Financial Protection

We, Crete Escapes Ltd, are a company registered in the UK having a tour operator’s insurance policy provided by Arnold Fisher Insurance Services Ltd in association with Royal and Sun Alliance.

We are a small family run company working directly with a number of private villa owners who have entrusted the letting of their property to us. We do not sell package holidays although we are happy to give you advice about ATOL bonded flight retailers and we can arrange car hire for you, if you wish.

In the current economic climate and given the number of business failures in the travel industry, we fully understand any concerns you may have about the safety of monies you pay to us. In order to re-assure you about the safety of your money we will :-

1) Only ask for a maximum of 10% of the total rental as a deposit (minimum £50 per week).

2) Not request the balance of the rental until 6 weeks prior to the rental starting and

3) Accept deposit payments by credit card and charge no administration fees on those payments.

Paying with a Credit Card

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 provides protection for monies you pay to us using a credit card; providing you pay at least £100 of the total rental costs on your credit card  then all monies paid to us in respect of the same transaction (rental) are covered by Section 75. Typically deposits will exceed £100.

This is an extract from the website of The Office of Fair Trading - www.oft.gov.uk

Tips for consumers on purchases made in the UK

• thanks to the consumer protection of Section 75, money that seemed lost on a credit card purchase can be claimed back
• if you pay by credit card you can claim your money back from the card company if the seller fails to honour the contract, or the item is faulty or if the seller wrongly describes it or if the supplier goes out of business with your money before the item is delivered
• if you are buying an item costing over £100 and you are asked for a deposit, consider paying the deposit by credit card
• you have protection whether you buy in the UK from a shop, by mail-order, by telephone or internet - the protection is the same
• you are not covered by Section 75 if you use a debit or charge card.

The media have recently been advocating that the only really safe way to protect your holiday is to book a package trip, however, this is what a Daily Telegraph writer pointed out in an article on Saturday September 20th 2008 - 

“There are plenty of travel arrangements that are not so inherently vulnerable to financial collapse. So if you are booking a hotel or an apartment or a hire car independently, there is less chance that these businesses will fail, and even if one did, it is unlikely to be as expensive or disastrous as losing your flights or a whole package of arrangements. Even so, booking these services by credit card will be sure to give you added protection”.

You could also consider taking out holiday protection cover such as the policy offered by International Passenger Protection Ltd (IPP)

If you would like to discuss any of this with us prior to making a booking then please don’t hesitate to call us on 01332 880413.

Janet Stimson,

Director, Crete Escapes Ltd.