Terms of Use

Terms of Use

Terms of Use Freepackers

ARTICLE 1. CAPACITY – USE OF THE SITE

The User must be at least 18 years of age and legally capable of using this Site in accordance with the General Terms and Conditions. The purpose of the Site is to assist the User in finding projects related to humanitarian travel.

As its main function is that of mediator between the User and the Partner Associations, under no circumstances will the Site be held responsible for donations and related transactions with the Partners directly. The User is therefore invited to consult the Specific Terms and Conditions of each Partner for any transaction taking place once on site.

Except in cases of fraud for which it is up to the User to provide proof, the User is responsible for his or her actions on the Site, in particular the use made of his or her User name and password. He also guarantees the truthfulness and accuracy of the information concerning him provided on the Site. Fraudulent use of the Site, or use that contravenes these General Terms and Conditions, may result in the User being denied access at any time to the projects offered by Freepackers Care and/or its Partners or to other features of the Site.

 

ARTICLE 2. PROJECT MODIFICATION AND CANCELLATION

2.1 Cancellation terms

In the event of cancellation by the participant, Freepackers must be notified in writing.

Cancellations will be treated on a case-by-case basis, as well as possible compensation and refunds depending on the conditions and reasons for the cancellation.

Donations to our foundation Freepackers Care are not eligible for refunds.

2.2 Changes to the project

Any change to the programme made by the participant must be specified in writing. By “modification” Freepackers means any change of dates, project or destination subsequent to the confirmation of your registration. This modification will be subject to acceptance by Freepackers and/or the Partner concerned.

 

ARTICLE 3. PROJECT DETAILS

The purpose of this article is to provide details of the Projects for the User’s information. This article cannot be exhaustive and does not replace the Partners’ Specific Conditions.

3.1 Formalities relating to Air Transport Services / Travel / Visa

a. Air travel

Travel is at the expense and discretion of the participant. Programme fees do not include air transport or visa fees.

The conditions of air travel are governed by the Specific Conditions of the airlines or Partners. It is the User’s responsibility to comply with the instructions of the airlines and Partners, particularly with regard to check-in times. It is advisable to check in at least three hours before the departure time of the aircraft for international flights and at least two and a half hours in advance for domestic flights. It should be remembered that for the return flight, whatever the type of flight, it is often compulsory to confirm the return flight with the airline on the spot, at least 72 hours before the scheduled date. It is therefore the User’s responsibility to confirm their return flight. For open returns, it is advisable to book the return flight as early as possible. The name of the airport, when the city served by the contract includes several, is given for information only and may be subject to change. The User’s attention is drawn to the need to allow sufficient time for possible delays when booking a journey on the Site that includes a connection or transit, particularly when this includes a change of airport.

b. Formalities

The User is informed on the Site of the administrative and/or health formalities required to carry out the project. It is the User’s responsibility to be aware of these. It is the User’s responsibility to complete and pay for the police, customs and health formalities required for your humanitarian trip, such as passports, national identity cards, residence permits, parental authorisation, visas, medical certificates and vaccination certificates. We would draw your attention to the fact that the regulations of certain countries require passports to be valid for more than 6 months following the date of return. Furthermore, children aged 15 or over must have identity papers in their name. The formalities mentioned on the Site apply to French nationals. If this is not the case, it is the User’s responsibility to enquire about the formalities applicable to their situation. If a ticket is lost or stolen, the User must make a specific declaration to the police and the airline and purchase another ticket from the issuing Partner.

c. Obtaining a visa

Freepackers will guide you through the process of applying for a visa and will help you obtain all the information you need to facilitate obtaining the necessary papers for each project. However, participants are solely responsible for these procedures and Freepackers cannot be held responsible in the event of a change in regulations or any official decision that would prevent the participant from travelling. Freepackers invites participants to consult the embassies and consulates of the destination countries for exact visa requirements.

3.2 Project conditions

It may happen that certain activities offered by the Partners and indicated in the description on the Site are cancelled, particularly for climatic reasons, in the event of force majeure, a stay outside the tourist season, or when the number of participants required to carry out the activity is not reached. Freepackers or the local Partner cannot be held responsible for the cancellation of any activity due to unforeseeable circumstances.

3.3 Travel Insurance and Cancellation Insurance

a. Travel Insurance / Civil Liability

For all international projects, Freepackers requires you to take out travel insurance which covers the risks of accident, illness and repatriation and which includes civil liability in the event of damage to third parties.

For a volunteering project, you can take out Cap Volontariat insurance online with our partner CHAPKA, which offers a 5% discount on this link. If you take out any other insurance, we will ask you to send us a copy of your certificate in English.

For complete protection while studying or doing a work placement abroad, you can take out Cap Student insurance online by following this link. This insurance also includes civil liability for activities abroad.

b. Cancellation insurance

Freepackers also recommends that you take out cancellation insurance. Cancellation insurance is optional but it is advisable to take it out when you book your space on the project. This insurance covers cancellation costs in certain exceptional circumstances, such as illness, exams, academic failure, hospitalisation or the death of a family member. Details of this insurance cover will be sent to you by email by our partner.

 

ARTICLE 4. FINANCIAL CONDITIONS AND METHODS OF PAYMENT

4.1 Membership fees and budget

Unless otherwise specified in the Specific Terms and Conditions, fees and project costs communicated on the Site are stated in Euros.

Changes to amounts, as well as the decision to apply changes to previously registered projects, are the sole responsibility of the Partners.

4.2 How to join

In order to confirm their booking, Users must pay a membership fee of 300 euros. The project fee must then be paid in full no later than 12 weeks before the start of the project.

 

ARTICLE 5. USER SERVICES

5.1 Contact

The User may contact Freepackers by email during the membership and recruitment process to obtain assistance, information and clarification about the project. The personal data communicated by the User to Freepackers is intended for Freepackers and its Partners established in or outside the European Union for the purposes of processing the User’s request by Freepackers and, unless the User objects, for Freepackers to inform the User of the Partners’ conditions and special communications. In this respect, Freepackers is likely to send the User information enabling him/her to better understand his/her projects and make better use of the Site.

In accordance with the amended French Data Protection Act of 6 January 1978, the User has the right to access, modify, rectify and delete any data concerning him/her at any time. They may exercise this right by sending an email from the “Contact” section of the Site.

5.2 Assistance

a. On site

Special requests should be made directly to the Local Partner’s representatives. If your request does not result in any action by the Local Partner, please contact Freepackers who will make every effort to resolve the dispute.

b. On your return

All requests for information, clarification and any complaints must be sent to Freepackers, which collects them in the name and on behalf of the Partners, within 30 days of the end of the project by sending an email from the “Contact” section of the Site. Complaints will only be accepted insofar as the difficulties to which they relate have been reported to Freepackers or to the Partner during the course of the project so that an attempt can be made to remedy them in such a way as to limit the loss suffered by the User. No claims will be accepted for the loss(es), damage(es) or theft(s) of luggage, clothing or personal items placed under the User’s supervision during the project, unless the Partner is proven to be at fault. Luggage checked with an airline is only insured for the duration of the journey.

 

ARTICLE 6. PHOTOS AND SOCIAL NETWORKS

Freepackers and its Partners may take photos of participants during their projects. These photos may be used by us in our brochures or other information media. Participation in a project implies the participant’s acceptance of this use. Participants may object to this use of their image, provided they notify us in writing before departure.

Freepackers may also follow participants on their social networks, share their content and re-use it for its Site or information media. Freepackers will ask participants for their permission when they sign up.

 

ARTICLE 7. RESPONSIBILITIES AND GUARANTEES

7.1 For use of the Site

No guarantee is given to the User with regard to :

i. the absence of anomalies, errors or bugs likely to affect navigation on the Site or the implementation of any functionality offered on the Site;

ii. the possibility of correcting these anomalies, errors or bugs;

iii. the absence of interruptions or breakdowns in the operation of the Site;

iv. the possible compatibility of the Site with a particular hardware or configuration. Under no circumstances will Freepackers Care be liable for any direct or indirect and/or immaterial, foreseeable or unforeseeable damage resulting from the total or partial impossibility of using the Site’s functionalities. The only purpose of the hypertext links on the Site referring the User to other Internet sites is to facilitate the User’s research. In any event, the User declares that he/she is aware of the characteristics and limits of the Internet, in particular its technical performance, response times for consulting, querying or transferring data and the risks associated with the security of communications.

7.2 For Partners

The User acknowledges that acting as an intermediary, Freepackers cannot, under any circumstances, be held liable for contracts that the User has concluded with one or more Partners.

 

ARTICLE 8. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

The Site, its content and all of its constituent elements are creations for which Freepackers Care and, where applicable, its Partners, hold all intellectual property rights and/or exploitation rights, in particular copyright, database rights, trademark rights and design and model rights. The Site, as well as the software, databases, texts, information, analyses, images, photographs, graphics, logos, sounds or any other data contained on the Site remain the exclusive property of Freepackers Care and/or the Partners or, where applicable, of their respective owners with whom the latter have entered into usage agreements. The User is granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable and private right to use the Site and the data contained on the Site. The right thus granted consists of (i) a right to consult online the data and information contained on the Site and (ii) a right of reproduction consisting of printing and/or saving the data and information consulted. This right of use is for strictly private use only. Any other use of the Site, in particular commercial use, by the User is prohibited. In particular, the User undertakes not to reproduce and/or represent for any use other than private, sell, distribute, issue, translate, adapt, broadcast or communicate in whole or in part in any form whatsoever any element, information or data from the Site. In addition, the User undertakes not to introduce, by any means whatsoever, data likely to modify or prejudice the content or presentation of the Site. Any hypertext link to the Site, regardless of the type of link, must be the subject of prior authorisation from Freepackers, acting in the name and on behalf of the holder of the right concerned, on paper or electronically. The use of any software downloaded from the Site allowing access to certain functionalities is governed by the terms of the accompanying licence. The User undertakes not to install, copy or use this software before first agreeing to the terms of the said licence. For any software not accompanied by a licence, the User is granted a temporary, private, personal, non-transferable and non-exclusive right to use this software in order to be able, to the exclusion of any other use, to access the functionalities that make the use of this software necessary. By installing or using the software, the User undertakes to comply with this condition.

 

ARTICLE 9. PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA

The information communicated by the User on the Site enables his/her requests to be processed and executed. The Confidentiality Charter available on the Site sets out all the stipulations relating to the protection of personal data. In the event of any contradiction between these Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy, the latter shall prevail. Other requests for information requiring an optional response, or information relating to the User’s interest in offers that may be sent to him/her, are intended to help us get to know him/her better and to improve communication. Unless the User objects, Freepackers may communicate this optional information about the User to its Partners, including outside the European Union. The User expressly consents to this transfer. Freepackers may send the User, by any means (electronic, paper, sms, etc.), information enabling him/her to better understand and use their respective sites, and to benefit from the information published on the Partner sites, in strict compliance with the provisions of the French law “pour la confiance dans l’économie numérique” (for confidence in the digital economy) and the amended French law “informatique et libertés” (information technology and civil liberties), subject to the User’s prior consent or opposition, depending on the cases referred to in the Confidentiality Charter appearing on the Site. In accordance with the amended French Data Protection Act of 6 January 1978, Users have the right to access, modify, rectify and delete data concerning them at any time. They may exercise this right by sending an email from the “Contact” section of the Site.