ARTICLE 1 - PREAMBULE
Information and photos presented on the website RiverLoire.com, are regularly updated, however they have no contractual value. The terms and conditions as stipulated in these GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS prevail on them.
The purchase of travel packages implies the customer’s complete agreement with these GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
ARTICLE 2 – FIELD OF APPLICATION
In accordance with article R.211-14 of the FrenchTourism Code, the travel brochures and contracts provided by travel agents to their customers must include in full the following terms and conditions, extracted from articles R211-5 à R211-13 of the Tourism Code. Please note that this English translation is provided as a courtesy. The original French text of law will prevail in case of dispute.
Article R211-5 :
Subject to the exclusions mentioned in the second paragraph (parts a and b) from the article 14 of the law of July 13th, 1992; any offer, sale of benefits of trips, or any stays require the delivery of appropriate documents complying with the rules defined by the present title.
For air travel tickets or tickets for other common carrier without any accompanying benefits included with the transportation, the seller issues to the purchaser one or several tickets of passage for the full extent of the journey issued by or on behalf of the carrier. For charter transport, the name and address of the carrier for which tickets are issued, must be mentioned. Separate invoices for the various elements of a tourist fixed-rate package does not relieve the seller from its obligations under this title.
Article R211-6 :
Before a contract can be formed, the seller must provide the buyer a written document, mentioning the seller's corporate name, address and the indication of its administrative approval, and providing information on prices, dates and other essential elements of the benefits provided with the travel or included in the tour such as:
1° The destination, the means, characteristics, and categories of transport used;
2° The type of accommodation, its location, level of comfort, main characteristics, and tourist classification under the custom or legal requirements of the destination country;
3° The meals provided;
4° A description of the itinerary in the case of a tour;
5° The administrative and health requirements for entry into another country and delay needed to complete them;
6° All visits, excursions and other services included in the fixed rate, or available for an additional fee;
7° The minimum or maximum size of the group for the tour to take place. If the trip or tour is subject to a minimum number of participants, the deadline for informing the buyer of its cancellation. This deadline cannot be less than twenty-one days before the departure date;
8° The amount or percentage of the price to be paid as a deposit at the time of the contract as well as the schedule for payment of the balance;
9° The terms of review of prices as mentionned in the contract in accordance with the article R.211-10 below.
10° The contractual cancellation conditions;
11° The statutory cancellation conditions as mentionned in articles R.211-11, R.211-12, and R.211-13 below.
12° Details of the risks covered and the coverage provided in any insurance policy covering consequences of the professional civil liability of the travel agencies and the civil liability of associations and non-profit companies and of local tourism offices.
13° Information about the option to contract a trip-insurance to cover certain trip cancellations or certain specific risks, such as the repatriation expenses in case of accident or illness.
Article R211-7
The foregoing information provided to the buyer binds the seller, unless the seller specifically reserves the right to change certain elements. In that case, the seller must clearly state the conditions and the elements that can be changed. In any case, the buyer must disclose in writing to the consumer any modification made to the foregoing information before the contract becomes effective.
Article R211-8
The contract between the seller and the buyer must be in writing, with a copy sent to the buyer, and must be signed by both parties. The contract must include the following provisions:
1° The name and the address of the seller, his guarantor and his insurer as well as the name and the address of the organizer;
2° The destination(s) of the tour and, if the tour include different destinations, the different periods and their dates;
3° The means, characteristics, and categories of transport used, and the dates, times, and places of departure and return ;
4° The type of accommodation, its location, level of comfort, main characteristics, and tourist classification under the custom or legal requirements of the destination;
5° The number of meals provided ;
6° A description of the itinerary in the case of a tour;
7° The visits, excursions and other services included in the total price of the trip or package ;
8° The total price of the services invoiced and an indication of any possible revision of this invoicing under the provisions of article R211-10 below ;
9° An information, if applicable, of any fees or taxes with certain services such as taxes for landing, embarkation or disembarkation in ports and airports, taxes on temporary residence or other services that are not included in the price of the benefits provided;
10° The schedule and methods of payment for the price; in any case, the last remittance made by the buyer cannot be less than 30 % of the price of the journey or stay and must be made when the documents allowing to accomplish the journey or stay are delivered;
11° The particular conditions requested by the buyer and accepted by the seller;
12° The methods by which the buyer can make a claim against the seller for non-execution or poor execution of the contract. This claim must be addressed, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to the seller in the shortest possible time, and may be also addressed by letter, to the organizer of the tour and to the service provider ;
13° The deadline for informing the buyer of the cancellation of the trip or tour by the seller if a minimum number of participants is required for the trip or tour, in accordance with the dispositions of item 7 in article R211-6 above;
14° The contractual cancellation conditions ;
15° The conditions of cancellation as detailed in articles R211-11, R211-12 and R211-13 below;
16° The details of the covered risks and total amount of guarantees under the insurance covering the seller's professional civil liability ;
17° The details of the insurance policies covering consequences of certain cases of cancellation subscribed by the buyer (policy number and name of insurer), and those covering certain specific risks, such as expenses of repatriation in the event of accident or illness; in that case, the seller must provide the purchaser with a document mentionning at least the covered risks and the excluded risks;
18° The deadline for informing the seller if the buyer transfers the contract;
19° A commitment to provide the buyer with the following information, in writing, and at least ten days before the departure date:
a) The name, address and the telephone number of the local representative of the seller, or the names, addresses and telephone numbers of local organizations likely to help the buyer in case of difficulty, or the seller's telephone number to call in case of emergency ;
b) For journey and holidays abroad by minors, a telephone number and an address for direct contact with the child or the representative at the place of his stay .
Article R211-9:
The buyer can transfer his contract to a transferee who fulfils the same conditions as the buyer to perform the trip or the holiday, as long as this contract produced no effect.
In the absence of a provision more favourable to the buyer, he or she must inform the seller of his decision by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt no later than seven days before the beginning of trip. In the case of a cruise, this period is extended to fifteen days. This transfer is not subject to a prior approval of the seller.
Article R211-10:
When the contract includes a specific provision for changes of price, within the limits defined in the article L.211-13, it must state the precise conditions of change of prices, both in increase and in decrease, including the transport charges and any associated taxes, currency fluctuations that can have an impact on the price of the journey or the holiday, the element of the price subject to the variation, and the rate of the currency or currencies used as a reference when determining the contract price.
Article R211-11
If the buyer has to change one of the essential elements of the contract, such as a significant increase in price, before the departure of the buyer, the buyer can, without prejudice to any other right to damages, and after being informed by the seller by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt:
• Either cancel the contract and receive an immediate refund of sums previously paid, without penalty;
• Or accept the modification or journey of substitution offered by the seller; an amendment to the contract specifying the modifications is then signed by the parties; any reduction in price is deducted from any amounts still payable by the buyer and, if the amount already paid by the buyer exceeds the price of the changed benefit, the overpayment must be reimbursed to him/her before the date of departure.
Article R211-12
Within the terms of the article L.211-15, when the seller cancels the journey or the holiday before the buyer’s departure, he or she must inform the buyer by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt; the buyer, without prejudice to any other right to damages, receive from the seller an immediate refund of sums previously paid, without penalty; the buyer recieves in this case an allowance at least equal to the penalty that he or she would have had to pay if he had cancelled the trip or stay at that time.
The provisions of this article under no circumstances prevent the reaching of an amicable agreement by which the buyer a replacement journey or holiday offered by the seller.
Article R211-13
When, after the departure of the buyer, the seller cannot provide a major part of the services expected as per the contract representing a non-negligible percentage of the price paid by the buyer, the seller must immediately take the following steps without prejudice to any other right to damages:
• Either offer benefits in replacement of the expected benefits, the seller bearing any extra cost involved, and, if benefits accepted by the buyer are of lower quality, the seller must reimburse him or her, on his or her return, for the difference in price;
or, if he or she can offer no replacement or if the replacement is refused by the buyer for valid reasons, the buyer must provide travel tickets to the seller, at no additional charge, to assure his return to the place of departure or another place accepted by both parties, under conditions that can be considered as equivalent.
ARTICLE 3 – BOOKING
3.1 Capacity: The buyer represents that he has the full legal capacity to enter into a contract and to use the site RiverLoire.com in accordance with these GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
The buyer acknowledges that he is financially responsible for the use of the site both by himself and by minors in his care. Registration requests concerning young persons under 18 years of age must be signed by one of the parents or legal guardian, and marked “With the consent of the father/mother/legal guardian”.
3.2 Signing of orders: The buyer must provide information necessary for identification, including his/her first name, last name, postal address, and e-mail address, to place an order.
By choosing a break package, the customer acknowledges his approval and acceptance of the general conditions of sale.
3.3 Contract processing: Every offer and order on this site is subject to availability. Once an order is received, RiverLoire emails the customer a confirmation of the order's receipt. This notice confirms that order has been received but does not necessarily mean that the requested service is available.
If the request service is available, RiverLoire sends to the customer a Final Booking Form recapitulating the details of the tour and the total cost. The customer confirms his acceptance by signing this reservatin form and returns it with a Deposit of 450 €/person. RiverLoire reverts to the customers with a Booking Number, validating the tour and concluding the contract.
If the requested package is unavailable, RiverLoire contacts the customer to offer him a different date, on which the package is available, or an alternative offering, or a cancellation of the order.
ARTICLE 4 – PRICE AND PAYMENT
4.1 Price: All prices are shown in euros (VAT included) in Riverloire’s website. Other currencies are given only as an indication of price. The contractual price is indicated in the Final Booking Form.
4.2 Payment: Payment can be made by credit cards (Visa, Eurocard Mastercard), or bank transfer. We apply a 1,5 % fee for credit card payment. Payments over 5 000,00 € must be made by bank transfer only.
An order can be validated confirmed only after the Deposit has been received by RiverLoire’s bank.
The balance of the total cost must be received on RiverLoire bank account no later than 35 days before the first day of the tour. Should the payment not be received by this time, the tour is considered as cancelled by the buyer and the deposit is kept by RiverLoire as a cancellation fee.
If the booking is proceeds within 35 days prior to the start of the tour, the full amount must be paid at the time of the booking.
ARTICLE 5 – TRANSPORTATION TO FRANCE
All RiverLoire’s tours start in France, and RiverLoire does not provide booking services from your home country up to your arrival in France.
RiverLoire can not be held responsible in the event of a visa or transportation ticket application being denied, or any other events that will prevent the customer to reach at the exepected time the start point of the contracted tour, or for any additionnal costs that will be applicable to the customer for him/her to reach on time the stating point of our tour.
RiverLoire strongly advise the customer to contract an Insurance to cover totally or partially those risks.
ARTICLE 6 – AMENDMENTS
RiverLoire will endeavour to satisfy any additionnal requests made by the buyer to the contracted tour, such as an increased number of persons in the party, an additionnal option to the tour or a longer period. Upon the confirmation by RiverLoire that such modification is possible, only their additionnal cost will be charged, with no other fee.
ARTICLE 7 - CANCELLATION
7.1 cancellation before the start date of the tour :
The customer must inform RiverLoire of his/her intention to cancel the tour before the departure, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. A change of date for an event is regarded as a total cancellation. The reduction in the number of participants or the duration of the event is considered as a partial cancellation.
Complete Cancellation :
• within 30 days prior to departure: 100% of the total price of the tour
• from 31 days to 90 days prior to departure: 50%
• more than 90 days prior to departure : 10%
Partial Cancellation :
• less than 30 days prior to the event : 100% of the total amount cancelled.
• more than 30 days prior to the event : 50 % of the total amount cancelled
7.2 Cancellation or curtailment during the tour: Any cancellation or curtailment of stay by the customer during his/her holiday or his/her limited use of the facilities or services provided or pre-booked will not give the customer any right to a refund or credit note from RiverLoire.
ARTICLE 8 - RESTRICTIONS - RESPONSABILITIES - FORCE MAJEURE
8.1 Restrictions:
Certain offered activities require that the customer be of suitable age and in proper health. It is the customer's obligation to assure that he or she is in appropriate physical condition to participate in these activities.
In particular, wine-tasting is available only to adults.
The performance of certain activities is subject to weather conditions
Any refusal on behalf of a partner to perform for the reasons stated above will not be considered to be any form of discrimination and will not be the responsibility of RiverLoire or the concerned supplier.
8.2 Responsibilities
In accordance with the provisions of article L121-20-3 of the code of consumption, RiverLoire will not be responsible if non-performance or poor performance of the contract is attributable to either the customer or to unforeseeable and insurmountable conditions caused by third parties (other than contractors of RiverLoire), or to force majeure
8.3 Force Majeure
The parties' obligations will not be applicable or will be suspended if their execution became impossible due to an act of force majeure, such as: act of public potency, hostilities, war, natural disaster, fire, strike, criminal acts.
Each party must inform the other as soon as possible of the occurrence of a force majeure event that will prevent it from carrying out all or part its contractual obligations.
Parties must use all efforts to prevent or reduce the effects of a non-performance of the contract caused by an event of force majeure; the party seeking to invoke an event of force majeure must notify the other party without delay of the beginning and end of this event. Without such notice, the party will not be relieved of his or her responsibility.
ARTICLE 9 - DISPUTE AND APPLICABLE LAW
Any complaint for non performance or poor performance of one of the benefits of the tour, should be made as soon as possible and confirmed by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, within 15 days after the end of the tour.
These general terms and conditions as well as the contract made by ordering a vacation package online are governed exclusively by French law. Any dispute concerning the application of these terms of sale shall be the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the department of Indre-et-Loire, in which RiverLoire is located.
Nevertheless, the parties agree to try and reach an amicable resolution of any difficulties or of disputes concerning the interpretation, execution, or termination of the parties' contract before starting any legal action.
