TERMS & CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
Thank you for choosing The Speaking Coach. By using our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. Click on the relevant terms below:
SCHOOL STUDENTS
Term Fees
- At The Speaking Coach our fees are set for the Term. School terms are typically 10 weeks. There will always besome variations in the length of the school term. Our fees are based on 8 lessons per school term.
- Our fees are fixed for a term with students attending one lesson each week. Our fee structure has been carefully considered and fixed term fees are set accordingly. See our pricing here.
- Entry into speech exams through Speech New Zealand and/or Trinity College is not covered by the Lesson fees and will be added onto invoice.
Teaching Term
- Our teaching term follows the NZ Ministry of Education school calendar year.
- Enrolments are rolled over each term unless notice of withdrawal is given prior to the beginning of the new term. We aim for a student’s lesson time and day to remain the same each term (depending on Coach availability), unless you advise us otherwise or request something different.
- Lessons are regarded as scheduled for each term once written confirmation has been sent by The Speaking Coach. Fees are payable upon an invoice being sent.
- Lessons are 60 minutes in length, but longer lessons may be arranged in increments of 30 minutes e.g., 90 minutes, 2 hours.
- When a student does not arrive at a scheduled Lesson at the arranged time, the Coach will remain on-site for 15 minutes. Beyond this time the Coach will be unable to begin a lesson, unless otherwise agreed with the Client.
- If a scheduled lesson proceeds with a delayed start or early finish (as a result of the students’ actions), it will be charged at the full amount regardless of the length of the lesson.
- There are no refunds for unattended lessons as a result of sickness, injury, school trips, family holidays etc. Unattended or missed lessons will not be reimbursed or caught up unless in exceptional circumstances (e.g., bereavement or serious illness). or sufficient notice is given [see below].
- You are able to cancel or reschedule a Lesson with more than 24 hours’ notice. Notice is to be provided by email to thespeakingcoachnz@gmail.com, by text or phone to 027 6986181. We endeavour to re-schedule the lesson as soon as possible.
- If a student is part of a pair or group lesson, it will be the student’s responsibility to confirm the re-scheduled time suits with the other student/s.
- When a student does not attend a lesson or cancels without providing 24 hours’ notice, full payment for the lesson will be required, unless a medical certificate is provided.
Lesson Cancellations
- Occasionally a lesson may have to be cancelled due to unexpected Coach unavailability. In this instance we will 1) offer an alternative in-person lesson, or 2) offer a double lesson the following week. Sometimes this won’t suit so we will refund the cancelled lesson, pro-rated from the term fees.
Force Majeure Affected Classes
- Public Speaking lessons may continue via Zoom during periods when “force majeure” events (such as weather events, imposed lockdowns) mean that in-person classes cannot be run. We will discuss with you (parents/ guardians) whether lessons will continue via ZOOM or be paused until the force majeure event ends and face-to-face lessons can resume.
- It is expected that student’s attend lessons held on Zoom during force majeure events if/when they are scheduled. These lessons are not refundable except in exceptional circumstances (e.g., bereavement, serious illness or a reasonable explanation as to why your student can not access or attend Zoom classes).
Withdrawing From Lessons
- Written notice is required prior to the commencement of a new teaching term you are withdrawing your student from our lessons. Where an enrolled student stops attending or withdraws part way through a teaching term, full fees for the term will remain payable. A fixed term fee is charged for all public speaking lessons. It is expected that students complete the full term in which they are enrolled.
Half Term Fees
- Half term fees may apply at the discretion of The Speaking Coach where a student enrols mid-way though the teaching term.
Public Holidays
- Lessons will NOT run on Public Holidays. If a lesson is scheduled for a day that is a Public Holiday, we will arrange to reschedule the lesson with you or the term fees will be adjusted accordingly.
Additional Exam Lessons
- If additional one-on-one lessons are required to bring students up to examination or competition standard, these lessons will incur additional fees. Additional lessons will not be provided without the prior approval of the parent/guardian.
ONE-TO-ONE ADULT COACHING (FACE TO FACE / ONLINE LESSONS)
Coaching Fees- Our fee is as indicated in your confirmation e-mail. An invoice will be provided.
- Entry fees into speech exams through Speech New Zealand and/or Trinity College is not covered by the Lesson fees and will be added onto our invoice.
- Clients may schedule Lessons on a Weekly or By Appointment basis. Lessons are regarded as scheduled once written confirmation has been sent by The Speaking Coach.
- Lessons are 60 minutes in length, but longer lessons may be arranged in increments of 30 minutes e.g., 90 minutes, 2 hours. Previously available lesson times may not always be available.
- Lessons occur either in person at a specified venue or via video conference (Zoom or similar).
- For an initial in person Lesson the Coach will arrange to meet with the client prior to its commencement. In the event the client does not present for the Lesson as arranged, full payment for the Lesson will still be required. At the initial Lesson clients will be advised of the location to be used for subsequent Lessons.
- A Client is able to cancel or reschedule a Lesson at any time with more than 24 hours’ notice. Notice is to be provided by email to thespeakingcoachnz@gmail.com, by text or phone to 027 6986181. We endeavour to re-schedule the lesson as soon as possible.
- When a client does not attend a Lesson or cancels without providing 24 hours’ notice, full payment for the lesson will still be required. Lessons are not refundable except in exceptional circumstances (e.g., bereavement, serious illness). A medical certificate may be required.
- When a client does not arrive at a scheduled Lesson or join the online session at the arranged time, the Coach will remain on-site/online for 15 minutes. Beyond this time the Coach will be unable to begin a lesson, unless otherwise agreed with the Client.
- Clients acknowledge that if a scheduled lesson has not been cancelled or rescheduled (with at least 24 hours’ notice) it will be invoiced at the full amount. Clients acknowledge that if a scheduled lesson proceeds with a delayed start or early finish (as a result of the Client’s actions), it will be invoiced at the full amount regardless of the length of the lesson.
Lesson Cancellations
- Occasionally a lesson may have to be cancelled due to Coach unavailability. In this instance we will 1) offer and alternative in-person lesson at a mutually convenient time, or 2) offer a double lesson the following time.
- If The Speaking Coach cancels a Lesson for any reason, Clients will not be required to pay for the cancelled Lesson and it will be rescheduled as soon as possible. The Speaking Coach will not be liable for any costs incurred by the Client due to cancellation arising from circumstances beyond our control including but not limited to Coach illness.
Force Majeure Affected Classes
- Public Speaking lessons may continue via Zoom during periods when “force majeure” events (such as weather events, imposed lockdowns) mean that in-person classes cannot be run. We will discuss with you whether lessons will continue via ZOOM or be paused until the force majeure event ends and face-to-face lessons can resume.
Public Holidays
- Lessons will generally not be held on National & Auckland Anniversary public holidays, but may by mutual agreement.
TEAM TRAINING
- A Separate Agreement will be entered into outlining the relevant terms.
GENERAL TERMS APPLYING TO ALL CLIENTS
We value our relationship with you and believe it is important that you are aware of and understand the terms on which we will provide Coaching services to you. These terms will apply every time you engage us to provide services to you, unless we have agreed an alternative arrangement with you, which is recorded in writing. We will take your continued engagement of our services as your acceptance of these terms. If you have any questions about these terms, please contact us. In these Terms and Conditions:- ‘Client’, ‘You’ and ‘Your’ means a client registering, purchasing or using the Services of The Speaking Coach including students;
- ‘Coach’ means the person providing the training;
- ‘Group Lesson’ means a Lesson for more than one Client;
- ‘Individual Lesson’ means a Lesson for one Client;
- ‘Lesson’ means an agreed appointment for Services, including but not limited to Individual and/or Group Lessons and Training Courses, whether online or in person;
- ‘Service’, ‘Services’ means any service that is provided by The Speaking Coach including but not limited to training courses and individual lessons;
- ‘The Speaking Coach’, ‘We’ and ‘Us’ and ‘Our’ means the speech coaching business owned/operated by Niall Baker;
- ‘Training Course’ means a series of Lessons for a specific training purpose;
- ‘Website’ means The Speaking Coach website at www.thespeakingcoach.co.nz .
- Lesson fees are specified on The Speaking Coach website or otherwise advised to you in writing.
- Lessons may occur at other convenient locations by mutual agreement, in which case an additional travel fee may apply.
- Prices may be subject to change, with 4 weeks advance notice being given in writing.
- All fees are directly payable to The Speaking Coach by direct banking.
- All invoices must be paid within 7 days of the date of the invoice, unless we agree or specify otherwise. The due date for payment will be specified on the invoice.
- There is currently no GST payable on our fees.
- Where an invoice is not paid by the specified due date, a reminder notice will be emailed, with payment required within 2 days of the reminder notice.
- Where an invoice is not paid following the reminder notice, The Speaking Coach reserves the right to terminate future services until the date the invoice is paid in full.
- Where an invoice is not paid following the reminder notice, the Client acknowledges that default interest on the amount outstanding will be calculated at the Principal bank lending rate plus 10% per month (accrued monthly), on overdue amounts until the date the invoice is paid in full.
- Where an invoice remains unpaid, we may choose to recover outstanding amounts from the Client via a debt collection agency or we may choose to commence a claim against the Client to recover the costs incurred in recovering outstanding amounts.
- All expenses incurred by The Speaking Coach for default in payment, including collection costs from obtaining the services of a debt collection company and/or legal fees in relation to any overdue amount will be added to the Client’s account and they will be liable for its payment.
- The Speaking Coach strives to provide the best possible service. However, The Speaking Coach will not be held accountable or responsible for public speaking or exam success or lack thereof demonstrated by the client. Although The Speaking Coach will do everything in its power to help grades and skill sets improve and support passing of speech exams, The Speaking Coach can offer no guarantee in this regard.
- Learning objectives are discussed and agreed at the beginning of each training program or individual lesson and assessment is conducted throughout the program.
- Course duration may vary based on number of participants attending and level of knowledge and/or experience.
- The Client agrees to advise The Speaking Coach prior to commencing lessons/training of any special requirements including but not limited to health, literacy and cultural requirements.
- The Client accepts full responsibility for failure to comply with any pre-course or post-course requirements. This includes, but is not limited to, completing and returning course paperwork, exam preparation etc.
- The availability of any courses and dates published on the Website are subject to change without notice. We reserve the right to cancel or alter the dates of any ‘open’ courses due to insufficient numbers of participants.
- We reserve the right to suspend training where to continue would breach the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (“HSWA”), or where continuing might place a Client at an unacceptable level of risk. We reserve the right to refuse to train any person who is deemed by us to be unfit due to health reasons including but not limited to intoxication or behavioural issues.
- In accordance with the HSWA, all Clients are required to comply with any instruction, policy or procedure issued by The Speaking Coach. Failure to comply may result in a Client being removed from the course in the interest of safety.
- We reserve the right to refuse to train anyone who we reasonably believe may be in competition with The Speaking Coach.
- All Clients must have a level of written and oral English equivalent to NCEA level 1 (year 11) or IELTS 5.5 or higher, to be eligible to enrol on our courses. The person responsible for making bookings or authorising attendance at the course must confirm this prior to acceptance of a Client onto the course. Where a Client does not meet our English language requirement an interpreter must be supplied by the Client or the person responsible for authorising the Client’s attendance. (The interpreter cannot be another client participating in the same course.)
- The Speaking Coach reserves the right to change these terms of use from time to time by publishing the changed terms on The Speaking Coach website. If we do so we will revise the date and revision number of this document.
- You acknowledge that it is your responsibility to review these terms of use periodically to be aware of such changes. Your continuing access or use of the service provided by The Speaking Coach, following such publication, shall be deemed your acceptance of the revised terms of use.
- The Speaking Coach strives to provide the best possible service, which includes keeping Client’s informed about relevant information about public speaking and The Speaking Coach. By becoming a Client, you agree to receive our e-newsletters and promotional emails, in accordance with the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007. You can unsubscribe by responding to an email sent by us and typing ‘unsubscribe’ in the title. The Speaking Coach will not pass your email on to any 3rd party unless required to do so by law.
- The Speaking Coach may collect personal information about clients during performance of the Services. Please refer to the Privacy Policy found at thespeakingcoach.co.nz/privacy which shall form part of these Terms and Conditions.
- All content and materials created by The Speaking Coach are the property of the Speaking Coach. Such content and materials are subject to copyright and any other applicable intellectual property rights and are provided to the Client specifically as an educational aid for use as part of the Services. You agree that you will not publish or distribute any portion of any content or materials without prior written permission from The Speaking Coach.
- The Speaking Coach agrees to keep all information regarding the Client, including but not limited to personal information and exam results, confidential unless otherwise agreed with the Client or required by law.
- The Client agrees to keep all information provided as part of the Services (including but not limited to techniques, materials and advice) confidential unless otherwise agreed by The Speaking Coach. In particular, the Client agrees not to share any such information publicly (by any means) or to competitors of The Speaking Coach.
- If you have a complaint, you agree to advise The Speaking Coach as soon as possible by emailing thespeakingcoachnz@gmail.com in the first instance.
- The Parties will use their best endeavours to resolve any dispute or difference that may arise through direct negotiation. If the Parties cannot resolve a dispute by direct negotiation, either Party may refer the matter to mediation.
- The Party requesting mediation must notify the other Party in writing. Each Party will meet their own costs of resolving the dispute.