Terms of service - train tickets in Poland and Europe

TERMS OF SERVICE ver. 2.03 (valid from 5 May 2022)

1. GENERAL INFORMATION
1. 1.1 These Terms of Service specify the legal principles and rules for the use of the "Reservation System" of third party services offered through the PolishTrains.eu website and as part of the Call Center, i.e. services: Reservation and Purchase of Railway Tickets.
2. 1.2 The owner and operator of the system is TravelTECH Sp. z o.o. with its registered office in Kraków, 31-864, ul. prof. M. Życzkowskiego 20, entered into the Register of Entrepreneurs kept by the District Court for Kraków – Śródmieście, 11th Commercial Division of the National Court Register, under KRS number 0000258229, NIP [Tax Identification Number] 675-13-45-369, with share capital in the amount of PLN 50,000.00 (in words: fifty thousand zlotys), offering end-user services in the field of travel information and reservation – hereinafter referred to as TravelTECH.
3. 1.3 The use of the Reservation System and the Call Center available under the telephone numbers and email address indicated on the PolishTrains.eu website is possible subject to the acceptance of all provisions of these Terms of Service. The mentioned acceptance is at the same time a statement of intent and entails legal obligations between the User and the Service Operator.
4. 1.4 The User has the right to use these Terms of Service free of charge, the right of their free reproduction, copying and fixing, excluding the possibility of their commercial use. The User undertakes to comply with the provisions of these Terms of Service upon taking steps to use the Reservation System and/or the Call Center.
5. 1.5 The reservation and purchase of individual third-party services available in the Reservation System is a single transaction and is subject to the terms, conditions and regulations specified by these entities.

2. GLOSSARY OF TERMS
1. 2.1 User – a person using the Reservation System and/or the Call Center. The User may also be referred to as a Passenger, Customer or Recipient
2. 2.2 PolishTrains.eu Website – a website maintained at the address https://www.polishtrains.eu along with other domains owned by TravelTECH, providing information on collective transport.
3. 2.3 Reservation System – a component of the PolishTrains.eu website, which enables booking and purchasing railway tickets of selected carriers.
4. 2.4 Carrier – a Polish or foreign transport company that carries out licensed transport of people in Poland or in other countries.
5. 2.5 Electronic payment instrument – each payment instrument, including with remote access to cash, enabling the holder to carry out operations using electronic data carriers or enabling holder’s electronic identification which is necessary to carry out a given operation, in particular an electronic money instrument, online transfer or a payment card.
6. 2.6 Payment card – an electronic payment instrument enabling a clear identification of the issuer and an authorised holder, authorising to make payment, and in the case of a card issued by a bank or an institution legally authorised to grant loans – also to make a payment using such loan, within the meaning of Art. 4(1)(4) of the Act of 29 August 1997 – the Banking Law (Journal of Laws of 2012 – item 1376, 1385, 1529, of 2013 – item 777, 1036, 1289, 1567, as amended).
7. 2.7 Payment Operator – an external entity, authorised to process and processing data to enable payment by means of electronic payment instruments or a payment card.

3. USER'S RESPONSIBILITY FOR USING THE PolishTrains.eu WEBSITE AND, IN PARTICULAR, THE RESERVATION SYSTEM
1. 3.1 The User represents that he/she has full legal capacity and capacity to enter into legally binding commitments, and is aware of the responsibility for his/her own actions resulting from the use of the Reservation System.
2. 3.2 The User represents that he/she uses the Reservation System on his/her own behalf and on his/her own responsibility, and – in the case of acting on behalf of a third party – that he/she has valid authorisation and bears full liability for acting without authorisation or for crossing its borders.
3. 3.3 The User represents that he/she will use the Reservation System in person and directly only for the purpose and within the scope of purchasing the ticket or making a reservation and purchasing the available services, as described herein, as well as other services available on the website, solely in a manner consistent with the applicable law, avoiding any non-legal activities. In particular, it is prohibited to:
  1. download (also automatically), further distribute in any form and by any channel, process in whole or in part any information presented on the PolishTrains.eu website,
  2. use the Reservation System or any contents presented therein for any purpose not related to the planned travel,
  3. take actions that may lead to overloading the Reservation System, breaking and circumventing security measures introduced in the system,
  4. modify, falsify data or documents at any stage of the reservation, purchase and payment process.
4. 3.4 The User is prohibited to use false data, to make a reservation using a false name or someone else's name without a valid authorisation, and to make payments for the booked services using, inter alia, a false or someone else's credit card without authorisation. Such actions will be immediately reported to the competent law enforcement authorities.

4. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
1. 4.1 TravelTECH informs that it does not guarantee that the results obtained and presented to the User in the search process will be up-to-date and will present options available for reservation and/or purchase. At the same time, please note that other service offers, similar to those searched by the User, may appear in the Reservation System as well as in other third-party ticket search systems. Until the purchase of a chosen offer (i.e. service reservation and payment in the Reservation System), the mere fact of obtaining search results does not impose any obligation on any party to conclude a contract of intermediation in the purchase of a ticket or purchase of other services from providers of services presented in the Reservation System.
2. 4.2 The Carrier and the User shall always be the parties to the contract of carriage or a contract for the provision of any other services offered through the Reservation System. Liability for non-performance or improper performance of services shall always be borne by specific carriers in relation to whom, depending on the carrier, TravelTECH acts on their behalf or as their intermediary in the booking and purchase process. The name of the carrier is made available to the User each time during the reservation process, before the final purchase and after booking, as well as on the issued ticket. Services provision and the complaint procedure is subject to the general terms and conditions of carriers indicated during the booking process.
3. 4.3 TravelTECH does not guarantee that the use of the Reservation System will be without faults, disadvantages, interruptions or lack of connection with the reservation system of third parties, and that the search results will meet the expectations as to the content, accuracy or usefulness of the information obtained. The data provided in the Reservation System are time varying and dependent on the current offer of third parties, and the prices are not guaranteed until the service is purchased on the terms specified by these entities.

5. PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION
1. 5.1 All personal data submitted by the Users of the PolishTrains.eu Website is subject to protection according to the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons as regards personal data processing and free movement of such data and repealing the Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (hereinafter referred to as the "GDPR").
2. 5.2 TravelTECH is the personal data controller (contact to the personal data protection department – email address iod@traveltech.pl). Third parties (carriers) are the controllers of personal data provided in order to perform the services booked and purchased by the User. The following external entities deal with the processing of personal data provided by the User in order to make payments:
  1. for credit card payments – ING Bank Śląski S.A., ul. Sokolska 34, 40-086 Katowice, entered into the Register of Entrepreneurs kept by the District Court Katowice-Wschód, VIII Commercial Division of the National Court Register under KRS: 0000005459, share capital of PLN 130,100,000.00 paid in full, NIP: 634-013-54-75, REGON: 271514909.
    SIX Payment Services (Europe) S.A. with its registered office at the address: 10, rue Gabriel Lippmann, L-5365 Munsbach, Luxembourg, operating in Poland through the branch: SIX Payment Services (Europe) S.A. Spółka Akcyjna Oddział w Polsce with its registered office in Warsaw (00-838), ul. Prosta 32, entered into the Register of Entrepreneurs of the National Court Register maintained by the District Court for the Capital City of Warsaw in Warsaw, 12th Commercial Division of the National Court Register, under number KRS 0000367560, NIP [Tax Identification Number]: 1070017360. The function of the Data Protection Officer is played by SIX Compliance, Hardturmstrasse 201, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland – email: dataprotection@six-group.com
  2. online payment – DotPay Sp. z o.o. with its registered office in Kraków, ul. Wielicka 72, 30-552 Kraków, entered into the Register of Entrepreneurs of the National Court Register under number KRS 0000700791 by the District Court for Kraków – Śródmieście, 11th Commercial Division, NIP [Tax Identification Number] 6342661860.
  3. payment via Twisto – Twisto Polska Spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością, with its registered office in Warsaw, ul. Puławska 2, postal code: 02-566 Warsaw, entered into the Register of Entrepreneurs kept by the District Court for the capital city of Warsaw in Warsaw, XIII Commercial Division of the National Court Register under KRS: 0000689624, NIP: 9512442875, REGON: 367977970, share capital of PLN 1,000,000
  Provision of data for the payment process is necessary for the effective reservation and purchase of the service, and the User has the right of access to data and the right to correct them.
3. 5.3 TravelTECH represents that Users' personal data are protected, processed and made available to third parties only for specific purposes, explicitly presented and permitted by law:
  1. enabling execution of the process of services reservation and purchase – the data are processed and made available to the service providers and stored by TravelTECH until statute of limitation on mutual claims expires, provided that if the contract has not been concluded and the services have not been provided after 180 days from the date of registration in the Reservation System, the data will be archived and will not be used for any purpose other than to pursue or establish mutual claims;
  2. enabling execution of the payment process – data are processed and made available to entities handling the payment process, and after 180 days from the transaction date (regardless of its outcome) they will be archived by TravelTECH and will not be used for any purpose other than to pursue or establish mutual claims;
    In particular, this data may be processed by:
    ING Bank Śląski for the following purposes:
    
    - for ING Bank Śląski to share the infrastructure for online payments on behalf of TravelTECH (legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
    
    - for ING Bank Śląski to operate and settle payments made by the clients of the PolishTrains.eu Website via the Internet with payment instruments (legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
    
    - for ING Bank Śląski to verify the proper performance of agreements concluded with the Online Shop, especially to ensure the protection of payers' interests in relation to complaints they submit (legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
    
    Twisto Polska sp. z o.o. in relation to the proposition to make a payment for the goods or service purchased via Twisto Polska sp. z o.o. under the mandate agreement involving the purchase formula of "Buy it with Twisto" and sharing this purchase formula by the PolishTrains.eu Website and for Twisto Polska sp. z o.o. to verify due diligence in the performance of such mandate agreements (legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
  3. data analysis in order to detect unlawful activities of the User and to ensure the security of the PolishTrains.eu website – the data are processed by TravelTECH until statute of limitation on mutual claims expires or up to 180 days from the date of data registration (whichever comes later). After this time, they will be archived and will not be used for any purpose other than to pursue or establish mutual claims;
  4. performance of public-law obligations – data are processed and made available to legally entitled entities, until statute of limitation on public-law debt expires;
  5. fulfilment of obligations indicated in the GDPR – data are processed only for identification and verification of the person submitting claims, until statute of limitation on mutual claims expires;
  6. achieving marketing objectives – data are processed in order to present a personalised offer of services or advertising, until an objection is raised, and after the objection has been raised only to defend against claims, until statute of limitation on mutual claims expires;
  7. sending the newsletter – data will be processed only after the User has expressed an additional consent when giving the email address, until the withdrawal of the consent, and after its withdrawal only to defend against claims until statute of limitation on mutual claims expires.
4. 5.4 During the reservation process, the User shall be asked to provide information including name, surname, sex and age of passengers, which is necessary to make a reservation and issue a ticket or voucher, as well as contact details, such as address, email address and telephone number, required for possible contact with the User. These data will be transferred from the reservation systems of third parties that are the service providers. The user of the PolishTrains.eu website consents to such processing and to sharing of the above data. Data provision is voluntary, but necessary to enable the use of the purchased services. The scope of data necessary to make a reservation is marked appropriately during the reservation process. The User has the right of access to his/her data and the right to correct them.
5. 5.5 If the User's provision of personal data is for its submission to Twisto Polska sp. z o.o. before the purchase of the service at the PolishTrains.eu Website, submitting it is a condition on which the service may be purchased in relation to the business model adopted by the PolishTrains.eu Website.
6. 5.6 In case the User provides personal data to Twisto Polska sp. z o.o. in relation to the proposition for the User to make the payment for the service purchased by the User via Twisto Polska sp. z o.o. under the mandate agreement involving the purchase formula of "Buy it with Twisto" and sharing the formula by the PolishTrains.eu Website, submitting and processing such data for this purpose is requisite in relation to the business model adopted by the PolishTrains.eu Website and for the performance of the agreement concluded by and between TravelTECH and Twisto Polska Sp. z o.o.
7. 5.7 In case the User provides personal data to ING Bank Śląski in relation to the support and settlement of payments made by the User on behalf of the PolishTrains.eu Website via the Internet with payment instruments, submitting such data is required in order to allow the payment and confirm that it has been made by ING Bank Śląski on behalf of the PolishTrains.eu Website.
8. 5.8 In case the User provides personal data to ING Bank Śląski for ING Bank Śląski to verify the due performance of agreements concluded with TravelTECH, especially to ensure the protection of payers' interests in relation to their complaints, submitting such data is required in order to perform the agreement by and between TravelTECH and ING Bank Śląski.
9. 5.9 By registering an account in the PolishTrains service, the User consents to receiving marketing information concerning the PolishTrains service. Creating an account without the aforementioned consent is not possible. The User can withdraw the consent at any moment by sending a declaration of resignation to the e-mail address contact@polishtrains.eu. Withdrawing the consent is unequivocal to deleting the User account.
10. 5.10 The User may agree to receive marketing information related to the subject of the PolishTrains.eu website. The User may submit an appropriate statement of intent when registering his/her email address on the PolishTrains.eu website. The User may withdraw his/her consent at any time by sending a statement of resignation to the address contact@polishtrains.eu or … by clicking the resign link present in every marketing message sent by the PolishTrains service. Consent to receiving marketing information via e-mail (newsletter) is independent of the consent given when creating the account. Its withdrawal will be effective only to that extent.
11. 5.11 By accepting these Terms of Service, the User confirms the accuracy of the personal data that he/she has provided in accordance with Article 23 of the Act on the Protection of Personal Data of 29 August 1997 (Journal of Laws of 2002, No. 101, item 926, as amended).
12. 5.12 Send complaints related to personal data protection to the supervisory authority; in Poland, it is the President of the Office for Personal Data Protection.

6. MAKING RESERVATION, TICKET PURCHASE, FORMS OF PAYMENT AND DELIVERY OF TICKETS AND INVOICES
1. 6.1 The User enquires about the reservation by selecting one of the options of railway connections proposed by the Reservation System and by entering all necessary data into the personal questionnaire.
2. 6.2 Inquiry confirmation
  1. During the reservation process, the User receives information about the selected connection, ticket price, transaction fee charged by TravelTECH for providing the User with the possibility of using the PolishTrains.eu website and the form of payment. Note – the ticket price and the transaction fee are time varying and depend on the selected connection and, in some cases, the transaction fee may be waived. The ticket price is expressed in PLN or in another currency specified in the enquiry form. The ticket price is not guaranteed until the payment is received by PolishTrains.eu . The service will be purchased for the benefit of the customer at the price available at the time of payment or, in the case of payment by electronic payment instrument, at the time of issuing the ticket.
  2. Before confirming the reservation and making the payment, the User is obliged to check the correctness of the data entered into the Reservation System, the selected connection (including departure and destination station, class, dates and times of departure and arrival), information on the payment deadline in order to purchase a ticket at the price indicated during the search in the Reservation System, and the conditions of return/exchange of the ticket.
3. 6.3 Purchase of the railway ticket
  1. The User may purchase the railway ticket only if he/she introduces correct personal data to the Reservation System. Before purchasing the ticket, the User must read and accept these Terms of Service and read the terms of the tariff regarding the connection chosen by the User and the discounts offered to the User by the Carriers. The transaction price consists of: the ticket price, a non-returnable transaction fee for providing the User with the possibility of using the PolishTrains.eu website, and a fee for delivering the ticket (in the case of paper tickets delivered to the User).
  2. Understanding the conditions governing a given tariff will help the User to choose the most attractive connection in terms of price, and will also minimize the costs of a possible cancellation of a train ticket.
  3. If the price differs considerably from the expected one, please check the dates of departure and return during the neighbouring periods.
  4. After receiving the reservation request, PolishTrains.eu may contact the User in order to verify the User's data and confirm the offer. If the contact with the User is not possible or required, PolishTrains.eu shall make a reservation in accordance with the request, and if the User pays an amount corresponding at least to the ticket price and other additional fees, PolishTrains.eu shall also buy the ticket.
  5. If the travel requires additional services (e.g. special meal, billing, travelling with an animal, excess baggage, special cabin baggage, unaccompanied child, additional care for the passenger, help for the disabled, cradle and other) please contact us by phone or email.
  6. On some routes the transport may be carried out partly by other means of transport, e.g. buses (including in Switzerland) – this information shall be indicated directly in the train description, instead of the words: "Train 12345", the words "Car".
  7. PolishTrains.eu recommends caution when ordering connections with short stopovers as there is a risk of delays in connections provided by carriers.
  8. PolishTrains.eu reserves the right to refuse issuing a ticket if the applied (selected by the User) tariff is not compatible with its destination, in accordance with the terms of sale under a given offer, which are beyond the control of PolishTrains.eu .
4. 6.4 Open tickets
  1. These are one-off tickets valid on the route indicated in the ticket and for a particular type of train, e.g. they are not valid in TGV, Eurostar.
  2. Valid for a specified number of days or hours from the expiry date indicated on the ticket – the customer may take a one-off trip at that time.
  3. If the train requires a seat reservation, the User should purchase it for travel.
5. 6.5 Forms of payment
  1. The following forms of payment for tickets purchased in the PolishTrains.eu website are accepted:
    payment by bank transfer
    
    payment by online transfer
    
    payment by credit card
  2. Payments by bank transfer can be made only for railway tickets booked on the PolishTrains.eu website at least 7 working days before the date of departure date for paper tickets and 5 working days in advance for electronic tickets, if the railway tariff permits. By choosing "bank transfer" as the payment method, the User is obliged to pay the amount due to PolishTrains.eu for the purchased ticket on time (where the term “on time” is understood as the moment of posting the transfer on TravelTECH account):
    24 hours from the moment of booking, if less than 10 days remain until the departure date
    
    48 hours from the moment of booking, if more than 10 days remain until the departure date
  3. Payments by bank transfer should be made to: TravelTECH Sp. z o.o., ul. prof. M. Życzkowskiego 20, 31-864 Kraków, ING Bank Śląski, IBAN account number: 69 1050 1445 1000 0090 8013 9703.
  4. In the transfer title, enter: Reservation No. XXXXXXX, where X is the booking number. Railway tickets paid by bank transfer are issued by PolishTrains no later than the working day following the date on which the amount due for the ticket purchased by the User has been credited to the above account. Accounting takes place on working days until 17:00. PolishTrains reserves the right to delay the issue of a ticket if the ticket price in the Carrier's system at the time of payment is higher than the one accepted by the buyer at the time of booking process. In that case PolishTrains will transfer back the full amount within 7 days to the account used during the booking process.
    PolishTrains is not responsible for the delayed implementation of payment caused by banks. The User may not lodge claims against PolishTrains.eu for the company’s failure to issue the ticket due to delay in transfer from the User's bank account.
  5. Some tariffs allow for issuing a ticket within a period not exceeding 72 hours from the moment of reservation or within the period of 24 hours or shorter. Some tariffs must also be purchased in a fixed number of days before departure of the train, e.g. 7 days, 14 days, etc. Failure to meet this deadline means cancellation of the User's reservation. PolishTrains.eu does not bear any liability for cancellation of Users' reservations due to delay in making payments to PolishTrains.eu account, beyond the periods indicated in the ticket order.
  6. Payments by online transfer or by credit card are made through authorised Payment Operators. If, during the reservation process, the User selects such form of payment for the ticket, after filling in personal data and confirming the Terms of Service, he/she will be redirected to the Payment Operator's website where he/she will make a payment for the ticket. Interruption of the purchase process at this stage does not result in payment obligation and does not entail ticket issue. After the correctly completed payment process, the User will be redirected to the PolishTrains.eu website where the ticket purchase confirmation will be displayed.
  7. In the event of payment by online transfer or by credit card, depending on the carrier, the ticket will be issued immediately or by the end of the next working day.
6. 6.6 Form and delivery of the purchased ticket
  Available forms of the ticket are determined by the Carriers and are made visible during the reservation process:
  1. electronic ticket – is generated automatically and delivered by the PolishTrains.eu website in the form via email to the email address provided by the User. In some cases, tickets can be delivered in a separate email message directly from the carrier. In the case of national rail tickets, tickets should be sent up to 30 minutes from the time of correct payment implementation. Rail tickets of foreign carriers should be sent by the end of the working day following the date on which the payment has been correctly processed by the user.
    Note – a ticket sent in electronic form is deemed to be delivered upon correct termination of data transmission related to an email sending on the side of TravelTECH’s infrastructure. If the User is not able to find a message sent from the PolishTrains.eu website, he/she should first check all folders of the provided email address, where he/she collects unwanted messages (SPAM) and then contact the Call Center of the PolishTrains.eu website to change the email address to which the ticket will be sent again.
  2. ticket printed at the railway station – in order to use this option, if it is available, the User is required to arrive early at the railway station and follow the instructions received in the email sent by the PolishTrains.eu website. The User should print the ticket at least 30 minutes before the train departure. Tickets printed at the station must be validated on the platform/station before entering the train for which the given ticket has been purchased. In the case of several tickets for different trains – they may not be validated at the first station, but must be validated at each station separately before entering the train. After being printed at the station, the ticket is non-returnable and non-exchangeable. It is recommended to print all tickets at the first station due to the fact that printing may not be possible at another station, or the time allowed for a change may be insufficient to do this.
  3. paper ticket – delivered to the address indicated by the User as a courier delivery. Depending on the recipient's country, the ticket may be delivered up to 3 working days (on Polish territory) or even up to 5 days (outside of the European Union) from the moment it is issued.
  The form in which a specific ticket is available is determined by the Carrier. It is not possible to reissue a ticket printed at the station or a paper ticket delivered by a courier. The User is responsible for having a valid printed ticket while travelling. Electronic tickets sent via e-mail can be printed multiple times, but must be brought in a printed form together with a picture ID confirming the identity of the passenger.
7. 6.7 Cancellation due to the fault of the carrier
  
  PolishTrains.eu is not liable for any changes and cancellations made by the carrier in the reservations of the Users of the PolishTrains.eu website without its participation. Such information shall be sent to the User only if it is obtained from the Carrier. All claims arising from cancellation or change, including delays in connections due to the fault of rail operators, should be sent by the User to the relevant operator. Railway operators bear liability under the conditions set out in Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on rail passengers’ rights and obligations
  
  Before making a reservation, the User is required to get acquainted with the indicated terms and conditions of liability.
8. 6.8 Return of the ticket
  1. The User has the right to return the train ticket purchased on the PolishTrains.eu website if it meets the conditions of return imposed by the carrier and before the date specified as the date of departure. Paper tickets are returned only after they have been physically sent to PolishTrains.eu (TravelTECH Sp. z o.o., ul. Prof. M. Życzkowskiego 20, 31-864 Kraków). The ticket should be delivered before the expiry of the period in which the return is allowed. If this condition cannot be met, the ticket should be stamped at the railway station as unused and sent to PolishTrains.eu . In this case, however, the Carrier will decide about the return after the complaint procedure. In the event of disagreement regarding the return between persons designated as travellers on railway tickets, the statement of intent made by the person making the payment for the ticket is decisive, unless the persons paying for individual tickets as part of a single reservation are clearly indicated when ordering the ticket. In any case, the return of a ticket involves a deduction of a fee charged by the Carrier and a transaction fee for providing the User with the possibility of using the PolishTrains.eu website.
  2. The selected tariffs do not allow for any changes to the ticket and the return of the ticket to the issuer before the start of the travel (cancellation of the journey is associated with a total loss of the payment made).
  3. Refund requests may be submitted in three ways:
    1. by telephone at the numbers specified on the PolishTrains.eu Website; for identification purposes, the User should call from the telephone number provided while booking the ticket to be returned,
    2. via e-mail – by sending a proper message to rezerwacje@europodroze.pl; for identification purposes, the message should be sent from the e-mail address provided while booking the ticket to be returned,
    3. via the form on the PolishTrains.eu Website, see the Refunds and changes tab. The e-mail address and telephone number specified in the form should be identical to the ones provided while booking the ticket to be returned. Having filled in the form, the system will send a message to the e-mail-address given by the User with a special link; clicking it will confirm the authenticity of the request and launch the refund procedure.
  4. An amount due to the User for the returned ticket shall be sent to the User by the same channel that he/she has used to make the payment for the ticket, within 7 days from the date of receipt by PolishTrains.eu of the amount from the Carrier. The day of debiting the TravelTECH Sp. z o.o. bank account shall be considered as the day of the refund.
  5. Reserved seats purchased by the User for the ticket – due to the Carriers’ regulations, are most often non-returnable, unless otherwise specified during the transaction process.
9. 6.9 Ticket exchange
  1. Depending on the terms and conditions specified by respective carriers, the User may replace the ticket for another. The ticket may only be replaced when there are free seats on the train by which the User wants to travel. Submit orders to replace tickets only during the working hours of the Call Centre and:
    1. in the case of e-tickets, at least one hour before the departure of the train indicated on the ticket being replaced or train by which the User wants to travel; the departure date and time of the earlier train prevails
    2. in the case of paper tickets, the replacement procedure must always be discussed with the Call Centre early on.
  2. Change requests may be submitted in three ways:
    1. by telephone at the numbers specified on the PolishTrains.eu Website; for identification purposes, the User should call from the telephone number provided while booking the ticket to be replaced,
    2. via e-mail – by sending a proper message to contact@polishtrains.eu; for identification purposes, the message should be sent from the e-mail address provided while booking the ticket to be replaced,
    3. via the form on the PolishTrains.eu Website, see the Refunds and changes tab. The e-mail address and telephone number specified in the form should be identical to the ones provided while booking the ticket to be returned. Having filled in the form, the system will send a message to the e-mail-address given by the User with a special link; clicking it will confirm the authenticity of the request and launch the refund procedure.
  3. The request for having the ticket replaced should contain unambiguous information on the ticket being replaced and route, date time, number and type of passengers. The lack of such information or its ambiguity may prolong or entirely prevent the replacement of the ticket. Every time carrying out the order for replacement, the Call Centre employee will verify the option for replacement and calculate any refund or surcharge. If necessary to pay extra, the User will receive an e-mail message containing a link to the payment at the website of the Payment Operator. In the case of a refund, the amount will be returned to the User within five (5) working days without the User's having to contact the Call Centre again.
10. 6.10 Issuing invoices and the manner of their delivery
  1. A digital invoice will be issued for services purchased via the PolishTrains.eu website or the Call Center. By making a purchase and accepting these Terms of Service, the User agrees to receive electronic invoices as defined in Art. 2(32) pursuant to Art. 106(1) of the Act of 11 March 2004 on Value Added Tax (consolidated text: Journal of Laws of 2011, No. 177, item 1054, as amended).
  2. Depending on the carrier, these will be TravelTECH's own invoices or invoices issued on behalf of and for the benefit of that carrier.
  3. Electronic invoices for services will be delivered to the email address indicated by the User during the reservation process or given in the process of purchasing via the Call Center.
  4. In the case of a reservation of services for more than one User, in the event of a failure to indicate the buyer for whom the invoice is to be issued, it will be issued using the details of the first multiple reservation user.
11. 6.11 Special regulations regarding the travel of minors
  
  Individual carriers regulate in various ways transfers of minors; in relation to persons under 18 years of age, individual carriers may introduce travel restrictions. Persons under 12 years of age should travel in the care of an adult. Before buying a ticket for a minor travelling alone, the User must verify the possibilities of independent travel in the carrier’s terms and conditions. Examples of SNCF railway regulations are presented below:
  1. Thalys: minors under 12 years of age are not allowed to travel unaccompanied. They must be under the care of an adult person. Minors between 12 and 18 years of age may travel alone and must possess the documents provided for by law and permitting them to leave the country. Providing children with appropriate documents permitting them to leave the country is the responsibility of legal guardians.
  2. Lyria: For safety reasons, children under 12 years of age are not allowed to travel unaccompanied on board TGV Lyria trains. Accompanied travel (parent, legal guardian or an adult to whom parents have entrusted the child) is a condition for the validity of the ticket for children under 12 years of age. The following documents are required for minors entering France:
    - if they travel unaccompanied: identity document and written permission given by parents.
    
    - if they travel under parental care: identity document.
  3. Eurostar: children from 12 to 15 years old can travel unaccompanied on board the Eurostar train provided that their parent or legal guardian has completed the "Unaccompanied Minor" form. They must be brought to the station by an adult (at least aged 18) who signs the form in the presence of a Eurostar crew member. SNCF: there is no age limit imposed by the SNCF for unaccompanied minors. Nevertheless, SNCF is not responsible for them.
  4. Children under the age of 12 are not allowed to travel unaccompanied in TGV France – Spain and TGV France – Italy.
  5. In TGV Paris Luxembourg and TGV France Germany, unaccompanied minors must have permission to leave the territory. This is the rule that applies to all journeys between France and other countries (irrespective of the mode of transport) in accordance with French law.
  6. TGV Bruxelles – France: to increase the safety of young travellers on board the TGV Bruxelles – France trains, rules have been set for travelling unaccompanied minors, in particular for children under 12 years of age. Rules: all minors (under the age of 18) unaccompanied by an adult (over 18 years of age) must have the following documents:
    - ticket,
    
    - identity document,
    
    - consent to leave the territory issued by the local administration.
  7. Unaccompanied minors below the age of 12 are not allowed on board. They must be accompanied by a person over the age of 12. Minors who do not comply with the above requirements are regarded as unaccompanied minors and:
    - are not allowed on the train if the check shows that the child would travel alone,
    
    - must be escorted to the police station at the destination station if there was no check at the station of departure.
  8. Children under the age of 4 (3+) may travel on parent’s/guardian’s lap.
  The above examples of regulations may change and depend on internal regulations of the carriers.

7. COMPLAINTS
1. 7.1 Complaints regarding reservations and purchases of tickets may be submitted in writing to TravelTECH's address or via email to the address indicated in the PolishTrains.eu website. TravelTECH shall inform the User about the complaint acceptance and the result of its consideration within 14 days of its receipt or on the date indicated by the Carrier.
2. 7.2 TravelTECH is a party only in the case of complaints related to the booking process, ticket purchase and payment transactions, including those made with a payment card through the PolishTrains.eu website. TravelTECH indicates that if the complaint concerns other services provided by other entities (including transport services), it will inform the User about it, indicating at the same time the possibility of submitting a complaint to this entity, or submits such a complaint with authorisation and in consultation with the User.
3. 7.3 If a User decides to file a complaint regarding a journey with a ticket purchased via PolishTrains directly to the carrier (omitting TravelTECH), in case of an acceptance of the complaint by them, especially regarding reimbursement, the User is obliged to send the letter from the carrier to the contact@polishtrains.eu not later than 14 days after receiving it. Not sending the decision might cause a delay in or lack of making a refund.

8. FINAL PROVISIONS
1. 8.1 TravelTECH reserves the right to unilaterally amend the Terms of Service – while maintaining the principle that the User is bound by the Terms of Service accepted by him/her during the reservation and enabling access by Users to archival versions of the Terms of Service. Each customer is obliged to read the Terms of Service before making a reservation and is always bound by the provisions of the Terms of Service valid at the time of reservation and purchase of tickets.
2. 8.2 Matters not covered by these Terms of Service shall be governed by the provisions of the Civil Code and the Act of 30 May 2014 on consumer rights. It should be indicated that the services provided by TravelTECH consist in taking factual acts related to the ordering by Users of other entities’ services, therefore the Operator’s services are completed at the time of their confirmation – a return or withdrawal is possible only if the relevant Service Provider has clearly indicated it. In the case of consumer disputes, it is possible to use the EU online dispute resolution platform (ODR), which will be made available under the link: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/
3. 8.3 TravelTECH shall not be liable for damages to the User resulting from the fact that the trip does not take place due to a strike of employees of the carrier and other entities, whose correct actions are necessary for the proper provision of the service purchased by the User, performance of other services listed in the Terms of Service, or as an effect of force majeure, because TravelTECH acts only as an entity that provides an information service, and does not provide these services or suggest the selection of offers of any of the entities.

9. ARCHIVAL VERSIONS OF TERMS OF SERVICE
1. 9.1 Effective from 25 November 2018 to 9 April 2020 - https://www.polishtrains.eu/terms2_01
2. 9.2 Effective from 10 April 2020 to 4 May 2022 - https://www.polishtrains.eu/terms2_02

TERMS OF SERVICE ver. 2.03 (valid from 5 May 2022)

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

2. GLOSSARY OF TERMS

3. USER'S RESPONSIBILITY FOR USING THE PolishTrains.eu WEBSITE AND, IN PARTICULAR, THE RESERVATION SYSTEM

4. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

5. PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION

6. MAKING RESERVATION, TICKET PURCHASE, FORMS OF PAYMENT AND DELIVERY OF TICKETS AND INVOICES

7. COMPLAINTS

8. FINAL PROVISIONS

9. ARCHIVAL VERSIONS OF TERMS OF SERVICE

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