Terms & Conditions / Privacy Statement

UPDATED 5 December 2019

 

1. 1. Agreement. The agreement is for the hire of the property for short term holiday letting and will be formally entered into between the property Owner and the Hirer when the required deposit payment has been received. The payments will be handled and the process will be administered by the agent, East Ruston Cottages Limited (ERC)

1. 2. Deposit. A deposit of 25% of the total booking cost is required to secure the booking and needs to be made within seven days of the date the booking is acknowledged by ERC.  The booking reserved for that time but not fully secured until the deposit is received.The balance of the total will be due for payment six weeks before the start of the holiday and a reminder email will be sent one week prior to this. If the booking is made within six weeks of the start of the holiday the full amount for the booking must be paid within 7 days unless otherwise agreed.

      A booking admin fee of £15 is payable on all bookings.

      A fully refundable bond or security deposit of either £100 or £200 depending on the property booked is also to be paid. (see below).

   3. Payment methods/currency.  Payments can be made by bank transfer or credit/debit card and only in £ Sterling. All necessary details for payments will be supplied by email.  Credit/debit card payments are through the fully secure HolidayRentPayments system via SuperControl, the secure bookings system linked to the website.  No card payments can be accepted over the telephone. 
   4. Refundable Bond / Security Deposit** These are payments designed to cover any charges incurred by the Hirer for damage to the property or contents, beyond reasonable wear and tear, or excessive additional cleaning  These are rarely required but do afford peace of mind to the property owners.  The security deposit option can be chosen at the time of booking, using a credit card which is pre-authorised to make the necessary payment if needed.  This payment is NOT taken by ERC unless there is good cause and after discussion with the guest.  Any sum needing to be taken will be advised before payment is collected.If a guest does not want to/cannot use a credit card option, then a refundable bond can be made with the balance payment by bank transfer.  Guests to advise this preference at the time of booking.  This bond will be returned in full within 7 days of the end of the booking. However, should any damage to the property or contents, beyond reasonable wear and tear, be incurred by the Hirer or excessive additional cleaning be required, the cost of this will be advised to the Hirer after the booking is complete and taken from the bond with proof of damage and costs supplied where possible.
      *£100 or £200, depending on the property.

1. 5. Cancellation. The Hirer should notify ERC as soon as possible should a booking need to be cancelled. We will endeavour to secure a replacement booking. Should this be successfully achieved we will then contact the Hirer to return any payments already made less a £30 cancellation fee to cover the extra admin/advertising work required. Should ERC need to reduce the price of the cancelled period in order to secure a replacement booking, this reduction amount will also be deducted from the payments made by the Hirer for the booking.  HOLIDAY INSURANCE IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. If you are unable to make your holiday and are able to claim on an insurance, please inform us immediately so that we can provide you with any written evidence required to enable you to make your claim. Hirers are strongly encouraged to have holiday insurance to cover this eventuality.  Should it be necessary for ERC to cancel any bookings the only liability we have will be to return any payments made in full.

1. 6. Hirer's Responsibilities. The Hirer is responsible for the property hired and is expected to take good care of it. All equipment and utensils, fixtures and fittings etc, and the property itself to be left clean and tidy at the end of a stay. It is an essential requirement of the booking that all damages/breakages/problems should be reported as soon as they occur to the Owner of the property or ERC. This may enable the owner to attend to the problem during your stay or plan for any repairs/maintenance/replacement during the changeover at the end of the booking.Problems that are not reported during the booked period will have no validity after the booking period.  This is an important part of the Conditions of Hire. ERC reserves the right to charge for any serious damage/breakages/extra cleaning which is deemed outside the normal wear and tear and Hirers are deemed jointly and severally liable. Hirers should not assume that the insurance policy in place at individual properties will be used to cover damage/replacement costs. If substantial damage/repair costs are incurred which exceed the Refundable Bond amount, the Small Claims Court may be used to recoup these. The Hirer is required to observe and adhere to the requests and instructions in the individual properties.

      The Hirer must not use the property or allow its use for any dangerous, offensive, excessively noisy, illegal or immoral activities or carry on there any act that may be a nuisance or annoyance to the property neighbours. This would be deemed a serious breach of the terms of the Agreement and ERC has the right to terminate the Agreement with immediate effect in this instance. East Ruston Cottages Ltd and its employees and its representatives shall not be liable to the Hirer or any member of the Hirer's party for loss or damage to property howsoever arising. You must take all necessary steps to protect and safeguard your personal property.

1. 7. Owner/Manager Responsibilities. The owner/manager is responsible for ensuring the property is supplied to the Hirer clean, warm and with all appliances/devices/fittings in proper working order. The owner/manager is also responsible for dealing with any problems, equipment malfunction etc as they occur and when advised by the Hirer in accordance with 6. Above. Owner will make best efforts to remedy any problems that occur during your stay when they are advised of them. Owner/manager details are included in the information folder of each property. If you are unable to contact the owner/manager then contact ERC directly using the contact information also in the information folder/website/emails.

1. 8. Arrival details. These will also be sent by email approx. 2 weeks before the commencement of the booking unless the booking commencement date is less than 2 weeks when the arrival details will be sent when full payment has been made. The properties will be ready for your arrival after 4pm and need to be vacated by 10am on your day of departure to allow for a full clean and changeover, unless otherwise agreed with ERC or Owner. Earlier arrivals and later departures are sometimes possible but this will depend on adjacent bookings and is at the discretion of the Owner. We reserve the right to charge for an extra night or part thereof if the extension to either an arrival or departure time is more than an hour.  Any charge of this nature will be agreed between the Hirer and ERC prior to arrival.  It is the responsibility of the Hirer to ensure they are aware of the entry / arrival details before their booking commences

1. 9. Occupation numbers. Under no circumstances may more people stay at each property than there are bed spaces, unless specifically agreed by the Owner. This is an important insurance requirement. The number of guest in the original booking confirmed by ERC cannot be exceeded without notification to ERC before the commencement of the hire period.

1. 10. Keys and Directions. Key and arrival arrangements will be provided by ERC to the Hirer two weeks before the commencement of hire period.

1. 11. Fuel and Electricity. Electricity charges are included in the cost of renting all the properties unless advised otherwise. For the wood burners/open fires please see each property details as there are different arrangements for each.

1. 12. Complaints. In the event of a complaint or problem with any aspect of the the provision of the accommodation it must be brought immediately to the attention of the Owner/manager who will endeavour to rectify the problem as soon as possible, to ensure the continued enjoyment of your holiday. Should this not be possible please contact ERC as soon as possible and in all instances before the end of your period of hire. No refunds/compensation can be made if problems/complaints are only notified after the hire period. This is a very important part of the conditions of hire.

1. 13. Requests. Each property has its own set of polite requests for guests but all properties, without exception, do not allow smoking inside. This is an important requirement to enable the properties to comply with their Fire Hazard assessments

1. 14. Owner access. Owners and their representatives are entitled to enter their property at any time but will always endeavour to contact guests to arrange a mutually agreeable time.

1. 14. Commission policy. ERC will receive an amount of 12-15% commission per booking with the balance being paid to the owner of the property booked.

 

 

PRIVACY STATEMENT

East Ruston Cottages Limited (herein referred to as ERC) is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

This statement explains how and when we collect information about you, how we use this information and when and who it may be shared with. It also explains how you can request information held about you.

Who are we?

ERC is a holiday rental cottage business, specialising in dog-friendly holidays. We arrange the booking and provision of holiday rental accommodation. Any questions relating to this statement, our privacy practices, or a request for your personal information should be addressed to the data protection officer and sent to the following email   - sue@eastrustoncottage.co.uk or the address or telephone number detailed on our website.

What information do we collect?

ERC collects information about you as part of our business process and functions.   The information normally includes your name, address, telephone number, names of party members, a contact email address, payment arrangement details and special requirements such as those relating to any disability or medical condition which may affect any party member’s holiday arrangements.

What do we use your information for?

ERC collects information about you (our guest) to:

• Process your booking
• Communicate throughout the process of booking and managing your holiday experience.
• Carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into by you and us
• Seek your views or comments on the services we provide
• Notify you of any changes to our services
• Send you communications which may be of interest to you, for example, sending you emails or details of future promotions and offers
• Analyse and review and for marketing purposes of ERC

 

Who do we share your information with?

ERC may pass on your personal details to individuals and organizations (such as the property owner(s) or key holders/cleaners), only as part of our business process and functions. This is so that your holiday booking may be managed and provided.  We keep your information securely and do not share it with third parties other than as outlined in this statement or where permitted by law.

How do we treat your information?

All details you give to ERC at any time will be kept for the period of your booking, holiday and such reasonable period thereafter. We keep your information securely and do not share this information with third parties other than as set out in this statement. Only names, contact details and any booking preferences will be used for marketing purposes unless you are informed otherwise when you provide the information. The companies and third parties (owner / key holders) to whom we disclose customer details may contact you. If you do not wish to receive any of the communications set out in this statement, please inform us as soon as possible by letter or e-mail, the details of which are set out above.

 How do I find out more about information rights?

 In the first instance, please contact ERC should you have any query about how your information is being collected, processed and used. The Information Commissioner’s website contains further useful information and advice: www.ico.org.uk

East Ruston Cottages Limited
Reg.No. 10048164 At Companies House, Cardiff

Registered address:

Sea Lows
Crowden Road
Eccles On Sea
Norfolk, NR12 0SJ