TERMS & CONDITIONS
Workshop bookings
The following conditions (“booking conditions”) form the basis of your contract with Paul Thomson Photography (“I”, “we”, “us” and “our” means Paul Thomson Photography). References to “you” and “your” means all persons named on the booking, or any of them as the context requires (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later stage). References to “workshop” means all arrangements we contract to provide for you in relation to your chosen workshop as shown on our confirmation.
The deposit required is payable if the workshop is booked more than 60 days before the start date of the workshop otherwise full payment is required at the time of booking and must be sent with the completed booking form (via my online booking form system which upon completion is emailed directly to me). The payment is only refundable where stated in these booking conditions. The receipt or banking of a payment does not imply acceptance of a booking. A confirmation will be emailed or posted and it is not until we confirm acceptance of the booking in this manner that a contract comes into existence between us. Please check your confirmation immediately on receipt and let us know straight away if any information in this, or any other document we send you, appears to be incorrect as it may not be possible to make changes later without payment of any applicable charges.
Any cancellation by you must be made in writing and will only be effective when received by us. Your payment once made is not normally refundable if you cancel your workshop, but we endeavour to refund (less a £25 per person handling charge if we receive another booking for your place (not applicable where the workshop is not full).
We reserve the right to cancel or make changes to any workshop. We will notify you as soon as possible if this happens. Should a cancellation or significant change become necessary, you will then have the choice of booking an alternative workshop (subject to availability) and paying the price applicable to that workshop or receiving a full refund of all monies paid to us. Compensation will not be payable and no liability beyond offering the above mentioned choices can be accepted where (1) we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care or (2) we have to cancel because the minimum number of bookings necessary for us to operate your course has not been reached. No compensation will be payable and the above options will not be available if we cancel as a result of your failure to comply with any requirement of these booking conditions entitling us to cancel (such as paying on time) or where a change is a minor one.
In the event of the specified tutor being unable to attend due to illness or other circumstances beyond our control, another workshop leader will be provided. If this is not possible, then the workshop will be cancelled and the provisions of clause 3 will come into effect.
We reserve the right to change any of the prices, services or other particulars of our workshops at any time before we enter into contract with you. If there is any change, we will notify you before we confirm your booking.
If you have special dietary or other requests, you should inform us of these at the time of booking. We will advise the relevant supplier of your requirements, but we cannot guarantee that such requests will be met, and will have no liability to you if such requests are not met (unless the request is related to a medical condition or disability and we have confirmed in writing that the request will be met). If you have any medical condition or disability which may affect your participation in your chosen workshop or any special requirements as a result of any medical condition or disability (including any which affect the booking process), please tell us before you confirm your booking so that we can assist you in considering the suitability of the arrangements and/or making the booking. In any event, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking and whenever any change in the condition or disability occurs. You must also promptly advise us if any medical condition or disability which may affect your workshop develops after your booking has been confirmed.
The type of workshops we offer require flexibility and must allow for alternatives. For this reason the outline itinerary and workshop description must be taken as an indication of what may take place on the workshop, and not as a contractual obligation on the part of the company.
We do not accept responsibility or liability for death, bodily injury or illness caused to you, unless arising from the negligent act and/or omission on our part or on the part of any of our employees (providing they were at the time acting within the course of their employment).
We both agree that English Law (and no other) will apply to your contract and to any dispute, claim or other matter of any description, which arises between us (except as set out below). We both also agree that any dispute, claim or other matter of any description (and whether or not involving any personal injury) which arises between us must be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only unless, in the case of Court proceedings, you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland. In this case, proceedings must either be brought in the Courts of your home country or those of England and Wales. If proceedings are brought in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may choose to have your contract and any dispute, claim or other matter of any description which arises between us governed by the law of Scotland/Northern Ireland as applicable (but if you do not so choose, English law will apply).
You must communicate any perceived failure of the course or workshop to us whilst on the course, thus giving us the opportunity of achieving a satisfactory solution. Should this not be possible for any reason, your complaint must be made in writing to us within 28 days after the finish date of the course. For all complaints and claims which do not involve death, personal injury or illness, we regret we cannot accept liability if you fail to notify the complaint or claim entirely in accordance with this clause.
It is a term of the contract between us that you will obtain the appropriate travel insurance cover before you set out on the workshop. The insurance must cover the loss, expenses and damages arising from, including but not limited to, the cancellation of the workshop (whether in whole or in part), personal accident and injury, medical and repatriation costs, loss of baggage and personal money and belongings and flight cancellations and delays. It is a term of the contract between us that you will obtain the appropriate travel insurance cover before you set out on the Workshop (whether abroad or in the UK). The insurance must cover the loss, expenses and damages arising from, including but not limited to, the cancellation of the Workshop (whether in whole or in part), personal accident and injury, medical and repatriation costs (for overseas holidays), loss of baggage and personal money and belongings and flight cancellations and delays. If you wish to cancel a Workshop that has not been cancelled by us, then we advise claiming on your personal travel insurance.
Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, we regret we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our obligations under our contract with you is prevented or affected by or you otherwise suffer any damage, loss or expense of any nature as a result of "force majeure". In these booking conditions, "force majeure" means any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include, (whether actual or threatened), war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire, epidemics / pandemics and all similar events outside our control.
When you book with us, you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you. Full payment for any such damage or loss (reasonably estimated if not precisely known) must be made direct to the accommodation owner or manager or other supplier or to us as soon as possible. If the actual cost of the loss or damage exceeds the amount paid where estimated, you must pay the difference once known. If the actual cost is less than the amount paid, the difference will be refunded. You will also be responsible for meeting any claims subsequently made against us and all costs incurred by us (including our own and the other party’s full legal costs) as a result of your actions. You should ensure you have appropriate travel insurance to protect you if this situation arises.
Many of the services which make up your course are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier's liability to you, sometimes in accordance with applicable international conventions. Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions and of the international conventions are available on request from ourselves or the supplier concerned. If your workshop includes overnight accommodation, the following clauses will also apply to your booking;-
We promise to make sure that the arrangements we have agreed to make, perform or provide as applicable as part of our contract with you are made, performed or provided with reasonable skill and care. This means that, subject to these booking conditions, we will accept responsibility if, for example, you suffer death or personal injury or your contracted arrangements are not provided as promised or prove deficient as a result of the failure of ourselves, our employees, agents or suppliers to use reasonable skill and care in making, performing or providing, as applicable, your contracted holiday arrangements. Please note, it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim against us. In addition, we will only be responsible for what our employees, agents and suppliers do or do not do if they were at the time acting within the course of their employment (for employees) or carrying out work we had asked them to do (for agents and suppliers).
We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (for example loss of enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which results from any of the following: – the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party not connected with the provision of your course and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable or 'force majeure' as defined in clause 13 above
Please note, we cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised by us and we have not agreed to arrange them as part of our contract and any excursion you purchase in resort. In addition, regardless of any wording used by us on our website, in any advertising material or elsewhere, we only promise to use reasonable skill and care as set out above and we do not have any greater or different liability to you.
The promises we make to you about the services we have agreed to provide or arrange as part of our contract – and the laws and regulations of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred – will be used as the basis for deciding whether the services in question had been properly provided. If the particular services which gave rise to the claim or complaint complied with local laws and regulations applicable to those services at the time, the services will be treated as having been properly provided. This will be the case even if the services did not comply with the laws and regulations of the UK which would have applied had those services been provided in the UK. The exception to this is where the claim or complaint concerns the absence of a safety feature which might lead a reasonable traveller to refuse to take the arrangements in question.
Where we are found liable for loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions (including money), the maximum amount we will have to pay you is £250 per person affected unless a lower limitation applies to your claim under this clause or clause 16 (6) below. You must ensure you have appropriate travel insurance to protect your personal belongings. For all other claims which do not involve death or personal injury, if we are found liable to you on any basis the maximum amount we will have to pay you is twice the price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total unless a lower limitation applies to your claim under clause 17(6) below. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday.
Where any claim or part of a claim (including those involving death or personal injury) concerns or is based on any travel arrangements (including the process of getting on and/or off the transport concerned) provided by any air, sea, rail or road carrier or any stay in a hotel, the maximum amount of compensation we will have to pay you will be limited. The most we will have to pay you for that claim or that part of a claim if we are found liable to you on any basis is the most the carrier or hotelier concerned would have to pay under the international convention or regulation which applies to the travel arrangements or hotel stay in question (for example, the Warsaw Convention as amended or unamended and the Montreal Convention for international travel by air and/or for airlines with an operating licence granted by an EU country, the EC Regulation on Air Carrier Liability No 889/2002 for national and international travel by air, the Athens Convention for international travel by sea and COTIF, the Convention on International Travel by Rail). Please note: where a carrier or hotelier would not be obliged to make any payment to you under the applicable international convention or regulation in respect of a claim or part of a claim, we similarly are not obliged to make a payment to you for that claim or part of the claim. When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the carrier or hotelier for the complaint or claim in question. Copies of the applicable international conventions and regulations are available from us on request.
Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sum(s) of any description (1) which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you or (2) which did not result from any breach of contract or other fault by ourselves or our employees or, where we are responsible for them, our suppliers. Additionally we cannot accept liability for any business losses.