Terms & conditions

1. Introduction

a. Hollandse Meester is an agent for the introduction of one or more tutors to the Client. Hollandse Meester does not provide tutoring services. We are a tutoring agency and we are a party to this contract.

b. You are referred to in this contract as ‘the Client’, and you are the other party to this contract. You agree to the purchase of tutoring services on behalf of ‘the Student’. ‘The Student’ may be yourself or another person. The Student is the person who receives the tutoring service through sessions of tutoring.

c. The Client agrees to these terms and conditions which relate to Hollandse Meester’s introduction of a tutor to you.

e. The Termination or Conclusion of the Agreement occurs when all of the obligations under this contract are complete or discharged, excluding the ongoing undertakings in paragraph 5c and 5d of this contract. Conclusion of the Agreement will typically occur at the end of the final lesson but may occur at another time in accordance with Section 6 of this contract.

2. General

a. The Client acknowledges that these terms govern the legal rights and obligations between the Client and Hollandse Meester. Hollandse Meester reserves the right to alter these terms and conditions.

b. No variation or alteration of these terms by the Client shall be valid unless expressly approved in writing by Hollandse Meester.

c. This agreement is governed by the laws of the Netherlands and the parties submit to the jurisdiction of the Court of the Netherlands.

3. Contractual Relationship

a. Hollandse Meester provides introductions of Tutors to Clients and vice versa; Hollandse Meester is an agent for the Tutor. It also collects fees from the Client on behalf of the Tutor together with its own fee relating to its administration and introduction commission. The hourly rate for tuition includes the tutor’s fees and Hollandse Meester’s own fee. VAT is applied where appropriate.

4. Agreement with the Tutor for the provision of tutoring services

a. A Tutor will be deemed to have been introduced to the Client by Hollandse Meester in the event that either the name of the Tutor is provided to the Client by Hollandse Meester following the request for a Tutor by the Client, or Hollandse Meester arranges for a Tutor to contact the Client following such request for a Tutor provided by the client to Hollandse Meester.

b. By booking a Session with the Tutor, the Client agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions and by the terms and conditions which govern their relationship with the Tutor.

c. The Tutor is self-employed and engaged by the Client to provide tuition to the Student. Clients should be aware that the Tutor does not have power to bind Hollandse Meester in any way.

5. Prohibition of other Arrangements

a. The Client will not agree any alternative fees with the Tutor and agrees not to render any direct payments to the Tutor.

b. The Client is not permitted to enter into any private arrangements with any Tutor introduced by Hollandse Meester. The Client undertakes to make all bookings with Tutors introduced by Hollandse Meester exclusively through Hollandse Meester.

c. A breach of these terms will render the Client liable to account to Hollandse Meester for all sums received by the Tutor direct from the Client or from a new Client without deduction and Hollandse Meester shall be entitled to seek injunctions against the Client to prevent further breaches. These obligations continue beyond the termination or conclusion of this agreement.

d. Should you wish to recommend one of Hollandse Meester’s Tutors to any other Potential or Actual Client, that Client must contact Hollandse Meester to make a booking through the agency.

6. Replacements and Termination

a. If the Tutor is unable to complete the Course of Tuition, or the Client requests a replacement Tutor because they are not satisfied with the original Tutor assigned to them, Hollandse Meester will endeavour to find up to two suitable replacement Tutors with regard to the level and subject for which tuition is required.

b. If Hollandse Meester is unable to find such a suitable replacement Tutor within a reasonable time to complete the remaining Sessions of the Course of Tuition, Hollandse Meester will refund a portion of the fees pre-paid by the Client representing the number of sessions that the Tutor or any replacement Tutor has been unable to complete.

c. If the replacement Tutors meet Hollandse Meester’s criteria for suitability for the job in terms of subject and level knowledge and is available at the same time or another time convenient for the Client, then Hollandse Meester has fulfilled its obligations; if the Client then wishes to terminate the Tuition mid-Course, the provisions of paragraph 6d will apply.

d. If the Client wishes to terminate the Tuition mid-Course for any reason, no refunds can be granted for the balance of sessions that have been taught; furthermore, one week’s notice must be provided. In that week the Client may choose to utilise the Session or Sessions that were planned to occur during that week, or not, but will not be refunded if the Client chooses not to utilise the Session or Sessions during that week. Hollandse Meester will refund all monies prepaid excluding fees for the sessions that have already been taught and those fees for the week following the notification of Termination.

7. Payment

a. The Client can pay either by bank transfer or in cash at any bank for the first lesson.

b. The Client will pay in advance. The Client will be invoiced during the last week of the month in respect of tuition that will be delivered in the course of the following month.

c. Invoices must be paid before the scheduled lesson. If the invoice is not paid on time, the lesson will be cancelled.

d. Tuition will not begin prior to receipt of payment for the Session in question.

e. Prices may be changed. The Client will be notified before a new course cycle starts.

8. Client’s Responsibilities

a. The Client shall notify Hollandse Meester immediately and without delay and in any event within 24 hours if the Tutor fails to attend work or notifies the Client that (s)he is unable to attend work for any reason.

9. Expenses

a. Provided the Client gives clear prior consent in writing, the Tutor may obtain educational resources such as textbooks on behalf of the Client/Student. As stated in Prohibition Of Other Arrangements, the Client agrees not to render any direct payments to the Tutor. Hollandse Meester must be informed of any such arrangement to obtain educational resources, and will arrange reimbursement for the Tutor via invoice to the Client.

10. Liability

a. Hollandse Meester does not accept any liability for any claims by the Client arising out of or related to the provision of tutoring services by the Tutor.

b. Hollandse Meester does not exclude liability that is not permitted to be excluded by law, and in particular we do not exclude liability for death or personal injury arising from Hollandse Meester’s own negligence.

c. Hollandse Meester will not be liable to the Client or any third party for any act, omission or error (whether wilful, negligent or otherwise) of the Tutor.

d. Whilst every effort is made by Hollandse Meester to give satisfaction to the Client by ensuring reasonable standards of skills, integrity and reliability from Tutors and further to provide them in accordance with the Client’s needs, Hollandse Meester is not liable for any loss, expense, damage or delay arising from the negligence, dishonesty, misconduct, accidental or deliberate damage to property during the assignment or lack of skill of the Tutor.

e. The Client shall indemnify and keep indemnified Hollandse Meester against any costs, claims or liabilities incurred by Hollandse Meester arising out of any Assignment or as a result of any breach of these Terms by the Client.

f. Hollandse Meester does not accept any liability for the consequences of tuition, including, but not limited to, exam results and dissertation scores.

g. Hollandse Meester is not responsible for insurance arrangements in respect of the Tutor providing tutoring services and the Client should note that this is the case.

11. Scheduling and Cancellation

a. Clients should be aware that there can be considerable preparation involved before each Session of tuition, in addition to travel time and cost to the Tutor.

b. Notice of cancellation of a scheduled tutoring Session for any reason whatsoever must be given by the Client to Hollandse Meester more than five hours prior to the scheduled Session. If notice is given more than 24 hours prior to the scheduled Session, the Client will not be charged for the Session.

c. If notice of cancellation of a scheduled tutoring Session is given within 24 hours of the start of the Session, then the Client will be charged with the full payment for that tutoring session, whether it is one, two or more hours, unless the Tutor deems the cause of cancellation to be unavoidable and agrees not to accept payment for the Session.

d. Should the Tutor not be available on the day, the Client will be informed, and a re-arranged time may be offered by the Tutor. If a suitable alternative time cannot immediately be arranged, Hollandse Meester must be immediately informed and this will be a credit Session that the tutor and client can arrange in the future.

e. If the Student is late for a Session, the Tutor may choose to but is not obligated to work beyond the scheduled end time. If the Tutor stops work at the scheduled end time, the Session will be charged at the usual price. If the Tutor agrees to work beyond the scheduled end time at the Client’s request, the Tutor may choose to charge the Client for the additional time. If a Tutor is late for a Session, then it is the duty of the Tutor to arrange to make up the lost time.

f. If the Student or Client chooses to terminate a Session early (for example, after one hour of a two-hour session), the Session will be charged at the usual price.

g. Cancellations by the Client of more than 3 weeks in succession, or that which Hollandse Meester perceive as unreasonable, regular cancellations, will be considered for immediate termination of contract, at Hollandse Meester’s discretion.

12. Data Protection

a. The Client agrees that they will not disclose any confidential information concerning the Tutor or Hollandse Meester to any person for the duration of this agreement and for a period of five years after termination of the agreement, save as required by law, court order or any governmental or regulatory authority.