Conditions of participations

1. REGISTRATION: We recommend that you book as early as possible. Please use the registration form. Fill it out completely. The contract is then made with SPRACHCAFFE when the application has been accepted. We will confirm this in writing.
2. PAYMENT: We ask you to pay 10% of the total holiday cost within one week of receiving the booking confirmation/invoice, not more than a maximum of 250 Euro per person though. This payment will be taken off the total to pay. The amount for an insurance package or the cancellation insurance is not included in the total holiday price and is due with the first payment. The payments you make for the holiday are insured against insolvency under §651k, paragraph 3 of the BGB. With the booking confirmation/invoice you also receive the security certificate in way of "qualified” travel documents. Payment of the outstanding costs is due about 4 weeks before departure. Travel documents will be sent to you from SPRACHCAFFE or your travel agent.
3. SERVICES: Only the services described in the catalogue and the details referred to here in the booking confirmation/invoice are considered as legally binding contractual services.
3.1 Changes to services: Supplementary agreements which change the extent of the contractual services require specific written confirmation from us. Changes and differences to the agreed contents of the travel contract which are necessary after the contract has been signed, and which are made in good faith by SPRACHCAFFE are allowed, so long as the changes and differences are not considerable and do not lead to substantial changes in what the operator is offering or reduce the general calibre of the holiday as booked. SPRACHCAFFE is required by law to inform the customer about changes and differences to services.
3.2 Lack of services: Complaints with regard to the services agreed with the travel operator must be reported as soon as possible, so that immediate help can be put in place. If SPRACHCAFFE has no chance to remedy the situation because the client omitted to report a complaint, a reduction in price is then not possible.
4. CANCELLATION:
4.1 Cancellation by tour operator: If the minimum number of participants quoted in the brochure is not reached then SPRACHCAFFE is within its rights to withdraw providing it carries out the following: a) Sprachcaffe must inform the client about the cancellation of the holiday as soon as it is confirmed that the minimum number of participants has not been reached. b) Cancellation by the tour operator must be at least three weeks before departure. c) The holiday-maker receives immediate full repayment of all costs paid to date.
4.2 Cancellation by the customer: You may cancel your holiday at any time before departure. In your own interests and to avoid any misunderstandings we recommend you do this in writing as soon as possible. If you cancel the holiday we are within our rights to ask for appropriate compensation for the precautions taken and our expenditure. When calculating the compensation we will normally consider any expenditure saved and other possible costs that we have incurred. The date your cancellation letter arrives at SPRACHCAFFE or at the travel agents you were registered with, is decisive in calculating the cancellation fees. The amount of the cancellation fee depends on the cost of the holiday. In general the cancellation flat fees that we, unfortunately, have to charge for every participant are as follows. You do have the right, however, to prove to us that the costs incurred are less than the required cancellation fees. The cancellation fees are:
up to 30 days before departure 10%
from 29 to 22 days before departure 20%
from 21 to 15 days before departure 30%
from 14 to 7 days before departure 40%
less than 6 days before departure 50%, of the total cost of the holiday.
If you do not take up the holiday but do not inform us, the total cost of the holiday will be charged. It is possible that any costs saved by SRACHCAFFE will be refunded. If a holiday-maker continues to disturb the course of a holiday in spite of a warning, or behaves in a manner that is contrary to the contract, then SPRACHCAFFE has the right to discontinue that person’s holiday immediately. SPRACHCAFFE retains the cost of the holiday; though it is possible that any costs recovered will be credited to the client.
Our language school offers very different levels of courses. In group courses we are only able to put everyone into the correct groups on the first day of the course. For this reason we cannot rule out that in exceptional cases as a result of the test only one or two people are found to have the same level. In this case the school runs the classes as a (semi) individual lesson whereby the number of lessons is reduced and at least 60% of the duration of the booked group course is given as (semi) individual lessons (instead of 20 lessons in a group, there will be 12 individual (or in twos) lessons, instead of 30 lessons in a group, there will be 18 individual (or in twos) lessons). In any case it is an "upgrade”, an increase in quality that you do not have to pay any extra for.
5. ALTERING THE BOOKING: BAs far as is possible we will alter your booking up to 31 days before departure with regard to dates, accommodation etc. Should you decide to opt for another service instead of the original one or wish to change the people travelling after signing the holiday contract with us, then, unfortunately we have to charge an alteration fee of 50 Euro for our extra work.
6. LIABILITY: Liability for damages, which are not physical, is limited to three times the amount of the total cost of the holiday in the case of contractual compensation claims. This is valid as long as the holiday-maker’s damage was not intentionally caused by us or due to gross negligence on our behalf or that SRACHCAFFE alone is responsible for the damage to of one of the holiday-makers because of a service supporter’s mistake.
Where a service to be performed by a service provider/ supporter is covered by international agreements – or legal provisions based on such agreements – which provide that a right to compensation arises or may be enforced only subject to certain requirements or restrictions, or which preclude such compensation in certain circumstances, such provisions may also be relied on by SPRACHCAFFE against the client.
7. LIMITATION: Claims of short comings during the holiday lapse after twelve months. This limitation starts the day after which the holiday contract is due to finish.
8. INEFFECTIVENESS OF ONE OF THE TRAVEL CONDITIONS: Should one of the above travel conditions become ineffective, or inadmissible, this has no effect on the state of any of the other conditions.
TOUR OPERATOR:
SPRACHCAFFE Reisen GmbH
Gartenstr. 6
60594 Frankfurt am Main
Telephone: (069) 61 09 120
Fax: (069) 79 120 10 01
HRB 25400 Frankfurt/M
As at 17.12.03 typing errors excepted!