1. Contract:
The contract is between BMS World Mission (PO BOX 49, 129 Broadway, Didcot), registered charity no. 1174364, and the Lead Named Person or Organisation as shown on the Confirmation & Invoice. Note that the following booking conditions do not affect your statutory rights. The contract will not exist between us until we issue a Confirmation & Invoice, even though we may have taken and issued a receipt for payment.
2. Payment
Normally payment is taken at the time of booking your arrangement. However, in some circumstances (such as most Insight Teams and Action Teams), we will accept a non-returnable deposit with a final balance due as shown on your Confirmation & Invoice. This due date will normally be 6 weeks prior to departure, unless otherwise specified. If the Confirmation & Invoice is issued less than 6 weeks before departure, the final balance is due immediately.
Failure to ensure that we receive cleared payment on the due date will result in your placement being cancelled. Payments may be paid by:
Cheque made payable to BMS World Mission
Debit or Credit Card – All card payments attract a 2.5% surcharge. Made via phone: 01235 517638
BAC Bank Transfer to Sort Code: 200125; Account Number: 40132322
When you pay your non-returnable deposit, quote the specific type of BMS Short-term Programme you are taking part in as the reference, eg “X Insight Team” where X is your church/college/name. Once your deposit is paid, we will issue a Confirmation & Invoice. When you pay the remaining balance, you must quote the reference on your Invoice.
To allow time for payments to clear, please allow 14 days after posting for cheque payments and 5 days after making a card transaction.
3. Contact Address:
Please note that we shall address all correspondence and deliver travel documents to the Lead Named Person or Organisation on the Confirmation & Invoice who is responsible for all payments and ensuring others named on the Confirmation & Invoice also accept the conditions. BMS World Mission will not make any cancellation or amendments or enter into correspondence regarding the reservation with any party other than the Lead Named Person or Organisation. We cannot accept any responsibility for any matters arising from failure to advise us of changes in postal address or email address.
4. What to expect
Flexibility
The nature of BMS World Mission’s Short-term programmes, and the contexts in which they are set, demands a high level of flexibility on your part. Aspects of the project, itinerary, accommodation and other trip elements can change at short notice. Our responsibilities to you in the event of such changes are outlined in these conditions in accordance with Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018. Nonetheless, you enter this contract understanding the higher probability of such changes in our programmes than you might expect to find in more typical package holidays.
Advance details
The nature of the placements that BMS World Mission arranges, and the contexts in which they are set, means that the level of detail we are able to provide in advance of your departure is limited. This is especially true where there are technological or cultural barriers with the receiving partners that make the exchange of information more difficult. For example, we may be able to tell you the type of accommodation you will be staying in, but not be able to name the specific guesthouse; we may be able to give examples of the type of projects with which you’ll be involved, but not be able to give you a detailed itinerary. Once again, the amount of information we are required to provide in advance is governed by the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018. We will fulfil our legal obligation to meet the minimum requirements of this aspect of the these regulations, but you enter this contract understanding that the level of advance detail you will receive will likely be lower than you might ordinarily expect on a typical package holiday.
Standard of living
Part of the ethos of our programmes is to give participants an authentic experience of living cross-culturally in contexts that are often far less affluent than the UK. We are thorough in our risk assessment procedures and are committed to ensuring your safety on our programmes. However, the standard of living that participants experience, most notably in accommodation and food, is best described as ‘budget’ or ‘basic’. You will be eating local food, which you may find repetitive and bland. You will be staying in local accommodation which is unlikely to be up to UK standards in terms of comfort and facilities. You enter this contract understanding that whilst we take every step to ensure your safety and wellbeing, your standard of living will be basic.
Programme Aims
Prior to entering this contract, you should read on the website the aims of the programme you are joining . You should read these carefully and enter this contract with a clear understanding of the aims of your chosen programme. This is particularly significant for BMS Insight Teams, which is primarily a discipleship and educational experience.
5. Application, Clearances, Interviews and References
Placement on our programmes is usually subject to a number of requirements which may include, but are not limited to:
Application form
A satisfactory criminal records check through the Disclosure and Barring Service (because of the nature of BMS work, the Rehabilitation of Offenders legislation does not apply)
Health screening
Successful completion of one or more interviews
Up to three satisfactory references
You will be notified of which requirements are relevant to your placement or programme. Ordinarily we will not issue your Confirmation & Invoice until these requirements have been met, and thus your contract with BMS World Mission does not commence until their completion.
In some circumstances, BMS World Mission may choose to commence your contract prior to the completion of these requirements. In such instances, if you later fail to satisfactorily fulfil any of these requirements, BMS will return payments made, where relevant, for your placement. However, payments will not be refunded if you fail to disclose relevant health information to BMS on your application form, which later prevents you from obtaining satisfactory health screening (see section on “Disabilities, health and dietary considerations”). Similarly, you will not be refunded if you fail to disclose relevant criminal records information when prompted for a self declaration, which later prevents you from obtaining a satisfactory DBS certificate.
6. Under 18s
Participants must be a minimum of 18 years old.
7. Photography and media
You agree that any photography or media taken during your time on BMS Short-term Programmes, including that which features you in it may be used by BMS in our promotional materials. The rights of such media and any benefits derived from it remain the property of BMS.
8. Disabilities, health and dietary considerations
Our programmes are open to participants of all backgrounds. If you have any disabilities, health or dietary considerations which may affect your participation on any aspect of the programme, you must disclose this both on the application form and on the health screening form. Any subsequent issues that arise between submission of the application form and health screening form and the end of your time on the programme must be notified to BMS in writing at the earliest possible opportunity. Such information will be handled sensitively (see ‘Personal Information’ elsewhere in these conditions). Whilst we will do our utmost to accommodate any such specific needs, if we reasonably feel unable to do so, we will not confirm your booking. If full details are not disclosed at the relevant time as described above, we reserve the right to cancel your booking, imposing the applicable charges outlined elsewhere in these conditions. Furthermore, failure to declare all relevant health information at the appropriate times, as outlined above, may invalidate the insurance BMS takes out on your behalf.
9. Passports & Visas
It is your responsibility to ensure that you and all those travelling with you have a valid passport and any necessary visa to gain entry to any country you are visiting. Passports must be valid for a minimum of six months after your scheduled return. Airlines will not permit passengers to travel who do not have proper documentation and comply with regulations. All passengers must be carrying a valid passport in the same name as their airline ticket. For your convenience, BMS will provide some guidance on obtaining your visa, but we will accept no responsibility if the advice we provide later proves to be inaccurate, and leads to an unsuccessful visa application on your part. Visa requirements change regularly and if you are in any doubt you should use a Travel Management Company, such as Diversity Travel or Key Travel, to obtain your visa on your behalf.
The exception to the above is visas for participants on the Action Team programme. On this programme, BMS takes full responsibility for obtaining the correct visas for all participants. Action Team members should co-operate fully with BMS World Mission’s in this regard, and return all the requested paperwork promptly and accurately.
10. Vaccinations and medication
It is your responsibility to ensure that you and all those travelling with you have the required vaccinations and medication to gain entry, and remain safe in the country you are visiting. It is also your responsibility to check whether any medication you are planning to take with you can legally be brought into your destination country or any transitional countries on your journey. BMS cannot give advice on vaccinations or medication, except where a partner has specifically requested or recommended that participants have or carry a given vaccination or medication, in which case we will pass on this request to you. The absence of such a request does not indicate that vaccinations or medication is not required.
11. Insurance
It is a condition of our contract with you that you take out travel insurance. For Action Teams and Volunteers, you are ordinarily required to take out the insurance provided by BMS World Mission via our brokers Banner Financial Services (Globe House, 24 Turret Lane, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4 1DL), and this will be included on your invoice. It is your responsibility to check the policy documentation carefully so you are aware of the limits and excesses of this insurance. You must notify BMS if you have an existing or overlapping insurance policy that might cause conflict in the event of a claim. If you have specific additional insurance requirements these should be made known to BMS in writing.
For Insight Teams, you are ordinarily require to take out a group insurance policy, through the same brokers that BMS use for their wider policy. Please see the Insight Team information pack for more details.
12. Complaints
Should you have cause for dissatisfaction with any of the overseas arrangements made by BMS World Mission, on your behalf, you should immediately contact your overseas supervisor explaining your dissatisfaction and seeking resolution. Complaints can usually be resolved far more quickly and to your satisfaction in situ. Your supervisor is responsible for liaising with third party suppliers on your behalf, and also has the benefit of knowledge of the local customs and language.
If after this procedure you remain dissatisfied, please notify us in writing as soon as possible and within 3 months of your return. We will then do our utmost to resolve the matter.
Should you continue to remain dissatisfied with our handling of the matter, please write to us again with the heading “Formal BMS Short-term Programme Complaint”. We will investigate further and reply fully within 28 days. If this is not possible, we will send you an interim letter advising of our progress.
13. Suppliers conditions
Our third party suppliers may have their own booking conditions and conditions of carriage, and you will be bound by these, so far as the relevant supplier is concerned. Our suppliers’ conditions will also apply to your contract with us, and in the event of any conflict between the suppliers’ conditions and our conditions, the suppliers’ will prevail, save to the extent that any term in the suppliers’ conditions is deemed to be invalid or unenforceable, in which event our conditions will prevail. Some of our suppliers’ conditions may limit or exclude liability on the part of the relevant supplier, and, by virtue of their application to your contract with us, may also limit or exclude our liability to you, and they are often subject to international conventions. Where relevant, copies of such conditions may be available for inspection at the office of the relevant supplier.
14. Special requests
If you have a special request for anything that is not automatically part of the arrangement booked, please advise us and we will pass this information on to the partner organisations and third party suppliers we work with. Where possible they will try and help you, but we cannot guarantee any request unless we confirm the request separately in writing. We must emphasise that verbal confirmations of special requests cannot be taken as a guarantee that they will be met.
15. Personal information
We will provide your personal information, as well as any personal information you provide in relation to those other persons who form your booking party, to suppliers and carriers who might be located outside the EU, to enable the operation of the services requested by you. This includes relevant information disclosed on your application form and, where relevant, in interview, being passed on to supervisors and partner organisations to assist them in arranging your placement, itinerary and level of supervision. If you make special requests, which include, but are not limited to: special dietary, religious or disability-related requirements, which constitute sensitive information, the relevant data, where viewed to be of legitimate interest, may be passed on to relevant suppliers and carriers to enable provision of services to you. Furthermore, any health information which is disclosed to us either via your application form, or on your health screening outcome report, when viewed to be of legitimate interest, may be transferred to your team leader and to your overseas supervisors. Data may also be held on our archive records.
Your privacy and personal data is of paramount importance to BMS World Mission. We will never sell your data to another organisation and will hold your data securely. Your data will only be used for the reason you have given it to us, and in connection with you working/volunteering with BMS. This data may be used for personnel, administrative and allowance purposes and relevant data may be sent to countries outside the EU. Your consent for this is required by the General Data Protection Regulation 2018. For further details please see the BMS Privacy Notice and Data Protection Policy.
16. Behaviour
You must accept responsibility for the proper conduct of you and your party. We would draw your attention to the Code of Conduct relevant to your programme, typically found in your Information Pack. In the event of a breach of this Code of Conduct we reserve the right to terminate your placement. If we do so, we shall have no further responsibility to you. A key part of this Code of Conduct is respecting the authority of your Supervisor overseas. Your Supervisor is tasked with ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the team/individual volunteers and safeguarding the reputation of BMS World Mission and its partner organisations in the local community. If your Supervisor deems your actions to be jeopardising these things they may restrict or terminate your involvement with your overseas itinerary without any liability on the part of BMS World Mission. Accommodation management, airline or airport personnel can also take such action. If you damage your accommodation or cause delay or diversion to your flight, you agree to indemnify us against any claim, including costs made against us.
17. Security and Risk
BMS takes the safety and wellbeing of all participants extremely seriously. The contexts in which we work can expose participants to new or higher levels of risk than they might ordinarily be used to. We operate strictly within our Security and Risk Management Guidelines to ensure that these risks are reduced to acceptable levels.
You will be given a Risk Information Sheet specific to your placement. For your own safety and wellbeing you must read this advice carefully and follow the guidance contained within it for the duration of your placement. BMS excludes liability for personal injury or death suffered by you as a result of actions you take in contravention with the Risk Information Sheet, the Security and Risk Management guidelines, the instructions of your supervisors, the law of the host country or the BMS Code of Conduct relevant to your programme.
18. Law and Jurisdiction
Your contract will be governed by English law and any disputes will be dealt with in the courts of England and Wales. If you live in Northern Ireland or Scotland, the courts of Northern Ireland and Scotland (as appropriate), can deal with any disputes.
We reserve the right to alter these booking conditions and you should check our website at the time of booking.