Definitions and Interpretations in these Conditions
The 'Company' shall mean Cactus, or Cactus Language, or Cactus TEFL, or Cactus Language Training, or Cactus Worldwide Inc. '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.
Accommodation
One week accommodation bookings mean 6 nights from Sunday to Saturday morning (unless otherwise indicated). You will not be entitled to any refund if you spend less than 6 nights in your accommodation in any particular week. For arrival or departure dates other than Saturdays or Sundays, a supplementary fee will be charged.
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 on the website. The exact number of hours may be somewhat reduced due to the initial level test which usually takes place on the first Monday of the course (the first 2 lessons are often 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. Please note that the class times listed on our website may be subject to change if group classes are changed to individual lessons at reduced hours, or if a lot of people are enrolled at the school and another class must open. Group classes may also take place in the afternoon in high season.
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 make any refunds 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 North America: if there are insufficient numbers to ensure that one of our evening language courses within North America 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 organized activities whatsoever.
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 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 $300 course deposit (and $400 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.
The cost of your course may increase because of surcharges on adverse currency fluctuations. Even in this case the company will absorb an amount equivalent to 2% of the holiday price (excluding amendment charges). The company will absorb any charges arising after receipt of the final balance. Should there be a favorable currency fluctuation, the company reserves the right to leave prices unaltered.
There are standard booking fees on credit card and 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. 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, accommodation or itinerary if unforeseen circumstances arise. If the company cancels or significantly alters 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
Language Courses within North America: Please note that Cactus needs a minimum of 4 students to run an evening language course in North America. 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. We will email / telephone you to inform you of this.
Liability of the Company
The Company accepts responsibility for ensuring that all parts of the course 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 supplier’s control, including force majeure.
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 $100 per person per change to cover the additional administration involved, plus any additional charges imposed by schools (details available on request).
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 and deposits will be returned subject to a $150 administration charge on receipt of written confirmation from the relevant consulate detailing the visa rejection (only original documents will be accepted). 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: $50 for a bank transfer, $14 for an international check, or 2.5% of the total to a credit card.
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.
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 North America 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 $100 administration fee.
- After the first lesson: 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 $100 administration fee.
- After the second lesson: You may have a refund of the course fee minus $100 administration fee.
- 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.
Note: Cactus cannot offer any lessons on a trial basis.
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
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