Introduction
This terms and conditions represent a legal contract that regulates every purchase of goods or services between the purchaser, (“You”, “Your”) and Élite Diving Agency™, (“We”, “Us”, “Our”).
Élite Diving Agency™ is a trademark of- and is operated by-MakingSauce Limited™ Malta
By placing any order or making any payments you acknowledge that You have read and accepted these Terms and Conditions, Our Privacy Policy, any order form or any payment instructions.
Purchase of good includes but is not limited to: dive equipment, accessories, books, photos, gadgets and in general goods that need to be physically transferred from Our warehouse to the location specified by You.
Purchase of services includes but is not limited to: scuba dive packages, single scuba dives, scuba diving courses, scuba diving experiences, snorkeling packages, snorkeling trips, sea excursions and sea activities in general, hire of scuba equipment, hire of boats, any service offered and fulfilled by Our destinations, trips and partners.
The only forum competent with exclusion of any potential competitor or alternative forum is Valleta, Malta.
Purchase of goods
All goods that We sell are from 3rd party companies and We may not be held responsible for their malfunctioning, problems in the delivery, injuries caused by their usage or any other problems that may occur using them to You or other people. We will do Our best to assist you in contacting the manufacturer or to claim your guarantee.
Payments of goods
All good purchases have to be paid in full before the item is shipped. Allowed payment methods are with PayPal (account or credit card) and via a bank money transfer.
Purchase of services
Your agreement is stipulated only with MakingSauce Limited.
Before Your booking is confirmed and a contract comes into existence We reserve the right to increase or decrease web/destination prices. It is only when You receive our mail confirming Your booking that a contract exists between You and Us.
Confirmation of all services is secured upon payment in full.
It is your responsibility to make sure that you are able to join the diving activities that You book, with regards to required certification and diving records, please note the following apply for any dive booking:
All divers included in your booking must hold a valid international diving certification (or be participating in a course with Us), diving certifications must be presented.
All divers included in Your booking must be in good health for diving, in case of any recent medical history You will be asked to provide a valid doctor certificate (within 1 year) stating that You are ‘fit to dive’.
Please note that to ensure the safety and enjoyment of all of our customers We require that divers who have had periods of inactivity participate in a check dive or scuba review before they begin diving with Us. If necessary please book it together with Your dive package to assure that there is a member of staff available for You and so avoid any inconvenience on arrival at Your destination, our policy for check dives and scuba review is as follows:
Check dive required:
- If you hold an entry level certification (PADI Open Water Diver or equivalent) with less than 50 logged dives and it is longer than 6 months since your last dive.
- If you hold any other certification and it is longer than 1 year since your last logged dive.
Scuba Review required:
- If you hold any certification and it is longer than 2 years since your last logged dive.
- Payments of services.
In order to confirm a booking, services have to be paid in full within 5 days from the receipt of the invoice.
Payment for the services can happen either with PayPal (account or with credit card) or via money transfer.
Changes, cancellation and refunds of the service you have booked
If you want to change any part of the scuba diving arrangements after the invoice has been issued, We will do our best to make the change, but it may not be possible. Any request for changes must be made in writing by the person who made the original booking. If it is possible to make the change, it may be subject to an administration charge and payment of any further costs incurred as a result of the change.
If any person named on a booking is prevented from traveling to the destination as a result of illness, the death of a close relative, jury service or significant reason, We agree to that person’s booking being transferred to another person who satisfies all the conditions applicable to the package, subject to both persons accepting liability for the full payment of the holiday cost and any additional costs arising from the transfer. We must be given at least 14 days notice of the transfer request.
If You or anyone on your booking decides to cancel and therefore cannot take part in the booked diving services, We must be notified of the decision in writing. The cancellation will take effect from the day the written confirmation is received. Charges will be payable depending on when the notification of cancellation is received, please contact info@elitedivingagency.com for more details.
If not differently stated, the general cancellation policy is:
60 days prior departure date: 90% (bank charges excluded)
45 days prior departure date: 75% (bank charges excluded)
30 days prior departure date: 50% (bank charges excluded)
No refunds can be given for services that are unused at the destination for any reason.
NOTE – Your Travel insurance may cover You in case You are not able to complete pre-paid services for any reason. In case You are not able to complete services our staff will be able to provide a statement of the services booked and used or unused for You to present to Your insurance company.
We will not be liable to pay any compensation if We are forced to cancel or in any way change Your diving booking as a result of situations outside Our control which neither We nor Our suppliers could foresee or forestall even with all due care. These include unavoidable technical problems with transport, changes imposed by rescheduling or cancellation of flights by an airline or main charterer, the alteration of the airline or aircraft type, war or threat of war, civil strife, industrial disputes, natural disaster, bad weather, terrorist activity.
We reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel Your booking for any reason. However We will not cancel Your holiday within 45 days of departure unless it is for a reason outside Our control. If We have to cancel Your diving booking We will offer You:
An alternative service of equivalent or of very closely similar standard and price, if available; or
Diving arrangements of a lower standard and a refund of the difference in price; or
A full refund of all monies paid. Compensation as offered for ‘significant changes’ will also be paid unless the booking is cancelled because You have failed to pay on time or as a result of circumstances beyond Our control.
Weather is becoming more erratic and unpredictable and We cannot be held responsible for disruption to Your diving due to bad or unusual weather conditions.
Most people go on holiday for rest and relaxation, so if in Our reasonable opinion or in the opinion of any boat captain, instructor or other person in authority, Your behaviour is causing danger, damage to property or persistently affecting the enjoyment of others, We reserve the right to terminate the services You have booked for. Should this happen no refund or compensation would be paid.
Liability
If any part of Your diving arrangements booked before Your departure is not as described in the brochure, or not of a reasonable standard, We will accept responsibility if this is due to a fault on Our part or that of Our agents or suppliers or staff. We do not accept responsibility if any death, personal injury or failure of Your diving arrangements is not caused by any fault of Ours, or Our agents or suppliers or staff, and is caused by You or someone not connected with Your diving arrangements. We do not accept responsibility if the death, personal injury or failure of Your diving arrangements, is due to unforeseen circumstances which, even with all due care, We, or Our agents or suppliers or staff could not have anticipated or avoided.
For claims which do not involve personal injury, illness or death, the most We will have to pay if We are liable to You is twice the price, the person affected, paid for Their diving (not including insurance premiums and amendment charges).
We will only have to pay this maximum amount if everything has gone wrong and You have received no benefit from Your scuba diving. Where enjoyment of some days has been affected, We will refund reasonable related expenses.
Accuracy of Our advertising material
We rigorously check the information given in our brochures, banners, website and all the advertising material to ensure it is correct at the time but it is Your responsibility to make sure that the package You are purchasing is accurate. Itineraries may change as a result of local conditions. Circumstances such as these, or weather conditions, time of year etc…, may cause some of the amenities We have described to be unavailable or different from those advertised. When We are told of any significant or long term changes We will always endeavour to advise You prior to Your departure.
We are constantly working to keep Our advertising up to date, if You find something that may need changing please inform Us so that We can correct it.
Complains
If you have cause for complaint whilst on holiday, you must bring it to the attention of the Responsible of Élite Diving Agency™ travelling with you. They will do their best to rectify the situation. It is unreasonable to take no action whilst on holiday, but then to write a letter of complaint upon return. If you do not raise concerns immediately, this may affect our ability to investigate and take remedial action and it may impact on the way your complaint is dealt with.
If a problem remains unresolved during your holiday, you should make a complaint in writing to Élite Diving Agency™ within 28 days of the completion of the holiday. We will reply to you within 28 days of receipt of your letter.
Conservation
We reserve the right to cancel diving activities for any diver who does not pay reasonable care and respect for the diving environment.
Law and Jurisdiction
This Agreement, its interpretation and execution are entirely governed by Maltese law and subject to Maltese jurisdiction.
Copyright
All the material create by Us rests with Élite Diving Agency™ and its suppliers. Your access to it does not imply a licence to reproduce and/or distribute this information. This means that You cannot reproduce or distribute this information by any means without our written permission by Us.
Unfair terms
You acknowledge that had carefully read and unconditionally approved in particular the clause defined “Introduction”, “Liability” and “Law and Jurisdiction”.