Booking Conditions

Terms of Business

Big House Holidays act as booking agents for the owners of accommodation let for holidays, making booking contracts between you, the customer, and the owner of the property you have requested for your holiday. Our fee for making this contract and for providing information to help you choose the property for your holiday is included in the overall price of the holiday.

We will always do our best to resolve any problems which may arise. Any dispute relating to the holiday itself will be a matter directly between you and the owner (you will be furnished with owner's details along with cottage directions and key arrangements sent out following our receipt of your full or final payment for the holiday).

Your booking – which must be on our Booking Form accompanied by a deposit of one-third of the total price - will only be effective when confirmed by us in writing. The balance, together with any Cautionary Deposit must be received by us, acting as agents for the owner, not later than eight weeks before the beginning of your holiday. In the event of cancellation and if the property cannot be re-let you will have to pay the whole quoted price for the period booked. VAT is included in the price quoted. If there is a change in the VAT rate, the quoted price may have to be adjusted accordingly.

Occupation - Properties are, unless otherwise stated in the property's description, available for occupation from 4.00 pm on the first day of your holiday and must be vacated by 10.00 am. on the last day. The licence from the owner shall permit you and the members of your party as named on the booking form only to occupy the property. For the avoidance of doubt you may invite friends over to visit but the number of people in the property must at no time exceed the amount of people the property ‘sleeps’ as stated on our website description, unless you have the owner’s prior consent. No-one other than those on the Booking Confirmation form may sleep at the property. Failure to observe these rules is a serious breach of these Terms and Business. You may not sub-let the property.

Rules of the House – You must comply with 'rules of the house' laid down by the owner, which have been made to improve the use and enjoyment of the property for all concerned. If the owner does not communicate any such rules to you, you must assume that 'normal' rules (such as consideration for neighbours) apply.

Maintaining the Property - You must keep the property clean and in good order and will be responsible for any breakages. Where Cautionary Deposits apply, the owner shall be entitled to deduct from the Cautionary Deposit the cost of remedying any breach of these obligations together with the cost of any service or goods provided to or for you and for which have not paid. We accept the Cautionary Deposit as agent for the owners and therefore we cannot act on your behalf in any dispute between the owner and yourself concerning it. Such disputes should be settled directly with the owner. The whole amount or the balance after any deduction of the Cautionary Deposit will be refunded to you promptly following the end of the letting.

Property Descriptions - We have inspected carefully all properties and the information in our brochure and on our website is believed to be true and accurate as at the time of going to press. Whilst all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that descriptions and other information given to you in relation to a particular property are accurate, we cannot accept responsibility for errors contained in the brochure or website or of any mis-description made by us as a result of inaccurate information given to us by an owner or modifications made by the owner to a particular property since our last inspection. In any event, you acknowldege that minor differences may arise between the photographs and descriptions of a particular property appearing in the brochure or on the website and the actual property.

Complaints - Although we inspect properties and take seriously any complaints we receive from customers, we cannot accept responsibility for the failure of the owner to keep the property clean, dry, in good repair and well-maintained, and the contents in good working order. Whilst we are happy to assist, you acknowledge that the owner is ultimately responsible for resolving any difficulties which you may experience with the property you have booked. If you have any difficulties with a property, or require maintenance or have any complaints, please notify the owner or caretaker in the first instance. Because of the difficulties in investigating the validity of any complaint once you have departed from the property, owners can only investigate those complaints which are notified to them promptly (and in any event before the end of the holiday).

Cancellation - The owner may cancel any booking already made if the property becomes unavailable for reasons beyond the owner's reasonable control. If this happens we will either try to find you an appropriate alternative property or, at your option, refund to you any sums you have paid, but neither we nor the owner shall have any other liability to you.

Our Liability - We will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by you or any member of your party or to your or their property, except where such loss or damage is due to our negligence. If we are negligent our liability to you will be limited to the loss or damage which was a foreseeable result of such negligence. Except in the case of death or personal injury resulting from our negligence, the total liability of us to you in respect of any breach of these Terms of Business or tort or other act or omission by us in connection with this contract shall be limited i n the aggregate to the price agreed to be paid by you for the right to use the property for the period agreed.

We do not accept liability to customers acting in the course of a business for losses of profits, business, contracts, good will, anticipated savings, expenses, consequential losses or other similar losses, for any reason whatsoever. To the extent permitted by law and except in the case of of death or personal injury resulting from our negligence, the total liability of us to business customers whether in contract, tort, negligence, breach of statutory duty or otherwise shall be the price agreed to be paid by you for the right to use the property for the period agreed.

Choosing a Property - We do try to help to ensure that you have chosen the most suitable property for you, however this is ultimately your responsibility and if you are unsure about an issue, please telephone us for advice. We reserve the right to refuse to accept bookings at our absolute discretion if we believe that the property will not be suitable for you or where we have reasonable grounds to believe that accepting your booking is likely to risk the goodwill of the owner, other holidaymakers or neighbours of the property in question.

Breach of Terms and Conditions - In the case of a serious breach of these Terms of Business the owner or his agent will have the right to terminate your booking and, if you are already at the property, the owner may require you to vacate it at once. A serious breach of these Terms of Business may include failure to comply with rul es of the house or health and safety advice or circumstances where your behaviour, or that of your guests, is likely to have a significant adverse effect upon those staying or living nearby the property. Owners will always try to act reasonably and will usually give a warning. Unless we or the owner are able to find someone else at short notice to rent the property for the remaining period, no refund of the fees you have paid will be returnable to you.

Cancellation -While Cancellation Insurance is not mandatory, we strongly advise you to take holiday insurance to cover you in the case of unforeseen eventualities such as personal accident, car breakdown etc. Once dates of a booking have been confirmed in writing to you, they can only be changed with the owner's agreement or, of course, if you wish to claim under any Cancellation Insurance you have taken out. Where the owner agrees to a change in the dates of your holiday other than for reasons covered by your Cancellation Insurance, we reserve the right to make an administration charge.

In the event of a cancellation for reasons not covered under the Terms of Business or your Cancellation Insurance, we will make reasonable efforts to re-let the property (as we do with all cancellations) and if we succeed you will receive a refund. The refund will be the sum recovered by us through re-letting less credit card transaction fees, a £10 administration fee and any outstanding balance on your booking.

However, if we are unsuccessful in re-letting, you will be liable for the full cost of the letting. In any event, the balance of any monies due must be paid to us eight weeks before the start of the holiday in the usual way, unless you have already been informed that your claim has been accepted by Insurers or the property re-let.

Pets - You may only bring pets where you have mentioned them on our Booking Form and we have confirmed that this is acceptable. Where it states that a property will accept pets, there are likely to be rules on the size and type of pet accepted and it is your duty to tell us what pets you intend to take and to gain full consent for this. Failure to follow these rules may be considered a serious breach of these Terms of Business and the owner will be entitled either to refuse to allow you to take possession of the property or to require you to vacate it at once. Where pets are allowed there are, as you would expect, certain ground rules. You must always clear up after your pets and you must remove all trace (inside and in the garden!) of your pets having been present before you leave the property. It is a condition of pets staying in any property (unless the owner tells you otherwise) that pets are not allowed on furniture, in any bedrooms or in children's play areas. Pets must not disturb neighbours (for examp le, by barking at night) and when pets are exercised within the boundaries of the property (including gardens) they must be kept on a lead. Pets must not be left on their own within the property. Once pets are outside the boundaries of the property, please make sure that they are supervised since dogs worrying farm animals are liable to be shot. Please do not assume that local beaches will allow dogs and please feel free to ask us for information on this.

These Terms of Business override and supersede all previous versions and any previous course of dealing between the parties. In the event of any inconsistency between these Terms of Business and any of our other literature, whether found in our brochure or on our website or otherwise, the provisions of these Terms of Business will prevail.

When you book your holiday with us, we collect personal information such as your name, e-mail address, home address, telephone number, credit or debit card number and the card's expiry date. This allows us to book the property for you. We will also collect non-transactional data should you enter a competition, request a brochure or take part in a survey, for example. We may use the information that we collect to occasionally notify you about news and information we think you may find valuable. For example, we may send you our latest brochure, supplements, newsletters and special offers. If at any stage you decide that you would rather not receive such information, please contact us by telephone, e-mail or post. We employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf such as sending postal mail, removing repetitive information from lists of our customers, analysing data, providing market assistance and processing credit card payments. We also reveal your identity to the owner of the property you wish to rent. Our contractors have access to personal information needed to perform their functions, but may not use it for other purposes.

If any provision of this agreement is prohibited by law or judged by a court to be unlawful, void or unenforceable, the provision shall, to the extent required, be severed from this agreement and rendered ineffective as far as possible without modifying the remaining provisions of this agreement, and shall not in any way affect any other circumstances of or the validity or enforcement of this agreement.

The agreements between you and us and between you and the owner are subject to English law and to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

It is not intended that any third party (other than owners) should have the right to enforce any of these Terms of Business under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. It is intended that owners may enforce the terms and conditions contained in these Terms of Business against you.