General Terms and Conditions ILS and MYTUTOR (GTC)

  1. Scope of application

These General Terms and Conditions apply to all offers made by ILS and MYTUTOR and on their premises.

  1. Registration

With your signature or your consent to our GTC (online or on site), you make a binding registration for the respective course. You accept these GTC (ILS and MYTUTOR) as an integral part of the contract for the respective course.

  1. Absences for private lessons or company courses

3.1 The agreed lesson times are binding. If the appointment cannot be kept as agreed, this must be reported to the secretary's office or the teacher at least 24 hours before the course date. The secretary's office or the teacher will then try to arrange an alternative date.

3.2 Absences reported after 24 hours before the course date cannot be taken into account and will be charged in full.

3.3 In exceptional cases, such as the death of a first-degree family member, the ILS will issue a voucher valid for 1 year. The lessons can then be used for a new course. In the event of illness, relocation or other impediments, no exceptions can be made and the course costs will be charged in full.

  1. Absences from group lessons

4.1 If the student is unable to attend a group lesson, the secretary's office must be informed as soon as possible. The costs will be charged in full.

4.2 In exceptional cases, such as the death of a first-degree family member, the ILS will issue a voucher valid for 1 year. The lessons can then be used for a new course. In the event of illness, relocation or other impediments, no exceptions can be made and the course costs will be charged in full.

4.3 Deductions from the invoice due to vacation or other absences of the participant from a group course can only be taken into account at the time of registration. No exceptions can be made for subsequent requests for absences by participants and the course costs will be charged in full.

  1. Deployment of teachers in group courses

5.1 In the event of a teacher's absence (e.g. illness), we reserve the right to organize a substitute. If this is not possible for organizational reasons, an attempt will be made to reschedule the course. If it is not possible to reschedule the relevant course date, you will receive a credit note for the missed lesson time. You can use this credit to make up the missed time in another course offered by us at the ILS or at MYTUTOR (at the same location).

5.2 The assignment of the teacher is the responsibility of the ILS and MYTUTOR. We reserve the right to change teachers or arrange team teaching if necessary.

  1. Course continuation

The course registration is not automatically renewed, but expires after the course duration you have booked. You should therefore register early for the next course if you would like to continue.

  1. Billing for lessons attended

If you attend further lessons at ILS or MYTUTOR after the end of your booked course, we reserve the right to charge you for the lessons you have attended, even if you have not registered.

  1. Cancellation of the course before the start of the course for group courses

8.1 Participants can cancel a booked course up to 7 days before the start of the course (the start date of the course on the registration confirmation is valid) at no extra cost. Cancellations made after this deadline will no longer be considered and will be charged in full.

8.2 In exceptional cases, such as the death of a first-degree family member, the ILS will issue a voucher valid for 1 year. The lessons can then be used for a new course. In the event of illness, relocation or other impediments, no exceptions can be made and the course costs will be charged in full.

8.3 Course participants from abroad must pay the course fees no later than 30 days before the start of the course. If the course fees are not paid, the course registration will be deemed invalid and the participant will not be able to take part in the course.

Exception: In the event of a negative visa decision, we accept course cancellations up to 7 days before the start of the course (the date on the registration confirmation is valid) and only charge a compensation fee of CHF 250. If you are unable to attend the course due to a rejected visa, please contact us immediately and provide us with the negative visa decision from the responsible consulate or authority.

Refunds and cash payments of payments already made are excluded in all cases.

  1. Course termination

9.1 In exceptional cases, such as the death of a first-degree family member, the ILS will issue a voucher valid for 1 year. The lessons can then be used for a new course. In the event of illness, relocation or other impediments, no exceptions can be made and the course costs will be charged in full.

  1. Trial lessons

10.1 In both group and private lessons, you have the opportunity to attend a trial lesson of 2 lessons (90 minutes). The trial lesson is non-binding and does not oblige you to register. If you do not continue with the course, the trial lesson is free of charge. If you book a private course, the trial lesson will be charged.

10.2 We offer a maximum of two trial lessons per person. If you do not decide to book after the second trial lesson, no further trial lessons can be attended.

  1. Delays

Delays on the part of participants will not be taken into account. If the teacher is late, the lesson time will be made up individually by arrangement.

  1. Expiry date vouchers and other lessons

Vouchers are valid for a maximum of one year. Purchased and unattended private lessons expire three years after the date of purchase. After that, vouchers and unattended lessons can no longer be redeemed.

  1. Level completion

The regular completion of a course at the end of the booked course period does not guarantee a successful level completion. Please refer to our guidelines on the duration of a level completion of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). How quickly you complete a level depends on your individual performance and commitment. We accept no responsibility for this or for failure to pass examinations.

  1. ILS-Online

14.1 The same provisions apply to all online courses as to face-to-face courses (see sections 3-11, in particular points 3, 4 and 8.3).

14.2 Teaching materials for courses that take place permanently online are purchased by the customers themselves. No costs will be charged for teaching materials.

14.3 All ILS-Online courses are conducted online via the video communication portal Zoom.

14.4 Teachers are employed from abroad and usually come from the countries of the respective language.

  1. telc exams

15.1 Deregistration before the registration and deregistration deadline is free of charge. Examination fees will be charged in full if you deregister after this deadline. The examination fees vary depending on the level.

15.2 You can register retrospectively up to 15 days before the examination. A late registration fee of CHF 30 will be charged for registrations after the registration and deregistration deadline.

15.3 Participants who have to withdraw from an examination after the withdrawal deadline for serious reasons such as illness, accident or death in the family may do so in writing on presentation of a medical certificate. In such cases, we reserve the right to decide on recognition and any refunds at our own discretion.

15.4 In rare cases, the postal service may misplace items. We are not liable for tests that are lost in the post

15.5 With your booking, you also confirm that you have read our General Terms and Conditions (ILS and MYTUTOR) as well as the General Terms and Conditions of telc gGmbH and that you agree to both. The General Terms and Conditions of telc gGmbH are enclosed with each form.

15.6 The ILS accepts no responsibility for missed or failed examinations. The examination costs are owed in any case.

15.7 Anyone who arrives late for the examination on the day of the examination will be excluded from the examination and will not be able to take it. The examination fees must be paid in full.

15.8 In the event of non-payment of course or examination fees, we reserve the right to withhold telc certificates until the invoice has been settled.

15.9 After completion of the examination, it is not possible to discuss the telc examination with the telc experts.

  1. fide test

16.1 Cancellations up to 20 days before the first day of the examination are free of charge. Cancellations less than 20 days before the start of the examination must be paid in full.

16.2 The fide test is a progressively structured language test. The ILS accepts no liability for results that do not meet the target level.

16.3 In the event of non-attendance or lateness on the day of the examination, the examination fees must be paid in full. Late participants may be excluded from the examination.

16.4 Participants who have to withdraw from an examination after the withdrawal deadline for serious reasons such as illness, accident or death in the family may do so in writing on presentation of a medical certificate. In such cases, we reserve the right to decide on recognition and any refunds at our own discretion.

16.5 In rare cases, the postal service may misplace items. We are not liable for tests that are lost in the post.

16.6 With your booking, you confirm that you agree to our GTC (ILS and MYTUTOR) as well as to the regulations for participation in fide-Test (fide).

  1. SVEB-Certificate courses

17.1 Participants can cancel a booked course up to 12 days before the start of the course (the start date of the course on the registration confirmation is valid) at no extra cost. Cancellations made after this deadline will no longer be considered and will be charged in full.

17.2 In exceptional cases such as illness and accident (on presentation of a medical certificate) or death of relatives, the ILS will be happy to issue you with a credit note. You can use this to make up the time you have missed in another course offered by us at the ILS.

17.3 Attendance of at least 80% is compulsory for the contact learning period in all modules. In the event of illness (medical certificate) or other justified absences for which the candidate is not responsible, it may be possible to make up individual days in another course group. If attendance falls below 2/3, the entire module must be repeated.

17.4 Partial absences are, for example, delays of 45 minutes or more or if a participant has to leave the course early. These are noted on the attendance list by the course management and deducted from the total attendance time. If the partial absences exceed the permitted number of absences of 20%, the conditions for passing the course are deemed not to have been met.

17.5 If the practical demonstration is not passed, participants have the opportunity to repeat it once in another SVEB course. The repetition is subject to a fee and is possible once. It is possible to repeat the entire course at any time for a fee.

Cost of repeating the practical demonstration: CHF 180.

In the event of a failing grade, a written appeal can also be lodged with the ILS training management within 30 days. The training management finally decides on:

Approval of the objection (proof of competence "passed" after all)

Repetition

Rejection of the objection

A written appeal against the decision of the ILS training management may be lodged with the Quality Assurance Commission of SVEB within 30 days. The commission will examine the correctness of the procedure. This procedure is free of charge.

  1. ILS-Junior

18.1 For all ILS-Junior courses, the same provisions apply as for classroom teaching (see in particular sections 3-11).

18.2 For telc-Junior and telc-Schule, the same regulations apply as for telc examinations for adults (see section 15).

18.3 Parents are always liable for their underage children.

  1. Reservations

19.1 We reserve the right to dispose of course places that have not been paid for at the start of the course. For organizational reasons, the ILS and MYTUTOR reserve the right to postpone, reallocate and combine classes.

19.2 Group courses that are not filled with at least two participants per group by the Thursday before the start of the course may be canceled by the ILS and MYTUTOR at short notice. Registration for the course in question will be postponed or refunded in the form of a credit note for the amount already paid. A refund can be made on request.

19.3 The ILS and MYTUTOR reserve the right to record image and video material of the participants on the premises of the ILS and MYTUTOR as well as on excursions and trips. This may be used for advertising purposes on our website. If you do not wish this to happen, please contact our secretariat or the management immediately. Your data will not be passed on to third parties.

19.4 We take complaints of any kind very seriously. We always endeavor to find a mutually satisfactory solution. However, in the event of dissatisfaction with the teacher or the lessons, there is no entitlement to compensation, refunds or reductions. Restructuring of courses at the request of individual customers (e.g. change of teacher) will only be undertaken in particularly serious cases.

  1. Measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic

20.1 All ILS and MYTUTOR courses will continue online during officially ordered school closures. We use the Zoom video communication portal for this purpose.

20.2 In the event that participants do not wish to take part in the online course, we will issue a credit note for the remaining course time, which can be redeemed once the on-site course has resumed.

20.3 Cash payments or refunds for courses not attended during officially ordered school closures are excluded in all cases.

20.4 Deregistrations and refunds due to officially ordered protective measures are excluded. ILS and MYTUTOR continuously adapt their protection concept to the applicable legal requirements. This may result in short-term adjustments to the protection concepts. With your booking, you agree to this at all times.

20.5 Cancellations or refunds due to the officially ordered certificate obligation or due to missing Covid certificates will not be accepted. The invoice amount remains due in full.

  1. Enticement

21.1 ILS and MYTUTOR customers undertake not to enter into an employment relationship with ILS and MYTUTOR teachers during ongoing courses with us or for one year after the end of their last course. In the event of non-compliance with this regulation, we reserve the right to charge the customer a replacement fee of CHF 2000 per teacher.

21.2 Teachers of ILS and MYTUTOR undertake not to enter into any employment relationship with (former) customers of ILS and MYTUTOR during their employment relationship with us or for a period of one year after termination of the employment relationship with ILS and MYTUTOR. In the event of non-compliance with this regulation, we reserve the right to claim compensation in the amount of CHF 2000 per client.

  1. Terms of payment

22.1 If you wish, you can pay the course fee in installments. The payment date stated on the invoice is binding. In the event of late payment, we reserve the right to charge a fee of CHF 20 for the 2nd and 3rd payment reminder.

22.2 After the fourth and final reminder, we shall assign the claim to the debt collection company Creditreform. By accepting our GTC, you agree to this and undertake to pay the amount charged by Creditreform for additional expenses and default.

22.3 Charges for bank or payment transactions from foreign accounts shall be borne by the customer. The fees can be paid by bank transfer or on site.

  1. Teaching aids and course materials

The costs for teaching materials and other course materials are not included in the course price, but will be charged separately.

  1. Placement test

If you have previous knowledge of German, we ask you to take a free and non-binding placement test via our website. The definitive course placement is made after the placement test or after a consultation. The ILS and MYTUTOR accept no responsibility for bookings due to incorrect level assessment.

  1. Telephone and e-mail communication

With your booking, you give us your consent to communicate with you via e-mail and (mobile) telephone number. Our teachers may contact you by e-mail for matters relating to course organization.

  1. Data protection

We take the protection of your personal data seriously and comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act. Please read our data protection regulations on our homepage. By agreeing to our terms and conditions, you accept that we may process and store all the data you provide when registering as part of our business processes.

  1. Disclaimer

For all courses, examinations and events organized by us, we exclude any liability for damages incurred. You are therefore responsible for taking out adequate insurance cover yourself. We accept no liability for theft or loss of items on the premises of the ILS and MYTUTOR. Parents are liable for their children.

  1. Place of jurisdiction

The provisions of Swiss law shall apply to everything else. The place of jurisdiction is St. Gallen. Status: august 2024