Adventure Activity Booking Terms and Conditions
Please read these terms and conditions carefully before booking an activity break at Vitalise Churchtown.
These Terms and Conditions supersede all previously published Terms and Conditions.
Last updated April 2009
Your agreement with us
Payment
Price
Price guarantee
Changes made by you
Cancellation made by you
Cancellation charges
Curtailment
Changes made by us
Cancellations made by us
Vitalise staff
Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults
Insurance
Complaints
Lost or damaged property
Liability
Force majeure
Brochure and website accuracy
Staff and volunteers
Your agreement with us
Your contract with us shall come into existence when we issue our confirmation invoice. This will be sent within 48 hours of the booking being processed. To make a booking, you must fully complete and sign the relevant booking form and return it to our Kendal office with a non-refundable deposit of 20% per person per break.
Incomplete booking forms will be returned, and where information is incorrect or withheld, or where medical certificates are not available, we will be absolved of any liability, and reserve the right to cancel your booking and retain any payment received.
Please note Vitalise reserves the right to refuse any booking.
In addition, we reserve the right to cancel or curtail any break due to inappropriate behaviour. Vitalise has a zero tolerance policy on alcohol and substance abuse. We, as a charity, reserve the right to terminate the break of any service user who contravenes this policy.
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Payment
An invoice for the cost of the break (less any deposit paid) is issued at the time a booking is confirmed. The invoice will show the date on which the full balance is due, which is six weeks prior to the start of your break. A payment reminder letter will also be sent shortly before the balance is due. Payment is requested immediately on receipt of your reminder.
If the booking is made within six weeks of the break start date, it is deemed a late booking and the contract between us comes into effect upon your confirming to us the acceptance of the arrangements and our receiving full payment. If the deposit or balance is not paid on time we may cancel your booking. If the balance is not paid on time, we shall retain your deposit and levy cancellation charges as detailed in the section marked ‘Cancellation Charges’.
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Price
Prices shown on the Vitalise Churchtown Bookings Options leaflet and on this website are per person, per break, for service user and carer/staff accommodation.
Breaks do not include transport to and from the Centre. While arrangements can often be made with the Centre to provide transport from a local railway station or airport, a charge may be requested for this service. Any early arrivals or late departures from Centres may be accommodated, but may be subject to a surcharge of £100.
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Price guarantee
Once you have paid your deposit and received your confirmation, the price of the break is guaranteed. A letter of confirmation with full details of your booking will be sent once your deposit and booking form have been processed.
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Changes made by you
If, after your booking has been confirmed, you wish to transfer to a different break or change the name in which the booking has been made, we will do our best to make the necessary changes. Changes made within the balance due period will be treated as a cancellation of the original booking and cancellation charges will be applied as shown in the section marked 'Cancellation Charges'.
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Cancellation made by you
You may cancel your break at any time. Written notification from the person who signed the booking form must be received at our Kendal office. The date of cancellation will be the date of receipt of written notification to cancel (not the date of verbal notification by telephone). You will be required to pay the applicable cancellation charges as shown in the section marked 'Cancellation Charges'.
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Cancellation charges
The cancellation charge is the responsibility of the person or organisation who is agreeing to pay.
Charges are based on the date we receive written notification of your cancellation as follows:
More than 28 days before departure – charge will be the deposit (20% of break price)
14–28 days before departure – charge will be 50% of the break price
0–13 days before departure – charge will be 100% of break price
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Curtailment
Guests who choose to leave the Centre before the end of the break will not automatically receive a refund for any nights not spent at the Centre. Where a guest leaves the Centre because of a perceived deficiency in the care provided to them or for another reason, they should follow the complaints procedure and contact the Head of Services at the Vitalise office in Kendal. Find our Kendal office details in the Contact Us section.
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Changes made by us
While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of your booking, amendments will sometimes be necessary. We reserve the right to make minor changes both before and after your booking has been made. Where a major change is necessary, you will be advised in writing immediately and you will have a choice of the following options:
1. Accepting the altered arrangements for the break.
2. Accepting alternative arrangements for a break that we may be able to offer together with any difference in price, be it higher or lower.
3. Cancelling your arrangements for a break with us without charge. Provision of alternative arrangements for breaks remains at the discretion of Vitalise.
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Cancellation made by us
We reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your arrangements for a break. If we are unable to provide the booked break arrangements you can either have a refund of all monies paid or accept an offer of alternative break arrangements of a comparable standard, if available. We also reserve the right to cancel the break of any service user who persistently displays inappropriate behaviour during their stay with us. In this instance, payment for the break will be retained.
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Vitalise staff
Vitalise Churchtown staff cannot provide any personal assistance to the service users beyond that considered essential in an emergency situation (i.e. providing first aid). For this reason, assistance cannot be given with meals/eating, personal care needs and night care. Night Porters are provided in the Centre for security and safety purposes only.
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Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults
All members of visiting staff/group leaders or carers accompanying service users are expected to have appropriate training in respect of their needs. In addition, Vitalise expects all visiting staff/group leaders and carers to have had appropriate background checks prior to their arrival. Responsibility for supervision and welfare remains with carers and group leader at all times.
Vitalise has robust Protection of Vulnerable Adults,Young People and Children policies in place which work in conjunction with local authority protocols. All Vitalise staff are fully trained in their responsibilities under these policies/protocols.
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Insurance
IMPORTANT – to ensure you have protection against the majority of incidents that can spoil or affect a holiday, all fully or partially self-funding guests and carers should take out travel insurance.
Vitalise, in partnership with Crispin Speers & Partners Limited and PJ Hayman Company Limited, has arranged a travel insurance scheme for guests and carers.
For more information on this policy, or to purchase cover, please call 0845 230 0631 or write to: PJ Hayman Company Limited, Stansted House, Rowlands Castle, Hampshire PO9 6DX
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Complaints
If you have a complaint, please take it up initially with the Centre Manager during your break. If you are not satisfied with the response, please write to the Head of Services within 28 days of your return from the break at:
Vitalise, Shap Road Industrial Estate, Shap Road, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 6NZ
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Lost or damaged property
Vitalise accepts no responsibility for loss or damage to property. All items (including equipment and clothing) should be clearly and firmly labelled with the service user's name.
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Liability
We accept responsibility for ensuring that the arrangements for the break you book with us are supplied as described in promotional material, and that the services offered reach a reasonable standard. We are not liable for acts/omissions or third party interference on a client's behalf.
It is a condition of the acceptance of liability that you notify us of any claim in accordance with the conditions relating to complaints. Where any payment is made to you or any members of your party, that person must assign to ourselves, or our insurers, any rights they may have to pursue any third party. Furthermore, they must agree to fully co-operate should our insurers, or we, wish to enforce those rights.
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Force majeure (greater force)
Vitalise shall not be liable for any failure to perform its obligations where such performance is rendered impossible by circumstances beyond its control. Nothing in this clause shall limit the obligation on Vitalise to use the charity's best endeavours to fulfil any obligations. Circumstances which might prevent Vitalise from fulfilling its obligations include war, riot or civil commotion, invasion, rebellion, insurrection, epidemic, acts of terrorism or contamination, radioactive or otherwise.
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Brochure and website accuracy
We have compiled the information in our Vitalise Churchtown brochure and other promotional
material, and on this website, as accurately as possible at the time of going to print. However, we would ask you to appreciate that the brochure is compiled well in advance of the programme. There may be occasions when an amendment to the details of a break must be made. If the amendment is considered to be of a severe enough nature you will be given the opportunity to cancel your break with a full refund, or to amend to an alternative break subject to availability.
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Staff and volunteers
Vitalise supplements employed staff with trained volunteers who provide friendship and support for the social needs of our guests.
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