Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1992/3288 |
1992 No. 3288
CONSUMER PROTECTION
The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992
Made 22th December 1992
Coming into force 23th December 1992
Whereas the Secretary of State is a Minister designated1for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to measures relating to consumer protection as regards package travel, package holidays and package tours;
And whereas a draft of these Regulations has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament pursuant to section 2(2) of and paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 2 to that Act;
Now, therefore the Secretary of State in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 2(2) of that Act hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 and shall come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“brochure” means any brochure in which packages are offered for sale;
“contract” means the agreement linking the consumer to the organiser or to the retailer, or to both, as the case may be;
“the Directive” means Council Directive 90/314/EECon package travel, package holidays and package tours;
“offer” includes an invitation to treat whether by means of advertising or otherwise, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;
“organiser” means the person who, otherwise than occasionally, organises packages and sells or offers them for sale, whether directly or through a retailer;
“the other party to the contract” means the party, other than the consumer, to the contract, that is, the organiser or the retailer, or both, as the case may be;
“package” means the pre-arranged combination of at least two of the following components when sold or offered for sale at an inclusive price and when the service covers a period of more than twenty-four hours or includes overnight accommodation:—
(a) transport;
(b) accommodation;
(c) other tourist services not ancillary to transport or accommodation and accounting for a significant proportion of the package,
and
(i) the submission of separate accounts for different components shall not cause the arrangements to be other than a package;
(ii) the fact that a combination is arranged at the request of the consumer and in accordance with his specific instructions (whether modified or not) shall not of itself cause it to be treated as other than pre-arranged;
and
“retailer” means the person who sells or offers for sale the package put together by the organiser.
(2) In the definition of “contract” in paragraph (1) above, “consumer” means the person who takes or agrees to take the package (“the principal contractor”) and elsewhere in these Regulations “consumer” means, as the context requires, the principal contractor, any person on whose behalf the principal contractor agrees to purchase the package (“the other beneficiaries”) or any person to whom the principal contractor or any of the other beneficiaries transfers the package (“the transferee”).
Application of Regulations
3.—(1) These Regulations apply to packages sold or offered for sale in the territory of the United Kingdom.
(2) Regulations 4 to 15 apply to packages so sold or offered for sale on or after 31st December 1992.
(3) Regulations 16 to 22 apply to contracts which, in whole or part, remain to be performed on 31st December 1992
Descriptive matter relating to packages must not be misleading
4.—(1) No organiser or retailer shall supply to a consumer any descriptive matter concerning a package, the price of a package or any other conditions applying to the contract which contains any misleading information.
(2) If an organiser or retailer is in breach of paragraph (1) he shall be liable to compensate the consumer for any loss which the consumer suffers in consequence.
Requirements as to brochures
5.—(1) Subject to paragraph (4) below, no organiser shall make available a brochure to a possible consumer unless it indicates in a legible, comprehensible and accurate manner the price and adequate information about the matters specified in Schedule 1 to these Regulations in respect of the packages offered for sale in the brochure to the extent that those matters are relevant to the packages so offered.
(2) Subject to paragraph (4) below, no retailer shall make available to a possible consumer a brochure which he knows or has reasonable cause to believe does not comply with the requirements of paragraph (1).
(3) An organiser who contravenes paragraph (1) of this regulation and a retailer who contravenes paragraph (2) thereof shall be guilty of an offence and liable:—
(a)
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale; and
(b)
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.
(4) Where a brochure was first made available to consumers generally before 31st December 1992 no liability shall arise under this regulation in respect of an identical brochure being made available to a consumer at any time.
Circumstances in which particulars in brochure are to be binding
6.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) of this regulation, the particulars in the brochure (whether or not they are required by regulation 5(1) above to be included in the brochure) shall constitute implied warranties (or, as regards Scotland, implied terms) for the purposes of any contract to which the particulars relate.
(2) Paragraph (1) of this regulation does not apply—
(a)
(a) in relation to information required to be included by virtue of paragraph 9 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations; or
(b)
(b) where the brochure contains an express statement that changes may be made in the particulars contained in it before a contract is concluded and changes in the particulars so contained are clearly communicated to the consumer before a contract is concluded.
(3) Paragraph (1) of this regulation does not apply when the consumer and the other party to the contract agree after the contract has been made that the particulars in the brochure, or some of those particulars, should not form part of the contract.
Information to be provided before contract is concluded
7.—(1) Before a contract is concluded, the other party to the contract shall provide the intending consumer with the information specified in paragraph (2) below in writing or in some other appropriate form.
(2) The information referred to in paragraph (1) is:—
(a)
(a) general information about passport and visa requirements which apply to British Citizens who purchase the package in question, including information about the length of time it is likely to take to obtain the appropriate passports and visas;
(b)
(b) information about health formalities required for the journey and the stay; and
(c)
(c) the arrangements for security for the money paid over and (where applicable) for the repatriation of the consumer in the event of insolvency.
(3) If the intending consumer is not provided with the information required by paragraph (1) in accordance with that paragraph the other party to the contract shall be guilty of an offence and liable:—
(a)
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale; and
(b)
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.
Information to be provided in good time
8.—(1) The other party to the contract shall in good time before the start of the journey provide the consumer with the information specified in paragraph (2) below in writing or in some other appropriate form.
(2) The information referred to in paragraph (1) is the following:—
(a)
(a) the times and places of intermediate stops and transport connections and particulars of the place to be occupied by the traveller (for example, cabin or berth on ship, sleeper compartment on train);
(b)
(b) the name, address and telephone number—
(i) of the representative of the other party to the contract in the locality where the consumer is to stay,
or, if there is no such representative,
(ii) of an agency in that locality on whose assistance a consumer in difficulty would be able to call,
or, if there is no such representative or agency, a telephone number or other information which will enable the consumer to contact the other party to the contract during the stay; and
(c)
(c) in the case of a journey or stay abroad by a child under the age of 16 on the day when the journey or stay is due to start, information enabling direct contact to be made with the child or the person responsible at the place where he is to stay; and
(d)
(d) except where the consumer is required as a term of the contract to take out an insurance policy in order to cover the cost of cancellation by the consumer or the cost of assistance, including repatriation, in the event of accident or illness, information about an insurance policy which the consumer may, if he wishes, take out in respect of the risk of those costs being incurred.
(3) If the consumer is not provided with the information required by paragraph (1) in accordance with that paragraph the other party to the contract shall be guilty of an offence and liable:—
(a)
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale; and
(b)
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.
Contents and form of contract
9.—(1) The other party to the contract shall ensure that—
(a)
(a) depending on the nature of the package being purchased, the contract contains at least the elements specified in Schedule 2 to these Regulations;
(b)
(b) subject to paragraph (2) below, all the terms of...
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