CONDITIONS OF SALE

The sale of tourist packages and travel services is provided by Le Connoisseur, a limited liability company with a capital of €20,000 whose registered office is 39 Boulevard d’Argenson, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine, Nanterre; Trade and Companies Register 813 620 390; NAF (classification of French industries) code: 7911Z; SIRET number: 81362039000019; EU VAT number: FR33813620390. Le Connoisseur is registered with the Travel Operators and Tourism Register under number IM092160005 (Atout France 79-81, rue de Clichy 75009 Paris); Professional Indemnity Liability Insurance: HISCOX 19, rue Louis le Grand 75002 Paris; financial guarantee: APST 15, avenue Carnot 75017 Paris. Le Connoisseur acts as an organiser within the meaning of the provisions of Article L.211-2-IV of the Tourism Code.

These conditions of sale shall apply to any service ordered from Le Connoisseur, unless otherwise or specifically stipulated in the contract of sale. The Customer declares to have read them and to accept them without reservation.

Le Connoisseur offers customised programmes and experiences in Paris and metropolitan France. These programmes may include several types of travel services (transportation, accommodation, visits) and thus correspond to the legal definition of tourist package, or include only one type of travel service. Unless otherwise stipulated in the contract, the services do not include the travellers’ international transportation.

1. Reservation procedures

1.1. Reservation requests can be made using the dedicated form on the Le Connoisseur website, by telephone or by email. Le Connoisseur will contact the Customer to discuss the programme with them and provide them with a quotation. The Customer will have to provide the information requested by Le Connoisseur who will draw up the quotation that will be sent to the Customer by email.

1.2. The quotation includes a summary of the programme and price, including taxes and fees. It is accompanied by these conditions of sale, the standardised pre-contractual information form and any insurance conditions if cover has been taken out by the Customer.

1.3. The reservation is final upon acceptance of the quotation returned and signed by the Customer. The quotation signed by the Customer thus becomes the final contract and allows for the Customer’s personal space to be created.

2. Terms of Payment

2.1. Acceptance of the quotation by the Customer results in the immediate payment of a 30% deposit with the balance to be paid at least 35 days before the beginning of the service. If the order is placed within 35 days of the date of the service, the total price will be required when placing the order.

2.2. The payment schedule in the contract may derogate from these general conditions. The price includes the services provided for in the contract to the exclusion of any others. It does not include tips, personal consumption, occupancy taxes charged by the hotels if they are not included in the quotation, drinks and meals not provided for in the contract and any supplement which may be ordered by the Customer directly from the provider.

2.3. Payments are made by bank card directly through the Le Connoisseur website, via the Customer’s personal space. Le Connoisseur specifies that this payment is made directly via the secure interface of its financial partner and that it therefore has no knowledge of the Customer’s banking data. It is the Customer’s responsibility to ensure the confidentiality of any data allowing them to access their personal space on the Le Connoisseur website and to refrain from sharing such data (username and access code) with third parties. 

2.4. The Customer also has the option to pay both the deposit and balance of the order by bank transfer. The payment will be taken into account by Le Connoisseur only upon receipt of the funds in its bank account.

2.5. If the deposit or balance is not paid within the given timeframe, the contract will be considered as having been cancelled by the Customer and this cancellation will result in the collection of the standardised and reasonable cancellation fees defined below. 

3. Cancellation Fees

3.1. Any cancellation by the Customer, irrespective of the reason behind it, will result in the collection of the following standard cancellation fees (unless specific conditions of cancellation are stipulated in the quotation), which have been calculated in consideration of the specific nature of the services sold, the date on which the cancellation is made, the cost savings and the income expected from making available the relevant travel service in accordance with the provisions of Article L.211-14-I of the Tourism Code: 

3.2. If the service includes air transport, this service is never reimbursable. However, the Customer may be reimbursed by the airline company for air taxes which are payable as a result of the actual boarding of the passenger.

3.3. Le Connoisseur wishes to draw the Customer’s attention to the fact that insurance taken out is never reimbursable and that air transport services are not reimbursable. However, the Customer may be reimbursed by the airline company for air taxes which are payable as a result of the actual boarding of the passenger.

3.4. Pursuant to the provisions of Article L.211-14-II of the Tourism Code, the Customer has the right to terminate the contract before the beginning of the trip without paying cancellation fees if exceptional and unavoidable circumstances occurring at the place of destination or in its close proximity have significant consequences on the execution of the contract or on the transportation of passengers to the place of destination. In this case, the Customer is entitled to the full reimbursement of any payments made, but not to additional compensation.

4. Cancellation of the contract by Le Connoisseur

4.1. Pursuant to the provisions of Article L.211-14-III of the Tourism Code, Le Connoisseur may cancel the contract and reimburse the Customer for any payments made with no additional compensation in the following cases:

4.1.1. The number of people registered for the trip, stay or travel service is lower than the minimum number indicated in the contract and the cancellation is notified to the Customer within the following deadlines:

4.1.2. Le Connoisseur or its provider is prevented from executing the contract due to exceptional and unavoidable circumstances and notifies the termination of the contract to the Customer as soon as possible before the beginning of the trip or stay. 

4.2. In all other cases, Le Connoisseur will be liable to pay the Customer a cancellation fee that is at least equal to the fee that the Customer would have paid if they had made the cancellation.

5. No right of withdrawal

Pursuant to the provisions of Article L.221-28-12° of the Consumer Code, the Customer does not benefit from the right of withdrawal provided for in Article L.221-18 of the same code.

6. Changes to the contract

6.1. Given the specific nature of the services offered by Le Connoisseur, any requests by the Customer to change the contract may result in additional fees being charged. Any request for change must be made in writing. If the change is possible, Le Connoisseur will inform the Customer of the fees resulting from this change and will draw up an amendment to the contract. Some changes may not be possible; this is notably the case regarding date changes for some experiences offered with a specific professional whose availability depends on their schedule. Other changes such as, for example, the room categories and dates with regard to the accommodation, may result in additional fees. Lastly, it is not possible to change plane tickets, as they are non-reimbursable and cannot be changed. Consequently, even a minor change to the plane tickets will result in new tickets being charged, without the possibility of being reimbursed for the initial tickets.

6.2. If the change is made at the request of the Customer or Le Connoisseur due to exceptional and unavoidable circumstances which have significant consequences on the execution of the contract, Le Connoisseur will bear the fees incurred at its expense.

7. Exceptional and unavoidable circumstances

An exceptional and unavoidable circumstance is an unforeseeable and unavoidable event beyond the control of the parties which prevents either the traveller, or the companions, or the organiser, or the retailer, or one of the relevant service providers, from executing all or part of the travel service(s) provided for in the contract. The same applies in the event of any riot, insurgency or prohibition ordered by the public or governmental authorities, or weather, geographic, health or political conditions, in the place of destination or transit or in close proximity to this place, which may have significant consequences on the execution of the contract or on the transportation of passengers to the place of destination. The right to terminate the contract enacted by Article L.211-14-II of the Tourism Code is assessed with regard to objective criteria and independent of the parties, notably based on the recommendations of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

8. Formalities

8.1. The Customer is responsible, prior to placing their order, for ensuring that they have the necessary documents, visas or other authorisations for coming to France. As Le Connoisseur provides only the services in France, it is not liable for international air transport and any formalities pertaining to border crossing. In the event of visa rejection, losses, identity theft or any other administrative reason preventing the Customer from travelling to France, the Customer shall immediately notify Le Connoisseur of this and will be charged the cancellation fees provided for above. Le Connoisseur reminds the Customer that the rejection or lack of visa and the absence of any administrative or identity documents required for border crossing shall not constitute an exceptional and unavoidable circumstance as referred to in Article L.211-14-II of the Tourism Code.

9. Extent of Obligations – Liability – Complaints

9.1. In accordance with the provisions of the Tourism Code, Le Connoisseur is only liable for the travel services provided for in the contract to the exclusion of any others. In the event that the Customer detects any non-compliance whilst a service is being carried out, they are responsible for reporting the non-compliance as soon as possible to the support service of Le Connoisseur. The support service can be contacted by email at contact@le-connoisseur.com and by telephone on +33 1 76 47 03 30. Any complaints must be sent in writing to Le Connoisseur at the following address: Le Connoisseur, for the attention of Olga VINCENT, 39 boulevard d’Argenson 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine. In accordance with Article L.616-1 of the Consumer Code, Le Connoisseur informs the Customer that, in the absence of a satisfactory response, it may refer the matter to the Tourism and Travel Ombudsman (MTV), whose details and referral procedures are available at www.mtv.travel.

9.3. In accordance with Article L.211-17-VI of the Tourism Code, any action in respect of Article L.211-17 must be filed within two years of the relevant service, which is considered a prescription period.

10. Personal data

10.1. Pursuant to French Data Protection Act No. 78-17 on information technology, data files and civil liberties of January 6, 1978, you are advised that your personal data will be processed. The purpose of this processing is, on the one hand, the execution of the contract and, on the other hand, marketing purposes and trade statistics. The right of access, modification, deletion, correction and portability provided for by this Act can be exercised by contacting Le Connoisseur, for the attention of Olga VINCENT, 39 boulevard d’Argenson 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine. The data processing controller is Le Connoisseur

10.2. We also use trackers which will signal your access to our website. They are used only to improve the service offered to you. To know more about trackers, you may consult the website of the CNIL (French National Data Protection Agency).

11. Final provisions