Skip to main content

Refund Policy

Draft — pending legal review
Last updated:

1. Your statutory right to cancel — 14-day cooling-off period

If you are a consumer (someone buying for personal, non-business use), UK and EU law gives you 14 days to change your mind and cancel your booking, without giving a reason. The 14 days begin on the day we send you the Order Confirmation email.

How to cancel

Email us at info@onlinelanguagelessons.uk — or use the model cancellation form at the bottom of this page. You can also write to us at our registered office (see "Who we are" below).

What if my lessons have already started?

You keep the right to cancel during the 14 days even if lessons have started, unless both of the following are true:

  1. At checkout you ticked two boxes to confirm: (i) that you expressly wanted lessons to begin within the cooling-off period, and (ii) that you understood you would lose the right to cancel once the course was fully delivered; and
  2. The course has actually been fully delivered before you tell us you want to cancel.

If you cancel during the cooling-off period after one or more lessons have been delivered, we refund the price you paid less a proportionate amount for the lessons you have already had. For example:

You bought a 10-lesson course for £300. After lesson 2 you decide to cancel. We refund 8/10 × £300 = £240. (Lessons completed: 2; lessons remaining: 8.)

When you'll get your refund

We refund without undue delay, and in any event within 14 days of receiving your cancellation notice. Refunds are made using the same payment method you used to pay — usually Stripe will then take 5–10 business days to credit the money to your bank or card.

We do not deduct fees from your statutory refund

We do not deduct payment-processing fees, Stripe fees, administrative fees or any other charges from a refund within the cooling-off period. That deduction is prohibited by reg 34(3) of the UK Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and Article 13 of the EU Consumer Rights Directive.

2. Cancellations outside the 14-day cooling-off period

Once the cooling-off period has ended (or, if you ticked the express-consent boxes at checkout and we have fully delivered your course before you cancelled, immediately), your statutory right to cancel ends. After that point you may still have rights — see sections 3, 4 and 5 below — but a "change of mind" refund is no longer guaranteed.

We do, however, offer two customer-friendly options outside the statutory window:

2.1 Course transfer

If you are unhappy with your current course (for example, you didn't gel with the instructor, or the level wasn't right), you may transfer to a different course at any time. We do not charge a transfer fee.

  • If the new course is more expensive, you pay the difference.
  • If the new course is cheaper, we will either refund the difference or give you a credit voucher (valid 12 months) — your choice.
  • If you have already taken lessons in your original course, we deduct their pro-rata value from the transfer.

2.2 Medical / serious-cause freeze

If you can't continue your lessons because of illness or another serious cause, we can pause your enrolment for up to 6 months. Lessons remaining at the pause-start are credited back when you return.

3. If we cancel a lesson or a course

If we (or your teacher) cancel a scheduled lesson — for any reason — we will offer to reschedule. If we cannot reschedule within 60 days at a time that works for you, you may choose between:

  • a full refund of the unused portion, paid within 14 days; or
  • a credit voucher valid for 12 months from the cancellation date.

The choice is yours.

If we cancel an entire course or package before it has begun, we refund 100% of what you paid, within 14 days, using the same payment method.

4. If a lesson is not up to standard

Under section 49 of the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015 (and equivalent Italian law), we must perform lessons with reasonable care and skill. If you feel a lesson did not meet this standard, please tell us within 14 days of the lesson at info@onlinelanguagelessons.uk.

If we agree, we will offer to repeat the lesson at no charge. If a repeat is not possible or would inconvenience you, you are entitled to a price reduction up to the full price of the affected lesson(s). These are statutory rights — they apply alongside, not instead of, this policy.

5. Pre-paid packages — validity and unused lessons

When you buy a multi-lesson package, the lessons must be used within the following windows:

  • Trial lesson (single): 60 days from purchase.
  • 4-lesson pack: 3 months from purchase.
  • 10-lesson pack: 6 months from purchase.
  • Group course: the duration of the course schedule.

Lessons not used within the validity window are forfeit, unless you have given us written notice of medical reasons or other good cause for the delay — in which case we will extend the window by a reasonable period.

If you wish to cancel a package partway through (outside the 14-day cooling-off period), email us. We will:

  • consider the request in good faith;
  • offer either a refund of unused lessons less a fair administrative charge (currently 10% of the unused value, capped at £30), or a credit voucher for the full unused value valid 12 months;
  • not retain all your money as a "penalty" for cancelling. (Such terms are likely unenforceable under the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015 section 62.)

6. Refund process — step by step

  1. Email info@onlinelanguagelessons.uk with your order number and the reason for the refund (a reason is not required for statutory cancellations within 14 days, but it helps us improve).
  2. We will acknowledge your request within 2 business days.
  3. We process the refund within 14 days of receiving your request (sooner if we can).
  4. The refund is sent to the same payment method you used to pay.
  5. Stripe typically takes 5–10 business days to credit the refund to your card or bank.

If you have not received the refund within 21 days of submitting your request, please email us — we will check and follow up.

7. Chargebacks

If you believe a charge from us is wrong, please contact us first — chargebacks are slow and expensive for both sides. If we cannot resolve the issue, you remain free to ask your card issuer for a chargeback.

8. Currency and VAT

Refunds are paid in the same currency as the original purchase and include any VAT/IVA you paid.

9. Who we are and how to contact us

Ricotti Sisters Limited — trading as Online Language Lessons.

Annex — Model cancellation form (CCRs 2013 Sch 3 / EU CRD Annex I(B))

You don't have to use this form — any clear statement of cancellation, by email or letter, is enough. But you may copy the model form below.

To: Ricotti Sisters Limited, 34b Worple Road, Isleworth, England, TW7 7AP

Email: info@onlinelanguagelessons.uk

I/We hereby give notice that I/We cancel my/our contract for the supply of the following service:

  • Description of service: _________
  • Ordered on: _________
  • Order number: _________
  • Consumer name: _________
  • Consumer address: _________
  • Signature (only if this form is submitted on paper): _________
  • Date: _________