text:
Askhole Part 1
Podcast Transcription
Melina: Welcome to "Flippin' Off," a purpose-driven podcast about flipping houses and making a difference.
Dave: Well, hello. We are here in the studio again, my wife and I. Hi, honey.
Melina: Hey.
Dave: We've got a few guests around the room. We got Frank and Oscar, Tim and Peter, and this is gonna be a totally different podcast today. And, in fact, for the next couple of weeks, we're gonna do something totally different. We've listened to a lot of podcasts out there, and one of the things that a lot of people don't talk about is mistakes. Oh, boy, fun stuff, right? Yeah. Everybody in the room made some mistakes at some point? Say "I".
Man: We're here.
Man: I.
Dave: So, I'm holding in my hands a check for $50,000, hun.
Melina: Yay.
Dave: Are you excited?
Melina: Oh, yes. No.
Dave: So...
Melina: Anti-climactic, to say the least.
Dave: Very much so. I went the other day to pick up an escrow refund for $50,000. And I say refund because it was an earnest money deposit we had made on six properties last year in May.
Melina: Yep, almost a year ago.
Dave: May. So, 11 months, we've had $50,000 tied up in an earnest money deposit, sitting in escrow, earning us absolutely zero. Meanwhile, it was borrowed funds, and we're making a payment every month.
Melina: That's so awesome.
Dave: Wasn't it so much fun?
Melina: Oh my gosh, that makes me so happy. You don't even know. Yes.
Dave: I loved it. Every month...
Melina: Thrilled.
Dave: So, there's gonna be a bunch of laughing because we need to laugh, we need to be able to laugh at some of these mistakes.
Melina: Yes. Well, you know what I think, I think that what we are going to be talking about today, if...let's just be completely transparent. It's a scary conversation to have because we're putting ourselves in a position of vulnerability. We all know what happens when you make yourself vulnerable, right?
Dave: Yeah.
Melina: You get hurt. You put yourself in a place where people can do and say and make of it whatever they want but...
Dave: It's very true.
Melina: We've chosen to live our lives this way and run our business this way. This is what we do all the time, and so why would our podcasts be any different?
Dave: Yeah, very, very true. So, we're gonna hit on...tell you a little bit about that story, how we ended up with $50,000 tied up for 11 months. And some things we can look back on now and some red flags and some mistakes, some things that we should have slowed down and recognized sooner. And then, I think we're gonna work our way...we'll see how much time permits. We'll work our way around the room. And I know every one of us have mistakes we've made and stories, you know, through those mistakes, and actual deals that we can talk about, deals or maybe even losses. Everybody always wants to call them deals, but deals don't feel good when you lose money.
Melina: No.
Dave: So...but the lessons. And really, the point of this week and a couple of weeks on as we break this up, we want you guys to really get that we've made a bunch of little mistakes. We will still make mistakes. Like, it's an impossibility if you think you're ever going to never make a mistake. You will, and we've just learned to, you know, mitigate some of those by surrounding yourself with people that can...we can brainstorm with and collaborate with and, you know, the club's a good resource for that because there's varying degrees of experience that's in there.
And, you know, especially if you're a newbie listening to this or somebody who's just getting into this business or if you're in the club already and you're learning, just a huge, huge, huge takeaway, big mistake people make, especially when they think they got it, you know, oh, maybe they've closed a few deals and they get that euphoria, right, that wave you talk about and, "I got this." And that maybe even...may have been even us in this last deal, you know? We kinda like, "Hey, we got this." And so, I don't know, you wanna start off with a little bit of the background on that?
Melina: Sure, sure. So, it was brought to us by a student, and it was a lady who claimed to be a partner in five properties...six properties, actually, in Las Vegas. And they were wanting to...ahe and her partner were wanting to unload them and sell them at a discount quickly. So they were...
Dave: Because...
Melina: Yeah, because...I don't even remember why, do you remember why?
Dave: Yeah.
Melina: I don't even remember. What was the reasoning?
Dave: Well, he wants a downsize because he's older. He's in his 80s, lives in Southern California, and just can't back and forth to Vegas to manage the properties.
Melina: Right.
Dave: He doesn't wanna be outside of California anymore, and just downsize his portfolio because his portfolio is so big. So that's why he's wanting to take these at a discount. Further, he bought them at the bottom of the market.
Melina: He bought them right, he bought them great, which was awesome.
Dave: Yeah. So...
Melina: So we agreed to...we looked at them and, on paper, we comped them out. They looked very, very good. The numbers looked excellent. We were taking into consideration every property was rented. Very little deferred maintenance, they were all rented at above-market, cash flowing even at the acquisition price we were looking at buying them for. And so, there was a conversation that we could maybe flip them, we could maybe keep one or two in inventory as rentals. You know, the possibilities were endless. And one of the things that we teach all the time is that you make your money on your buy, right, and you get paid on your exit. So that was what we were thinking, and I always tell students, "You know, how you know you purchased properly is when you can pick a variety of exit strategies," and that's the way this was looking. So we went in and we put down all she required.
Dave: Yeah, well, that was part of the...
Melina: It was the number one red flag.
Dave: Number one red flag. It was...so my partner...so, anytime somebody says, "My partner, my partner, my partner," I think one of the things that I've learned is I wanna identify who that partner is. So, whether that partner is some sort of entity, if that partner is a trust, if that partner has some person that somebody is claiming behind them, I wanna know who that person is and what their actual relationship is. This lady represented that she was a partner in these deals, and it turned out later that she had absolutely no equity in these deals whatsoever...
Melina: Right.
Dave: ...and had no piece of them.
Melina: We didn't verify that.
Dave: And we did not verify that. So we did our preliminary title searches and we saw that the houses were free and clear, which is what was represented to us.
Melina: Yes.
Dave: So we took it as, okay, free and clear properties, there's no liens, there's nothing. These look decent. And here's a woman that says, "I'm a partner." So, what do we do? We draft, we get a realtor in Vegas.
Melina: Yes.
Dave: Right? We didn't use our California forms for Nevada. We got a realtor in Vegas to drive all the properties, a relationship we had out there. Drove all the properties, they do, in fact, exist. There are people living in them. Sounds good so far. Properties have a little bit more deferred maintenance from the outside from what he's telling us, but they're not a big deal. And no problem, that's part of the negotiation, right? You make an offer, we'll inspect the properties, and then we have our due diligence period, right? It's written in the contract, give us the opportunity to inspect it and so forth.
So, the partner says, "I'll meet you out there in Vegas," and we're like, "Well, we don't really need to meet you, we'll just...if you could just tell the people we're coming, we'll come by with our realtor and we'll take a look." "No, no, I have to meet you. In fact, sign the contract and show us that you can even perform because we don't wanna fly into Vegas," because she was representing that she was coming from somewhere on the East Coast, working on some of his other portfolio. "So, sign the contract, and a minimum deposit is $50,000 of EMD to go in escrow to show us that you're serious, that you actually will close," because we were gonna close with cash. And total purchase was $600,000. So, to them, it was like, "Put in $50,000. That'll show us that you're serious about this, and it will be worth our time to fly into Vegas and show you properties." So, mistake right there. An escrow company we had never worked with, never heard of, and it must be that escrow company.
Melina: Yes.
Dave: So that should have been a red flag to us because what's the big deal? As long as we have proof of cash and we're gonna put our EMD in, why does it have to be this escrow company?
Melina: And she insisted on a $50,000 EMD, which is an earnest money deposit.
Dave: Yeah, which is a lot.
Melina: It was, but in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that...I mean, it just...anyway, so we did it.
Dave: We've never done that big of an EMD before.
Melina: Yeah, we never...yeah. So now, we can look back and go, "Yeah, we did this mistake, did that mistake. Okay." So, then there was sort of an excitement about the possibilities with these properties. And so we get in the car, we put in our $50,000, we wire it to escrow. We get in the car, we drive to Vegas.
Dave: Hold on, there's one more part of that. She gave us 10 days in the contract to inspect.
Melina: Yes.
Dave: And then, delayed...we were going out there, inside that 10 days, to go during our inspection, and we get a notice that says, "I'm sorry, I'm hung up in Chicago. I can't get a flight out there. I'll meet you in five more days," which put us past...
Melina: The 10-day inspection period.
Dave: The 10-day inspection period. Okay? Go ahead.
Melina: So we said, "Fine," whatever. So we met with her when we got there, and it was the fourth red flag. As soon as I saw her, I said, "Hm." Like, you know, like, I felt like, "Oh, I know her, and...or whatever it is that she represents, but whatever." So my gut said something is wrong. Anyway, we go forward, we're there now. When we meet her, we say...oh, and she was supposed to produce the leases at that point. When we meet her there in Vegas, she says, "You're not gonna believe this. My car got broken into and they stole my leases."
Dave: At the airport, by the way.
Melina: Yeah, like the dog ate her homework. Anyway, so we said, "Oh, okay." So anyway, now, we have no leases. So we walk the properties, and every property we walk, there is way more work than needed. I start talking to every tenant. I actually speak to every tenant and I ask them point blank, "How much are you paying in rent," and, of course, it was not the same amount of money that she represented. So now, we have no leases, and several tenants told us...oh, one guy said, "I have been living in this house for 17 years and I've had four landlords, and I've never had a lease." So there was so many things that were wrong.
So the short end of this is that we leave Vegas, we send an email, like, literally on the way. Dave's driving and I'm typing the email saying, "Yeah, okay. So nothing you represented was the truth. You don't have leases, there is this, this, and this wrong," and so we made a new offer on the properties, and said, "Based on all of this evidence, our offer is no longer $600,000. It is now..."
Dave: $540,000.
Melina: $540,000, which was very reasonable. She responds back and says, "Okay. Well, we're not interested in $540,000 so we will cancel the contract." And we said, "Okay, fine. Send the cancellation, we'll get our EMD back and, you know, wish you the best." And then she came back and said, "What? I'm not giving you back your EMD."
Dave: We're not signing a cancellation.
Melina: No cancellation. You can cancel but I'm not giving you back your money. And at that point, I looked at Dave and said, "Yeah, something is not right with her." So then we did a little bit more research, and so we found the owner of the property and found out that this woman was not his partner. And so I said to Dave, "Well, then she's obviously a real estate agent." She was doing licensed activities. And so, a quick check with the Bureau of Real Estate to find out, yes, she was indeed licensed, except they revoked her license. And so, now, she is doing licensed activity when not being licensed.
Dave: Wow, yeah.
Melina: So awesome.
Dave: So we're out with someone representing themselves to be a partner, who's really acting as a realtor who had her license revoked or suspended. And by the way, we did a little more research and it was revoked or suspended because she committed a burglary. Kind of a problem when you're a realtor, have access to people's homes, and you commit...
Melina: Steal stuff.
Dave: You commit burglary. So, a bunch of problems, right? We've got this...I get a hold of the guy who actually owns the property and he says to me straight out, "No, she is just a friend doing me a favor meeting you guys out there," and, "What do you mean, the property?" He goes, "I haven't been to the properties in years. What do you mean the air conditioner doesn't work?" I go, "It's Las Vegas. How do people live without air conditioning?"
Melina: Well, they were getting ready to move out.
Dave: Yeah, and they were all gonna bounce. And he says, "No problem. Let me talk to my attorney and I will sign the cancellation, you know, as long as the contract says, you know, you guys had the right to inspect," and everything sounded great. After that, he never took my call again.
Melina: Yeah. So he went through two different attorneys, both who said they were gonna represent him. They looked at the case and said, "We've told him he doesn't have a case. He should give you your money back but he refuses, and so I'm not taking on the case." So, he went through two different attorneys, and all of this took a year. Well, 11 months...
Dave: Eleven months.
Melina: Yeah, for us to get our money back. So...
Dave: We had to hire an attorney. We had to file a lawsuit. He never responded to the lawsuit. Got a default judgment. And now, we've attached that judgment to his properties that, at some point, somebody will sell and pay us off. But meanwhile, escrow refunded our $50,000.
Melina: Finally. So, while we should be celebrating, we've still really lost. We've lost money because we had our money out for 11 months. That money cost us money and it inhibited our ability to do any other deals because we had that money tied up. Not to mention the stress and frustration and all of those things.
Dave: Plus, we had to pay an attorney, you know? The attorney costs are, you know, close to $5,000 just to go get a default judgment. So, I mean, a bunch of things that were there that we've definitely learned from that I will never, ever, ever take somebody's word for, "I am a partner," without knowing who that partner is, speaking to that partner, having contact information. We had to skiptrace this guy and find this guy. It was, you know, it was tough. It was tough. So that's definitely something we wanted to take away from there. What a mistake.
Melina: So there's our mistake. Now, we get to hear from everybody.
Dave: Yay.
Melina: All right. We made ourselves naked. Not proud.
Dave: So which one of you wants to tell us about one of your favorite mistakes?
Melina: Who's going next? Okay, Oscar. We'll just go age before beauty.
Oscar: We call it wisdom now.
Melina: Okay, good, wisdom.
Oscar: Yeah, mine is a little different, kind of, but there is an agent involved. And this was really at the beginning, just at the part where I was transitioning from being a W-2 employee to doing this full time. And, of course, you're in a spot at that point where your back is against the wall to a certain extent, you're looking to make some money. So your decision-making process is...we'll call it fog, for a lack of expletives. So...but...
Melina: Borderline desperate?
Oscar: Yeah, it's a great way to put it, you know, because you're...I'm walking away from a really good six-figure job and I've gotta make ends meet going forward, right? So the challenge becomes, what do I do? Opportunity shows up. The short side of the story is this opportunity shows up, the numbers make sense, it looks great. I get money ready to go. I've got my own money going into it, and it was all based on the word of an agent providing a CMA, right?
Melina: A Comparative Market Analysis.
Oscar: And...
Dave: Can those be manipulated, by chance?
Oscar: Depends who you ask.
Melina: Yes.
Oscar: But absolutely. And so, first lesson was most...there's several, right? There's...I mean, I'm getting all sweaty hand. Flashbacks, feel like I was in a war. So the first thing was that I took that agent's word for the CMA, right? Mistake number one. The other was that I was playing in an area that I wasn't familiar with. I didn't know the neighborhood well enough, I didn't know the surrounding areas well enough, I didn't realize where that main strip was that really dictated a huge difference in values, so those things all came into play.
And, at the end of it all, it turned out that numbers looked good, again, based on the CMA. I was looking at making 40, 50 grand on the deal. So, got the money, locked it up, did it. Moved forward, got things going, did the rehab, got everything done. Get ready to put it on the market and realized that ARV's probably not what we thought it was gonna be.
Dave: After Repair Value?
Oscar: Yeah, thanks. You guys are like my glossary.
Dave: Yeah, just in case there's someone listening to this going, "What the heck is CMA and ARV and...?"
Oscar: X-Y-Z.
Melina: L-M-N-O-P.
Dave: ROI and blah-blah-blah. Anyways, so you put it on the market, and what happened?
Oscar: Turns out that versus making a $50,000 profit, it was actually a $76,000 swing from that to a $26,000 loss. Then, sanity sets back in and clarity starts to...the fog lifts, right, because now, "Oh hell, I'm losing money." And that's when I reach out to Melina and have the conversation of, you know, tail between my legs and saying, "I didn't do what I was taught. I felt I had this," like you guys said earlier, right? "I got this figured out. I'm in. I got it, ran with it, and here I am. I'm stuck now." So Melina does what she does, and came in, rescued me out of it and, you know, I still experienced a loss but it wasn't $26,000. It was more like $11,000. And the lessons learned abound, right, because it's...I can step back now and kinda chuckle about it. Kind of, right?
Dave: You're alive.
Oscar: And, you know, the thing is...so the street name is Andover. I was just thinking about this while you guys were talking about it, right? Right? Think about those two words that are in that name, "and over", right? It's the beginning and over, right? Or, it's what Tim just said, right? Get it right and start doing this over and over and over, and doing it correctly. So it became...it's interesting to step back now and look at it and say, "Man, I could have..." That was the beginning and, quite possibly, could have been the absolute end of anything that I had to do with this business. And to have you guys, right, everybody in this room right now, around to be able to continue to move forward instead of wallowing in my mess is huge. Without that, absolutely, it would have been "and over," for sure.
Dave: Yeah. So good takeaway from that. So anybody listening to this, this is sometimes how we get people to submit or ask for our help, and they'll say, "Well, the realtor said it's worth this, the realtor said it's worth that." I'm not here to bash realtors. Realtors are a key component. We need realtors in our business. But you have got to be able to justify your comparables when you look at the CMAs, and sometimes, we see these huge swings, you know. Any time I see where there's huge swings, especially when somebody submits comps or comparables and asking for help, you gotta be able to justify those swings. You know, why is that, why is there such a big difference, and Oscar said it's the real key.
I've been on areas where I'm like, I don't even know where I'm going, GPS got me here. I don't know where I'm going and I don't know the first thing about that neighborhood. I don't know anything about the school district, I don't know anything about, you know, is this side of the street good or that side of street good? I don't know all that stuff, and you've gotta be able to get in there and figure those out, and not take someone's word for it in that, "This is what the house is gonna sell for," because, I mean, at the end of the day, that realtor makes their money off of selling you that house. Once that house is sold and you spend the next three, four, five, six months flipping it and sitting on the market and so forth, they've moved on. They made their money and they've moved on. And not all realtors are bad or anything like that, I'm not saying anything like that. You just have to be able to look at it and justify it. There's not a time that I've ever purchased a house...like, even when you just said we drove to Vegas...
Melina: Yep.
Dave: We didn't take the realtor's word for it who took pictures and sent us that stuff. We got in the car and we drove to Vegas and looked at every single property.
Melina: Yeah, and it's not only looking at the property, but it's looking at the comps. That was the biggest thing, and that was, I think, probably the biggest mistake that you would agree you did, right, Oscar?
Oscar: Yeah, absolutely. It's definitely a lesson learned that...I drive the comps now. If possible, I walk them whatever access I can get to it, and I check out the neighborhood, right? Are the neighborhoods similar now? It's kind of weird when you drive in one neighborhood and there's no sidewalks when there's one that has sidewalks. Okay, really? Are they comparable? It's not horse country so...right, what's really happening? I think that's why we always say, "Trust, but verify."
Melina: Right, absolutely. That's a good one.
Dave: That's a good one. You know, this is...we're gonna talk for hours, sit and go around this room, mistake after mistake after mistake. I think we'll do...let's get one more and then we'll call it a day, and then we'll come back and we'll share some more. So I know we got all you guys here but there's not a possibility we'll be able to get all these in here, so which one of you got a short and sweet one you wanna tell us about?
Melina: I think we pick Tim.
Dave: We pick Tim? All right, I guess Tim's up.
Melina: Yeah, because it's a little bit of a...I think his story is...will try to hit all ends of mistakes.
Dave: You hit 'em all?
Tim: Well, which one are we talking about? Which mistake?
Dave: You mean you made more than one? No way. Go ahead. What do you got for us, Tim?
Tim: Probably my biggest thing is, have...it's been in choosing partners, I think. You know, I can think back to probably the first partnership that I got involved with and it was...you know, there was a couple of us, there was three of us. We got together, and we were very close as far as...like, we had a relationship, we knew each other for a long time, and...
Melina: Great friends.
Tim: Great friends, great friends, and...
Melina: Friends don't make great partners, you mean?
Tim: Not necessarily. I think they can, depending. But sometimes, friendship is not the thing to look at for your partnership, I think. And what ended up happening is that we...first of all, we didn't put anything in writing. We just kinda said, "This is what we're gonna do. We're going to...you know, we're gonna move forward, we're gonna take on this business, we're gonna, you know, go market inaudible 00:25:48]...
Melina: Take over the world?
Tim: We're gonna take over the world and make, you know, world-changing decisions. And at the end of the day, what ended up happening was two of us actually worked and one of us didn't. And I think it's funny because, as I was thinking about this a little while ago, it depends on who you ask which two of us actually worked because I can guarantee you the person that I'm thinking that did nothing and took a fair share of the profits, if you ask them which one of us didn't do any work, it wouldn't be them. So I think that, again, my biggest thing has been in choosing partners and making sure that it gets put down in writing, that...
Dave: The expectations?
Tim: Yeah, expectations, who's gonna do what, what happens, frankly, if a partner doesn't come through, because that was something that never was discussed at all. Like, we talked about great big things, but we never talked about, like, what happens if, you know, as a team, we make $60,000, $80,000 and it all comes from one person's activities, and other partners walk away with a lot of money for having done very little, you know? And frankly, what comes out of it is...what came out of it is fractured relationships, you know, which are probably more painful than anything.
Dave: Yeah, and you feel...you know, it's interesting because there's other partnerships where you could say that and it's okay, so...that's happened in our business as well, like, "Okay, well, we're doing this, and that's making the...our group or our partnership whatever amount of money, but our partner is working on something else," not, "That partner is kind of hanging out, waiting for you to close that deal," is what you're really saying, right?
Tim: Yeah.
Dave: So there wasn't really the synergy. It was, "I'm doing everything. I feel like I'm...actually, I know I'm doing everything, and the deal wouldn't happen unless I was doing everything. And then, on top of it, I have an agreement that says we're gonna split this profit X number of ways." The deal gets closed and you're writing checks, going, "How much money did I just give away?"
Tim: Yeah, that's essentially what it was. It was doing deals with partners where, again, I paid out way more money than I ever kept, if that makes sense.
Dave: Sure.
Tim: Because I had partners and, you know, they...you know, in hindsight, they weren't the right partners for me to begin with, but I learned a lot.
Melina: That's actually a good point. That's actually a really good point because...did you get...I feel like there's a common theme with all of this, because I know when you came to us and told us what you were doing separately, both Dave and I shook our head and said, "Why did you do that," because we knew...oh, and so did Frank. So...
Tim: Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.
Melina: Yeah. So I think that's an important piece of information. And I kind of...I feel like that is the common message here, is there is power in numbers, there is power in relationships with other people that have no vested interests in what it is that you're doing. And I believe that is the power in the club. And that's actually how I keep Dave in line, too. I make sure that he writes down everything that he's gonna do. When he doesn't, I hold him accountable. I'm just kidding, none of that's true.
Dave: I was like, "Huh?"
Melina: I had to lighten it up a little. No, I do think that it's important that there's so much power in having relationships outside relationships that don't have a vested interest in what it is that you're doing other than your own success. So I can look at Oscar and go...I could have...you know, and Oscar said, "Hey, I came to Melina afterward." Well, I had no vested interest except for my love for Oscar and my desire, my sincere desire to see him succeed, right? Same thing with Tim, right? You know, we all love Tim and we want the best relationships for him and, but the one thing he didn't do was come and have a conversation with other people. There is so much wisdom in having many advisors.
Dave: There you go. I think that's a proverb.
Tim: So one of the things that I just got was, first of all, I think what I have is that I did come and talk to you guys. I just didn't freakin' listen. You know what I mean? Like, I remember...
Melina: Is that right, Frank? Is that what happened?
Frank: He's correct, 100% correct.
Tim: Absolutely. Like, so that's what I got. Like, just now, I'm like, you know, you can have this whole...I mean, this, you know...
Melina: Mastermind.
Tim: ...mastermind that's in this room right now, and you could sit down and you can get all of this great feedback, but if you go with you, if you don't take the advice of the people that, frankly, know more than you and have been there, then...
Melina: I feel like there's a definition, there's a word for that. We all know the word.
Dave: Yeah, we won't say it, though.
Tim: We won't say it?
Dave: No.
Tim: Dang it.
Dave: Just in case.
Tim: We're gonna call this podcast that. How's that?
Melina: Oh, that would be great. So there is a word, and if you come to the club, it's in the glossary.
Oscar: Oh, I forgot that.
Melina: It is. It's absolutely in the glossary.
Frank: So, for me, right, there's another side to this as well. There's the, "I'm not gonna go ask because I got this." There's the, "I've asked but I'm still gonna go do what I wanna do," and there's the ones that won't ask because they're pretty sure they're not gonna get the answer they're looking for, right? And it's the trifecta of crap, really, what it boils down to, because...
Melina: Dumbass-ery.
Frank: Dumbass-ery, yeah, great. It's what happens, though. It's us as humans, right, screwing things up and getting in our own way.
Dave: Well, sometimes, you know, I think our egos get in the way, especially...you know, we do have a lot of successful people in our club, right, and then we have a lot of the newbies. And I think, you know, even the newbies, the people who...the learning curve, and I'm sure everybody can relate to, you know, you wanna be that rock star that's killing it and got deals all over the place and, you know, that kinda thing. But what people forget is that you had a learning curve as well. You know, like, you had to go through a learning curve in order to get there, and I think they wanna skip all that. So then they look for ways to force deals, right, instead of doing, like, which is we find every reason not to do the deal, and then when we've exhausted all of them and we can't find any reason not to, then we pull the trigger and we move forward. And people wanna skip those steps. And I think it's just human nature, right? I mean, at the end of the day, we all wanna be successful, we all wanna close deals, we all wanna be able to do that, but, you know, skipping the...and really taking for granted what we have in the club is probably a big key, and I think we've all been there.
Melina: Yeah. Well, I think the final thing to say is this, that the power is actually in the journey, not in the destination. That is where everything happens. That's where your character is built. That's where your success actually lies is what you do inside of the journey. So if I was gonna say there's one thing to take away from this podcast, it is, yep, you're gonna make mistakes, and I believe that it is what you do with the mistakes that makes or breaks you. So, I am unbelievably grateful that we have a room full of people like this that we can just turn to each other and say...we can laugh at our own mistakes, we could be honest about our own mistakes, but ultimately, work through them together to come out on the other side, and that's where character is built.
Dave: Right, right. Well, we're going to...let's call that a wrap, and I can't wait to hear some of our great mistakes as we do Part Two of this next time around. So, we'll catch you guys later.
Melina: This is the Boswells, along with the Key Mastermind Group. We are flippin' out.


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Native American fashion designer Cher Thomas is the winner of the free National RES Las Vegas 2016 conference registration.
Thomas was one of more than 50 people to attend the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Arizona networking luncheon on Feb. 19 to hear guest speaker NCAIED President and CEO Gary Davis.
Pilar Thomas, Counsel at Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie, LLP, was also a guest speaker at the luncheon held at Casino Arizona.
The free National RES registration, valued at $999 and presented by the National Center, was given away as part of a drawing.
The National Reservation Economic Summit, hosted by the National Center, will celebrate its 30th anniversary from March 21-24 at the Mirage Resort and Casino in beautiful Las Vegas.
For more details about National RES, click here.
About the National Center: The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. With over 40 years of assisting American Indian Tribes and their enterprises with business and economic development – we have evolved into the largest national Indian specific business organization in the nation. Our motto is: "We Mean Business For Indian Country" as we are actively engaged in helping Tribal Nations and Native business people realize their business goals and are dedicated to putting the whole of Indian Country to work to better the lives of American Indian people- both now… and for generations to come.

subset: commoncrawl


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A funny thing happened on the way to writing this review...
Actually, it was more like dozens of very annoying things kept cropping up as I was doing my testing of the Surface Book: daily, often hourly system freezes, display driver crashes, blue screens of death, etc. etc.
I returned my first Surface Book after only three days of utter frustration and thought I would have to wait until December for a replacement. However, a shipment of i7/8/256/dGPU models arrived unexpectedly at the local Microsoft Store a couple weeks later and I was back in business. Unfortunately this unit began locking up too, though far less frequently than its predecessor.
Microsoft released a UEFI update November 18 that it believes fixes the lockups once and for all. And since installing it, my Surface Book has been relatively solid. On December 2, Microsoft released a System Hardware Update that addressed persistent display driver crashes. Now the only remaining issue is a power management bug that the company says it won't fix until the new year.
We certainly hope so, because once its launch troubles are behind it, there's very little not to like about the Surface Book. This new flagship is a premium product with a premium pricetag. It's clearly not for the masses, but it is a great aspirational device that should push the state of Windows computing forward. Just like OEMs (and Apple) have begun copying the best design features of the Surface Pro 3, I suspect we'll see more devices with Surface Book DNA showing up in 2016.
Because the Surface Book's release was so well-received and reviewed extensively across the web, I won't focus on the basic details you can find elsewhere. Some of the highlights for me are the best backlit keyboard you'll find on a Surface device, the largest and most responsive trackpad, the brightest, roomiest and sharpest display.
If you're torn deciding between a Surface Book and a Surface Pro 4, the decision is not as difficult as you might imagine. Setting price considerations aside, if you need a discrete GPU for rendering or gaming, the Book is your only Microsoft Surface-branded option. If you will be working in traditional laptop mode more than 50% of the time, get a Book. But for those primarily interested in art and directly interacting with the display, the Surface Pro 4 is the better way to go.
Over the last few years I've reviewed several convertible or 2-in-1 laptops, such as the Acer Aspire R7-572, the Sony Flip 15A and the Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga 12 and 14. In each of those instances, the display remained attached to the keyboard base. Flipping the display into tablet mode ranged from ridiculously easy (Acer) to cumbersome (Yogas).
While detaching the Surface Book screen and going into "clipboard" mode is easy enough, flipping into "creative" mode requires two free hands to flip and guide the large screen into place. More importantly, you can't enter in and out of these configurations on a whim.
Although the detached clipboard mode is nice, you'll probably want to do the bulk of your pen-related work in creative mode because that's the only way you're able to tap into the extended battery life and discrete NVidia GPU located in the keyboard base. But if that GPU is occupied, you have to wait for that task to complete before you can detach the screen. This shouldn't be more than an inconvenience in most instances, but I ran into one scenario that could cause some serious grief.
When the display is detached or flipped into creative mode, the keyboard is inoperable. I had the Book in this configuration when I started a 3DS Max animation. The touch targets are very small in that application and the playback controls were being unresponsive to the pen. The only other way I know to exit animation playback is the Esc key. Unfortunately, the on-screen keyboard doesn't have an Esc key. (If there's an Alt equivalent that I'm unaware of, the on-screen keyboard doesn't have an Alt key either!) So I was stuck. I couldn't detach the display in order to flip it because the GPU was engaged. Ultimately I was forced to quit the program via Task Manager. Had I not saved my file prior to running into this roadblock, I might have lost a lot of work.
Windows 8.1 had an option to display a second, full-featured keyboard on screen. That selection appears ghosted in Windows 10 and I can't find any options related to this in PC settings. If you have any information on this, please leave a comment.
For future versions of the Surface Book, Microsoft should definitely add the ability to power on the keyboard separately and have it communicate wirelessly. In the meantime, you will want to keep a Bluetooth keyboard close by while you work in creative mode, just in case.
If you should shut down your Surface Book while in the Creative configuration, you'll need to turn it back on and use the on-screen eject button in order to get in back into laptop mode for transporting. If you power down your Clipboard while detached, it will reattach to the keyboard without having to power it back up. Thank heaven for small favors!
Due to its unique hinge, the Surface Book's creative configuration forms a wedge that provides a slight incline (perhaps five degrees) to the display. This is preferable to writing on an entirely flat surface, but the angle isn't large enough to make much of a difference. If you plan to work this way on a desk or tabletop, you'll probably need to prop the Surface Book up with something to find a more comfortable drawing angle.
The laptop is light enough that I had no difficulty resting it on my lap as I drew. The curved hinge comes in handy in portrait mode, where it can double as a grip for your free hand as you draw (see left).
While detached, the Surface Book display performs exactly like the equivalent i5 or i7 Surface Pro, except for the fact that it is powering a larger display at a whopping 3000 x 2000 pixels. Battery life is limited to only three hours. I haven't run it all the way down yet, but running Clip Studio Paint with a browser open in the background, I was at 50% battery after only an hour in balanced power mode with 25% brightness. The Windows power meter isn't very reliable, reporting wildly different "time remaining" each time I check.
The detached i7 tablet tends to run cooler than my i5 Surface Pro 3 tablets. On those, significant heat collects in the upper right corner of the tablet. Heat appears to be better distributed along the length of the Surface Book display, collecting close to the keyboard ports. I'm not sure how air flows through the vents located all around the perimeter of the tablet, but it concerns me that my clothes may be insulating the warmest area as I hold it in my lap. To be safe, I occasionally rotated the display so that the warm areas were located away from my clothing.
I really miss the kickstand. There are times when you want to place the clipboard on a desk or tabletop and working flat is just not as pleasant as the variable angles offered by the Surface Pro. As I use the Clipboard, I can't help but dream of a Surface Book XL with this display size and none of its compromises.
Speaking of angles, when the display is reattached, I wish the Surface Book would open up perhaps another 5-10 degrees. The maximum opening is just a little too vertical to provide optimal viewing angles.
As expected, the Surface Book did well vs. other dual core tablets in most benchmarks I ran, although the VAIO Z Canvas bested it in most tests. I think this is because most of the benchmarks are heavily weighted toward CPU results, where the dual core 6600U is outmatched by the quad core 4770HQ.
Also tests from 3DMark report that the Surface Book's NVidia display driver is unapproved, which must account for some of the poorer results, especially compared to the Thinkpad Yoga's 940M GPU.
I'm new to Bapco's TabletMark benchmarks, but the chart to the left is fairly consistent with the results of other benchmarks I ran. See full benchmark results below which I will update if and when the NVidia driver is recognized by 3DMark.
Pen response in 2D programs like Clip Studio Paint, Photoshop and Sketchable is on par with the Surface Pro and I don't have much new to add to the record in that regard. In a couple of earlier posts, we've reported and confirmed Brad Colbow's finding that there is a bug in the new Surfaces that creates an odd aberration at the end of strokes applied with a lot of pressure (see below). Microsoft is aware of the issue and has confirmed that they are looking into it. Whether or not this problem is a showstopper depends on your drawing style. I draw lightly enough that the bug rarely bothers me. (I didn't notice it at all doing my Surface Pro 4 review.)
A more common issue for my drawing style is a small nipple at the end of heavy strokes. At first I thought this was similar to the bug described above, but actually it's a result of the much softer HB and B nibs that I've been using. Because of the increased screen friction, I have to be more conscious of stopping my pen; otherwise, it continues for a short distance past my intended end point, creating an unintentional "skid mark."
The Surface Book's 3:2, 13.3-inch screen is a nearly perfect drawing area, but as I wrote above, if your main desire is to draw, you're better off sacrificing an inch for the added flexibility of the Surface Pro 4.
Unless typing is your main concern, lower cost models of the Book don't offer any other significant advantages. It's only when you add in a discrete GPU that the Book begins to distinguish itself from the rest of the Surface line.
I installed Blender and the full Autodesk suite on the Surface Book. Thanks to 3DS Max artist Adrian Wise who provided a torture test scene that allowed me to see how well the Surface Book performed.
As you can see in the video above, 3DS Max is a bit of a nightmare to use on a high resolution display. Its UI doesn't scale correctly or uniformly. Fonts in some menus can be resized but others remain nearly microscopic. Most icons do not scale. In order to make the software usable, I changed the Surface Book resolution to 1600 x 1200. Even at this reduced resolution, touch targets are very small and often unresponsive as you can see in the video.
When I was able to get the software to react to my pen or touch, viewport performance is actually fairly smooth and playback was 24 fps thanks to the dGPU. By contrast, I was only able to get the file to play at 20 fps on the VAIO Z Canvas (although that was running at 2560 x 1704 resolution).
A 1000 x 1000 MentalRay render took 41:06 on the Surface Book vs. 23:31 on the VAIO ZC. Switching over to an iRay GPU accelerated render, the Surface Book completed 500 passes in 6:08!
Maya's UI is better behaved on the Surface Book but I didn't get a chance to try to do much with it. I installed the Redshift GPU renderer in order to check out a benchmark scene, but the Surface Book doesn't have enough video RAM to process the file.
Once the NVidia drivers mature, the situation may change, but for now I have to conclude that if you're looking for a workstation class laptop, you'll be disappointed with the Surface Book.
The Surface Book is a stylish product and it will likely appeal most to executives and enthusiasts with plenty of disposable income. It's a beautiful device and a sure crowd-pleaser. But 2D artists will be better-served by a comparably equipped Surface Pro 4 for several hundred dollars less. Power users will be better-served by the VAIO Z Canvas or another workstation class laptop. And everyone else looking for a powerful yet affordable two-in-one device should look closely at the Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga line.


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We're happy to announce 4 new great pedals for our Skyline Series: DJENT, CAB, LUSH and PHAZE. With these new 4 high quality
additions, the Skyline Series gets even sharper!
Skyline Djent (Modern Hi Gain Distortion)
This mini monster meets the need of every djentleman. More than that, it's an all-round mega tool for modern tone maniacs.
Featuring wideranged mid and gain control, a tight low end and great definition, from raw crunch, classic heavy metal to modern
prog metal and heavy core, you get the whole gamut with extended switching options.
Use the 3-way mini toggle to select from 3 finely tuned sound characters.
Skyline Lush (Flanger)
The flanger effect was originally achieved by manually independently varying the speed of two tape recorders with the same
program material during studio recording mixdowns.
The LUSH flanger pedals recreates that rich, natural, golden studio flanging effect.
With extended onboard controls, you'll find the key to a new modulation world.
Use the DIVE button to engage negative feedback flanging mode, which features an "underwater" sound character with twisted
EQ (cuts the low frequency).
Skyline Phaze (Analog Phaser)
Adding some phasing effect is one of the oldest tricks for making your signal sound awesome.
Back in the 1970s, everybody was using that warm, subtle, one-knob phasing sound.
Hotone's all-analog Phaze pedal captures that silky phasing effect but then gives you so much more.
Use the RESO, DEPTH and RATE knobs to create your own phasing sound—from subtle nuances to twisted textures.
Phaze is a staple for both rhythm and lead styles.
Push the SHINE button to shift the phaser into a brighter, shimmering tone.
Skyline Cab (Analog Cabinet Simulator)
fine tune the bottom end and the presence.


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General Assembly NYC
GA New York City (East)
902 Broadway, 4th Floor
New York NY 10010
Click here to RSVP.
This is a public event and a partnership with Serval Ventures.
Social Enterprise Spotlight
We've all heard of the Warby Parker and Tom's Shoes success stories of the "Doing Well by Doing Good" world, but what does the social enterprise model look like when it's in its boot-strapping first years? How do social enterprises stay on mission when budget choices need to be made between measuring impact and keeping operations going? Could a social mission be the special sauce in a small enterprise's success?
We'll examine these questions and dig into some real challenges with a featured panel of social entrepreneurs, who will share their lessons learned and startup stories. Participants will also have the opportunity to convene in small groups with the entrepreneurs to exchange one-on-one perspectives and gain from a whole-group knowledge exchange.
Featured social entrepreneurs
Jenn Shaw is the COO and Cofounder of ConBody, a fitness studio that offers prison-style bootcamps and encourages community members to push themselves in ways they cannot imagine – both physically and emotionally. ConBody is a re-entry program in gym clothing that employs formerly incarcerated individuals who are reintegrating into the community. Jenn is also Founder of BellaMinds, which creates educational programs that empower women to learn, create, and lead with technology.
Manal Kahi is the CEO and Cofounder of Eat Offbeat, which delivers authentic and home-style ethnic meals that are conceived, prepared, and delivered by refugees resettled in NYC. Eat Offbeat introduces adventurous eaters to new "off-the-beaten path" cuisines through ready-to-heat artisan meals, delivered to their door. By ordering from Eat Offbeat, customers help to create opportunities for talented refugees resettled in the NY area and contribute to making them feel valued and welcome. Manal holds an MPA from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.
Cuthbert Ayo Onikute is the CEO and Founder of Dechets a l'Or, or Garbage to Gold, which addresses social and economic issues in secondary cities of West Africa. Dechets a l'Or takes an innovative approach to waste management that generates revenue for communities, improves cities' environmental footprint, and promotes public health by reducing pathogens that cause disease. Ayo completed a MSc in Urban Planning with a focus on International Development and Planning at Columbia University. He has worked on urban development challenges in Guinea, India, and NYC.
Georges Clement is the Cofounder of JustFix, an application that allows residents in exploitative and neglectful housing situations to better track, organize, and take action in order to ensure that their fundamental rights as tenants are being met. Georges is also the Cofounder of UniFi Scholars, a non-profit provider of financial education for low-income high school students focused on helping them articulate their projected return on investment of college.
Click here to RSVP.


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Symphony Partners
Symphony Partners will donate to the ASO when you use their services. Would you like to be a Symphony Partner? Call Dana at 765-644-2111 to set-up a "deal."
Amazon Smile
Use this link to support the Anderson Symphony Orchestra with your eligible purchased on Amazon. You must click through to Amazon with this link, but there's not extra cost to you at checkout!
Your Mortgage Makes a Difference
Lori Lammon is supporting the Anderson Symphony Orchestra through Your Mortgage Makes a Difference. Her special program donates $200 to the ASO… whether you refinance or purchase your home. Let's help her spread the word and start making a difference!
Contact Lori Lammon at firstname.lastname@example.com or www.lender-lori.com for more information. 248-980-5533
Advertising Opportunities
Season Program Advertisements start at $150
50th Season Calendar Advertising
The ASO program is a wonderful place to advertise your business for many reasons: – a season program is distributed to patrons from September to April – advertisements are affordable and provide substantial coverage – ASO audiences patronize businesses that support organizations they care about – it demonstrates your commitment to the community


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Grandma Sivil's Rolls
My Grandma Sivils was one special lady. People called her Flo, Flossy, or her full name Florence but to me, she was always Grandma Sivils. She was my great grandmother, my maternal grandmother's mom. Even though she was in her 80's by the time I was born, as a little girl I knew her as a strong, funny, ingenious, and incredibly kind woman. She was full of life and ready for anything. My mom always tells me what an amazing Grandma she was to her.
One of my fondest memories of her was watching her aged but still able hands rolling and forming these rolls. And no matter the season when I'd go visit her in Arizona, I would always ask her to make them. And she always would, even if it was the dead of Summer in the sweltering desert heat. That's just the kind of lady she was. More than willing to please the heart of a 7 year old.
The ingredients are few and couldn't be simpler as far as rolls go, but they are so pillowy soft, just begging for a smear of salted butter and jam or honey and I couldn't think of having a Thanksgiving dinner without them. If you make a double batch, you'll have enough to make Thanksgiving leftovers sliders the next day.
Grandma Sivil's Rolls
makes 16 rolls
3 c flour
1 c warm water (between 115-130 degrees)
1 package active dry yeast
3 T sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 c canola oil
2 T butter, melted
course sea salt, for sprinkling (such as Maldon)
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the water. Add the sugar and stir to combine. Whisk in the oil. Gradually add in the flour and salt until dough forms. On a floured work surface, knead about 10 times by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a large bowl lightly greased with oil and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough and divide into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece in a ball, drawing up the sides and pinching them together underneath, so they resemble little dumplings. Arrange in a buttered 9 x 13 inch baking dish and allow to rise again in a warm place until doubled in size. Brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle with course sea salt. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Serve warm.


text: Perform a new searchedit search filters Close Narrow your search By conditions treated/procedures performed By location Rochester, MN Jacksonville, FL Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ By last name A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Reset all filters Displaying 1-10 out of 202 doctors available Last Name Initial: K Ramanathan (Ram) Kadirvel, Ph.D. Rochester, MN Areas of focus: Brain aneurysm more see full list in profile Robert J. Kahoud, M.D. Pediatric Critical Care Specialist Pediatrician Rochester, MN Areas of focus: Intensive care, Traumatic brain injury more see full list in profile Sanjeev (Sanj) Kakar, M.D. General Surgeon Orthopedic Surgeon Sports Medicine Specialist Rochester, MN Areas of focus: Arthroplasty, Arthroscopy, Elbow replacement, Joint replacement, Vascularized bone grafting, Wrist arthroscopy, Wrist replacement, Arthritis, Broken hand, Broken wrist, Dupuytren's contracture, Elbow instability, Hand arthritis, Nerve entrapment, Neuropathies, Nonunion, Sports injury, Tumors and masses more see full list in profile Amer N. Kalaaji, M.D. Dermatologist Rochester, MN Areas of focus: Melanoma more see full list in profile Maziyar A. Kalani, M.D. Phoenix, AZ Erin J. Kaleta, Ph.D. Chemist Phoenix, AZ Peter Kalina, M.D., M.B.A. Radiologist Rochester, MN David F. Kallmes, M.D. Radiologist Rochester, MN Areas of focus: Vertebroplasty, Brain aneurysm, Brain tumor, Cerebrovascular disease, Stroke more see full list in profile Manju Kalra, M.B.B.S. General Surgeon Vascular Surgeon Rochester, MN Areas of focus: Aneurysm surgery, Angiogram, Aortic aneurysm repair, Arteriovenous fistula surgery, Arteriovenous malformation surgery, Carotid endarterectomy, Carotid stent procedure, Femoral endarterectomy, Fistulogram, Mesenteric artery bypass, Thoracic aortic aneurysm surgery, Thoracoabdominal aneurysm surgery, Thrombectomy, Thrombolysis, Varicose vein ablation, Abdominal aortic aneurysm, Aneurysm, Aortic aneurysm, Aortic disorder, Aortic dissection, Aortic ulcer, Aortoiliac disease, Arterial aneurysm, Arteriosclerosis/atherosclerosis, Arteriovenous fistula, Arteriovenous malformation, Carotid artery disease, Carotid artery dissection, Carotid artery stenosis, Carotid body tumor, Carotid dissection, Carotid insufficiency, Cerebrovascular disease, Claudication, Critical limb ischemia, Deep vein thrombosis, Fibromuscular dysplasia, Lymphedema, Marfan syndrome, Median arcuate ligament syndrome, Mesenteric ischemia, Nutcracker syndrome , Peripheral artery disease, Popliteal aneurysm, Popliteal artery entrapment syndrome, Renal artery aneurysm, Renal artery stenosis, Takayasu's arteritis, Thoracic aortic aneurysm, Thoracic outlet syndrome, Thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm, Varicose vein, Vascular anomaly, Vascular graft infection, Vascular malformation, Venous aneurysm, Venous disorder, Venous insufficiency, Venous malformation, Venous thrombosis more see full list in profile Sanjay Kalra, M.D. Pulmonologist Rochester, MN Areas of focus: Sarcoidosis more see full list in profile 1 2 3 4 5 Next


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The free trial period
During the free trial, you don't have to enter your credit card.
There is also no limit to:
- how many designs/design versions you upload,
- how many projects you create,
- how many times you share designs,
- how many people you invite to your team.
At the end of the free trial, you will be asked to choose a paid plan (charged per user either monthly or annually) and enter your billing information in order to continue to use the service.
If you like, you can add a credit card already during the trial to make sure your subscription goes without interruption,
The free trial period for the entire team expires 14 days after the owner's account for your team was created.
EXAMPLE: If you get an invitation to a team that is already one week in the free trial, you only get another free week - as the rest of the team does.
If you're trying Avocode out and 14 days isn't enough for you to test all the functionality Avocode offers, please contact us and we can extend the trial for you.
Learn more:


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Local No. : 01708 412 185
These Booking Conditions, together with our privacy policy and where your holiday is booked via our website, our website terms and conditions of use, together with any other written information we brought to your attention before we confirmed your booking, form the basis of your contract with Wedding Bookers Ltd trading as The Las Vegas Wedding Travel Company ("we" or "us"). Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations. In these Booking Conditions references to "you" and "your" include the first named person on the booking and all persons on whose behalf a booking is made or any other person to whom a booking is added or transferred.
By making a booking, the first named person on the booking agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:-
a. He/she has read these terms and conditions and has the authority to and does agree to be bound by them;
b. He/she consents to our use of information in accordance with our Privacy Policy;
c. He/she is over 18 years of age and resident in the United Kingdom and where placing an order for services with age restrictions declares that he/she and all members of the party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services.
A booking is made with us when a) you tell us that you would like to accept our written or verbal quotation; and b) you pay us a deposit If you are booking within 60 days of departure, full payment is due at the time of booking); and c) we issue you with a booking confirmation. We reserve the right to return your deposit and decline to issue a confirmation at our absolute discretion. A binding contract will come into existence between you and us as soon as we have issued you with a booking confirmation that will confirm the details of your booking and will be sent to you or your travel agent.
If your confirmed arrangements include a flight, we (or if you booked via an authorised agent of ours, that agent) will issue you with an ATOL Certificate and a confirmation. Upon receipt, if you believe that any details on the ATOL Certificate or confirmation or any other document are wrong you must advise us immediately as changes can not be made later and it may harm your rights if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any document within ten days of our sending it out (five days for tickets). The balance of the cost of your arrangements (including any applicable surcharge) is due not less than 60 days prior to scheduled departure. If we do not receive this balance in full and on time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you in which case the cancellation charges set out in clause 8 below will become payable.
Any money paid to an authorised agent of ours in respect of a booking covered by our ATOL is held by that agent on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust at all times, but subject to the agent's obligation to pay it to us for so long as we do not fail financially. If we do fail financially, any money held at that time by the agent or subsequently accepted from the consumer by the agent, is and continues to be held by that agent on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust without any obligation to pay that money to us.
Payment methods that are accepted for new bookings are debit, credit cards or paypal. For balances debit and credit cards can be utilised as well as cheque payments, for details on who to make your cheque payable to please contact us and we will advise based on your booking date. Your booking reference needs to be clearly detailed on the reverse of the cheque. Bank transfers can also be made. For further information please call us on 01708 412 144. Please use the lead surname and booking reference when making the transfer. If payment is made via this method your payment cannot be tracked unless the Administration Department is notified of the transaction
We endeavour to ensure that all the information and prices both on our website and in our brochures are accurate, however occasionally changes and errors occur and we reserve the right to correct prices and other details in such circumstances. You must check the current price and all other details relating to the arrangements that you wish to book before your booking is confirmed.
Adequate travel insurance is vital. You must be satisfied that your insurance fully covers all your personal requirements including cancellation charges, medical expenses and repatriation in the event of accident or illness. If you choose to travel without adequate insurance cover, we will not be liable for any losses howsoever arising, in respect of which insurance cover would otherwise have been available.
The price of your travel arrangements has been calculated using exchange rates quoted in the "Financial Times Guide to World Currencies" on the 01 May 2014 in relation to the following currencies: US Dollar and Euros
We reserve the right to amend the price of unsold holidays at any time and correct errors in the prices of confirmed holidays.
The price of your confirmed holiday is subject at all times to variations in:
(i) transportation costs, including the cost of fuel; or
(ii) dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports; or
(iii) the exchange rates used to calculate your arrangements;
Such variations could include but are not limited to airline cost changes which are part of our contracts with airlines (and their agents), cruise ship operators and any other transport providers. We will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase equivalent to 2% of the price of your travel arrangements, which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. You will be charged for the amount over and above that, plus an administration charge of £1.00 per person together with an amount to cover agents' commission. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your confirmed travel arrangements (excluding any insurance premiums, amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements), you will have the option of accepting a change to another holiday if we are able to offer one (if this is of equivalent or higher quality you will not have to pay more but if it is of lower quality you will be refunded the difference in price), or cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid to us, except for any insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice. There will be no change made to the price of your confirmed holiday within 30 days of your departure nor will refunds be paid during this period. We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy. Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your confirmed holiday cost, then any refund due will be paid to you. However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place.
These Booking Conditions and any agreement to which they apply are governed in all respects by English law. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in connection with your contract or booking will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only. You may however, choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you live in those places and if you wish to do so.
If you are forced to return home early, we cannot refund the cost of any services you have not used. If you cut short your holiday and return home early in circumstances where you have no reasonable cause for complaint about the standard of accommodation and services provided, we will not offer you any refund for that part of your holiday not completed, or be liable for any associated costs you may incur. Depending on the circumstances, your travel insurance may offer cover for curtailment and we suggest that any claim is made directly with them.
If you wish to change any part of your booking arrangements after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you must inform us in writing as soon as possible. This should be done by the first named person on the booking. Whilst we will do our best to assist, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet your requested change. Where we can meet a request, all changes may be subject to payment of an administration fee of £25 per person per change as well as any applicable rate changes or extra costs incurred as well as any costs incurred by ourselves and any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible. Where we are unable to assist you and you do not wish to proceed with the original booking we will treat this as a cancellation by you. A cancellation fee may be payable. If you are prevented from travelling it may be possible to transfer your booking to another suitable person provided that written notice is given. An administration fee will be charged, details available upon request.
Note: Certain arrangements may not be amended after they have been confirmed and any alteration could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements.
If you or any other member of your party decides to cancel your confirmed booking you must notify us in writing. Your notice of cancellation will only take effect when it is received in writing by us at our offices and will be effective from the date on which we receive it. We recommend that you use recorded delivery.
The cancellation charges will vary depending on the tour operators utilised and their applicable charges, and the length of time between the cancellation date and the departure date. Wedding Bookers Ltd. will notify you of the relevant charges and ask for your acceptance of these prior to the cancellation being carried out.
If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges. We will deduct the cancellation charge(s) from any monies you have already paid to us.
If any member of your party is prevented from travelling, that person(s) may transfer their place to someone else (introduced by you and satisfying all the conditions applicable to the arrangements) subject to the relevant operator charges and Wedding Booker's administration fees. Please contact Wedding Bookers Ltd. to discuss your amendment/cancellation requirements so that we can obtain a detailed breakdown of applicable charges. If you are unable to find a replacement, cancellation charges as set out will apply in order to cover our estimated costs. Otherwise, no refunds will be given for passengers not travelling or for unused services.
It is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your travel arrangements, but we do plan the arrangements many months in advance. Occasionally, we may have to make changes and we reserve the right to do so at any time. Most of these changes will be minor and we will advise you or your travel agent of them at the earliest possible date. We also reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your travel arrangements. For example, if the minimum number of clients required for a particular travel arrangement is not reached, we may have to cancel it. However, we will not cancel your travel arrangements less than 60 days before your departure date, except for reasons of force majeure or failure by you to pay the final balance.
Most alterations will be minor and while we will do our best to notify you or your travel agent of any changes as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure, we will have no other liability to you. Examples of "minor changes" include the following when made before departure:
- Any change in the advertised identity of the carrier(s), flight timings, and/or aircraft type.
- A change of outward departure time or overall length of your holiday of twelve hours or less.
- A change of accommodation to another of the same standard or classification.
Occasionally we may have to make a major change to your confirmed arrangements. "Examples of "major changes" include the following, when made before departure;
- A change of accommodation area for the whole or a significant part of your time away.
- A change of accommodation to that of a lower standard or classification for the whole or a significant part of your time away.
- A change of outward departure time or overall length of your arrangements of twelve or more hours.
- A change of UK departure airport, as long as that change is not from one London airport to another London airport. London airports are Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City.
- A significant change to your itinerary, missing out one or more destination entirely.
If we have to make a major change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible and if there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of:
i (for major changes) accepting the changed arrangements,
ii having a refund of all monies paid; or
iii accepting an offer of alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard from us, if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value).
You must notify us of your choice within 7 days of our offer. If you fail to do so we will assume that you have chosen to accept the change or alternative booking arrangements.
If we make a major change or cancel, less than 60 days before departure, we will also pay compensation as detailed below: £50 Per Person in the form of vouchers for use towards any Wedding Bookers brands.
The compensation that we offer does not exclude you from claiming more if you are entitled to do so. We will not pay you compensation where we make a major change or cancel more than 60 days before departure or in the event that we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care or if we cancel your arrangements because the minimum number of participants to run the arrangements has not been reached. (We will tell you if we have to cancel for this reason not less than 45 days before departure).
The above sets out the maximum extent of our liability for changes and cancellations and we regret we cannot meet any expenses or losses you may incur as a result of change or cancellation. Please note: where accommodation with a higher price than the original accommodation is offered by us and accepted by you, the difference in price will be deducted from any compensation payable. In no case will we pay compensation if accommodation is offered by us and accepted by you with a higher price than that originally booked in the same location where no additional payment is made by you.
We will not pay you compensation and the above options will not be available if we make a minor change or cancel as a result of your failure to make full payment on time or where the change(s) or cancellation by us arises out of alterations to the confirmed booking requested by you.
Very rarely, we may be forced by "force majeure" (see clause 10) to change or terminate your arrangements after departure. If this situation does occur, we regret we will be unable to make any refunds (unless we obtain any from our suppliers), pay you compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result.
If we become unable to provide a significant proportion of the services that you have booked with us after you have departed, we will make alternative arrangements for you at no extra charge and, if appropriate in all the circumstances, will pay you reasonable compensation.
Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions we will not be liable or pay you compensation if our contractual obligations to you are affected by any event which we or the supplier(s) of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. These events can include, but are not limited to war, threat of war, civil strife terrorist activity and its consequences or the threat of such activity, riot, the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, lock closure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster and adverse weather, sea, ice and river conditions and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concerned control. Advice from the Foreign Office to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Force Majeure.
Any special requests must be advised to us at the time of booking e.g. diet, room location, a particular facility at a hotel etc. You should then confirm your requests in writing. Whilst every effort will be made by us to try and arrange your reasonable special requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled. The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part unless the request has been specifically confirmed. We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met.
We are not a specialist disabled holiday company, but we will do our utmost to cater for any special requirements you may have. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your stay, please provide us with full details before we confirm your booking so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. We may require you to produce a doctor's certificate certifying that you are fit to participate in the tour. Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details.
We make every effort to ensure that your holiday arrangements run smoothly but if you do have a problem during your holiday, please inform the relevant supplier (e.g. your hotelier) immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please contact firstname.lastname@example.com If the problem cannot be resolved and you wish to complain further, you must send formal written notice of your complaint to us at our London office within 28 days of the end of your stay, giving your booking reference and all other relevant information. Please keep your letter concise and to the point. This will assist us to quickly identify your concerns and speed up our response to you. Failure to follow the procedure set out in this clause may affect ours and the applicable supplier's ability to investigate your complaint, and will affect your rights under this contract.
All guests staying with us are expected to conduct themselves in an orderly and acceptable manner and not to disrupt the enjoyment of other guests. If in our opinion or in the opinion of any hotel manager or any other person in authority, your behaviour or that of any member of your party is causing or is likely to cause distress, danger or annoyance to any of our other guests or any third party or damage to property, or to cause a delay or diversion to transportation, we reserve the right to terminate your booking arrangements with us immediately. In the event of such termination our liability to you and/or your party will cease and you and/or your party will be required to leave your accommodation or other service immediately. We will have no further obligations to you and/or your party. No refunds for lost accommodation or any other service will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of termination. You and/or your party may also be required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions and we will hold you and each member of your party jointly and individually liable for any damage or losses caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or losses must be paid directly to the hotel manager or other supplier prior to departure from the hotel. If you fail to make payment, you will be responsible for meeting any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions together with all costs we incur in pursuing any claim against you. We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behaviour of other guests or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or with us.
1) We will accept responsibility for the arrangements we agree to provide or arrange for you as an "organiser" under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 as set out below. Subject to these booking conditions, if we or our suppliers negligently perform or arrange the services which we are obliged to provide for you under our contract with you, as set out on your confirmation invoice, we will pay you reasonable compensation. The level of such compensation will be calculated taking into consideration all relevant factors such as but not limited to: following the complaints procedure as described in these conditions and the extent to which ours or our employees' or suppliers' negligence affected the overall enjoyment of your holiday. Please note that it is your responsibility to show that we or our supplier(s) have been negligent if you wish to make a claim against us.
(2) We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description if it results from:-
(a) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected;
(b) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable; or
(c) unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond ours or our supplier(s) control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or
(d) an event which either ourselves or suppliers could not, even with all due care, have foreseen or forestalled.
(3) We limit the amount of compensation we may have to pay you if we are found liable under this clause:
(a) loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions and money. The maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is an amount equivalent to the excess on your insurance policy which applies to this type of loss per person in total because you are assumed to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.
(b) Claims not falling under (a) above and which don't involve injury, illness or death. The maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is twice the price paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you or your party has not received any benefit at all from your booking.
(c) Claims in respect of international travel by air, sea and rail, or any stay in a hotel
i) The extent of our liability will in all cases be limited as if we were carriers under the appropriate Conventions, which include The Warsaw/Montreal Convention (international travel by air); The Athens Convention (with respect to sea travel); The Berne/Cotif Convention (with respect to rail travel) and The Paris Convention (with respect to hotel arrangements). You can ask for copies of these Conventions from our offices. Please contact us. In addition, you agree that the operating carrier or transport company's own 'Conditions of Carriage' will apply to you on that journey. When arranging transportation for you, we rely on the terms and conditions contained within these international conventions and those 'Conditions of Carriage'. You acknowledge that all of the terms and conditions contained in those 'Conditions of Carriage' form part of your contract with us, as well as with the transport company and that those 'Conditions of Carriage' shall be deemed to be included by reference into this contract.
ii) In any circumstances in which a carrier is liable to you by virtue of the Denied Boarding Regulation 2004, any liability we may have to you under our contract with you, arising out of the same facts, is limited to the remedies provided under the Regulation as if (for this purpose only) we were a carrier.
iii) When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the transport provider or hotelier for the complaint or claim in question.
(4) It is a condition of our acceptance of liability under this clause that you notify any claim to ourselves and our supplier(s) strictly in accordance with the complaints procedure set out in these conditions.
(5) Where any payment is made, the person(s) receiving it (and their parent or guardian if under 18 years) must also assign to ourselves or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party and must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require.
(6) Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss or expense or other sum(s) of any description: (a) which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you; or (b) relate to any business.
(7) We will not accept responsibility for services or facilities which do not form part of our agreement or where they are not advertised in our brochure. For example any excursion you book whilst away, or any service or facility which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you.
Excursions or other tours that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are on holiday are not part of your contracted arrangements with us. For any excursion or other tour that you book, your contract will be with the operator of the excursion or tour and not with us. We are not responsible for the provision of the excursion or tour or for anything that happens during the course of its provision by the operator.
We provide financial security for flight inclusive Packages and ATOL protected flights. We do this by way of a bond held in favour of the Civil Aviation Authority under ATOL number 6042. When you buy an ATOL protected flight or flight inclusive holiday from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. The price of our flight inclusive arrangements includes the amount of £2.50 per person as part of the ATOL Protection Contribution (APC) we pay to the CAA. This charge is included in our advertised prices. Not all holiday or travel services offered and sold by us will be protected by the ATOL Scheme. ATOL protection extends primarily to Customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom.
We, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL Scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable).
If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.
If you book arrangements other than an ATOL protected flight or Package from this brochure/website, your monies will not be financially protected. Please ask us for further details.
It is your responsibility to check and fulfill the passport, visa, health and immigration requirements applicable to your itinerary. We can only provide general information about this. You must check requirements for your own specific circumstances with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates and your own doctor as applicable. Requirements do change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure.
Most countries now require passports to be valid for at least 6 months after your return date. If your passport is in its final year, you should check with the Embassy of the country you are visiting. For further information contact the Passport Office on 0870 5210410 or visit www.passport.gov.uk
Special conditions apply for travel to the USA, and all passengers must have individual machine readable passports. Please check www.usembassy.org.uk For European holidays you should obtain a completed and issued form EHIC prior to departure.
Up to date travel advice can be obtained from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, visit www.fco.gov.uk
Non British passport holders, including other EU nationals, should obtain up to date advice on passport and visa requirements from the Embassy, High Commission or Consulate of your destination or country(ies) through which you are travelling.
If you are travelling to the USA, you must apply for you visa waiver ESTA at least 72 hours prior to departure. This is a mandatory requirement when travelling to the USA and you will not be able to check in for your flight if you have not completed this process. Please follow the link to complete yours prior to travel: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/
We recommend 8 weeks prior to departure to allow enough time due to any discrepancies in your application.
Your ESTA will be valid for 2 years from the date of issue and will cost $14.00.
We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel, or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities. You agree to reimburse us in relation to any fines or other losses which we incur as a result of your failure to comply with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities.
In order to get legally married abroad, there are certain legal requirement you must comply with and documentation you must show, which vary for each country. Whilst we will try to assist you where possible, it remains your responsibility to ensure you comply with these legal requirements and provide all information and documentation requested. We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot get legally married due to a failure by you to comply with all applicable legal requirements.
Please note that most countries will require you have a full 10 year passport, your birth certificate, and a minimum residency period in the country in which you wish to marry (which will exclude the day of arrival, weekends and bank holidays).
If you have never been married before, you may be required to declare your single status and/or sign a certificate of no impediment. If you have been married before, you may be required to show your Decree Absolute if you have been divorced or spouse's death certificate and previous marriage certificate if you have been widowed. If you have been adopted, you may be required to show your adoption certificate, and where you have changed your name, you will be required to show the Deed Poll.
For almost all countries, the minimum age to legally get married is 18 years of age, and you will require parental consent in the form of an Affidavit or Statutory Declaration (stamped and signed by a solicitor) if you are under 18.
Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions which will form part of your contract with us. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier's liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions. Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from ourselves or the supplier concerned.
If you or any member of your party misses your flight or other transport arrangement, it is cancelled or you are subject to a delay of over 3 hours for any reason, you must contact us and the airline or other transport supplier concerned immediately.
The Package Travel Regulations 1992 provide that in the event that you experience difficulty on the occurrence of circumstances described in clauses 15 (2) (a) (b) (c) or (d) of these booking conditions, we will provide you with prompt assistance. Where you experience a delay which is not owing to any failure by us, our employees or sub-contractors, this prompt assistance is likely to extend to providing help in locating refreshments, accommodation and communications but not paying for them. Any airline or other transport supplier may however pay for or provide refreshments and/or appropriate accommodation and you should make a claim directly to them. Subject to the other terms of these conditions, we will not be liable for any costs, fees or charges you incur in the above circumstances, if you fail to obtain our prior authorisation before making your own travel arrangements.
We cannot accept liability for any delay which is due to any of the reasons set out in clause 10 of these booking conditions (which includes the behaviour of any passenger(s) on any flight who, for example, fails to check in or board on time).
The carrier(s), flight timings and types of aircraft shown in this brochure or on our website and detailed on your confirmation invoice are for guidance only and are subject to alteration and confirmation. We shall inform you of the identity of the actual carrier(s) as soon as we become aware of it. The latest flight timings will be shown on your tickets which will be despatched to you approximately two weeks before departure. You should check your tickets very carefully immediately on receipt to ensure you have the correct flight times. If flight times change after tickets have been dispatched we will contact you as soon as we can to let you know.
Please note the existence of a "Community list" (available for inspection at http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air-ban/list_en.htm) detailing air carriers that are subject to an operating ban with the EU Community.
Under EU Law, you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from the airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delay to flights. Full details of these rights will be publicised at EU airports and will also be available from airlines. If the airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the Civil Aviation Authority at www.caa.co.uk/passengers. Reimbursement in such cases is the responsibility of the airline and will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your holiday price from us. If, for any reason, you do not claim against the airline and make a claim for compensation from us, you must, at the time of payment of any compensation to you, make a complete assignment to us of the rights you have against the airline in relation to the claim that gives rise to that compensation payment. A delay or cancellation to your flight does not automatically entitle you to cancel any other arrangements even where those arrangements have been made in conjunction with your flight.
This brochure is our responsibility, as your tour operator. It is not issued on behalf of, and does not commit the airlines mentioned herein or any airline whose services are used in the course of your travel arrangements.
We are a Member of ABTA, membership number P6695. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA's Code of Conduct. We can also offer you an arbitration scheme for the resolution of disputes arising out of, or in connection with this contract. The arbitration scheme is arranged by ABTA and administered independently. It provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on you in respect of costs. The scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5,000 per person. There is also a limit of £25,000 per booking form. Neither does it apply to claims which are solely in respect of physical injury or illness or their consequences. The scheme can however deal with compensation claims which include an element of minor injury or illness subject to a limit of £1,500 on the amount the arbitrator can award per person in respect of this element. Your request for arbitration must be received by ABTA within eighteen months of the date of return from holiday. Outside this time limit arbitration under the Scheme may still be available if we agree, but the ABTA Code does not require such agreement. For injury and illness claims, you can request the ABTA Mediation Procedure and we have the option to agree to mediation. Further information on the Code and ABTA's assistance in resolving disputes can be found on www.abta.com.
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