cancel your trip
7.3) Force Majeure: This means that we will not pay compensation if we have to cancel or change your Arctic trip in any way because of unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control. These can include, for example, war, riot, industrial dispute, terrorist activity and its consequences, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, epidemics or health risks, closed or congested airports, ports or stations, poor local infrastructure, changes imposed by re-scheduling or cancellation of transport by the transport supplier such as flights by airlines or main charterer, the alteration of transport or transport types, adverse weather conditions (actual or threatened), avalanche and technical failure with transport, Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice changing and advising against travel to the Arctic trip destination.
8. Our Liability to You
8.1) Our obligations and those of our suppliers providing any service or facility included in your Arctic trip are to take reasonable skill and care to arrange for the provision of such services and facilities and where we or our supplier is actually providing the service or facility, to provide them and to do so with reasonable skill and care.
8.2) You should be aware that standards including safety and hygiene may be lower than you would expect in the UK. The services provided as part of the Contract we have with you will be deemed to be provided with reasonable skill and care if they comply with the local (in country) standards where the service is delivered.
8.3) We do not accept any liability or responsibility for any personal possessions (including but not limited to cameras, jewellery, valuables and money) which is carried on or in our vehicles, carried on public transport or transport supplied by independent subcontractors, left in accommodation provided by us or our suppliers during the Arctic trip or left in our care during the Arctic trip; such items are carried and/or left at your own risk.
9. Passport, Visa, Immigration Requirements and Local Laws and Regulations
9.1) Your specific passport and visa requirements, and other immigration requirements are your responsibility and you should confirm these with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates. We do not accept any responsibility and shall not be liable if you cannot travel or cannot participate in any part of the Arctic trip because you have not complied with any passport, visa or immigration requirements.
9.2) You are responsible for obtaining and having available the necessary documents (including but not limited to full, current passport with enough blank pages to complete the Arctic trip and valid for at least 6 months from the last day of the Arctic trip and visas for all periods, countries and territories within the Arctic trip) enabling you to participate in the Arctic trip and shall comply with all local legislation and regulations of the countries in which the Arctic trip takes place (including immigration requirements, customs regulations and currency exchange). You shall indemnify us against any loss or expense that we may incur or suffer as a result of breach of this Condition by you.
10. Behaviour
10.1) Whilst the Arctic trip is in progress you will act at all times in accordance with all reasonable instructions from us and/or the Arctic trip Leader.
10.2) We may exclude you from the Arctic trip or any part thereof at any time if we are of the opinion that you are likely to prejudice the good order, discipline or safety of the Arctic trip, including as a result of you failing to comply with the Arctic trip Leader’s instructions, breaking any law or regulation of any country where the Arctic trip takes place or you fail to adhere to the Arctic trip Code of Conduct, provided that we exercise our discretion reasonably in this regard. In such event, you shall reimburse to us any reasonable costs, losses or expenses which we incur or suffer as a result of our decision to exclude you.
10.3) In the event of you being excluded from an Arctic trip under the provisions of this Condition, no refunds will be given and we will not be responsible for and you agree to indemnify us against any costs arising including costs of repatriation e.g. flights and losses or expenses.
11. Insurance
11.1) You must be covered by personal travel insurance. This must cover you fully against the cost of cancellation by you, medical care and repatriation should you become too ill to continue and must above all cover you against the cost of air or other forms of evacuation and/or repatriation should sickness or injury necessitate such a course of action.
11.2) It is your responsibility to ensure that your policy of insurance covers you fully for all of the activities which may take place during the Arctic trip. Whilst we take no responsibility for the contents of any policy of insurance that you choose to take out, we reserve the right to inspect such insurance policy and to refuse to allow you to embark on the Arctic trip or to oblige you to obtain further insurance if we believe that your cover is inadequate and/or does not satisfy the requirements of this Condition 11.1. Please read your policy details carefully and take them with you when you travel.
12. Data Protection
12.1) We shall ensure that appropriate security measures are in place to protect your personal data (as defined in the Data Protection Act 1998). When you make a booking, you consent to all the information you provide being passed on to our suppliers, agents, sub-contractors, employees or volunteers whether based inside or outside the European Economic Area for the purposes of our providing you with the Arctic trip.
13. Promotional Materials
13.1) By agreeing to these Conditions, you consent to our staff taking photographs and or video footage of you during the Arctic trip and that these images may be used by us for publicity and training purposes including, but not limited to, in Arctic documents, websites, marketing material and in the media, in a limited and responsible manner.
14. General
14.1) This Contract is made on the terms of these Conditions, which are governed by English Law, and you agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.
14.2) If any of these Conditions is found by any Court or other competent authority to be wholly or partly unfair or unenforceable the validity of the rest of the Booking Conditions and the rest of the Condition in question shall not be affected and shall remain valid and enforceable to the extent permitted by law.
14.3) A reference in these Conditions to a statute, convention or regulation shall be as a reference to that statute convention or regulation as amended, re-enacted or extended at the relevant time.
14.4) The headings in these Conditions are for convenience only and shall not affect their interpretation.
14.5) Where the context otherwise requires, words importing the singular meaning shall include the plural meaning and vice versa and words denoting the masculine gender shall include the feminine and neuter genders.
14.6) Where the context so admits, words denoting persons shall include natural persons, companies, corporations, firms, partnerships, limited liability partnerships, joint events, trusts, voluntary associations and other incorporated and/or unincorporated bodies or other entities (in each case, whether or not having separate legal personality) and all such words shall be construed interchangeably in that manner.
14.7) A person who is not a party to the contract or these Conditions has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of the contract or these Conditions but this does not affect any right or remedy of a third party which exists or is available apart from this Act.
14.8) The Arctic document and associated websites and their contents are our responsibility. They are not issued on behalf of, and do not commit the airlines mentioned herein or any airline whose services are used in the course of your Arctic trip.