Terms & Conditions 

These conditions set out the terms of contract between you, the Customer, and Twin Group.

 

Booking 

1. In registering with us, an Educational Tour Operator (ETO) accepts Twin Group’s terms and conditions of sale.
2. Twin Group reserves the right to refuse any applicant who does not meet the programme eligibility requirements as outlined in either our brochure or website.
3. Twin Group reserves the right to make an additional administration fee in the event of Amendments to a confirmed (in writing/signed for) booking.  This would not normally apply to single, simple amendments

 

Deposits, Fees and Payments 

Important notes applying to ALL deposits

 

• Deposits are the required payment to confirm any booking.
• Minimum deposit levels vary by type of booking and will be agreed at time of booking
• None are below 20%; hotels, hostels and residential deposits are higher and vary by venue
• Our deposit terms vary depending on Type of visa (if any)
• If any deposit is not received by the required date, the booking, prices and availability will lapse

 

Booking type	Deposit Conditions
Non-Tier 4	Visa letters will include accommodation details, so please allow at least 5 days from our receipt of deposit into our Bank.  Twin Group reserves the right to change accommodation if the named provider cannot fulfill at time of arrival. All visa-dependent bookings will be “subject to availability”
Non-visa group bookings	Deposit required within 14 days of signing Twin’s booking form if the booking is signed 28 days before arrival
Short terms student or standard visa visitor bookings	Deposit required within 14 days of Twin Invoice issue date for any booking made 20+ days before arrival
Tier 4 Visa Bookings	50% deposit required within 14 days of Twin Invoice date

 

Damage deposit for Summer Centres

• A £50 deposit for damage/keys each student will be required on arrival. 
• If he/she causes minor damage, or loses the key, this deposit will not be returned
• For any major damage caused by a student to the property or equipment of the Twin Summer Centre or any person at the centre, the full cost will be invoiced to the ETO
• If a bedroom is shared and individual damage responsibility is not clear, all occupants will share the cost of minor damage equally
• If there is no damage or key loss, the £50 deposits will be repaid in full

 

 

Fees and Payment

 

Important notes applying to all fees and payment: 

• All fees are payable prior to arrival
• Bookings made less than 28 days before departure require payment immediately Twin invoice is sent
• Twin Group reserves the right to cancel a booking if full payment not received in time
• Any credit card or bank charges applied to any financial transaction are the ETO’s responsibility to pay, including bank charges in the ETO’s country arising from a Twin refund to an ETO
• A per-person supplement will be applied to all arrivals between 21:00 and 07:00 hours, UK Time
• Clients under 16 years old requiring a chaperone service will have this service added as a supplement.  This may be after quote issuance and confirmation by you, as student ages may be confirmed later.
• A supplement is added for any special dietary requirements requested.

 

Fees payment terms by booking type: 

Booking type	Payment terms required
Non-Visa bookings	Full fees (less deposit) payable at least 28 days before arrival, or immediately if booked less than 28 days before arrival
Short Term Student or Standard Visitor Visa bookings	Full fees (less deposit) payable immediately after visa issuance and at least  10 days before arrival, or immediately if booked less than 10 days before arrival
Tier 4 Visas	A CAS letter will be supplied only after fees paid in full
Tier 5 Visas	A COS letter will be supplied only after fees paid in full

 

Cancellation and Refunds

All cancellations must be in writing. Email is acceptable. Please refer to the relevant cancellation section below.

To avoid full fees being payable, ETO is responsible to:

• Ensure Twin group has received cancellation notice
• Obtain written confirmation of receipt from Twin Group.

Upon receipt of written confirmation the following schedule applies:

Group Cancellations

Cancellation Notice period	Applicable refund	Additional Comment
28 + days	80% of full fees – non-refundable 20% deposit  will be retained
14-28 days	Maximum 50%	Refund % will be less if hotel, hostel or residence accommodation booked.
Less than 14 days	0%	No refund for bookings cancelled less than 14 days before arrival date.

 

Individual Booking Cancellations (non-visa nationals) 

Cancellation notice  period	Applicable refund	Additional Comment
28 + days	100% less £50.00 administration fee
14-28 days	Maximum 50%	Refund % will be less if hotel, hostel or residence accommodation booked.
Less than 14 days	0%	No refund for bookings cancelled less than 14 days before arrival date.

 

Special Conditions for Short Term Visas, Tier 4 or Tier 5 in addition to the above

   

Individuals: When a short term visa is refused Twin will refund all fees minus a £50.00 cancellation fee, but only if the full visa refusal  notice is received by Twin Groups: The policy is as for individuals, except the £50 cancellation fee will be per person

When Tier 4 CAS letter, or Tier 5 CoS letter, is issued no fees will be refunded, except where a visa is refused. Visa refusal must be received in writing/email by Twin. In such cases Twin will refund full fees minus deposit.

Twin Group reserves the right to retain all fees if reason for refusal is unacceptable (false representation on the student’s behalf, lack of required funds, errors in application) or could be used in any way to damage Twin Group’s Tier 2, 4 or 5 Licenses.

Cancellations after arrival date:

• Refunds after arrival will be assessed by Twin Group on a case by case basis
• In the case of late or non-arrival all fees are non-refundable
• Tier 4 Visa  and Tier 5 client’s fees are non –refundable after arrival

 

Refunds due to cancellations by Twin:

Twin Group reserves the right to postpone or cancel any course due to insufficient student numbers or other reasons. In this event a full refund will be given

Refunds Policies

Refunds may take up to 28 days to process. All refunds will be paid to the payee only. All refunds will be in English Sterling. Commission is not paid on refund monies

 

Force Majeure

Twin Group is not liable for failure to perform their obligations if such failure is as a result of Acts of God (including fire, flood, earthquake, storm, hurricane or other natural disaster), war, invasion, act of foreign enemies, hostilities (regardless of whether war is declared), civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, military or usurped power or confiscation, terrorist activities, nationalisation, government sanction, blockage, embargo, labour dispute, strike, lockout or interruption or failure of electricity or telephone service. No party is entitled to terminate this Agreement in such circumstances.

No refunds will be made in the event that Force Majeure applies.

 

Courses

London & Eastbourne Centres

Adult Courses

1. The minimum age is 16 years on our adult courses. There is no maximum age.
2. Students aged 16 and 17 are not normally supervised except in lessons and when joining in optional social sports activities organised by Twin.

Closed Group

The minimum age is 10 years old for English Schools at the time of enrolment.

Students under the minimum age for a course will not be accepted and will be requested to return home at their own expense.

Summer Centre

The minimum age is 8-10 years old for residential centres (check individual centre details) and 12 for homestay centres, at time of enrolment.

Language Levels

Some courses are unsuitable for beginners or may have minimum requirements. If a student’s language level is found unsuitable on arrival for the course booked Twin will either arrange an alternative course, or cancel the course and refund tuition fees. .

 

Tuition

1. When necessary, Twin Group reserves the right to alter the teacher/timetable and/or transfer students from one class or course to another, from one time of study to another, and to merge small classes or cancel classes and courses.
2. Students cannot change from full-time or part-time course to a one-to-one class without prior notice.
3. Twin Group reserves the right to use additional classrooms in other buildings located near the school.

 

Special Requirements

Students with learning difficulties, serious health problems or disabilities must be notified to Twin Group at the time of booking. We may be unable to accept students with severe difficulties. Accommodation will be subject to availability and Twin cannot guarantee accommodation that exactly matches their requirements.

We endeavour to ensure special dietary requirements notified to us at the time of booking are catered for but recommend that students with special diets bring their own food. The accommodation provider won’t be responsible for issues arising from food the student consumes whilst residing with them.  A supplement is charged for special diet requirements,

Any other special requirements must be clearly specified at time of booking and recorded on the booking form. Failure to do so may result in Twin not being able to accommodate the requirements.

 

Attendance, Conduct and Behaviour

1. Students will not receive a course certificate if their attendance is less than 80%.
2. Twin Group reserves the right, without a refund, to refuse an enrolment, or dismiss a student from a course or accommodation or both if unsatisfactory work, attendance or conduct arise. See the code of conduct for more information: http://www.englishcentres.co.uk/media/285152/code_of_ conduct.pdf
3. Tier 4 and Tier 5 Visa students who do not enroll, do not attend their lessons or programme regularly, or breach their conditions of permission to stay will be reported to the UK Visas and Immigration service
4. Twin Group is not liable for loss, damage, illness or injury to persons or property howsoever caused except where statutory liability applies.

 

Students under the age of 18

A parental consent form must be completed for all students less than 18 years before travel.

The ETO’s/guardian’s is responsible for ensuring that the parents/guardians of the student(s) agree that if the student(s) is/are under 18 should any emergency [e.g. involving sickness or injury to the student] arise, the Principal or authorised representative of Twin Group stands in loco parentis and may take any decision[s] they consider appropriate in the circumstances.

Twin Group must for all under 18 students not travelling as part of a group, receive a completed ‘Under 18 parental consent form’ prior to the student’s arrival in school. Students aged under 18 must abide by the curfew times and other stipulations mentioned on the consent document. If they do not, they may be  excluded from school and  sent home. In the event of such action being taken any costs incurred and the eventual cost of repatriation will be covered by the ETO/student or their legal guardians.

 

Public Holidays

Twin Group schools are closed on Public Holidays [please check dates with the school]. Fees for weeks that include public holidays are charged at standard rates and lessons will not be delivered on a different date for tuition lost due to public holidays.

 

Accommodation

All accommodation is non-smoking.

Any preference for accommodation without pets must be specified at time of booking and recorded on your booking form. Any changes upon arrival will incur accommodation cancellation fees and administration fees, to be quoted at the time.

At least one week’s notice must be given if the student decides to vacate the accommodation early otherwise no refund will be made.

For bad or unacceptable student behavior, the student may be asked to leave the accommodation and make his/her own arrangements.  Twin Group cannot guarantee to source alternative accommodation.

Any valuables left at the accommodation provided are done so at the owner’s risk. Twin Group will not be held responsible for any loss or damage to these items.

 

Other

If a student travelling as part of a group falls ill during their stay, it is the group leader’s responsibility to care for that student. This includes staying with the student if hospitalisation is required until discharged or until the student’s parents or member of family arrives.

For individuals travelling alone, Twin Group will do its best to assist the student and notify their next of kin.

In all cases the student/Group Leader will be liable for their own medical and repatriation expenses and Twin Group strongly advises that suitable travel insurance is purchased prior to travel.

 

Group Leader Responsibilities

The group leader/organiser is responsible to ensure that all group members comply with appropriate travel regulations such as visa requirements, current health restrictions, and import and export regulations.

Group leaders/organisers must also ensure group members possess adequate identification, i.e. passport, for travel to the United Kingdom.

The group leader/organiser is responsible to ensure group members are punctual for departures during the entire trip; supervise group member(s) for the duration of travel; undertake necessary measures to prevent damage, nuisance and misconduct inflicted by group member(s).

 

Group Leader Responsibilities (for students aged below 18)

For students aged below 18, additional responsibilities to the above also apply:

Two group leaders are required for any group of 1-15 students, plus one additional group leader for every subsequent 1-15 students. Therefore a group of 16-30 would require 3 group leaders, a group of 31-45 4 group leaders, and so on.

All group leaders must be in possession of a valid police check or equivalent.

Group Leaders must remain in the centre throughout lesson and activity times and take responsibility for their students at all times except scheduled lessons or activities, including supervising breaks and accompanying students from the accommodation to the centre/ meeting point and back, where appropriate.

When a Twin activity/ excursion programme has not been booked, the group leaders must organise a suitable activity/ excursion programme for their students following Twin guidelines.

Group leaders must not leave students unattended in residential accommodation. Students in homestay must be able to contact their group leaders at any time during the day or night.

 

Equality & Diversity

Twin are dedicated to ensuring that clients and members of staff are treated equally, without discrimination on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, marital or civil partner status, gender reassignment, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, disability or age. We expect our partners to adhere to this Twin core value.

 

Complaints

Complaints associated with any aspect of “ground services” such as transfers, accommodation, food, excursions etc. must be raised at the time of occurrence or the next day to enable prompt resolution. Such complaints will not be entertained if raised after the departure date.

If a complaint cannot be resolved or the student is dissatisfied with the Principal or Twin Group’s Directors decision, the ETO can appeal to English UK - www.englishuk.com/en/students/complaints

 

Promotional Videos, Photographs and Publicity.

ETOs/students agree that Twin Group may take photographs or videos of students during their time with us and also mention their achievements and that these may be used for promotional purposes only by Twin Group without specific prior consent or notification. However, if the student does not wish to appear in any promotional materials please notify us at the time of booking.

 

Data Protection

1. Twin Group must see and make a copy of every student’s passport/ID card/visa on arrival at the school. Any students unable to produce an ID document will not be allowed to join the class.
2. On arrival, we will collect and contact next-of-kin details for every student.
   1. Student details are kept on computer based administrative systems and in accordance with UK data protection laws.
   2. Information on students may be passed to Government agencies when and if requested.

 

Money Laundering & Anti-bribery

To comply with the United Kingdom’s anti-money laundering and anti-bribery legislation and regulation, payments by Twin Group to the ETO will be made only to bank accounts in the name of the entity (person or corporation) named in this contract, not to any other entity.

 

Enforceability

Twin Group may update its Terms and Conditions from time to time . The version of the Terms and Conditions issued to the ETO at the time of booking will be valid and override any previous versions on any documents or websites.  All contracts and agreements with Twin Group are governed by UK law.