Cactus Language - Terms and Conditions
Definitions and Interpretations in these Conditions
The ‘Company’ shall mean Cactus, or Cactus Language, or Cactus TEFL, or Cactus
Language Training, or Cactus Worldwide Limited. ‘The client’ shall
mean the person in whose name the booking is made and shall include the person
or persons on whose behalf the same is made. ‘Force Majeure’ shall mean any
event outside the Company’s control which prevents the prompt performance of
its obligations, including war and civil strife, etc.
Package Holiday Bookings
Where a UK client books more than one element of their holiday with the Company i.e. a course + accommodation or a course + flight, their holiday automatically becomes a package and is therefore insured through a Total Payment Protection Policy (TOPP) taken out by Cactus Worldwide Limited.
Where a client books only the course element of their holiday with the Company, their holiday is not regarded as a package and their booking is not covered by a TOPP.
Please note that travel insurance is not included as a contributing element to a package.
Accommodation
Where accommodation is shown for one week, this means 6 nights from Sunday to
Saturday, unless otherwise indicated. However, if you spend less than 6 nights
in your accommodation in any particular week, you will not receive any discount.
For arrival or departure dates (not on Saturdays or Sundays), a supplement may
be payable.
Courses
Where the number of course lessons is shown, this corresponds to the particular
school’s practice and one lesson may last from 40-60 minutes - the number of
minutes per lesson is usually shown in the brochure or on the website. The exact
number of hours shown in the brochure may be somewhat reduced due to the initial
level test which usually takes place on the first Monday of the course (sometimes
no classes are missed, often the first 2 lessons are missed, and occasionally
the whole of the first Monday is missed). There may also be some missed hours
due to evaluation testing during the course (often on Fridays every 2 or 4 weeks).
The company does not accept any liability for lessons missed due to these reasons
and no refunds will be given where lessons are missed due to testing. In the
rare event that you are the only student of your level, and you are enrolled
on a group course, the school may offer you individual tuition up to the value
you have paid for group classes, rather than put you in a class at the wrong
level.
Materials and Transfers
Course materials, examination fees, airport transfers, and the cost of activities
and excursions are not included except where specifically stated. The company
will not refund any monies to a client who applies for a course requiring a
specific level and is then found to be unable to join the course after the initial
level test. In this case, the client will be offered a suitable alternative
by the school and any difference in price (if the alternative course is less
expensive) will be refunded by the company. In cases where there are insufficient
numbers to run a group class, a reduced number of individual classes may be
offered or the course may be offered at another school of similar standard. Please note that this does NOT apply to foreign language courses in the UK: if there are insufficient numbers to ensure that one of our evening language courses in the UK is able to run, the company will issue a full refund to you.
Activities and Excursions
Descriptions of activities and excursions which accompany the language courses
are for guidance only, unless specifically noted in the confirmation invoice.
Some activities may not run at all or may be substituted by other activities.
In low season, there may be no activities organised at all.
Public Holidays
Where a course takes place during a public holiday, no lessons will take place
on that day and no reduction in price will be given except where specifically
stated. Individual classes are usually rescheduled (but not always) but group
classes are usually forfeited. Please consult the accompanying list of public
holidays (although it is the client’s responsibility to check these since they
are often subject to change).
Booking and Payment
No contract is made between the company and the client and no booking is valid
until the company has issued a confirmation invoice by post, fax or e-mail.
(An e-mail acknowledging receipt of an order does not constitute a confirmation
invoice.) The company will issue this confirmation invoice after it has received
a completed booking form, a £200 course deposit (£300 for teacher training courses) and correct travel costs
and insurance premium if required. If the full balance of the holiday price
is not paid by the due date shown on the initial confirmation/invoice (8 weeks
prior to departure), the company reserves the right to cancel the client’s booking
and to impose the cancellation charges, stated below.
Prices and Surcharges
The charges which make up the total holiday price plus any applicable supplements
and surcharges will be as stated on our website (prices in any printed brochure
supplements, advertisements or other materials are for indication only). The
prices are valid for holidays until further notice but are subject to change
at any time (prices for an online order may also be subject to change if they
are not accompanied by full payment or a deposit - once a deposit or full payment
is made, the prices will not change, even if they are changed on the website).
For foreign language (non-English) courses in the UK, VAT may not be already
included (this is clearly stated in the brochure or on the website). If your
company requires a VAT invoice, this should be indicated at the time of booking.
For guidance, your holiday price may increase because of surcharges on the following
items: governmental action, increases in scheduled airfares and adverse currency
fluctuations. Even in this case the company will absorb an amount equivalent
to 2% of the holiday price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges).
The company will absorb any charges arising after receipt of the final balance.
Should there be a favourable currency fluctuation, the company reserves the
right to leave prices unaltered.
There are standard booking fees on credit card and non-UK debit card payments.
These are fees that we are charged by our bank to process a payment with these
cards, and we therefore need to pass these fees on to our clients. The reason why we have to charge more for USD and Euro payments is that the bank charges us a much higher amount to take payment with these cards. We do not add these fees to further our profits in any way.
Booking fees are as follows:
GBP Credit Card: 2.75%
USD Debit/Credit Card: 2.75%
EUR Debit/Credit Card: 2.75%
Alterations by the Company
The company will do its utmost to provide the arrangements that have been confirmed,
but it must reserve the right to modify or cancel any holiday, flight schedule,
carrier or aircraft type, accommodation or itinerary if unforeseen circumstances
arise. If the company cancel or significantly alter an essential element of
the client’s holiday for reasons of force majeure, on or before the date when
the payment of the balance becomes due, the company shall inform the client
as soon as possible and shall offer them the choice of an alternative holiday
of at least comparable standard if available. If the company is unable to offer
an alternative of similar price, the company will offer the nearest available
alternative and will refund the difference paid by the client. If force majeure
occurs while the holiday is in progress, the company will try to make reasonable
alternative arrangements. The airline and types of aircraft which are likely
to be used for the holidays are subject to change and the company is obliged
by the CAA to state that it cannot give the client any certain information about
the airline or the type of aircraft on which the client will travel. Clients
should also be aware that where airlines hold codesharing agreements, the flight
may actually be provided by an operator other than that which issued the ticket.
Language Courses in the UK: Please note that Cactus needs a minimum of 4 students
to run an evening language course in the UK. In the event that we do not have enough
students to run your class at your chosen centre, we reserve the right to cancel your course up to 48 hours prior to the start of your course. Alternatively, we
may ask you to move to another centre as close as possible
to your chosen location, to join a class that is definitely
running.
Liability of the Company
The company accepts responsibility for ensuring that all parts of the holiday
are supplied as described and that all services shall reach reasonable standard.
However the company shall not be liable for the failure or improper performance
of these services where such failure or improper performance is attributable
to a) the fault of the client, b) the unforeseeable or unavoidable actions of
an unconnected third party, c) unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond
the company’s suppliers control, including force majeure (or delay, overbooking
or cancellation by an airline, bus, train, car hire or ferry company). The obligations
and responsibilities of the company shall also be limited where international
conventions in respect of air or sea carriers apply. The company strongly recommends
that clients pay an additional £5.00 for Special Delivery (within Mainland
UK) of their flight, rail or coach tickets. If tickets are lost when regular
post is used, there may be a charge for re-issue and in some cases no re-issue
will be possible and the flights will be forfeited. The company cannot be held
responsible for tickets after they are posted.
Alterations by the Client
If the client wishes to change their booking in any way after the confirmation
invoice has been issued, they must inform the company immediately, in writing,
and the company reserves the right to charge £50 per person per change
to cover the additional administration involved, plus any additional charges
imposed by schools, airlines or other suppliers (details available on request).
All airline tickets and other travel products (train, coach, bus tickets) issued
are non-flexible (except where the company explicitly specifies otherwise) which
means that any changes including date, time, destination, and name on a ticket
will normally be treated by any airline as a cancellation and re-booking, and
100% cancellation charges may apply.
Cancellation by the Client and Visa Problems
If the client wishes to cancel their booking this must be done in writing by
the person who signed the booking form or who made the online order. The date
of cancellation will be taken as the date that the company receives the letter.
The cancellation charges are:
- 43 days or more before departure = deposit only + any non-flexible travel
products - between 28-42 days before departure = 40% + any non-flexible travel products
- between 8-27 days before departure = 60% + any non-flexible travel products
- between 1-7 days before departure = 100% + any non-flexible travel products
After a course has started there is no refund for any course, accommodation or other item booked.
Where a client has made a reasonable attempt to obtain a visa for the destination country within a reasonable timescale but is unable to obtain the visa, all money will be returned minus the £200 deposit on receipt of written confirmation from the relevant consulate detailing the visa rejection (only original documents will be accepted), In cases where an original invitation letter has been sent out by post, this will need to be returned too.
However for cancellations and visa rejections within 14 days of the date of departure, the company reserves the right to levy an additional charge equal to the price of a week’s tuition and accommodation at the chosen school and location. Please also note that the schools below add the following supplementary costs in addition to the deposit:
Ireland:- Galway School £145
Germany:- Hamburg School £55
Spain:
Plaza de Colon School Madrid £95
Barcelona Rocafort School £295
Barcelona Summer School (Juniors); £295
Barcelona GCSE Spanish School; £295
Alicante Seafront £295
Madrid San Bernardo £295
Madrid Summer Camp (Juniors); £295
Madrid GCSE School £295
Marbella School £295
Marbella Summer School (Juniors); £295
Salamanca School £295
Salamanca Summer School (Juniors) £295
Guanajuato School £295
Valencia School £295
France:
Bordeaux & Biarritz Schools £305
Montpellier Jean Moulin School £55
Monaco School, 30% of total fees
Nice Garibaldi School, Academic programme only, cancelled less than 21 days prior £505
Latvia:- Riga School £240
Japan:- Tokyo School £400 + £265 if accommodation also booked
As with our other prices, these supplements are subject to change due to adverse currency fluctuations.
No refunds will be given for flights or other travel products.
Notification of visa rejection must be made to the company in writing (or e-mail)
at least 2 weeks before the start date of the course or accommodation booking.
In the case of cancellation or visa problems, the client will also be subject
to the following charges, depending on the method used to provide the refund: £25 for a bank transfer, £7.50 for an international cheque, £1
for a UK cheque or a refund to a UK debit card, or 2.5% of the total to a credit
card.
It is the client’s responsibility to claim any insurance monies due as the company
cannot claim on behalf of the client, which is why insurance should always be
taken out at the time of booking.
Descriptions
The company honestly believes that all statements made in its brochure or website
are factual and correct. Every reasonable effort has been made to describe the
schools and environs and to provide the amenities described. The company cannot
therefore be held responsible for any changes that become known after the brochure
was produced (up-to-date information can be found on the website), nor can the
company accept liabilities for happenings outside its reasonable control. The
company undertakes to advise the client of any material changes known to it
prior to the client’s departure.
Special Requirements
Any special requests must be advised to the company in writing.
Insurance
The company reserves the right to refuse to accept bookings from clients who
are not adequately insured against holiday risks. The standard holiday insurance
organised by the company is strongly recommended. Clients not taking this insurance
must provide evidence of adequate alternative insurance at the time of booking.
General Information
General information is included in this brochure and website for help and guidance
to the client. Please read it carefully. The contract incorporating these conditions
shall be governed by English law and any matters arising out of it shall be
subject to the jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.
Language Courses UK Refund Policy
· More than 7 days before course start date: Cactus can offer you a full refund of your course up to one week before the advertised start date or postponement to a later start date.
· Less than 7 days before course start date: You can transfer your booking to the next course at no extra charge OR you may have a refund of the course fee minus a £50 administration fee.
· After the first or second lesson: You can transfer your booking to the next course at no extra charge and receive the full course duration OR you may have a refund of the course fee minus a £50 administration fee. In the case of weekend courses and 1-week courses no refunds are available once the course has started or where cancellations are made on the start date.
· After the third lesson: You will not be entitled to any refund and you will NOT be able to transfer your booking to the next course.
· Claiming a refund: You must contact Cactus at the time of cancellation, following the stages indicated above, in order to claim any refund. We cannot offer any refunds at all once the third lesson has passed. Those who do not attend the rest of their course after the second lesson cannot claim for a refund at any later stage if they have not advised us of their cancellation at the time.
· Credit card fees are non-refundable.
Privacy policy
We are committed to protecting your privacy
We collect the minimum amount of information about you that is commensurate with providing you with
a satisfactory service. This Policy indicates the type of processes that may result in data being collected
about you. Your use of this website gives us the right to collect that information.
Information Collected
We may collect any or all of the information that you give us depending on the type of transaction you
enter into, including your name, address, telephone number, fax number and email address, together with
data about your use of the website. Other information that may be needed from time to time to process a
request may also be collected as indicated on the website.
[Data in relation to credit card payments is processed by HSBC plc. on a secure website linked to ours and
they have their own privacy policy.]
Information Use
We use the information collected primarily to process the task for which you visited the website. Data
collected in the UK is held in accordance with the Data Protection Act. All reasonable precautions are
taken to prevent unauthorised access to this information. This safeguard may require you to provide
additional forms of identity should you wish to obtain information about your account details. For more
information please
