General Terms and Conditions

§1. Scope of Contract

A-Z Deutsch Sprachkurse ( in the following "A-Z DSK") offers German language courses for private individuals and corporate clients (in the following "Participant"). The following General Terms and Conditions (GTC) regulate the contractual relationship between A-Z Deutsch and the Participant.

§2. Registration

The minimum age for course participation is 18 years. Young people under 18 years old may attend a course if the school has written consent from their parents. A-Z Deutsch assumes no responsibility for any activities outside of class. Registrations must be received together with the deposit (50% of the course fee) usually 2 weeks before the course starts. Registration is done in person or by sending the completed and signed registration form by mail or via our online form. Upon receipt of the booking confirmation from the language school by e-mail within 4 working days, the contract becomes binding. For the course fee, the price valid at the time of registration applies. After registration, the participant is not entitled to transfer the resulting claims to third parties, unless he/she receives the written consent of the institute management.

§3 Attendance Obligation

By booking a course, students agree to attend classes regularly and to keep to the scheduled class times. Students also agree to inform the school administration in advance of their absence. If a student misses more than 20% of classes, no report card or certificate of attendance will be issued. In the event of a course interruption (vacation, illness, etc.), the student is responsible for making up the missed material. Any claim to a make-up of the missed lessons is excluded.

§4. Vacations and Public Holidays

There will be no classes on weekends and the following holidays and periods in 2024: 01.04. (Easter Monday), 01.05. (Labor Day), 09.05. (Ascension Day), 20.05. (Whit Monday), 30.05. (Corpus Christi), 03.10. (German Unification Day ) and 01.11. (All Saints' Day). The school will also be closed from 23.03.24 to 07.04.24 (Easter vacations) and from 23.12.23 to 06.01.2024 (Christmas vacations). Classes cancelled due to holidays will not be made up (except for evening classes as well as private lessons).

§5. Class Times and Number of Participants in Group Courses

The minimum number of participants in intensive courses is 3, the maximum number of participants is 7. The number of teaching units (45 minutes each) in intensive courses is 16 per week or 4 per day, including a ten-minute break. An intensive course cannot start or an ongoing course can be canceled if the minimum number of participants is less than 3.

The minimum number of participants in Evening Courses and Grammar & Conversation Courses is 5, the maximum number of participants is 8. The number of lessons (á 45 minutes) in Evening Courses and Grammar & Conversation Courses is 4 per week or 2 per evening. A break is not foreseen during the Evening Courses and Grammar & Conversation Courses. An Evening Course and Grammar & Conversation Course cannot start or an ongoing course can be cancelled if the minimum number of participants is less than 5.

§6. Online Courses

Prerequisites for participation in online classes are a stable internet connection, laptop or PC, a working video camera and microphone, and the Zoom program. In case of connection problems by A-Z Deutsch Sprachkurse, the missed time will be made up after consultation with the teacher. In case of technical or connection problems by the customer, the time cannot be made up.

§7 Withdrawal & Course Cancellation

A-Z Deutsch Sprachkurse reserves the right to cancel or postpone the course for organisationa reasons. A-Z DSK may withdraw from the contract and cancel courses if the minimum number of participants is not reached or for reasons beyond A-Z DSK's control ( sudden illness, absence of a teacher, technical difficulties with online teaching, etc.). In this case, the course fees will be refunded in the corresponding amount.

If a course participant cancels at least 2 weeks before the booked language course, the course fee will be refunded except for the administration fee of € 100. This is already included in the course fee at the time of booking. It is not possible to change group lessons to individual lessons. Cancellation of the booked service must be made in writing. After registraton, the participant is not entitled to transfer the resulting claims to third parties unless he/she receives the written consent of the institute management. Once the course has started, cancellation is not possible. No refund of course fees will be made in the event of non-attendance by the language student or early abandonment of the booked programme by the language student. Classes missed through the responsability of the participant will not be refunded.

The following rule applies to private lessons (individual, pair lessons and mini-groups): Cancellations must be communicated by e-mail or telephone at least 48 hours before the start of the course. Otherwise there is no entitlement to a replacement. In case of illness, the private lessons booked in presence can be carried out online.

§8. Terms of Payment

After registration, a place in the desired or suitable course is bindingly reserved for the client. The client is obliged to pay 50% of the course fees at the latest one week before the start of the first lesson. The other half of the course fees must be paid within two weeks of the start of the course, otherwise A-Z DSK has the right to withdraw. Payment by instalments is only possible after consultation with the school management and only for amounts over 1,000 EUR. Accepted payment methods are by bank transfer to the following account (IBAN: DE40680201860029005982) or cash.

As an educational institution, "A-Z Deutsch Sprachkurse" is exempt from VAT by the Freiburg Regional Council. The prices shown on www.a-z-deutsch.com are to be understood as net prices and are VAT-exempt.

§9. Application for a Language Visa

The issuing of the registration certificate for visa applications requires the payment of the full course fees. The certificate of enrolment must be used to apply for a visa at the relevant consulate in good time. If no visa is granted, the language school will refund the course fees minus a processing fee of 150 €. The prerequisite for reimbursement is that the applicant informs the language school immediately and submits a written notice of refusal from the competent authority at least 2 weeks before the start of the booked course. If the language school does not receive a written notice of refusal, no course fees (not even in parts) will be refunded.

§10. Right of Withdrawal

The consumer has a right of withdrawal for contracts concluded outside business premises and for distance contracts.  The cancellation policy and the model cancellation form are listed below. The following model withdrawal form can be used by the participant as a consumer to exercise the right of withdrawal, but this is not obligatory.

§11. Liability/Conditions of Liability

The participant undertakes to comply with the conditions of participation and the house rules in the training rooms. The participant is liable for all damage caused by him/her. In the event of violations of contractual or legal obligations, the participant may be excluded from further participation in the course. In such a case, paid fees will not be refunded. The participant is responsible for taking out the necessary health, accident and liability insurance. Participation in all events is at the participant's own risk. A-Z Deutsch accepts no liability for damage due to illness, accident, injury or theft. A-Z Deutsch is not liable for damage or disruption of services due to force majeure. Participants are responsible for obtaining visas and other requirements for participation in the booked course.

§12. Data Protection Regulation

The data of the users are stored for internal processing and own advertising purposes by A-Z DSK in compliance with the legal conditions. The data protection declaration can be found under the following link: https://a-z-deutsch.com/Home-English/This-That/Privacy-policy/

§13. Concluding Provisions

The address stated in the registration shall apply for notifications to the participant. Agreements and amendments to the contract must be made in writing. The participant confirms with his/her registration that he/she has read and accepted the General Terms and Conditions.

The contractual agreements shall be governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany. The place of jurisdiction is Freiburg. The EU Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr.
A-Z DSK is neither obliged nor willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

(Status: 11.02.2024)

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) In case of linguistic misunderstandings, the German version of the GTC shall apply.

Cancellation Policy

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason.
The cancellation period is fourteen days from the day of the conclusion of the contract (confirmation of registration).
To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us (A-Z Deutsch Sprachkurse, Colombistr. 11, 79098 Freiburg, info@a-z-deutsch.com) of your decision to withdraw from this contract by means of a clear declaration (e.g. a letter or e-mail sent by post). You can use the attached model withdrawal form for this purpose, which is, however, not mandatory.
To comply with the withdrawal period, it is sufficient that you send the notification of the exercise of the right of withdrawal before the expiry of the withdrawal period.

Consequences of Cancellation

If you withdraw from this contract, we must refund all payments we have received from you, including delivery costs (with the exception of additional costs resulting from the fact that you have chosen a type of delivery other than the cheapest standard delivery offered by us), without delay and at the latest within fourteen days of the day on which we received notification of your withdrawal from this contract. For this repayment, we will use the same means of payment that you used for the original transaction, unless expressly agreed otherwise with you; in no case will you be charged any fees because of this repayment.
If you have requested that the services begin during the withdrawal period, you must pay us a reasonable amount corresponding to the proportion of the services already provided up to the time you notify us of the exercise of the right of withdrawal with regard to this contract compared to the total scope of the services provided for in the contract.

Sample Cancellation Form

(If you wish to cancel the contract, please fill in and return this form)
To (A-Z Deutsch Sprachkurse, Colombistr. 11, 79098 Freiburg, info@a-z-deutsch.com):
I/we (*) hereby revoke the contract concluded by me/us (*) for the purchase of the following goods (*)/for the provision of the following service(*).
Ordered on (*)/received on (*)
Name of the consumer(s)
Address of the consumer(s)
Signature of consumer(s) (only in case of paper communication)
Date
______
(*) Delete where inapplicable

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) In case of linguistic misunderstandings, the German version of the GTC shall apply.