Terms & Conditions
Please read these booking conditions carefully, they form an important part of the contract for your booking.
Your Contract
Your contract is with ELC English Limited trading as ELC, The English Language Centre York, Manchester Academy of English and Hampstead School of English whose registered offices are at TUI Travel House, Crawley Business Quarter, Fleming Way, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 9QL.
These booking conditions apply to bookings for courses only and to bookings for courses and accommodation only.
When you make a booking, you guarantee that you are 18 years or over and have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of your party the terms of these booking conditions. If you are under 18 years, a parent or guardian must make the booking on your behalf and accept these booking conditions. On receipt of the completed application form and full fees, we will issue confirmation of the booking including a confirmation invoice, acceptance letter and, if required, a visa support letter will then be issued. A contract will exist as soon as we issue our confirmation invoice. This contract is made on the terms of these booking conditions. If you made your booking in any jurisdiction other than Scotland (including booking via the internet), this contract, and any other claim or dispute arising from or related to this contract, will be governed by English law and the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim arising out of it. If you made your booking in Scotland, this contract, and any other claim or dispute arising from or related to this contract, will be governed by Scottish law and the courts of Scotland shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim arising out of it.
Making a Booking and Payment
All students must book in advance of their course start date.
Full booking fees are due and must be paid at the time of booking. If you require the services of a courier to deliver your documentation, the cost incurred will be paid by you.
All payments are to be made in Pounds Sterling. You can pay by cash, bank transfer, cheque or credit card. For credit card payments, we add a 3% surcharge on the total amount to cover card charges. There may be a charge for direct debit card payments, please ask at time of payment. Please do not send cash in the post.
Bank details for bank transfers and details for whom to make cheques payable should be requested at time of booking.
We reserve the right to cancel a booking without refund or compensation if payments are not made when due.
The Price you Pay
All prices we advertise are accurate at the date published, but we reserve the right to change any of those prices from time to time. You will be advised of the current price of the course, or the course and accommodation that you wish to book before your contract is confirmed.
If you make a Change to your Course
If you wish to make a change to the date of your course, the person who made the booking must put such request in writing to us at least three weeks before the course start date or the arrival date whichever is earlier. If such notice is not given an amendment fee of £50 will be charged. If you change the date of your course more than once, an amendment fee will be charged for the second and any subsequent changes, irrespective of notice given. Please note that we cannot guarantee that we will be able to accommodate your request but we will endeavour to do so.
Students with one-to-one lessons need to give 24 hours’ notice if they wish to re-arrange a lesson. No refund or re-arrangement will be given for such non-attended classes or when less than 24 hours’ notice is given.
If you cancel your Course
If you wish to cancel a course for any reason, the person who made the booking must put such request to cancel in writing to us.
If you wish to cancel a course due to a visa refusal, we will refund any course fees which have been paid by you, less the registration fee and any other charges we may incur as a result of your cancellation, provided that:
a) Notice of your visa refusal is sent to us a minimum of one week before your course commences; and
b) Official written confirmation of the visa refusal from the Home Office or British Consulate/Embassy is sent to us before the course was due to commence.
If you wish to cancel a course for any reason other than a visa refusal, course refunds for such cancellations depend on the amount of notice given and are as specified below:
More than 28 days before the course start date or the arrival date whichever is earlier: refund of total fees paid, less any charges we may incur as a result of your cancellation
Between 28 – 15 days (inclusive) before the course start date or the arrival date whichever is earlier: refund of 75% of total fees paid, less any charges we may incur as a result of your cancellation
Between 14-8 days (inclusive) before the course start date or the arrival date whichever is earlier: refund of 50% of total fees paid, less any charges we may incur as a result of your cancellation
7 days or less before the course start date or the arrival date whichever is earlier: no refund given
No refund will be given if you choose to cancel the course once it has commenced.
Please note in the event that you cancel your booking for any reason, amendment fees paid by you in respect of the booking, if any, are non-refundable.
If you change or cancel your Accommodation
No refund will apply for the cancellation of accommodation on or after arrival. If you cancel your accommodation, you are required to give 3 weeks' notice and will receive a refund of outstanding fees less the £50.00 Administration Charge after the notice period. You will receive refunds (if appropriate) only after your return to your home country. We will refund only to the person from whom the funds originated. For students booking through agents, the School will check with the agent before arranging refunds. Refunds can only be made after full payment from the agent has been received by the School. Refunds are always made back to the bank account from which they were received.
Accommodation
At our discretion, Students may be required to book single room accommodation instead of twin room accommodation.
Students arriving between the hours of 21:00 – 09:00 may be asked to book alternative accommodation on their first night at their own cost to avoid a late or early arrival to their intended accommodation. Accommodation terms and conditions vary by school, please see individual websites for further details on deposits, accommodation start dates and any additional charges.
Attendance, Absences and Early Departures
You are required to attend at least 90% of your course. Absence from lessons is not compensated. If you are absent from school for 3 or more days we will contact you by telephone or email to see if we can be of any help or assistance. If we receive no response we will try and contact you again. Where relevant to a visa application, we are duty bound to notify the UK Home Office immediately in the event of persistent non-attendance or course termination.
Policies on Holidays
You are allowed to take 2 weeks holiday for every 12 weeks that you study: for a course of 12 weeks, you can take a maximum of 2 weeks holiday; for a course of 13 to 24 weeks, you can take a maximum of 4 weeks holiday; for a course of 25 to 36 weeks, you can take a maximum of 6 weeks holiday; for a course of 37 to 52 weeks, you can take a maximum of 8 weeks holiday. You must give at least 3 weeks’ notice to the school in writing. Please note that the school has the right to refuse a request for holiday. Some Academic Year and Semester Courses have fixed dates of operation.
Administration Charge
All changes outside the notice period in course dates or accommodation, including holidays, have a charge of £50.00, which must be paid before the change is processed.
Certificates
All students are issued with a certificate on the last day of their course on request. The certificate confirms the level of study at the end of the course.
Public Holidays
There are no reductions or discounts in tuition fees for courses that include a public holiday.
If we change or cancel your Booking
Whilst we aim to provide the course, and where applicable accommodation, as booked, we reserve the right to change or cancel your booking.
Operation of all bookings are dependent on a minimum number of persons booking the course and we reserve the right to cancel or change your booking for reasons of consolidation due to minimum numbers not being attained on your course.
Subject to ‘Our Liability’ section below:
(a) if we make a minor change to your booking we will advise you as soon as reasonably possible;
(b) if we make a major change to your booking we will advise you as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your course start date or your arrival date whichever is earlier. You will have the choice of either (i) accepting the change of arrangements, (ii) accepting an offer of alternative arrangements of comparable standards from us if available (you will pay the difference if it was advertised as a higher price than your original booking, or receive a refund of the difference if it was advertised at a lower price than your original booking) or (iii) accepting a refund of the monies you have paid to us for your original booking.
Subject to ‘Our Liability’ section below, if we cancel your booking, we may be able to offer you an alternative. If you accept it, you will pay the difference if it was advertised at a higher price than your original booking, or receive a refund of the difference if it was advertised at a lower price than your original booking, or we would refund the monies you have paid to us for your original booking. We will not be responsible to pay any compensation following a change or a cancellation by us and we will not be liable to reimburse you for any amendment or cancellation fees you incur in terms of other arrangements you have made with other providers under separate contracts.
Conduct and Behaviour
When you make a booking through us, you accept responsibility for the proper conduct of all parties included on your booking. We reserve the right to cancel at any time any student’s course, or course and accommodation, with no refunds, in the event that, in the reasonable opinion of the Company or the school, the student’s behaviour is disruptive or unsatisfactory (including without limitation causes or is likely to cause danger, upset or distress to anyone else or damage to property). Our decision is final. We shall be under no obligation whatsoever to pay compensation or meet any costs or expenses you may incur as a result of your course, or course and accommodation, being terminated. Please note that if your visa status in the UK changes or you are found to be in contempt of visa regulations, we reserve the right to terminate your course without refund of course or accommodation fees.
If the Student is under 18
If the student is under 18 then their parent or guardian is hereby deemed to accept these terms and conditions and further accepts that:
- They will allow permit the student to travel by public transport;
- They authorise their child to take part in all tourist, sporting and cultural activities associated with the course;
- They permit the student to be treated by a doctor in an emergency. ELC English Limited will use all reasonable endeavours to make contact with the parent or guardian in this event;
- They will pay any third party fees associated with the above treatments;
- They will provide the school with a contact telephone number in case of emergencies.
Our Right to Subcontract
We shall take reasonable care and skill in providing our services to you in accordance with industry standards. We reserve the right to subcontract various elements of our services (for example accommodation) to reputable companies selected by us. We shall procure that our subcontractors also take reasonable care and skill in providing such subcontracted elements of our services to you in accordance with industry standards.
Our Liability
We will not be liable:
(a) where any failure in the performance of the contract is due to:
i. you; or
ii. acts, events, omission or accidents beyond our reasonable control or the reasonable control of our suppliers, including without limitation war, threat of war, riots, civil disturbances, actual or threatened terrorist activity and its consequences, industrial disputes, natural and nuclear disasters, fire, epidemics, health risks and pandemics, unavoidable and unforeseeable technical problems with transport for reasons beyond our control or that of our suppliers; closed or congested airports or ports, hurricanes and other actual or potential severe weather conditions, flood, and any other similar events;
(b) for loss of students’ property.
No compensation, costs, expenses or any other sums will be paid by us in these circumstances.
Nothing in this contract shall limit or exclude the liability of either party for death or personal injury resulting from negligence.
Insurance
We strongly recommend that every student takes out insurance to cover such events as course cancellation or curtailment; loss of personal effects; loss of passport or tickets; medical expenses and repatriation; personal liability and personal accident. Failure to do so could cause serious problems in the case of an emergency. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are adequately insured.
For students staying in accommodation (homestay or residential) arranged by the Company, insurance covering personal liability is highly recommended. If you do not have an insurance policy and an incident occurs, you will be responsible for all costs incurred.
Complaints
Our complaint procedure is as follows:
If you have a problem or complaint about anything that the school has provided, please speak to a member of staff as soon as possible so that we can try to resolve it quickly. Please note that it is not possible to resolve problems after you have left, so do please let us know immediately if there is anything that does not meet your satisfaction.
Publicity
These booking conditions, our brochures, our website and other publicity materials are the responsibility and property of the Company and the details are published in good faith as of 25 February 2013. We cannot be held responsible for any changes that become known or happen after the brochure is produced and the most up-to-date information can be found on our website. We will use reasonable endeavours to inform you of any material changes for your course before commencement of the course. Any likeness or image of you secured or taken on any of our courses may be used by the Company without charge in all media (whether now existing or in the future invented) for bona fide promotional or marketing purposes, including without limitation promotional materials of any kind, such as brochures, slides, video shows and the internet.
Email Contact
By agreeing to these booking conditions, you consent to us (including any TUI Travel Plc group of companies) using your email addresses gained at the time of booking and during your period of study for future marketing purposes from time to time, including without limitation about special offers, products and services by email. For further details regarding use of your information, please see the ‘Privacy Policy’ section below, including for information on how to unsubscribe to future marketing by us (including any TUI Travel Plc group of companies and associated companies).
Privacy Policy
The Company’s Privacy Policy sets out what information we collect, how we collect it, and what we do with it.
(a) Your Information
This refers to information such as your name, contact details, travel preferences and special needs/disabilities/dietary requirements that you supply us or is supplied to us, including any information about other persons on your booking (“your information”). Your information is collected when you request information from us, contact us (and vice versa) or make a booking. You are responsible for ensuring that other members of your party are aware of the content of our Privacy Policy and consent to your acting on their behalf in all your dealings with us.
We will update your information whenever we can to keep it current, accurate and complete.
(b) Our Use of Your Information
(1) For the purpose of providing you with our services, we may disclose and process your information outside the UK/EEA. In order for you to travel abroad, it may be mandatory (as required by government authorities at the point(s) of departure and/or destination) to disclose and process your information for immigration, border control, security and anti-terrorism purposes, or any other purposes which they determine appropriate. These requirements may differ depending on your destination and you are advised to check. Even if not mandatory, we may exercise our discretion to assist where appropriate.
(2) We may collect and process your information for the purposes set out in our registration with the Office of the Information Commissioner, and disclose the same to our group companies for business purposes and also to companies who act as “data processors” on our behalf, or to our service providers operating systems or business functions on our behalf (some of whom are located outside the UK/EEA). These business purposes include administration, providing services (and contacting you where necessary), customer care, service quality, business management and operation, re-organisation/structuring/sale of our business (or group companies), risk assessment, security, fraud and crime prevention/detection, monitoring, research and analysis, marketing, customer purchasing preferences and trends, dispute resolution, credit checking and debt collection.
(3) Information (such as health or religion) may be considered “sensitive personal data” under the Data Protection Act 1998. We collect it to cater to your needs or act in your interest, and we are only prepared to accept sensitive personal data on the condition that we have your positive consent. By booking with us you also agree for your insurers, their agents and medical staff to disclose relevant information and sensitive personal data to us in circumstances where we need to act on your behalf or in the interest of passengers or in an emergency. If you do not agree to Our Use of Your Information above, we cannot do business with you or accept your booking.
(c) Direct Marketing Material
(1) We (including any TUI Travel Plc group of companies) may from time to time contact you with information on offers of goods and services, brochures, new products, forthcoming events or competitions from our holiday divisions and our group companies. Our websites will assume you to agree to e-communications when you make a booking.
(2) You may indicate your preference regarding receiving third party direct marketing material.
(3) If do not wish to receive such information or would like to change your preference, please refer to point (2) of “Your Rights” below.
(d) Your Rights
(1) On completing our Data Subject Access Request form, you are entitled to a copy of the information we hold about you (for a £10 fee) and to correct any inaccuracies.
(2) You have the right to ask in writing not to receive direct marketing material from us. If available, you can amend your previous preference on our website(s), use our “unsubscribe email” or refer to our literature containing instructions. Once properly notified by you, we will take steps to stop using your information in this way.
(3) For a list of our group companies or brands, please send us your request. Please write to English Language Centres, Legal Department, TUI Travel House, Crawley Business Quarter, Fleming Way, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 9QL.
(e) Foreign Controls
Outside the European Economic Area (EEA), note that controls on data protection in such countries may not be as strong as the legal requirements in this country.
(f) Use of Tools/"Cookies" and Links to Other Websites
If our contact and dealing with you is via our website(s), we may use “cookies”. Cookies allow us to identify your computer but not you personally. You can set your web browser to refuse cookies. However, you may not be able to enjoy all the facilities or book via our website if you do so.
However, if you also receive our email marketing, we will tailor the information we send you unless to tell us not to. This means we may use information we hold and cookies to identify your individual web site search behaviour and preferences. This will enable us to send you more personalised and relevant communications. You will be given the opportunity on every communication to opt-out of this personalisation.
We collect information relating to customer trends and patterns and use cookies and software tools to measure site usage and related information. If you are making a purchase, we may also use cookies to keep track of the transaction from one web page to another.
Our website(s) may contain links to other sites not controlled by us. It is your responsibility to check the status of these sites.
(g) Monitoring
To ensure that we carry out your instructions accurately, improve our service and for security, we may monitor and/or record: (1) telephone calls; (2) activities using CCTV in and around our premises; and (3) transactions and activities on our website. All recordings are and shall remain our sole property.
(h) Security Statement
We have taken all reasonable steps and have in place appropriate security measures to protect your information.
(i) Changes to this Policy
Any changes to this Policy will be either posted on our website, brochure and/or made available on request.