How lessons are paid for, in plain terms. If anything here is unclear, just ask before you book.
Lessons are paid in advance by bank transfer. Once a lesson or pack has been agreed, Nathalie sends an invoice by email with the amount due and the account details.
A lesson can be booked, but it is not confirmed until payment has arrived. Lessons do not go ahead unpaid. This applies to every learner and every type of lesson, including lessons shared by couples and families.
Please allow a few working days for the transfer to arrive, particularly if you are paying from outside Europe. Booking and paying on the same day may not leave enough time.
Lessons are priced and invoiced in euros (EUR). The figures in pounds and other currencies on the pricing page are approximate and are there to help you plan. The amount due is always the euro figure on your invoice.
Prices shown are the full price you pay, including any taxes that apply. Nothing is added afterwards.
Paying from within the euro area is usually a standard transfer with no extra cost. From elsewhere, your bank may charge a fee for sending money abroad or converting currency. Those charges sit with the sender, and a lesson is confirmed once the full invoiced amount has arrived. A money transfer service such as Wise is often much cheaper than a high street bank. If paying in euros is awkward for you, speak to Nathalie and something can usually be worked out.
Every payment comes with an invoice issued in line with French invoicing rules. Please keep it for your own records.
The five-lesson pack is paid in full before the first lesson of the pack. Pack lessons are valid for three months from the date of purchase, and can be rescheduled freely within that time under the usual cancellation rules.
Once the 14-day withdrawal period below has passed, packs are not refundable, except where the cancellation policy says otherwise, for example if Nathalie has to cancel a lesson.
Under French consumer law (Code de la consommation, articles L221-18 and following), if you book lessons as a private individual, you have 14 days from the day you pay to change your mind, without giving a reason.
If you would like lessons to start within those 14 days, Nathalie will ask you to confirm this by email before the first lesson. If you then withdraw, you pay only for the lessons you have already had and the rest is refunded. For a pack, each lesson taken is counted at the pack rate of €26.
If every lesson you paid for has already taken place within the 14 days at your request, the right to withdraw no longer applies.
To withdraw, email bonjour@french-ici-tutoring.com with a clear statement that you wish to cancel. You can use the wording below if it helps, but you do not have to. Any refund is made within 14 days of your message, by bank transfer.
Model withdrawal form
To French Ici Tutoring, bonjour@french-ici-tutoring.com. I hereby give notice that I withdraw from my contract for the following service: [single lesson or five-lesson pack]. Paid on: [date]. Name: [your name]. Address: [your address]. Date: [today's date].
Payments for lessons are not refundable, except under the withdrawal right above or where our cancellation policy says otherwise.
Nathalie puts real care into every lesson and will always work hard to help each learner reach their goals. Learning a language is a team effort, though. Progress also depends on regular attendance, practice between lessons and the learner's own commitment, so specific results, including exam grades, cannot be guaranteed. In French legal terms, tuition is an obligation of means rather than an obligation of result. For that reason, refunds are not given on the basis of grades or results.
If you ever have concerns about how things are going, please talk to Nathalie early. Lessons can often be adjusted to suit the learner better, and that conversation is always easier sooner rather than later.
Lesson prices may change from time to time. Existing learners are given at least one month's notice by email, and any pack already paid for is honoured at the price paid.
Please come to Nathalie first, and every effort will be made to put things right. If a disagreement cannot be settled between us, French law gives you, as a consumer, the right to use a consumer mediation service free of charge (Code de la consommation, article L612-1). Please speak to Nathalie for the mediator's details.
Questions about payment? Email bonjour@french-ici-tutoring.com and you will get a straight answer. See also our cancellation policy and current prices.