Im sure it states in the brochure that virgin require 90 days. As i had questioned these terms and conditions, and renewed my daughters passport well before the tickets came.

Still im glad that you had a fab holiday in spite of the mishap. We go again Oct 2006 and are staying in one of the other universal hotels. I cant wait

fwh,

I appreciate the point you are trying to make about reading Terms & Conditions but I cannot resist picking-up on a couple of issues;

Section 1.5 of the ABTA guidlines covers the aspect of T&C's. The ABTA member must ensure the client is aware of any "Booking and other published conditions" BEFORE any contract is made.

The client is supposed to have a set of booking conditions, in written or other appropriate form, on or before confirmation of the booking. On-line bookings should permit the downloading of such conditions.

The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 prohibits the inclusion of 'unfair' clauses.

Section 1.6 sub-clause (ii) specifically calls upon the ABTA member to advise the client about Passport (visa, entry and other transit) requirements .

So, T&C's relating specifically to passport/visa requirements are somewhat specific to the country or countries being visited/travelled through. A general brochure might have difficulty expressing these accurately especially as they may be changed without notice by the country concerned.

So why can't such information be presented verbally at the time of booking, repeated in writing on the FIRST correspondence sent to the client and again on the final invoice?

Oh, although I like yellow I'd class the requirement to wear one as falling foul of the 1992 Unfair etc. regulations.

Equally, might the 90 day requirement enforced by Virgin and NOT by the USA also be classed as Unfair ?

You want fair, since when has any holiday company been fair! Now loads of people can write in telling me of all the great holiday companies. Except they cant as this is the complaints forum.

Hi, have just read this post - a few years a go we posted a review that stressed that people MUST read the conditions when they book. We got 'hammered' when we lost a £1500 holiday, but to be fair when we read the very very small print in the insurance we hadn't got a leg to stand on ------ did a bit of kicking and screaming at the time but didn't challenge the insurance company. ..... looking back we can say that THEY WERE in the right! We've learned our lesson the hard way and make doubly doubly sure now! (And keep reminding others to CHECK!)

re the passport issue - we always check everything really carefully now - hubby had to get a new passport a few years back because he wouldn't have 12 months on it when he left our holiday resort. (Found that out from the blurb at the back of the brochure ... the bull and doring bit!) It's a hard thing to say (and believe me we do understand when people get caught out ---- very often it's through no fault of their own) ....... but if it's in the 'conditions' when you book its a signed agreement and its just best to double check. In this case I actually think Virgin have been quite 'reasonable'

Anyway, glad you had a good holiday after all the hassle - it's no fun to start a holiday with so much stress!

Us Prestos

What would the position be if you were alliterate and had to rely on the travel agent to inform you of all the terms and conditions. Not everyone in this world can read Or yet again say you were blind, you would have to rely on the agent booking the holiday for you ?

the word is illiterate.

Re the comment about being blind or illiterate - I bet folks in that situation would make doubly sure that they knew what they'd signed and get someone else to read it to them. It's probably quite natural that folks who can read well take it all for granted and don't give 'reading the small print' the attention it needs.

Passports have to be valid for six months from the return date of your holiday for the USA. All travel agents should ask you this when booking, as well as other standard questions.

Passports have to be valid for six months from the return date of your holiday for the USA.

Hi kmba ... that may be the opinion within some sections of the travel industry, but it is not shared by the US Embassy or the Foreign Office, as you may have seen from the quotes on page 1 of this topic. But obviously travellers will need to adhere to the terms and conditions of their specific booking, which may contradict official US and UK government sources.

David

With all due respect to the various people who have posted on this subject, you are all guilty of the same crime. You assume that what you think is correct. It is a fact that we all at times fail to read the instructions ( T&Cs ) and come unstuck. We mostly get away with it. When it goes wrong we all call foul. The answer is to make sure that you do read the T&Cs and not assume. We all make mistakes none of us are perfect - Hard as it is to admit it. I do have some sympathy for people who get caught out, but, just as you stand up for your rights, so do others. Despite what many people say on HT and other sites the TOs are not always guilty. Perhaps a new year resolution for all of us should be we will read the small print and not complain when we have not. That way we will have less stress and more fun.

fwh

I just wanted to add something to this, i used to work for the company and when ever i booked a holiday to anywhere i always said you need to make sure that you had at least 6months on your passport on return date into the uk. This is because some people have problems coming in without that on their passport or if anything happens abroad we need to make sure that you have enough time left on the passport for your own safety..

Most travel agents will ask you if you have a valid british passport valid for what ever the terms are for where there customer is going, when you book any holiday.
They also have to make sure their customer is aware of the booking conditions .
It is then up to the person booking the holiday to make sure all their passports are correct.
Not the TA
I think a lot of people dont read the BC

It does seem that Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic have different T&C. On the airline's web site all I can find is that you must have travel documents valid for your destination and a link to a search engine that for each nationality/destination combination tells you (correctly for the USA) what those documents are and the validity needed.

Tour operators will play it safe by giving overcautious advice so that they can't be wrong if things change and they don't have to train their staff to make complicated decisions which they might get wrong.