Terms and conditions
1. SCOPE
1.1. GoStudent GmbH, with its headquarters in Vienna, registered in the commercial register of the Commercial Court of Vienna under FN 447118 b (hereinafter “GoStudent”), provides an online platform for tutoring services (hereinafter “Platform”) under the domain www.gostudent.org as well as in an app.
1.2. These T&Cs shall apply to all persons registered on the platform as Tutors (hereinafter “Tutor”). They regulate the rights and obligations of tutors when visiting the platform and when using the functions and services offered on it. Unless the registration process is successfully completed, the person cannot offer the tutoring service via the platform.
1.3. These T&Cs and the GoGuidelines shall apply exclusively to the use of the platform as a Tutor. Any deviating, contradictory or supplementary T&Cs shall not form part of the business relationship between the Tutor and GoStudent, even if they have not been expressly contradicted. Deviating, contradictory or supplementary T&Cs shall only be valid if GoStudent has agreed to them in writing.
1.4. GoStudent may change the provisions of these T&Cs at any time without stating the reasons. Such changes shall be posted on the platform. If the Tutor continues to use the Platform after publication of the amended T&Cs, the amendments are deemed to be accepted.
1.5. The information on the protection of the Tutor’s personal data is available in the privacy policy on the Platform under www.gostudent.org/en/privacy-policy.
1.6. Within the scope of the data processing activities of GoStudent as a processor described in the privacy policy pursuant to section 1.5, in particular in its section 5, the standard contractual clauses for controllers and processors in the EU / EEA shall be agreed for Tutors in the EEA: Option 1 applies in Clause 1 of the Annex, Option 2 applies in Clause 7.7 a) with a period of three business days, and Option 1 applies in Clauses 8 and 9 respectively; in Annex I, the Tutor is the controller and GoStudent is the processor; the information set out in Annex II is that set out in the aforementioned privacy policy; GoStudent has taken all the measures listed in Annex III (except for measures to ensure logging of events); the information set out in Annex IV is again derived from the aforementioned privacy policy.
2. SUBJECT OF THE CONTRACT, SERVICE DESCRIPTION
2.1. Tutors and persons registered as Users (hereinafter “User”) can arrange online video lessons (hereinafter “Video Lessons”) via the Platform.
2.2. If a Tutor and a User agree on Video Lessons, the contract for Video Lessons is concluded directly between the Tutor and the User (hereinafter “Tutor Contract”). The Tutor is informed by GoStudent about the conclusion of a Tutor Contract.
2.3. GoStudent operates the Platform and arranges Tutor Contracts on behalf of Tutors for Users of the Platform. In addition, GoStudent offers certain services in connection with the execution of the Tutor Contracts. However, GoStudent itself does not become a party to the Tutor Contracts concluded between Users and Tutors.
2.4. The right of GoStudent to also offer services to Users itself via the Platform remains unaffected by this. The Tutor is not obliged to participate in the provision of these services.
3. REGISTRATION
3.1. The use of the Platform as a Tutor is reserved for registered persons. Registration is free of charge.
3.2. There is no right to registration on the Platform. GoStudent reserves the right to refuse the registration of a person as a Tutor without stating the reasons or to exclude already registered Tutors from using the Platform in justified cases.
3.3. The information provided by the Tutor during registration (in particular phone number and email address) must be complete and truthful. Any changes must be communicated immediately.
3.4. Registration as a Tutor on the Platform is possible from a minimum age of 18 years. If a Tutor has not yet reached the minimum age, the prior consent of the legal representative is required for registration.
3.5. GoStudent will provide the Tutor with access to the Platform by transmitting access data to the mobile phone number provided by the Tutor and create a personal user account.
4. APPOINTMENT OF GOSTUDENT AS MEDIATOR
4.1. The Tutor hereby instructs GoStudent to present the services they offer on the Platform and to provide them with opportunities to conclude Tutor Contracts via the Platform. However, GoStudent cannot guarantee that Tutor Contracts are actually arranged.
4.2. GoStudent is entitled to accept payments in the name and on account of Tutors.
4.3. There is no employment relationship of any kind between the Tutors and GoStudent. The Tutors are not subject to instructions from GoStudent and act independently and on their own responsibility when giving Video Lessons. Furthermore, they are not authorized to legally represent GoStudent.
5. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF TUTORS
5.1. Tutors can register on the Platform to offer Video Lessons. During registration, Tutors indicate in which subject areas (e.g. school subjects) they would like to offer Video Lessons. If requests for Video Lessons in a relevant subject area are received from Users via the Platform, GoStudent may notify a Tutor; however, there is no obligation to do so. On the other hand, there is no obligation for the Tutor to respond to requests for Video Lessons.
5.2. If the Tutor accepts a request for Video Lessons, a Tutor Contract is concluded between a Tutor and a User, taking into account the relevant provisions of these T&Cs and the User T&Cs.
5.3. Upon conclusion of the Tutor Contract, the User purchases credits for Video Lessons with the Tutor via the Platform. Credits for Video Lessons can be purchased in the form of unit packages. It may be foreseen that the Tutor Contract will be extended automatically after the agreed period of time unless one of the contracting parties objects to this in due time before the end of the term.
5.4. The current tariffs for the lessons are published on the Platform. GoStudent reserves the right to change the tariffs and the commission to be paid at any time. Such changes only apply to lessons / packages that are brokered after such a change.
5.5. The processing of the credit payment to the Tutor is administered by GoStudent. After a Video Lesson has been held, the Tutor will be credited with the respective credit for that lesson. The payment of the credit shall be made taking into account point 6.2.
5.6. The Tutor pays GoStudent a commission for each arranged Tutor Contract. The entire commission claim arises upon conclusion of the Tutor Contract. Payment of the commission to GoStudent (by way of retention) is done as follows: If the User pays the respectively acquired credit (package) in full upon conclusion of the Tutor Contract, the commission is also due for payment in full immediately to GoStudent; if the User pays the respective acquired credit (package) in installments, the commission is also due for payment in partial amounts to GoStudent in corresponding installments on the due dates of the User’s installments agreed upon in the respective Tutor Contract; the commission shall be due regardless of whether the User actually pays the respective installments to GoStudent. GoStudent is entitled to withhold the commission amounts owed by the Tutor from the User’s payments (or their credit balance).
5.7. After holding a Video Lesson, GoStudent will deduct credits from the User’s account and credit the Tutor with the credits minus the commission. GoStudent may also deduct credits from a User’s account and transfer the credit less commission to the Tutor provided the User does not move or cancel a session in a timely manner or does not show up for it. The commission payable to GoStudent by the Tutor in this case may also differ from the commission payable when a Video Lesson is held.
5.8. If User credits expire because they are not used within the specified time period, GoStudent is entitled to the entire expired credits as commission.
5.9. The current commissions shall be announced to the Tutor.
5.10. If the User has a repayment claim with regard to acquired but not yet used credit from a Tutor Contract, the (proportional) commission is also canceled (retroactively) with the repayment. In this case, the Tutor will be issued with corresponding credit notes for the commissions already invoiced.
5.11. If a Tutor has concluded a Tutor Contract with a User, they are obliged to fulfill such a contract. There is no obligation to perform the services personally; therefore Tutors may be represented by a suitable substitute tutor at any time. Termination of a Tutor Contract by the Tutor is only possible on the basis of a statutory reason for termination or with the User’s consent.
5.12. The Tutor undertakes to observe the legal provisions applicable to the fulfillment of the Tutor Contract in each case and in particular to ensure that when posting content on the Platform, they have the corresponding rights of use and that the provision of content does not violate legal regulations, moral standards and/or the rights of third parties (such as copyright, personal rights and trademark rights).
5.13. The Tutor explicitly acknowledges and agrees that any form of re-use of other Tutors’ teaching content, materials and answers is prohibited without the express consent of the other Tutor.
5.14. The Tutor undertakes to keep the access data provided by GoStudent confidential. The Tutor is responsible for all activities that originate from their user account.
5.15. The Tutor undertakes to notify GoStudent immediately if there is any suspicion of unauthorized use of their user account. If there is suspicion of unauthorized use of a user account or if a Tutor violates applicable legal regulations or these T&Cs, GoStudent reserves the right to block the user account and subsequently delete it.
6. CREDIT ACCOUNT/SETTLEMENT
6.1. After a Tutor has successfully registered on the Platform, a credit account (hereinafter “Credit Account”) is set up for them, to which the credits acquired by the Tutor through holding Video Lessons or providing additional services are credited. No interest is paid on the credit balance.
6.2. The Tutor can view the current balance of their credit balance in their user account. Payments to the Tutor shall be made in the calendar month following the provision of a lesson in the form of a cashless transfer to the Tutor’s most recently specified bank account.
6.3. If the contract between GoStudent and the Tutor is terminated, any credit balance that has not yet been paid out shall be due for payout to the Tutor at the end of the next calendar month.
6.4. Any taxes and duties connected with the payout of the credit balance (e.g. income tax, VAT, social security contributions) must be declared and paid by the Tutor themselves. The Tutor undertakes to indemnify and hold GoStudent completely harmless in this regard.
6.5. GoStudent has merchant accounts with external payment service providers (e.g. Citi, Revolut). The Tutor receives payments by bank transfer from a GoStudent merchant account via the respective payment service provider.
7. USE OF PLATFORM
7.1. GoStudent shall make the Platform available for use 24⁄7. However, there is no procedure that can guarantee that software is error-free based on the current state of technology. GoStudent therefore does not guarantee that the software on which the Platform is based is completely free of errors and that there will be no platform downtime. Furthermore, the Platform may be temporarily unavailable due to maintenance work. GoStudent will announce scheduled maintenance work on the Platform in a timely manner. However, GoStudent is not obliged to update the Platform.
7.2. The Platform and the underlying software are copyrighted and may not be used or modified beyond the agreed rights of use without prior written consent from GoStudent. Likewise, the design of the Platform and in particular the content placed on the Platform (e.g. databases, photos, images, logos, videos, texts, graphics, etc.) are copyrighted or are subject to other laws for the protection of intellectual property and, unless otherwise indicated, GoStudent is entitled to these.
7.3. GoStudent can make the platform interactive. This gives Users and Tutors the opportunity to review each other and write their own comments. GoStudent does not check whether the reviews are possibly unfounded or misleading. Tutors may only reproduce personal data with the express permission of the person concerned.
7.4. By accepting these T&Cs, Tutors agree that GoStudent may share the personal information provided by the Tutor (contact detail, subject information, place of residence, title, and other information about teaching skills and experience) with Tus Media, S.L. for the purpose of business contact via phone or email. Consent may be revoked by letter to GoStudent’s business address or by email to tutor@gostudent.org.
7.5. GoStudent reserves the right to delete reviews or other content in whole or in part, especially if they contain unlawful content.
a. racist, pornographic, obscene, insulting, vulgar, violent, belittling and immoral content;
b. insulting, hurtful comments or threats against other Users, Tutors or third parties;
c. content which impairs or endangers children or young people in their development or upbringing or which violates human dignity or other legally protected interests;
d. content that could lead others to criminal or other immoral acts;
e. copied content to which the Tutor has no rights or which was provided by other registered persons;
f. content that poses a security risks, such as viruses;
g. Sending unsolicited advertising emails, junk emails, other unsolicited messages, so-called email bombs etc. to other Users, Tutors or third parties or setting links to third-party pages for distribution purposes.
7.6. The Tutor grants GoStudent the free, non-exclusive, perpetual and unrestricted right to use, edit, copy and distribute reviews, photos, graphics, texts, audio messages and videos posted on the Platform for provision on the Platform and for advertising the Platform.
7.7. The use of tools for data analysis of the Platform content is not permitted.
7.8. GoStudent is entitled at any time to restrict or completely discontinue the services offered via the Platform without stating the reasons. Significant changes or restrictions to the services offered will be announced on the Platform in good time.
7.9. A restriction or discontinuation of the services offered by GoStudent does not change these T&Cs. GoStudent can only change the T&Cs in accordance with the procedure provided in Section 1.4.
8. WARRANTY
8.1. The relationship between the Tutor and GoStudent is governed by the statutory warranty provisions.
8.2. If a Tutor has not or only partially fulfilled a Tutor Contract (e.g. individual units) or has fulfilled it badly (e.g. non-appearance or late arrival of tutor, lack of professional competence, inappropriate treatment of User), the User can make a justified complaint via the WhatsApp support contact +43 670 3082068. GoStudent can try to mediate between the User and Tutor. The User and Tutor agree that GoStudent will have the final say on the existence and amount of any claim for a credit refund. If GoStudent considers the User’s complaint justified, the Tutor’s claim to the credit balance shall be canceled. Any credit already allocated to the Tutor’s Credit Account for the unit shall be deducted in this case. If the Tutor does not have sufficient credit in their Credit Account at this time, GoStudent reserves the right to deduct any credit required later from the Credit Account or to demand the amount back in cash.
8.3. In case of poor- or non-fulfilment of the Tutor Contract, an attempt shall be made to find a replacement tutor for the User at the User’s request. If a replacement tutor is found, the Tutor Contract can be transferred to the replacement tutor. The replacement tutor may subsequently acquire credit by holding Video Lessons in accordance with the conditions agreed with the original Tutor; they will also owe the commission payable to GoStudent for the Tutor Contract they have taken over (for the units provided). If no replacement tutor can be found or if the User does not wish to have a replacement tutor, they have the right to terminate the Tutor Contract without notice.
9. LIABILITY
9.1. GoStudent is only liable, regardless of the legal grounds, if damage was caused through GoStudent as a result of gross negligence or intent. GoStudent’s liability for slight negligence is excluded - except for personal injury.
9.2. GoStudent shall assume no liability for the fulfillment of contractual or other obligations of Tutors towards Users. In particular, GoStudent is not liable for any damage incurred by the Tutor in connection with the performance of a Tutor Contract. These claims must be made directly to the respective User.
9.3. GoStudent shall not be liable for the content provided by Users or Tutors on the Platform or the content of websites to which GoStudent is linked. For illegal, incorrect or incomplete content and especially for damage resulting from the use or non-use of such information, the provider of the site to which GoStudent is linked is solely liable. The Tutor is therefore solely responsible for critically reviewing and evaluating the content of other Users and Tutors.
10. EXEMPTION FROM LIABILITY ON THE PART OF TUTOR
The Tutor undertakes to indemnify and hold GoStudent completely harmless if GoStudent is held liable by Tutors for claims arising from Tutor Contracts or by other tutors, Users or third parties for civil or criminal, judicial or extrajudicial claims arising from the content posted by the Tutor on the Platform. The indemnification also includes penalties, damages and all costs of legal defense.
11. TERMINATION
The contractual relationship between GoStudent and the respective Tutor regarding the use of the Platform begins with the Tutor successfully registering on the Platform. Both the Tutor and GoStudent are entitled to terminate this contract at any time with immediate effect. However, GoStudent must still be able to process current Tutor Contracts in an orderly manner.
12. APPLICABLE LAW, PLACE OF JURISDICTION
12.1. These T&Cs and all further agreements with GoStudent are exclusively subject to Austrian law, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the reference norms of international private law. This choice of law only applies insofar as it does not deprive a Tutor of the protection afforded by the mandatory provisions of the law of the state in which they have their habitual residence.
12.2. The competent court in Vienna is responsible for all legal actions brought against GoStudent by a Tutor due to disputes arising from the contractual relationship. This does not affect the Tutor’s right to sue at any other legal place of jurisdiction. For all legal actions brought against a Tutor who has their residence, usual place of abode or place of operation in Austria for disputes arising from the contractual relationship, one of the courts in whose district the Tutor has their residence, usual place of abode or place of operation shall be competent. For Tutors who were not resident in Austria at the time the contract was concluded, the statutory places of jurisdiction shall apply.
13. FINAL PROVISIONS
13.1. In case of contradictions between these T&Cs and deviating written agreements between a Tutor and GoStudent, the provisions of the deviating agreements shall take precedence over these T&Cs.
13.2. Should individual provisions of these T&Cs be or become invalid, this shall not affect the remaining content of the T&Cs. The invalid provision shall be replaced by a provision that is legally valid and comes closest to the Tutor’s and GoStudent’s economic purpose.
13.3. A “third party” within the meaning of these T&Cs is any natural or legal person who is different from the person registered as a Tutor and from GoStudent, even if legal and/or economic relationships should exist with such a person.