How payments, balances and refunds are handled

1. Accepted payment methods

• Debit and credit card, processed instantly.
• Bank transfer, which takes one to two working days to reach us.
• Payment in person at our office, by appointment.

All prices and payments are in pounds sterling. We do not add a card surcharge. If your own bank applies a foreign transaction or currency fee, that is between you and them.

2. How card details are handled

Card details are entered directly with our payment provider through their own hosted fields. Your card number, expiry and security code never pass through or rest on our systems. We hold the amount, the date, the method, the last four digits and whether the payment succeeded.

3. Deposits, balances and instalments

The standard deposit is 20% of the total. The balance is due eight weeks before an international departure and fourteen days before a local one, and the exact date is on your booking from the day you book. We send a reminder three weeks ahead and again a week before.

Instalments are available on most departures by agreement with our team. There is no interest and no fee; it is simply a schedule we agree with you, ending at the balance deadline.

4. Bank transfers

We issue a unique reference with our account details. Use it, so we can match your payment quickly. We check transfers each weekday morning and email you on the day we match yours. Your places are held while we wait, and the booking status changes from held to confirmed once the money arrives.

5. Failed and uncertain payments

A declined payment takes nothing, so retrying after a decline cannot result in a double charge. Where a payment times out rather than declining we cannot always tell immediately whether it succeeded; in that case we ask you to check the payment status rather than retry, and we confirm the position before anything further is taken.

6. Where refunds are sent

To the card or account the payment came from. Where that card has expired or been closed, tell us — there is a process, but it takes longer and requires verification, which protects you against refund fraud.

7. Chargebacks

If you believe a payment is wrong, please contact us before raising a chargeback with your bank. A chargeback freezes the booking while it is investigated, which can delay a resolution that we could often have reached in a day.