Terms and Conditions
Open Expedition policies
We run our open Duke of Edinburgh's Award expeditions as a high quality option to complete the Expedition section for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Our policies aim to give each participant the best possible experience and opportunities to complete their expedition section in an enjoyable and safe manner.
Bookings
Places can be booked either by participants themselves or parents/ guardians via our website. The booking process requests a contact email address for the participant as well as the person making the booking (if different). Participants, ( their parents or guardians if under 18/ requiring assistance), also need to complete our consent & medical form, which asks for medical details and emergency contacts.
Cancellations
Please only book for an activity if you are confident you can attend. Whilst, in the past, we made every effort to enable some movement of bookings, with pressures on current resources and to prioritise customers needing assistance, we are unable to move any bookings.
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It is strongly recommended that you have suitable cancellation insurance in place to cover any costs incurred should you need to cancel for unforseen reasons.
If you need to cancel:
Please let us know as soon as possible my emailing claire@richadventure.co.uk
cancellation notifications must be sent in writing to the above email address.
up to 8 weeks prior to expedition: fees refunded minus a £50 admin fee
8 weeks to 4 weeks prior to expedition: 50% refund
4 weeks or less: No refund for events within 28 days
If we need to cancel:
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If we have to cancel an expedition for any reason (such as minimum numbers not met or individual cancellation bringing us below minimum numbers) we will refund in full any participants whom we have had to cancel. We set a cut off 28 days prior to the expedition/ first training event and if minimum numbers are not met we will cancel and provide a full refund at that point, or earlier if numbers are particularly low and mutually agreed with participants.
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If events outside our control result in cancellation or changes of a planned expedition, such as extremes of weather, flooding, or extremely low river levels where canoeing would be damaging to the environment (and may be legally prohibited for this reason) we will endeavour to offer alternative locations and/or dates as appropriate as a first option. If we are unable to agree a suitable alternative with the client, we will do our best to recover as many costs as possible and offer a refund minus unrecoverable costs.
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We try to give participants as much notice as possible to confirm expeditions, as our minimum team size is 6 and therefore we need to be as sure about our bookings as possible in order not to let down other participants, as a single cancellation could affect a further 5 participants and their bookings, and depending on their availability for other expeditions, may prevent them from completing their expedition in the year they had planned.
Our cancellation policy reflects timescales of costs to us based on a cancellation making the expedition unviable; 28 days prior to the expedition we have paid campsites for all participants and confirmed work for our freelance staff, and therefore we look to confirm an expedition based on bookings at least 28 days prior to the first training or expedition event.
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Cancellations after services have begun
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Participants are asked to complete e-learning modules before attending face to face training and expeditions. Our services begin from the time at which your payment is received; a contract is entered and we make available to participants and their families:
- access to our e-learning modules
- joining instructions and kit list for the expeditions and training
- our staff expertise to support and guide you through the expedition process
- coaching and support from qualified professionals
- training and guidance to help complete the expedition in a safe and successful manner
- assessment under the requirements of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award
- suitable accommodation (usually campsites) for the specified dates for your programme
- hire of specialist equipment, including tents, camping stoves, GPS trackers and safety backup systems, and for canoe expeditions, canoes, dry bags and associated equipment and Personal Protective Equipment
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We appreciate that there are times when participants choose to withdraw from the expedition programme, for a variety of reasons. We will always encourage participants to continue if it is deemed an appropriate and safe option for them, however we cannot and will not force any participant to continue as part of a team against their will. If a participant withdraws during a practice expedition, we will apply our cancellation policy to their qualifying expedition with regards timings for the remaining payment (i.e. they may be entitled to 50% of the fees paid for the qualifying expedition if there is more than 28 days between withdrawal and the start of the qualifier) or offer them alternative dates if appropriate. For participants under 18 or requiring additional support, we will contact parents/ guardians as per the emergency contact details to request collection from the expedition area.
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Behaviour
We expect participants to show respect to other people and the environment, and abide by a basic set of rules for the completion of their expedition. Participants must:
-Appreciate the risk of the remote environment and the respect the expertise of the instructors supporting their expedition and training, understanding that their instructor's word is final on matters of health and safety
-Recognise that their is an inherent risk in any remote outdoor environment, that we will seek to minimise wherever possible, but require active participation from team members in order to reduce risk as much as possible
- Use the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as shown, in all environments/ situations they have been told to use it for, to protect both themselves and their team members
- Adhere to our alcohol & drugs policy during all expeditions (see below)
- Actively participate in all training elements in order to reduce risk to themselves and their team; in particular, first aid training is an essential part of the DofE training framework whether accessed via face to face training or our e-learning modules.
- Keep Rich Adventure staff informed of any developing health/ medical issues during your time with us, so we can make an appropriate plan for medical care and support, and if necessary withdrawal from the expedition and/or referring on to/ seeking help from other medical services.
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Alcohol/ drug policy
We have a zero tolerance policy on consumption of alcohol and recreational drugs during our DofE Expedition courses, regardless of participant’s age. The effects of alcohol and recreational drugs not only the day consumed but also on the following day can present additional risks, particularly in remote locations and undertaking outdoor activities where the risk of injury, and the consequences of intoxication, can be more severe. If a participant requires medication for illness or medical conditions, it is important that Rich Adventure staff are made aware of this, so that we can identify any additional risks caused by side effects, and in the case of emergency, pass on details to medical professionals who may need to take account of existing medications in making an informed decision about treatment.
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By booking with Rich Adventure, you are forming a contract for services under these terms.
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