ActiLingua Academy

General terms and conditions

1. Scope of Application

These General Terms and Conditions of “ActiLingua”, Language Studies GmbH & Co KG, FN 257153t, Nikolsdorfer Gasse 7-11/16, A-1050 Vienna, (hereinafter also referred to as “ActiLingua”) are considered binding for all contractual relationships between ActiLingua and individual persons who use the services of ActiLingua as customers (hereinafter referred to as “Customers” or “Participants”).

2. Programme and Services

The subject of the services are those described in the relevant programme specified in the enrolment confirmation/invoice.

3. Registration

Registration for a course and booking of accommodation is done in writing or online through our website.

A deposit of EUR 198.- on the total booking amount must be paid at the time of booking. Any optionally booked travel insurance must also be paid at the same time as the registration and will be arranged by us upon receipt of the payment.

Within approximately two working days of receiving the full deposit, we will email you your booking confirmation with all necessary booking and payment details, as well as the proforma invoice. A booking is only valid once we confirm it. The automatic confirmation at the end of the booking process does not guarantee a course place. We recommend you do not book any flights/transportation or make any other arrangements until you have received our booking confirmation.

The remaining costs must be paid no later than 20 days before the course starts. Special Payment Terms for Booking the Holiday Course (16-19 years) with accommodation:
Full payment must be received in our account no later than 8 (eight) weeks prior to the customer’s arrival. Once we have received your payment, we will send you the “Welcome Letter” with all the relevant information for your course and booking. If you have booked accommodation with us, the accommodation address will also be included there.

If payment for any booked accommodation is not received at least 20 days before arrival – or in the case of a Holiday Course (16-19 years) with accommodation, 8 (eight) weeks prior to arrival – we reserve the right to cancel the accommodation to avoid or minimize potential cancellation fees for you. Please note: In the event that we cancel the accommodation, the course booking will remain valid, and the customer will be responsible for securing alternative accommodation.

4. Right of Withdrawal

Right of Withdrawal for Consumers in Distance Selling Contracts and Contracts Concluded Outside of Business Premises Concerning Language Courses (Statutory Right of Withdrawal for Language Course Bookings) – Withdrawal Instruction

If the customer has only booked a language course, they have the right to withdraw from the contract concerning the language course within 14 (fourteen) days from the date of the conclusion of the contract without giving any reason. In order to exercise the right of withdrawal, the customer must inform ActiLingua of her/his decision to withdraw from the language course contract by means of a clear statement. The customer may use the sample withdrawal form below, but is not obliged to do so. If this option is used, ActiLingua will promptly send the customer a confirmation of the receipt of the withdrawal from the language course. In order to comply with the withdrawal period, it is sufficient for the customer to send the notification of the exercise of the right of withdrawal before the end of the withdrawal period.

The statutory right of withdrawal only applies to bookings of language courses. If a language course and accommodation are booked together (a package holiday), there is no statutory right of withdrawal.

Consequences of withdrawing from the language course due to Statutory Right of Withdrawal

If the customer withdraws from the contract concerning the language course within the withdrawal period, ActiLingua will refund all payments received from the customer without delay and at the latest within 14 (fourteen) days from the date on which ActiLingua receives the notification of withdrawal from the contract. For this refund, ActiLingua will use the same means of payment used by the customer for the original transaction.

If the customer has requested that ActiLingua’s services begin during the withdrawal period, the customer must pay ActiLingua a proportionate amount for the services already provided.

The right of withdrawal applies only to consumers and only to contracts concluded away from business premises and within the framework of so-called distance selling contracts, i.e., contracts in which the entrepreneur or a person acting in their name or on their behalf and the consumer exclusively use means of distance communication for the purpose of contract negotiations and concluding the contract, unless the contract is concluded outside of a framework of a distribution or service system organized for distance selling. Means of distance communication are any means of communication which may be used to initiate or conclude a contract without the simultaneous physical presence of the parties.

Sample Withdrawal Form:
To
Language Studies GmbH & Co KG
Nikolsdorfer Gasse 7-11/16
A-1050 Vienna
or by email to [email protected]

I hereby withdraw from the booking of the German course named (*) from (*) to (*) as per the booking dated (*).
Customer’s name: (*)
Customer’s address: (*)
Date: (*)
Customer’s signature: _______________________________________

5. Payment

Bank transfer:
Bank: Raiffeisenlandesbank NÖ-Wien AG
Bank address: Landstraßer Hauptstraße 2A-B, A-1030 Wien
Beneficiary: Language Studies GmbH & Co KG
SWIFT/BIC: RLNWATWW
IBAN: AT 30 32000 00005212808

All payments shall be made free of any banking charges for ActiLingua.

We provide Credit Card payment (Visa, Mastercard).

6. Changes and Rebookings of Language Courses and/or Accommodation

Changes and/or rebooking of the language course, its date and/or the booked accommodation will be made, if at all possible/feasible, up to a maximum of 29 days prior to the start of the course, subject to a handling fee of EUR 50.00 per change/rebooking. After this period, the cancellation terms as per section 7 will apply.

7. Cancellation Terms

7.1. The following cancellation fees apply to cancellations of individual bookings:

– Up to four weeks before the confirmed start of the course: 10% of the total amount but at least EUR 198.00
– Up to two weeks before the confirmed start of the course: 50% of the total amount
– Up to six working days before the confirmed start of the course: 80% of the total amount
– Thereafter: 100% of the total amount

Special Cancellation Terms for Booking the Holiday Course (16-19 years) including accommodation:

– Up to 8 (eight) weeks before the confirmed course start: 80% of the total amount will be charged. Thereafter: 100% of the total amount will be charged.

A cancellation is effective upon ActiLingua’s receipt of the written notification.

If a booking is cancelled for which a visa has been applied for at an Austrian representative authority in the customer’s home country (embassy or consulate), ActiLingua will inform the representative authority of the cancellation.

University Preparation and Enrolment Guidance: The full deposit (= deposit EUR 198.- plus fees for University Preparation and Enrolment Guidance) must be paid at registration and is non-refundable.

This cancellation Terms do not affect the legal right of withdrawal as described in section 4.

7.2. Cancellations of group bookings are subject to the following cancellation fees:

– Up to 60 working days before the confirmed start of the course: 10% of the total amount
– 59 to 29 working days before the confirmed start of the course: 50% of the total amount
– 28 to 14 working days before the confirmed start of the course: 75% of the total amount
– From 13 working days before the confirmed start of the course: 100% of the total amount

In the event of a reduction in the number of participants, the cancellation conditions for individual travellers as per section 7.1 apply accordingly.

7.3. General

All refunds will be made less the following costs and charges: applicable cancellation fees, bank charges and the cost of any travel insurance purchased.

8. Cancellation by the organiser

If ActiLingua has to cancel the course for a valid reason (e.g., insufficient number of participants), the full course fee will be refunded. ActiLingua will not reimburse any additional costs or other disadvantages incurred by the student as a result of the cancellation.

9. Travel Insurance Package

It is recommended that students take out travel insurance. Travel insurance is mandatory for the Summer School 12 – 17 courses. The travel insurance package (health, accident, luggage, and travel liability insurance) can be arranged for the duration of the stay at ActiLingua. Prices, conditions and cover are available on request.

10. Visa Information

The customer is responsible for obtaining any necessary visas. Please contact the visa authorities well in advance for clarification! ActiLingua is happy to assist the customer in obtaining visas by providing relevant documentation but is not responsible or liable for the issuance/non-issuance of visas.

ActiLingua assists the customer in obtaining a visa e.g. by sending a proof of payment and an invitation letter to the Austrian representative authority in the customer’s home country (embassy or consulate). All costs related to the visa are borne by the customer. An invitation letter can be issued once ActiLingua has received the total amount of the booked services. ActiLingua will then send the invitation letter by email to the representative authority and only by post or express mail (DHL, at extra cost) to the customer if explicitly requested by the customer.

If the customer’s visa application is verifiably rejected by the Austrian representative authority and the visa rejection is received by ActiLingua no later than six working days before the start of the course, ActiLingua will refund the course fees paid by the customer, less the following costs and fees: processing fee of EUR 398,-, DHL costs, transfer fees, and the cost of any travel insurance taken out. The refund will be made exclusively to the bank account or credit card from which the payment was made to ActiLingua. A refund is only possible if the aforementionedwritten visa refusal from the Austrian representative authority has been received by ActiLinguain time.

Any statutory right of withdrawal as per section 4 remains unaffected by these terms.

11. Liability at ActiLingua

ActiLingua’s liability for damage caused by slight negligence, except for personal injury, is excluded to the extent permitted by law. ActiLingua is not liable in cases of force majeure, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, pandemics, and other similar circumstances, civil unrest and crimes beyond the control of ActiLingua. Any liability of ActiLingua is in any case limited to the value of the language course or the package holiday booked.

12. Termination by ActiLingua

ActiLingua may terminate the contract without notice if the course participant persistently disrupts the course despite a warning from ActiLingua, or if the participant behaves in an unlawful manner or in breach of the contract to such an extent that, even taking into account the participant’s legitimate interests, it is unreasonable to continue the contract, thereby justifying an immediate termination of the contract without notice by ActiLingua. Immediate termination will be considered in particular if the participant violates the known laws (especially regarding drugs, alcohol, etc.), the rules of the language school, the places or facilities visited, the means of transport used, or the accommodation facilities, as well as the house rules and the rules of social coexistence (e.g., cyberbullying, violation of personal, image, and other rights, any form of violence against others, etc.). This also applies in the event of serious endangerment of the participant themselves or of other students involved.

The local representatives of ActiLingua are authorised to issue warnings and to terminate the contract on behalf of and with the authority of ActiLingua.
If ActiLingua terminates the contract in this manner, it retains the right to the full price. The value of any expenses saved must be refunded. Any additional costs incurred as a result of the immediate termination are exclusively borne by the customer.

13. Holidays and Closure Days

No classes are held on public holidays. Group lessons will not be rescheduled or refunded. Individual courses, including those that are part of a Super-Intensive Course will be spread over the remaining individual course days.

The school is closed on weekends (Saturday and Sunday) and on the following days:

2024: 01.01. / 01.04. / 01.05. / 09.05. / 20.05. / 30.05. / 15.08. / 26.10. / 01.11. / 23.12. through 27.12.
2025: 01.01. / 06.01. / 21.04. / 01.05. / 29.05. / 09.06. / 19.06. / 15.08. / 08.12. / 22.12. through 26.12.

14. Notice

One lesson equals 45 minutes.

The minimum number of participants for a group course is 5. If this number is not reached, ActiLingua reserves the right to cancel the course – in which case the course fee will be fully refunded – or to hold 20% fewer lessons. In the latter case, no refund of the course fee will be granted.

15. Organiser

The German courses are organized by:
Language Studies GmbH & Co KG, FN 257153t
Nikolsdorfer Gasse 7-11/16, 1050 Vienna
Austria
UID: ATU 615 36 412

16. Photos and Videos

By enrolling in a German course at ActiLingua and participating in events within this framework, I acknowledge that personal images of me, such as photos, graphics, sound recordings, drawings, or video recordings, which depict people individually, may be taken and used by ActiLingua Academy and/or photographers, cameramen, etc., commissioned by ActiLingua Academy for press coverage and advertising purposes. These may be published and distributed in various (social) media, publications, print media, electronic newsletters, and on the ActiLingua Academy websites (e.g., www.actilingua.com). I consent to this usage. For more details, please refer to our privacy policy.

17. Applicable Law

Austrian law applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and international conflict-of-laws rules. The place of jurisdiction is the registered office of ActiLingua in Vienna, unless otherwise stipulated by law. For customers who are consumers, the jurisdiction of the consumer court according to § 14 KSchG in its current version applies.

18. General Information

ActiLingua holds courses at various locations in Vienna. ActiLingua reserves the right to change programme content and prices for important reasons. Subject to printing and translation errors. In case of doubt, the German version of these General Terms and Conditions and all other contracts, conditions and contents shall be binding. Should any provision of these General Terms and Conditions be or become legally invalid, the remaining provisions contained therein shall remain in full force and effect.

Participants of live online courses are themselves responsible for a functioning internet connection. An inadequate internet connection does not entitle the participant to make up for missed lessons or to a refund.

Monday to Friday are considered business days.