The terms and conditions described below apply to all quotations, agreements, and service deliveries of Linguaterra Institute.

Article 1: Applicability
1.       These general terms and conditions are applicable to all agreements that Linguaterra Institute makes with regards to offering services.

2.       Linguaterra Institute and the tutor are referred to as LTI. The natural or legal person, with whom LTI enters into an agreement with, with regards to the recipient of LTI’s services, is hereby referred to as participant. Participants are considered private individuals or businesses and any distinction made will be explicitly mentioned. In these terms and conditions all services offered by LTI are referred to as guidance, distinguishing between offline guidance (tutoring, workshops, training) and online guidance (distance learning, revising / editing services). Offline guidance can be taken individually, in pairs, or in groups and is then respectively referred to individual-guidance, paired-guidance and group-guidance.

Article 2: General
1.       At registering for guidance the participant accepts these terms and conditions. Any agreements that deviate from these terms and conditions are only legitimate when they are explicitly agreed upon by LTI through written communication.

2.       LTI is entitled to adjust these terms and conditions. An adjustment shall be communicated with the participant through written correspondence or e-mail at least 30 days before the adjustment is implemented.

Article 3: Privacy statement and data management
1.       LTI is committed to protecting the privacy of its customers. The participant shall provide LTI with relevant information to reach a good cooperation. In case any changes occur in these data the participant is obliged to inform LTI about the changes as soon as possible. The following overview shows what information is collected and mentions (1) the purpose of collecting that information; (2) how the information is stored and used and who is able to access and use the information; (3) and how the customer gives consent to LTI to collect, store and process this information:

Full name // Street name and housenumber // Postal code // Place of residence // Language-related educational background // Personal motivation with regards to learning language

1. this information is required to personalize the billing process and / or to issue a language learning certificate to participant.
2. this information is stored in LTI's secured Surveymonkey cloud space. The information is displayed on the invoices that LTI sends to the participant. The information can only be accessed by LTI.
3. the participant shows interest and requests LTI for more information on services (e.g. costs, course schedule, class frequency) upon which LTI provides more information. LTI requests participant to share email address. Upon receival, LTI emails participant the weblink to an online form where participant fills in above-mentioned data.

2.       Facts that the participant entrusts to LTI shall, if the participant desires so, be considered as confidential and not be made accessible to others, including parents and third-party tutors, unless LTI deems exposing this information as to be necessary for the sake of the physical or psychological well-being of the participant or other involved parties.

3.       At cancelling or after completion of the guidance, the participant’s records shall be kept in the database for a period of 5 years unless the participant requests the records to be erased. When LTI is requested to erase the participant's record, LTI has the right to impersonalize the record and to keep the record for purposes listed under article 3.4.

4.       LTI will never use the participant’s records for direct-marketing purposes, nor transfer them to third-parties, without the explicit approval of the participant. LTI is entitled to use participant’s records and experiences with the participant internally with the purpose for improving the quality of services.

5.     Upon request, participant can receive a copy of all email communication, chat communication between LTI and participant and / or receive a copy of information participant provided in the sign-up surveys and / or evaluation surveys.

Article 4: Payment
1.       The particpant is required and assumed to be aware of LTI’s charged rates. These rates are communicated through the website and/or a price quotation. Besides the standard rate LTI can also agree with the participant upon a compensation for travelling fees.

2.       LTI reserves the right to change the rates and will inform participants by written correspondence or by e-mail of any changes at least one month before the change is implemented.

3.       The rates for offline / online guidance are tax-free because the services are educational and education is exempted from taxes.  
4.       In case that ensuring effective guidance provision is associated with additional costs, for example telephone or copying costs, then LTI reserves the right to transfer those costs to the participant. Any such transfer will always first be agreed upon with the participant.

5.       Payment is done in advance by bank for offline guidance or as agreed explicitly through written correspondence. The payment conditions are decided upon by LTI. Payments for online guidance is done in advance and by bank. Invoices are sent to the participant by e-mail and at extra administration fees of €2,50 per invoice an invoice can also be sent by regular mail.

6.       A deadline for payment is set at three (3) days for private participants and seven (7) days for guidance or differently as explicitly agreed through written form by LTI. The participant is required to put the charged amount into the possession and on the bank account of LTI on or before the payment deadline. In case the payment deadline has passed and the payment has not been made, then a reminder is sent to the participant by e-mail. In case, after 14 days, still no payment has taken place, a second reminder is sent by regular mail. At this point the provision of guidance is halted until the payment has been done. Furthermore, the invoiced amount is increased by 10% with a minimum of €5,00 and maximum of €50,00. In case after 14 days the participant still fails to pay, the invoiced amount is raised by 10%, with a minimum of €5,00 and maximum of €50,00, and a third reminder is sent to the participant. In case the payment isn’t paid within seven (7) days, then the collection is outsourced to a third-party, where LTI will also become entitled for receiving statutory interest from the participant, as well as court and out-of-court costs.

7.       Objections against the invoiced amount need to be expressed to LTI through written correspondence / e-mail and within 14 days after the invoice is received.

Article 5: Making appointments for guidance, and postponing and cancelling them
1.       Potential participants searching for offline guidance can register during any time of the year for language courses. Guidance is embedded in indefinite agreements but with a minimum of the services the participant has registered for.

2.       When a participant cancels participation in offline guidance LTI will not offer a refund of the tuition fees unless explicitly stated otherwise in written correspondence. In case of the participant cancelling for tutoring services, the participant is offered 1 hour of individual guidance free of charge for each 24 hours of paid group-tutoring guidance. LTI has the right to offer this hour of guidance through distance tutoring and between 09:00 AM and 17:00 PM. This one hour free-of-charge guidance is solely intended to cover the content of guidance that the participant had cancelled for. The free-of-charge guidance cannot be used for dealing with content that is not covered in the cancelled guidance session or that is covered in other guidance sessions. When participant cancels more guidance he/she is registered for and has already used the above-mentioned one hour free-of-chargeof individual guidance, then participant can receive more individual guidance at a rate of €35,00 per hour provided that LTI and participant can come to an agreement on the timing for guidance. When a participant participates in all sessions fully or partly, then participant is not entitled for receiving an hour of individual guidance free-of-charge but participant can pay for receiving more individual guidance.

3.       LTI reserves the right to cancel guidance or to shorten the duration of any session. With regards to group-based tutoring sessions, in case of low participation, LTI can shorten the duration of the session from 2 hours to 1,5 hour when the number of participants equals 3 or from 2 hours to 1 hour when the number of participants equals 2. With less participants per session the content of the session is dealt with more quickly so in these cases the shortening of the class does not oblige LTI to provide any refund to the participants. If LTI cancels guidance, then LTI is only obliged to offer a 100% financial refund  to those participants that were to attend the guidance yet LTI is not obliged to offer any financial refund to those participants that had already canceled guidance. When LTI is obliged to offer participants a refund, LTI will maintain the right to offer the refund within a month after the guidance has finished. For example, when LTI cancels session number 6 of a 12-session course, then LTI will have the right to offer the participant the refund within a month after the 12th session has been completed. When a participant cancels participation in guidance, he/she loses the right for receiving a financial refund from LTI.

4.       In case the participant does not appear on the agreed time and place for receiving offline guidance without informing LTI, then such event is considered to be equal to actually participating in guidance. In such a case the participant is obliged to fully pay participation fees as well as any of the previously agreed amount of travelling compensation.

5.       When a participant cancels guidance any outstanding debts the participant has at LTI will remain to exist until the debt is paid for.

6.       LTI reserves the right to refuse potential participants and is not required to explain to the potential participant why the refusal was given.

Article 6: Limited liability
1.       LTI commits towards keeping agreements and acting to meet the needs of participants and doing so with utmost care and professionality. However, LTI cannot be kept responsible for any failure on the participant’s part in achieving set goals, for example passing an exam or getting a certain grade.

2.       LTI is not responsible for the loss of or damage done to possession or belongings of the participant, including personal injuries that occur during participation in guidance.

3.       LTI reserves the right to use (services of) third parties while carrying out its responsibilities coming forth from this agreement.  

4.       LTI is committed to treat all data submitted by participants with great care. However, LTI cannot be held responsible for any loss of data, whether prior, during, or after providing guidance, caused by, for example, malfunctioning electronic devices, and nor can LTI be held responsible for any loss or damage that arises due to such loss of data.

Article 7: Filing a complaint
1.       LTI requests participants to report any complaint with regards to the content and/or form of guidance or with regards to the tutor. LTI shall process complaints within 14 days after having been notified about it and shall always respond to the participant via regular mail or e-mail.

Linguaterra Institute
Website: www.linguaterra.nl
E-mail: info@linguaterra.nl