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 the “Platform”) under the domains gostudent.at, gostudent.de, gostudent.ch and gostudent.org as well as in an app.

1.2. These T&Cs shall apply to all persons registered on the Platform as users (hereinafter referred to as “User”). They regulate the rights and obligations of Users when visiting the Platform and when using the functions and services offered on it.

1.3. These T&Cs shall apply exclusively to the use of the Platform as a User. Any deviating, contradictory or supplementary T&Cs shall not form part of the business relationship between the User and GoStudent, even if they have not been expressly contradicted.

1.4. The provisions of these T&Cs may be amended by GoStudent at any time - provided they do not relate to the main services and do not unreasonably disadvantage the User - for the following reasons: for legal or regulatory reasons specifically relating to the Platform or the tutor contract; for (cyber) security reasons; in order to further develop or optimize existing functions of the Platform as well as to add additional functions; in order to implement new technical developments and make technical adjustments and in order to ensure the future functionality of all services. In addition, amendments which are exclusively favourable for Users as well as purely editorial changes can be made without reasons.
GoStudent will notify the User by email in case of making changes and will inform the User about his/her rights as well as the consequences of his/her actions. Together with the information about the planned change, the User shall be given a reasonable period of at least 30 days to object to the change of the T&Cs. If the User objects to the changes within the mentioned time period, the current Tutor Contract shall continue under the existing T&Cs.

1.5. The information on the protection of the User’s personal data is available in the privacy policy on the Platform under www.gostudent.org/en/privacy-policy.

2. SUBJECT OF THE CONTRACT, SERVICE DESCRIPTION

2.1. Users and persons registered as Tutors (hereinafter referred to as “Tutor”) can arrange online video lessons (hereinafter referred to as “Video Lessons”) via the Platform.

2.2. All persons who wish to offer Video Lessons via the Platform can register as Tutors. These persons do not have to be school teachers. If services offered by Tutors via the Platform are subject to charges, this will be expressly and clearly indicated.

2.3. If a User and Tutor agree upon Video Lessons, the contract for this shall be concluded directly between the User and the Tutor (hereinafter “Tutor Contract”).

2.4. 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 onboarding of Users and also provides support in the processing of Tutor Contracts. GoStudent is authorised to accept payments in the name and on account of Tutors. However, GoStudent itself does not become a party to the Tutor Contracts concluded between Users and Tutors.

2.5. GoStudent may also provide other services via the Platform (e.g. a homework chat or a free trial lesson to test Video Lessons). However, GoStudent is not obliged to make such offers available.

2.6 In order to fully use the platform, it may be necessary for the User to download and install third-party software (freeware). GoStudent will inform the User about all necessary software products prior to entering into the contract.

3. REGISTRATION, CONSENT OF THE LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE

3.1. Use of the Platform requires a corresponding registration. Use of the Platform as a User or Tutor is reserved for registered persons. Registration is free of charge.

3.2. In the course of registration, the User must provide all information completely and truthfully and update it immediately in the event of any changes.

3.3. There is no right to registration on the Platform. GoStudent reserves the right to refuse to register a person as a User without stating the reasons or to exclude already registered Users from using the Platform without giving reasons. Any credit purchased and not yet consumed at the time of exclusion will be refunded by GoStudent to the excluded User. To make this payment, GoStudent shall use the same means of payment that the User originally used to purchase the credit.

3.4. Registration on the Platform is possible regardless of age. However, in order to use chargeable services (Video Lessons) via the Platform, Users must be at least 14 years old and Tutors at least 18 years old. If a User or Tutor has not yet reached the respective minimum age, the prior consent of the person’s legal representative is required.

3.5. GoStudent will provide the User with access to the Platform by transmitting access data to the mobile phone number provided by the User and create a personal user account. In this regard, the User is obliged to provide GoStudent (customersupport@gostudent.org) with an email address to which documents can be sent to the User. If this email address changes, the User must notify GoStudent immediately by providing the new email address.

4. TUTOR CONTRACT FOR VIDEO TEACHING, PURCHASE OF CREDITS

4.1. Tutor Contracts are concluded between a User and a Tutor in accordance with the relevant provisions of these T&Cs.

4.2. Users can conclude a Tutor Contract with a Tutor by purchasing credits for Video Lessons with this Tutor via the Platform. The processing of the credit payment to the Tutor is administered by GoStudent. Credits for Video Lessons can be purchased in the form of session-packages, whereby each Video Lesson corresponds to 50 minutes of tutoring.

4.3. In case the User chooses a package with monthly instalment payment, the User will be credited with the contractually defined number of Video Lessons (on the respective recharge date) every month during the contract term and the corresponding payment will be debited automatically. The recharge date corresponds to the calendar day on which the contract was agreed (e.g. if a contract was agreed on 20.03.2021, the recharge date is the 20th day of each month of the contract period). Credited Video Lessons can be freely used for booking in lessons until the next recharge date; they cannot be carried beyond the next recharge date. If the Tutor is sick or if Video Lessons are not used for other reasons which are not within the sphere of the User, such Video Lessons will not be deducted from the user’s account.

4.4. The conclusion of the Tutor Contract takes place individually via phone or by comparable electronic means of contact. If the user or his legal representative wants to conclude a Tutor Contract online on the Platform and this function is offered to him/her , by clicking the button “Order now for a fee” on the Platform, he/she makes a binding offer to the (previously selected) Tutor to conclude a Tutor Contract as well as to purchase the credit balance required for this and thus an offer to conclude a contract for a fee. GoStudent sends a confirmation message to the User (on behalf of and in the name of the respective Tutor) to accept this offer.

4.5. Before concluding the Tutor Contract, the User is given the opportunity to check all details again and to change them if necessary.

4.6. GoStudent has merchant accounts with external payment service providers (e.g. Stripe, PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Paysafecard, Adyen). The User transfers the payments to the merchant account of GoStudent with the respective payment service provider. The User thereby acquires credit for the use of Video Lessons with the respective Tutor via the Platform.

4.7. The User is provided with a confirmation of the agreed Tutor Contract on a permanent data carrier (e.g. as a PDF document by email) together with the information required by applicable law.

5. VIDEO LESSONS, AUTOMATIC EXTENSION

5.1. Tutor Contracts can be agreed (in particular) in the form of different packages of Video Lessons to be consumed by the User within a certain period of time. The prices of the different packages may vary depending on the number of Video Lessons and the period of time envisaged for the consumption of the Video Lessons.

5.2. For payments within a period of four months from the conclusion of the Tutor Contract or the purchase of a Video Lesson package, the agreed prices shall in any case be fixed prices. For the payments to be made thereafter, the agreed prices shall be indexed according to the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) published by the Office for National Statistics. Should the CPI no longer be published by the Office for National Statistics, the officially determined replacement index shall be deemed agreed.
In the event of changes to the CPI, GoStudent shall be entitled to adjust the prices in the event of an increase and shall be obliged to adjust the prices in the event of a decrease in the same ratio in which the benchmark index value has changed compared to the initial index value. The prices adjusted in such manner shall be rounded to full cent amounts.
The respective initial index value shall be calculated as follows:
a) The first initial index value shall be the arithmetic average of the monthly values of the last calendar half-year completed prior to the conclusion of the contract (“half-year CPI”, published with the addition average) (e.g. the half-year CPI of the months July to December of the calendar year 2021 upon conclusion of the contract in April 2022).
b) After a price change, the respective new initial index value shall always be that half-year CPI which was used for the price change. The respective benchmark index value is the half-year CPI of the calendar half-year completed prior to the effective date of the changed prices (e.g. the half-year CPI of the months January to June 2022 in the case of a price change as of September 1, 2023).
GoStudent will inform the User by email about price changes according to this provision, including the circumstances on which they are based.
The non-enforcement of the index increases, even over a longer period of time, does not mean that GoStudent waives its right to exercise such increases at a later point in time, with effect for the future.
A price increase that results from this provision may be implemented at the earliest on the first day of the third calendar month after the end of the half-year to which the relevant benchmark index value refers (i.e. on March 1 or September 1). If the benchmark index value results in a price reduction, this must take place on this date.
To the extent that the provisions of this clause would result in an obligation on the part of GoStudent to reduce prices, this obligation shall be reduced to the extent that GoStudent would previously have been entitled to increase prices on the basis of these provisions without having exercised this right.

5.3. Payment of the credit for Video Lessons is made either (partially or fully) in advance and/or in monthly instalments via the selected payment provider. If payment is made in the AppStore, the purchase will be charged after confirmation via the User’s iTunes account.

5.4. After the expiration of the term, the contract is extended by another package with the latest applicable conditions (number of Video Lessons, period and price). The User will be informed separately about this aspect and the possibility to object to the renewal upon agreement of the original contract and prior to its renewal. If such renewal is not desired by the User, the official cancellation form can be filled in or any other clear declaration can be issued from the moment of agreement of the contract until 7 days before the end of the contract period at the latest, thus preventing the subsequent extension. Otherwise, the Tutor Contract will be renewed for another package with the latest applicable conditions (Video Lessons, period and price). In case the User has made an advance payment for the initial Tutor Contract, the payment method for the renewed contract will be changed to monthly billing (see point 4.3). If the contract is not cancelled, the current contract will be extended with a new right of cancellation (Point 12.). The Tutor also has the right to object to the automatic renewal of the package by notifying the User (directly or via GoStudent) no later than 7 days before the end of the contract period.

5.5. In addition to the individual Video Lessons, Tutors can also offer free live group courses as well as paid live group courses via the Platform. These are basically one-time purchases (and not packages).

6. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF USERS

6.1. The User agrees that when using Video Lessons via the Platform, GoStudent may deduct the amount per Video Lesson agreed upon at the conclusion of the Tutor Contract from the User’s credit balance and credit the Tutor with the credit balance due to them for this Video Lesson. If credits are not used by the user within the designated time period, they will also be deducted from the user’s account.

6.2. The User has the possibility to create a rescheduling request up to 60 minutes before a video lesson already agreed with a Tutor. Provided that this is accepted by the Tutor at least 30 minutes before the start of the Video Lesson, the User will be automatically rescheduled for the newly selected date free of charge. It should be noted that each Tutor is free to agree their own arrangements with a User for the latest possible rescheduling free of charge. In the event of cancellation or rescheduling not in accordance with the above regulations, as well as in the event of a User’s failure to attend, one unit of Video Lessons will be deducted from the User’s credit balance in the name and for the account of the Tutor.

6.3. The User undertakes to keep secret the access data provided by GoStudent. The User is responsible for all activities that emanate from their user account.

6.4. The User undertakes to notify GoStudent immediately if there is any suspicion of unauthorised use of their user account. If there is suspicion of unauthorised use of a user account or if a User violates applicable legal regulations or these T&Cs, GoStudent reserves the right to block the user account.

7. INFORMATION ABOUT TUTORS

7.1. 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.

7.2. A User has no right to be referred to a particular Tutor. The availability of Tutors is exclusively based on the times they themselves have indicated on the Platform.

7.3. There is no employment or freelance service relationship between a Tutor and GoStudent. Tutors are not subject to instructions from GoStudent and act independently when holding Video Lessons. They are also not authorised to represent GoStudent in legal transactions.

8. USE OF PLATFORM

8.1. GoStudent shall make the Platform available for use 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 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.

8.2. 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.

8.3. 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 potentially unfounded or misleading. Users undertake to provide only truthful information in the reviews and to observe the legal regulations as well as these T&Cs. Users may only reproduce personal data with the express permission of the person concerned.

8.4. GoStudent reserves the right to delete reviews or other content in whole or in part, especially if they contain unlawful content.

8.5. The User expressly acknowledges and agrees that in particular, but not exclusively, the distribution of the following content via the Platform is prohibited:
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; and
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.

8.6. The User 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.

8.7. The use of tools for data analysis of the Platform content is not permitted.

8.8. 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.

8.9. 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 stipulated in Section 1.4.

9. WARRANTY, WITHDRAWAL FROM TUTOR CONTRACT

9.1. The Tutor Contract is governed by the statutory warranty provisions.

9.2. If a Tutor has not or only partially fulfilled a Tutor Contract (e.g. individual Video Lessons) 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 to customersupport@gostudent.org. GoStudent can check the quality of a Video Lesson in such cases and 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 to be justified, the credit for a unit of Video Lessons shall be credited to the User’s credit account and any credit already transferred to the Tutor’s credit account for the unit shall be deducted from the Tutor’s credit balance.

9.3. In case of serious violations of a Tutor or in case of 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 is transferred to the replacement Tutor and the unused credit shall be available for Video Lessons with the replacement Tutor under the previously agreed conditions (open units/agreed time period). 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 pursuant to point 12.7.

10. LIABILITY

10.1. GoStudent is only responsible for loss or damage Users suffer that is a foreseeable result of GoStudent‘s breach of its obligations. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time the contract was made, both GoStudent and the User knew it might happen, for example, if the User discussed it with GoStudent during the sales process.
Nothing in these T&Cs is intended to exclude or limit in any way GoStudent’s liability for any matter for which it would be illegal for GoStudent to exclude or to attempt to exclude including:
a) death or personal injury caused by the negligence of GoStudent;
b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
c) breach of your legal rights by GoStudent in respect of the provision of the Platform.

10.2. GoStudent shall assume no liability for the fulfilment of contractual or other obligations of Tutors towards Users. In particular, GoStudent is not liable for the availability of Tutors or for any damage incurred by the User in connection with the performance of a Tutor Contract. With regard to the reimbursement of the credit used for a Video Lesson unit, a User must proceed in accordance with point 9.2. All claims over and above this must be made directly to the respective Tutor.

10.3. 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 User is therefore solely responsible for critically reviewing and evaluating the content of other Users and Tutors.

11. EXEMPTION FROM LIABILITY ON THE PART OF THE USER

The User undertakes to indemnify and hold GoStudent completely harmless if GoStudent is held liable by Tutors for claims arising from Tutor Contracts or by other Users, Tutors or third parties for civil or criminal, judicial or extrajudicial claims arising from the content posted by the User on the Platform. The indemnification also includes penalties, damages and all reasonable and necessary costs of legal defence.

12. RIGHT OF CANCELLATION FOR USERS (TUTOR CONTRACT)

12.1. In the event that a User concludes a Tutor Contract via the Platform with a Tutor, the User shall have the following right of cancellation against the Tutor.

12.2. The cancellation period is 14 days from the day the contract was agreed. Within this fourteen-day cancellation period, the User has the right to terminate the contract without stating the reasons.

12.3. In order to exercise the right of cancellation, the User must announce the cancellation of the contract by means of a clear declaration. For this purpose, the User may download, fill out and submit the sample cancellation form or send another unambiguous declaration by email to customersupport@gostudent.org or by mail. If the User makes use of this option, GoStudent will immediately send the User a confirmation of receipt of such cancellation.

12.4. In order to comply with the cancellation period, it is sufficient for the User to send notification of the exercise of the right of cancellation before the end of the cancellation period.

12.5. Consequences of cancellation: If the User revokes the Tutor Contract, all payments made for the purchase of credits for Video Lessons must be repaid to the User immediately and at the latest within fourteen days of the day on which the notification of cancellation of the contract was received. For this repayment, the same means of payment shall be used as the one used for the original purchase of credit.

12.6. If the User exercises his right of cancellation and thus withdraws from the contract after the fulfilment of the contract has already started upon the User’s prior request, the User shall pay an amount which, in comparison to the contractually agreed total price, proportionately corresponds to the services rendered until the cancellation. In the case of monthly payment, the price of a consumed Video Lesson is equal to the price per month divided by the number of Video Lessons agreed per month. In the case of an upfront payment, the price of a Video Lesson is equal to the price of the entire contract divided by the total number of Video Lessons over the entire term of the contract.

12.7. After expiry of the 14-day cancellation period from the day the contract was agreed, the User can no longer terminate the Tutor Contract and cannot reclaim the amount paid for the purchase of credits. The right to an extraordinary cancellation of the Tutor Contract remains unaffected. In the event of such extraordinary cancellation, the User may reclaim the amount paid for the acquisition of (unused) credit.

12.8. If the User has purchased a GoFlex package with a term of 12 months or longer, then – notwithstanding point 12.7 – the User may also terminate the Tutor Contract before the end of the agreed contract term, up to 7 days before each recharge date. In this case, a price adjustment fee will be due, depending on the date of termination and the agreed term.

13. APPLICABLE LAW, PLACE OF JURISDICTION, DISPUTE RESOLUTION

13.1. These T&Cs and all further agreements with GoStudent are exclusively subject to the law of England and Wales, 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 User of the protection afforded by the mandatory provisions of the law of the state in which they have their habitual residence.

13.2. The competent court in Vienna is responsible for all legal actions brought against GoStudent by a User due to disputes arising from the contractual relationship. This does not affect the User’s right to sue at any other legal place of jurisdiction. For all legal actions brought against a User who has their residence, usual place of abode or place of employment in Austria for disputes arising from the contractual relationship, one of the courts in whose district the User has their residence, usual place of abode or place of employment shall be competent. For Users who were not resident in Austria at the time of the contract was concluded, the statutory places of jurisdiction shall apply.

13.3 Consumers have the option to submit complaints to the online dispute resolution platform, which can be reached at https://www.tradingstandards.uk/consumer-help/adr-approved-bodies/. You can also submit your complaint directly to GoStudent at the following email address: customersupport@gostudent.org.

14. FINAL PROVISIONS

14.1. In case of contradictions between these T&Cs and deviating written agreements between a User and GoStudent, the provisions of the deviating agreements shall take precedence over these T&Cs.

14.2. 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 User’s and GoStudent’s economic purpose.

14.3. 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 User and from GoStudent, even if legal and/or economic relationships should exist with such a person.