General Terms and Conditions of the Disputes Committee for the Travel Industry for Travel Service Contracts

 

Article 1:  Scope of application

These general terms and conditions apply to the sale of travel services that are booked as of 1 July 2018 and are governed by the Law on the sale of package travel, linked travel arrangements and travel services of 21 November 2017.

 

Article 2: Information to the traveller before a travel service contract is concluded

 

The organiser or the retailer who as an intermediary separately sells a travel service shall provide to the traveller the following information:

1.     The main characteristics of the travel service

2.     The identity of the company (enterprise number, trading name, address and telephone number)

3.     The total price of the travel service

4.     Payment terms

5.     Information about the internal complaint handling procedure

6.     The protection to which he can make claim in case of insolvency

7.     The name of the entity that handles this protection and its contact details.

 

Article 3: Information by the traveller

 

3.1: The person who concludes the travel service contract must provide to the organiser and the retailer all useful information about himself and his fellow travellers that may be important for concluding or performing the contract.

3.2: If the traveller provides incorrect information which leads to extra costs for the organiser and/or retailer, these costs may be charged.

 

Article 4: Insolvency

 

4.1: The organiser or retailer who as an intermediary separately sells travel services shall provide security for the refund of all amounts that he receives from or on behalf of the travellers, for the case that the travel service cannot be granted due to insolvency.

 

4.2: For travel services that have not been performed, refunds shall be provided without undue delay after the traveller´s request.

 

 

Article 5: Complaint procedure

 

The organiser and/or retailer shall provide to the traveller information about the internal complaint handling procedure.

 

Article 6: Conciliation proceeding

 

6.1

In the event of a dispute, the parties must first try to arrive at an amicable settlement between them.

 

6.2

If this attempt at amicable settlement fails, then any of the parties involved can ask the vzw Geschillencommissie Reizen [non-profit association Disputes Committee for the Travel Industry] to initiate a conciliation proceeding. All of the parties must consent to this.

 

6.3

For this the secretariat will provide to the parties a set of conciliation rules and a "conciliation contract".

 

6.4

In accordance with the procedure described in the rules, an impartial conciliator will then contact the parties in order to seek an equitable conciliation between the parties.

 

6.5

Any agreement reached will be set down in a binding written contract.

 

 

Article 7: Arbitration or court

 

7.1

If no conciliation proceeding is initiated (or if it fails), the claimant can if desired start an arbitration proceeding before the Disputes Committee for the Travel Industry or commence a proceeding before the court.

 

7.2

The traveller can never be obliged to accept the jurisdiction of the Disputes Committee for the Travel Industry, neither as claimant nor as respondent.

 

7.3

The organiser or retailer who is the respondent can only refuse the arbitration if the amount claimed by the claimant is more than 1,250 euros. For this he has a period of 10 calendar days after receipt of the registered letter or e-mail with proof of receipt in which it is indicated that a file with a claim as of 1,251 euros was opened at the Disputes Committee for the Travel Industry.

 

7.4

This arbitration proceeding is governed by arbitration rules, and can only be initiated after the submission of a complaint to the company itself and as soon as it is established that the dispute could not be amicably resolved or as soon as 4 months have passed after the (anticipated) end of the trip (or possibly as of the action that gave rise to the dispute). Disputes relating to physical injuries can only be settled by the courts.

 

7.5

The arbitration board with equal representation pronounces its decision, in accordance with the arbitration rules, in a binding and definitive manner on the travel dispute. No appeal against this decision is possible.

 

 

Secretariat of the Disputes Committee for the Travel Industry:

telephone: 02 277 62 15 or 02 277 61 80 (9 a.m. to 12 noon) ; fax: 02 277 91 00

City Atrium, Vooruitgangstraat 50, 1210 Brussels

e-mail: reisgeschillen@clv-gr.be

 

1/2/2018