The following is the basis of a contract which will be sent to you upon your instructions to confirm a booking. All documentation will be in relation to the rental of the agreed property(ies) for the period stated and at the rental fee outlined on the corresponding booking/rental agreement and invoice.

In these Terms and Conditions, "you" and "your" means all persons named on the booking/rental agreement (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date - please see section 5). "We" and "us" means McLean & Bond.

Your booking is made subject to the following terms and conditions.

1. Making your booking
Bookings can only be made by completing the corresponding booking/rental agreement form which will be issued to you upon your instructions to proceed with a confirmed booking. This needs to be completed in full and returned to French Holiday Gites together with the required deposit. This is non refundable in the event of cancellation or failure to pay on time as set out below. Please see section 6.

2. Payment
An invoice will accompany your/this agreement. Please check this invoice carefully as soon as you receive it and contact us immediately if any information which appears on the confirmation or any other document appears to be incorrect or incomplete as it may not be possible to make changes later. We regret we cannot accept any liability if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any document within 5 working days of our sending it out. In order to confirm your stay, the amount(s) must be paid promptly on or before the date(s) indicated. The balance of payment will be shown on the invoice which will be dated for payment 60 days before the start date of your holiday (or sooner if this time period has passed). If you have not paid in full and on time we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you. In this case the cancellation charges set out in clause 6 below will be payable. Payment should be made by crossed cheque, bankers draft, postal orders or building society cheque(s) to French Holiday Gites or as otherwise stipulated on the corresponding invoice.

2a Security Deposit
In some instances, we have the right to ask for a refundable security deposit and this will be indicated on the corresponding invoice. The cost of any damage to the property or to any items in and/or at the property caused or any service charges incurred by you or any member of your party (for example telephone calls) will be deducted by us from the security deposit at the end of your stay. If no deductions are required your security deposit will be refunded in full to you 14 days after your departure from the property. If a security deposit is not administered, or the security deposit is not sufficient to cover any damage caused or service charges incurred by you, you will be responsible for paying us any monies or additional monies required as a result of damage or additional service charges.

3. Your contract
A binding contract between us comes into existence when we receive the signed booking/rental agreement which accompanies these terms and conditions. This contract and all matters arising out of it are governed by United Kingdom law. We both agree that any dispute arising out of or in connection with your stay will be dealt with by the Courts of United Kingdom.

4. Arrival, departure and the cost of your stay
The dates of your stay are as agreed and confirmed on the corresponding booking/rental agreement. The start of your holiday is from 4pm on the date of your arrival, to 10am on the date of your departure. We cannot guarantee that the property will be available before 4pm on the date of your arrival. You agree to vacate the property by 10am on the departure date. The cost is fixed at the price indicated on the accompanying invoice for the period and is inclusive of bed linen and indoor hand/bathing towels (not pool or outdoor towels) and all utility charges.

5. Changes by you
If you wish to make any changes to your booking, you must notify us in writing or by email as soon as possible. Whilst we will endeavour to assist, we cannot guarantee we will be able to meet any such request and that an amendment fee may be payable together with any costs incurred by ourselves.

5a Additional Guests
Bookings are accepted by us based on the number of people named on the corresponding booking/rental form. If you wish to add additional guests during your stay, or failure to notify us of such, will result in an additional charge of £75 per additional person, per week being implemented/deducted from your security deposit.

6. Cancellation by you
Should you need to cancel your stay once it has been confirmed, the party leader must immediately advise us in writing. Your notice of cancellation will only be effective when we receive it in writing at our offices. As we incur costs from the time we confirm your booking and may be unable to re-sell your period of stay, the following cancellation charges will be payable. Where the cancellation charge is shown as a percentage, this is calculated on the basis of the total cost of the booking excluding amendment charges. Amendment charges are not refundable in the event of cancellation.

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

7. Changes and cancellation by us
Only in extreme unforeseeable circumstances will there be a need for us to make changes to bookings after they have been confirmed or cancel confirmed bookings. We always endeavour to avoid changes and cancellations, but we reserve the right to do so. (Such reasons may include damage or necessary maintenance to the property that deems it unsuitable or unsafe). If we have to make a significant change to, or cancel, your booking we will tell you as soon as possible. We will endeavour to offer you an alternative should a significant change or cancellation occur. While your deposit will be refunded in full, we regret we cannot pay any expenses, costs or losses incurred by you as a result of any change or cancellation (this may include travel costs).

8. Insurance
It is strongly recommended that you take out adequate travel insurance. Please read your policy details carefully. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover - including medical and travel - you purchase is adequate for your particular needs.

9. Force Majeure
Very rarely, we may be forced by "force majeure" to change or terminate your stay after departure but before the scheduled end of your stay. This is extremely unlikely but if this situation does occur, we regret we will be unable to make any refunds, pay you any compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result. We regret we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss 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 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
We endeavour to provide your accommodation with good skill and care. We understand our obligation to you is to provide a clean house suitably equipped and as described in our literature and website advertising. If on arrival, the property does not meet with this description you are requested to inform us immediately.

In booking, you understand that 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: (a) the fault or negligence of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or (b) the fault or negligence of a third party not connected with the provision of your accommodation by us which we could not have predicted or avoided or (c) an event or circumstance which could not have been predicted or avoided even after taking all reasonable care (see clause 9).

We endeavour to make your accommodation safe, but in booking the property you take on all responsibility for the welfare of yourself and your party members which may include young children, babies or people with disabilities.

We are compliant with French pool safety regulations and provide a water alarm, and fence enclosing the pool area. There are smoke alarms throughout the property, a fire blanket and fire extinguishers and while these are checked on a regular maintenance basis, you agree to take responsibility for an additional check on arrival. If any of these are faulty or misplaced, it is your responsibility to notify us, or our agents which will be listed in your welcome pack, immediately. You agree that these are sufficient safety measures and we cannot be held responsible for any accidents that may occur.

On booking you accept the condition of the property and its services. On arrival at the property, it is your responsibility to read the supplied house rules and guidance notes. These are important as they contain emergency telephone numbers, details of utilities and important notices that may include cautionary procedures.

We will not be responsible where you do not enjoy your stay or suffer any problems because of a reason you did not tell us about when you booked your stay or where any problems you suffer did not result from any breach of our contract or other fault of ourselves or any losses, expenses, costs or other sum you have suffered relate to any business. Please note, we cannot accept responsibility for any services that do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities any other supplier agrees to provide for you. The endeavours we make to you about the accommodation 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 accommodation in question had been properly provided. If the particular accommodation which gave rise to the claim or complaint complied with local laws and regulations applicable to those accommodation at the time, the accommodation will be treated as having been properly provided. This will be the case even if the accommodation did not comply with the laws and regulations of the UK which would have applied had that accommodation been provided in the UK.

10a. Pool
All our properties have either the use of an exclusive pool or a shared pool as stipulated on the property descriptions. Our pools are cleaned at least once a week and checked for correct ph and chlorine or bromine levels. In rare circumstances which are beyond the control of either ourselves or our pool maintenance team, the pool water may turn green. In these situations please notify our pool maintenance team immediately who will endeavour to return the water to clear. However, we cannot be held responsible if the water is deemed unsuitable to swim in, providing we have carried out all possible corrective procedures. Equally, at times of extreme drought and where a hosepipe/water ban is in place, the water levels may be low. Therefore, in booking our properties you accept that we cannot guarantee the condition of the pool water and its swimming suitability. You also agree to abide by the pool rules as set out in the house visitors pack and visibly placed around the pool area.

11. Behaviour
You accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or loss must be paid direct to us at the time. If you fail to do so, you will be responsible for meeting any legal costs we incur in full in recovering full payment from you. We expect all clients to have consideration for other people. If in our reasonable opinion or in the reasonable opinion of any other person in authority, you or any member of your party behaves in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to any third party or damage to the property, or in any way damage the reputation and/or goodwill of us as owners, we are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate the occupation of the person(s) concerned. In this situation, the person(s) concerned will be required to leave the accommodation. We will have no further responsibility toward such person(s). No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

12. Special requests and medical problems
If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability that may affect your stay, please tell us before you confirm your booking so that we can advise as to the suitability of the chosen arrangements. In any event, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking. If we reasonably feel unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person concerned, we must reserve the right to decline their reservation or, if full details are not given at the time of booking, cancel when we become aware of these details.

13. Passports, visas and health requirements
It is your responsibility to ensure that you are in possession of all necessary travel and health documents (including Passports and Visas (where applicable) before departure. You must pay all costs incurred in obtaining such documentation. If you or any member of your party is not a British citizen or holds a non-British passport, you must check passport and visa requirements with the Embassy or Consulate of the country(ies) to or through which you are intending to travel.

14. Prices and Website Accuracy
Please note, the information and prices shown on our website, and that on our agents and various advertising websites (such as French Connections, Chez Nous) and in any literature, may have changed by the time you come to book your stay. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information and prices at the time of requesting the booking, regrettably errors do occasionally occur. You must therefore ensure you check all details of your stay (including the price) on your booking acceptance.

15. Complaints procedure
In the event of any problems you must contact us immediately, plus you undertake to do your best to resolve or minimise the problem in order to avoid any prejudices that could result. You must immediately get in touch with us by telephone on the day of your arrival, confirming your complaint in writing within 24 hours by fax or by e-mail. You are obliged to give us the time necessary to resolve the problem. Should there be no written complaint supplied as above specified and you leave the accommodation prematurely and without an explicit authorisation by us, you forfeit your rights for a refund of the rental price, unless the terms of this contract have been breached. Complaints received at the end of the stay will not be taken into consideration and no refunds will be given. Please note that the properties offered by French Holiday Gites are not an official tourist structure, such as an hotel, pubic residences, etc. but a private dwelling. Being such, there is no standard or categories that are internationally recognised, and the property reflects the architecture and furnishings, the local traditions and the personal taste of us the owners. Accordingly, you accept to take the property for the above rental period in the condition as us the owners do.

It is your responsibility to read the Terms and Conditions supplied to you upon booking and you agree, by way of returning your booking/rental form, that you have read and understood these and agree to abide by them as governed by UK law.