Terms and Conditions

1. Agreement for Themba Travel Ltd

These Conditions will form the basis of your agreement with Themba Travel Ltd, whose registered office is 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7GU, United Kingdom (‘Themba Travel Ltd’, ‘Themba Travel’, ‘We’, ‘Us’.). They apply only to arrangements which you book with us in the UK and which we agree to make, provide or perform as applicable as part of our agreement with you. This may include voluntary work, training, other activities, accommodation and food, details of which are contained in Themba Travel Ltd’s website, documents, emails and guides. References in these Conditions to ‘arrangements’ and ‘Programme’ mean such arrangements. A ‘Programme’ may consist of one or more ‘Projects’ as advertised on the Themba Travel Ltd website.

‘Partners’ means charities, other organisations or individuals working in conjunction with Themba Travel Ltd. They will be primarily responsible for coordinating the day-to-day nature of most of your activities whilst on the Programme.

‘You’ and ‘Your’ means you / all members of your party that will be undertaking the Programme / your organisation as applicable.

2. Your contract

By making your first payment to Themba Travel Ltd you agree to be bound by these Conditions. A binding agreement will come into existence between us at this point.

We both agree that English Law 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 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).

3. Confirmation and payment to Themba Travel Ltd

Once you have been accepted by Themba Travel Ltd, in order to book your place, you must pay a deposit of at least £200 per person per Project, or full payment if booking within 6 weeks of your start date.

The balance of the cost of your arrangements is due:

1. If between 6-8 weeks until your start date; within 2 working days of your arrangements being confirmed
2. If more than 8 weeks until your start date; by 8 weeks prior to your start date

If we do not receive this balance in full and on time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you in which case the cancellation charges set out in clause 7 below will become payable.

4. Prices

We reserve the right to make changes to and correct errors in advertised and quoted prices at any time before your arrangements are confirmed.

Themba Travel Ltd | 20-22 Wenlock Rd | London N1 7GU | UK

Themba Travel Ltd is registered in England & Wales, Company 12320228

UK Telephone: 07939379636 International Telephone: +44 7939379636
Email: [email protected]

5. Changes by you

Should you wish to make any changes to your confirmed arrangements you must notify us by email as soon as possible. Whilst we will endeavour to assist, we cannot guarantee we will be able to meet any such requests. Where we can, an amendment fee of up to £100 per person per Project per change may be payable together with any costs incurred by ourselves and any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers.

6. Cancellation by you

Should you need to cancel your arrangements once they have been confirmed, you must immediately advise us in by email. Your notice of cancellation will only be effective when it is received in by email by us at our offices. As we incur costs from the time we confirm your arrangements, the following cancellation charges will be payable.

Depending on the reason for cancellation, you may be able to reclaim these cancellation charges (less any applicable excess) under the terms of your insurance policy. Claims must be made directly to the insurance company concerned.

Due to the application process and preparation required before departing on the Programme, it is not possible to transfer your Programme to another person.

If you do not arrive within 24 hours of your scheduled start date, this will be deemed as you cancelling the Programme unless you have notified us and have our agreement.

If you reduce the duration of your Programme after arrival and/or depart earlier than your scheduled departure date, you are not eligible for any refund of the unused proportion of your Programme.

7. Travel Insurance

The Programme does not include travel insurance. We require that you have travel insurance that a minimum includes medical treatment, emergency assistance and repatriation cover. It should also cover you for all activities included in the Programme or that you may choose to do independently.

Pleasereadyourpolicydetailscarefullyandtakethemwithyouwhenyoutravel. Itisyourresponsibilityto ensures that the insurance cover you purchase is suitable and adequate for your particular needs.

8. Changes and cancellation by us

We start planning the Programmes we offer many months in advance. Themba Travel Ltd will endeavour to ensure that the Programme as advertised will be adhered to as closely as possible. However, in certain circumstances changes may need to be made for reasons which may include: the requirements of the local community and our Partners; your own safety and wellbeing; the safety and wellbeing of other people; advice issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO); and other unavoidable factors. You agree to accept the fluid and unpredictable nature of day-to-day life in the countries where Themba Travel Ltd operates and recognise that you may need to be flexible as regards your expectations while on the Programme.

Occasionally, we have to make changes to and correct errors in Programme details both before and after arrangements have been confirmed or cancel confirmed arrangements. Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so.

Most changes are minor. A minor change is any change which we do not expect to have a significant effect on your Programme, taking account of the information you have given us at the time of booking or which we can reasonably be expected to know as a travel organiser.

In the unlikely event that one or more programmed activities cannot be provided at the expected time, or at all, during the course of the Programme, Themba Travel Ltd or their Partners will endeavour to re-schedule the activity or arrange a suitable alternative. In the unlikely event that a suitable alternative cannot be provided, you will be informed as soon as is reasonably practicable and will be entitled to a partial refund to reflect the value of the activity.

Occasionally, we have to make a significant change. A significant change is a change which, taking account of the information you give us at the time of booking and which we can reasonably be expected to know as a travel organiser, we expect to have a major effect on your Programme. Significant changes are likely to include the following changes: (i) the Programme start or end dates change by more than 14 days either way; (ii) we can no longer offer you a Programme in the chosen Country; (iii) we can no longer offer you a Programme with the specified Partner.

If we have to make a significant change or cancellation, we will tell you as soon as possible. If there is time to do so, we will offer you the choice of the following options:

1. Accepting the changed arrangements.
2. Switching to an alternative Programme from us (if the chosen alternative is less expensive than your original one, we will refund the difference but if it is more expensive, we will ask you to pay the difference).
3. Cancelling or accepting the cancellation in which case you will receive a full and quick refund of all monies you have paid to us.

The above options will not be available if we cancel as a result of your failure to comply with any requirement of these conditions entitling us to cancel (such as paying on time) or if the change made is a minor one.

9. Force Majeure

We regret we cannot accept liability, pay any compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur 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 or loss as a result of “force majeure”. In these 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 war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, actual or threatened terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control.

10. Our Liability to you

1. We will accept responsibility for the arrangements we agree to provide or arrange for you as an “organiser” under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, as set out below. Subject to these booking conditions, if we or our suppliers perform or arrange your contracted arrangements negligently, taking into consideration all relevant factors (for example following the complaints procedure as described in these conditions and the extent to which ours or our employees’ or suppliers’ negligence affected the overall enjoyment of your Programme), we will pay you reasonable compensation. Please note that it is your responsibility to show that we or our supplier(s) have been negligent if you wish to make a claim against us.
2. We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claims of any description if it results from:
   1. The act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected;
   2. The act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable; or
   3. Unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond ours or our supplier(s) control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or
   4. An event which either ourselves or suppliers could not, even with all due care, have foreseen or forestalled.
3. We limit the amount of compensation we may have to pay you if we are found liable under this clause:
   1. Loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions and money. The maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is a sum equal to the excess on your travel insurance policy in total because you are assumed to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.
   2. Claims not falling under (a) above or involving injury, illness or death. The maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is twice the price paid to us by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total. This maximum amount will only be payable where you or your party has not received any benefit at all from the Programme.
   3. Claims in respect of international travel by air, sea and rail, or any stay in a hotel
      1. The extent of our liability will in all cases be limited as if we were carriers under the appropriate Conventions, which include The Warsaw/Montreal Convention (international travel by air); The Athens Convention (with respect to sea travel); The Berne/Cotif Convention (with respect to rail travel) and The Paris Convention (with respect to hotel arrangements). Y ou can ask for copies of these Conventions from our offices. Please contact us. In addition, you agree that the operating carrier or transport company’s own ‘Conditions of Carriage’ will apply to you on that journey. When arranging transportation for you, we rely on the terms and conditions contained within these international conventions and those ‘Conditions of Carriage’. You acknowledge that all of the terms and conditions contained in those ‘Conditions of Carriage’ form part of your contract with us, as well as with the transport company and that those ‘Conditions of Carriage’ shall be deemed to be included by reference into this contract.
      2. In any circumstances in which a carrier is liable to you by virtue of the Denied Boarding Regulation 2004, any liability we may have to you under our contract with you, arising out of the same facts, is limited to the remedies provided under the Regulation as if (for this purpose only) we were a carrier.
      3. When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the transport provider or hotelier for the complaint or claim in question.
   4. It is a condition of our acceptance of liability under this clause that you notify any claim to ourselves and our supplier(s) strictly in accordance with the complaints procedure set out in these conditions.
   5. Where any payment is made, the person(s) receiving it (and their parent or guardian if under 18 years) must also assign to ourselves or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party and must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require.
   6. Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss or expense or other sum(s) of any description 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 any business losses.
   7. We will not accept responsibility for services or facilities which do not form part of our agreement. For example flights, any additional tour you book, or any service or facility which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you.

 Except as disclosed in your medical questionnaire, you are taken to confirm at the time of booking that you are in good health, physically capable of undertaking all aspects of the trip, and unaware of any reason why you may be unsuited to taking part or maybe likely to suffer illness or injury during the trip, taking into account its challenges and purposes. If you are unable to give for this confirmation for any reason or have any medical condition or disability which may affect your trip, you must contact us before you submit your application form so that we can assist you in considering the suitability of the trip for you.

I confirm that I am not travelling against the advice of a medical expert or practitioner.

I accept that if I significantly break this agreement or persistently behave in such a way as is, in the view of Themba Travel Ltd or their Partners, inconsistent with the spirit of the Programme, Themba Travel Ltd and/or their Partners retain the right to terminate the Programme.

Note

*Applicable to those participating in our Volunteer Programmes.

You are not required to sign this agreement. By making your first payment (this may be a payment made by you or someone else on your behalf) to Themba Travel Ltd you confirm that you agree to be bound by these Conditions.