Terms & Conditions
Terms and Conditions at a glance
General
Servicing Items
Where items are held for the customer for servicing, after a period of 14 days we reserve the right to use the equipment in lieu of charging a holding fee. The equipment will be managed by The SCUBA Group who will bear full responsibility for it being returned in the condition it was left at the shop in.
Course Duration
When you purchase a course from The SCUBA Group, you are paying for the materials from PADI, our time and the use of our equipment and facilities, we operate a fair use policy and the course durations are those set by PADI. We reserve the right to charge for additional training requirements where performance standards have not been met within the normal time limits.
Cancellations, Rescheduling & No Shows
‘No Shows’ are when you fail to turn up for a scheduled session without giving us any notice. Payments made for the session will not be refunded or credited to a future session.
Should you need to reschedule a course or experience with less than the required notice period then a rescheduling fee will be applied. Rescheduling a course or experience after the start time of that session is classed as a ‘No Show’ (point 7)
If you are unable to attend a course, or part of a course and provide more than the required notice period for that course, we will endeavour to reschedule your course to another date that is suitable to you without any rescheduling fee. We do not provide any refunds and any part payments made for courses will remain in credit on said account for up to 1 year from booking date.
Failure to complete the full course requirements for any reason caused by the student, will result in additional charges being made to complete the course at a later stage. This includes not being able to demonstrate competence to meet the performance requirements as laid down by the PADI Course Standards. If you are not willing to pay the additional fees to complete your course, a referral document will be issued to you which will hold good for a period of 12 months from the date of last portion of the course completed. For PART A of the Open Water Diver Course this is charged at £20 per confined water session. There are 5 confined water sessions in PART A and you only need to pay for for the sessions that were incomplete.
If a situation arises, and The Scuba Group Limited are unable to deliver your course on pre-arranged dates, we will endeavour to give you as much notice as possible and will re-schedule your course. The Scuba Group Limited requires a minimum of two students for a course to run unless the course is a private booking.
Course Deposits and Fees
For PADI Experience Programmes – Discover Scuba, Discover Snorkelling and Bubble Makers full payment is required on booking. On receipt of full payment and completed booking form, confirmation and full details will be sent to you.
All PADI Courses require a deposit for full payment in advance. Unless previously agreed, all course balances must be paid in full within 48 hours of the course start date. By booking, you consent to us charging the remaining balance to the card details provided if payment is not received within this period. The receipt of part payment and booking form will release your course materials. Postage will be charged if you require course materials to be sent out. Collection from the centre is free.
All PADI Courses require a deposit for full payment in advance. Unless previously agreed, all course balances must be paid in full within 48 hours of the course start date. By booking, you consent to us charging the remaining balance to the card details provided if payment is not received within this period. The receipt of part payment and booking form will release your course materials. Postage will be charged if you require course materials to be sent out. Collection from the centre is free.
For PADI PRO courses (Divemaster & IDC) a crewpack is also required and this will need to be paid in advance. Normally these are for collection only, but we can arrange these be couriered with rates agreed in advance. Collection from the centre is free.
Deposits and payments are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase.
The exception to this are,
(a) Discover Scuba Diving sessions which are valid for 3 months from the date of purchase and
(b) Scuba Reactivates which are valid for 6 months from the date of purchase.
THE SCUBA GROUP LIMITED does not operate a refund policy. Monies remaining on a student account can be used as credit within THE SCUBA GROUP LIMITED for that student or another named party for recreational scuba courses. This may exclude the booking deposit if a course was not attended within the required notice period.
Medical
Medical Requirements
Scuba diving requires a minimum level of health and fitness. Chronic health conditions, certain medications and/or recent surgery may require you to get written approval from a physician before diving.
Avoid disappointment, download and review the Diver Medical form to ensure you won’t need a physician’s approval to dive before enrolling in a scuba course.
Instructors, Divemasters and dive shop staff are not physicians and should not be asked for medical advice; only medical professionals can give medical clearance to dive.
If you (or your physician) have questions about medical fitness to dive, contact the experts at Divers Alert Network (DAN).
Medical Declaration
All students participating in a PADI diver training programme are required to complete mandatory PADI course documentation in an honest and reliable manner. Any known medical conditions must be declared and notified to The Scuba Group Limited, prior to the start of any water-based dive course.
Failure to declare medical conditions in accordance with the PADI Medical Declaration form which then later becomes known will result in student suspension from the course until a satisfactory medical certificate has been gained.
Changes to Fitness
In the event that you experience changes to your health and/or fitness, it is your responsibility to inform The SCUBA Group and your instructor to allow them to review the suitability of SCUBA diving as an activity. This may result in a referral to a UKDMC practicioner
Commercial Terms & Conditions
Medical Questionnaire
If you have any YES answers on the day of your course then you need to get a medical doctor to sign the form to say you are fit to dive. If this has not been done, you will not be able to dive and will be charged the full rescheduling fee as listed below.
Refunds
THE SCUBA GROUP LIMITED operates a discretionary refund policy.
Monies remaining on a student account can be used as credit within THE SCUBA GROUP LIMITED for that student or another named party for recreational scuba courses. This may exclude the booking deposit if a course was not attended within the required notice period.
Deposits Held
Deposits and payments are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase.
The exception to this are,
(a) Discover Scuba Diving sessions which are valid for 3 months from the date of purchase and
(b) Scuba Reactivates which are valid for 6 months from the date of purchase.
Course Deposits
All PADI Courses require a deposit for full payment in advance. Unless previously agreed, all course balances must be paid in full within 48 hours of the course start date.
By booking, you consent to us charging the remaining balance to the card details provided if payment is not received within this period. The receipt of part payment and booking form will release your course materials. Postage will be charged if you require course materials to be sent out.
For PADI PRO courses (Divemaster & IDC) a Crewpack is also required and this will need to be paid in advance. Normally these are for collection only, but we can arrange these be couriered with rates agreed in advance.
Collection from the centre is free.
Failure to Complete the Course
Failure to complete the full course requirements for any reason caused by the student, will result in additional charges being made to complete the course at a later stage.
This includes not being able to demonstrate competence to meet the performance requirements as laid down by the PADI Course Standards. If you are not willing to pay the additional fees to complete your course, a referral document will be issued to you which will hold good for a period of 12 months from the date of last portion of the course completed.
For PART A of the Open Water Diver Course this is charged at £20 per confined water session. There are 5 confined water sessions in PART A and you only need to pay for for the sessions that were incomplete.
If we need to reschedule
If a situation arises, and The Scuba Group Limited are unable to deliver your course on pre-arranged dates, we will endeavour to give you as much notice as possible and will re-schedule your course. The Scuba Group Limited requires a minimum of two students for a course to run unless the course is a private booking or is run at Directors discretion
Rescheduling - Notice
If you are unable to attend a course, or part of a course and provide more than the required notice period for that course, we will endeavour to reschedule your course to another date that is suitable to you without any rescheduling fee.
We do not provide any refunds and any part payments made for courses will remain in credit on said account for up to 1 year from booking date.
Cancellations - Medical
If you cancel your course outside of 48 hours due to illness, we may, at The Scuba Groups discretion, reduce or waive your rescheduling fee but we will require a medical certificate from your GP within 7 days. Failure to provide us with a medical within 7 days of the original course date will result in the listed Rescheduling Fee for that course. Cancelling a course or experience AFTER the start time of that session is classed as a ‘No Show’
Rescheduling - No notice
Should you need to reschedule a course or experience with less than the required notice period then a rescheduling fee will be applied. Rescheduling a course or experience after the start time of that session is classed as a ‘No Show’
No Shows
‘No Shows’ are when you fail to turn up for a scheduled session without giving us any notice. Payments made for the session will not be refunded or credited to a future session.
Course Deposits, Rescheduling & Admin Fees
Other specialities
£
50
14
days
Wreck
£
50
14
days
PPB
£
50
14
days
SMB
£
50
14
days
Dry Suit
£
50
14
days
Deep
£
50
14
days
Rescue Diver
£
100
14
days
Advanced Open Water
£
100
14
days
Open Water Completion
£
100
14
days
Open Water Referral
£
100
14
days
Enriched Air
£
20
3
days
Emergency O2 Provider
£
20
3
days
Cancellations, Rescheduling & No Shows
‘No Shows’ are when you fail to turn up for a scheduled session without giving us any notice. Payments made for the session will not be refunded or credited to a future session.
Should you need to reschedule a course or experience with less than the required notice period then a rescheduling fee will be applied. Rescheduling a course or experience after the start time of that session is classed as a ‘No Show’ (point 7)
If you are unable to attend a course, or part of a course and provide more than the required notice period for that course, we will endeavour to reschedule your course to another date that is suitable to you without any rescheduling fee. We do not provide any refunds and any part payments made for courses will remain in credit on said account for up to 1 year from booking date.
Failure to complete the full course requirements for any reason caused by the student, will result in additional charges being made to complete the course at a later stage. This includes not being able to demonstrate competence to meet the performance requirements as laid down by the PADI Course Standards. If you are not willing to pay the additional fees to complete your course, a referral document will be issued to you which will hold good for a period of 12 months from the date of last portion of the course completed. For PART A of the Open Water Diver Course this is charged at £20 per confined water session. There are 5 confined water sessions in PART A and you only need to pay for for the sessions that were incomplete.
If a situation arises, and The Scuba Group Limited are unable to deliver your course on pre-arranged dates, we will endeavour to give you as much notice as possible and will re-schedule your course. The Scuba Group Limited requires a minimum of two students for a course to run unless the course is a private booking.
Course Equipment
During the colder months we will endeavour to put all students into dry suits subject to sizing, best fit and availability. For all courses where a dry suit is mandatory (Dry suit, Deep and AOW) if we do not have sufficient stock levels we will cover the hiring cost for a suit at the location of the lake. For courses where a dry suit is not compulsory, students may be equipped in a wetsuit unless an appropriate fitting dry suit is available.
For all recreational courses we provide all equipment apart from wetsuit boots in summer (when using wetsuits) or wet suit gloves in winter (when using drysuits). If we have fitting issues, then we will do everything we can to hire equipment from outside sources subject to availability. For Pro courses (Divemaster and IDC’s) we advise that you must own a complete set of diving requirements in accordance with the PADI standards. Please note that THE SCUBA GROUP LIMITED will not cover the costs for any hiring of equipment for students on pro courses.
Transport
THE SCUBA GROUP LIMITED does not provide transport to the Open Water dive sites. We will make every effort to try and get you a car share with another student but if this is not possible you will be expected to make your way to the site by your own means.
Dive Trips
You must be a qualified diver of at least open water diver to attend any dive trip. You must have dived within the last 12 months, otherwise we will require you take a PADI ReActivate course before the trip, this is at an additional cost.
Each diver must carry their own SMB/reel, torch, dive knife/cutting device and dive computer. You are only allowed to dive to the depth you are qualified to.
Open Water = 18m,
Advanced Open Water = 30m,
Deep Spec = 40m.
To book your space we require a 50% non-refundable deposit. If the trip is cancelled then you will receive a 100% refund on the cost of the boat fees, or this can be put towards the next trip. Any money for accommodation arranged by The Scuba Group Limited is dependent on the cancellation terms and conditions of the provider but it is in most cases unlikely to be refundable. You can still use the accommodation if you wish.
Refunds
In the unlikely event that you change your mind about The SCUBA Group we are happy to work with you for a resolution.
We offer a discretionary refund policy with a minimum admin fee of £20 and reserve the right to charge for tuition, coaching and administration that you have had the benefit of.
Where equipment hire is purchased, we reserve the right to hold the full amount until proof of certification is required and the appropriate deposit is lodged where required.
Complaints Procedure
We don't always get it right, to ensure that your interests are safeguarded and to make sure we put mistakes right, we have a complaints process. It's aim is to resolve all customer issues or concerns as quickly as possible. In the majority of cases issues can be resolved quickly and amicably to customers' satisfaction but sometimes these things need to be formalised.
Complaints should, in the first instance, be directed to the business. The SCUBA Group will acknowledge your complaint in writing, within 3 working days, in line with this procedure and then endeavour to liaise with you to resolve your complaint immediately but no later than 15 working days from our letter of acknowledgement.