Terms and Conditions

General Terms and Conditions for all Hutong School Limited programs, including the programs offered through Internship Network Asia.

These are the General Terms and Conditions set out by Hutong School Limited valid for all program bookings made with Hutong School Limited by the participant. All bookings are subject to these terms and conditions, which become legally binding from the moment a deposit is paid by the participant.

Contract

Before arrival in the People´s Republic of China (hereafter referred to as “China”), Hutong School Limited will send an electronic copy of the enrollment form, which serves as contract and specifies the services to which the course participant has subscribed upon payment of the deposit.

Deposit

The deposit can be paid by Paypal or bank transfer only and is to be paid in full. Bank charges are the participant's liability.

The deposit amount can differ according to the type of program and is specified on the invoice. 

The deposit is an integral part of the total program fee and will therefore be deducted from the program fee to be paid after the deposit.

For all programs not including an internship placement service, the deposit is non-refundable under any circumstances.

For all programs including an internship placement service, the deposit will be refunded in full if we don’t manage to match the participant with one of the offers he/she selected.

Program fees

The remainder of the program fee, after deduction of the deposit, can be paid by Paypal or bank transfer only and is to be paid in full. Bank charges are the participant's liability.

The remaining program fee for the whole stay has to be paid within 30 days after receipt of the invoice for the remaining program fee, or at the latest 2 weeks before arrival, whichever comes sooner.  Payment is defined as receipt of funds in our Paypal or bank account or presenting a valid proof of bank transfer as hard or electronic copy.

Late payments are subject to an additional charge of 500 HKD.  Hutong School Limited reserves the right to cancel the participant´s program and keep the deposit when the payment deadline has been exceeded by more than 2 weeks.

The participant´s program is only fully confirmed after the entire program fee has been paid in full.

Refunds for unused services

No full or partial refunds can be given for services, which are part of a program to which the participant had subscribed but did not use. This also applies in the case of late arrival or early departure by the program participant. No refund can be given for a reduction of services requested by the participant.

The number of Chinese group class hours offered in a program will be reduced to half the amount of hours private classes only in case no suitable group was available for the participant during his/her stay in China. This decision lies with the management of Hutong School Limited.

No refund can be given for potential loss of services, for example Chinese classes, due to official holiday periods. However, in the case these holiday periods take up more than 25% of the total classes, the participant will receive a voucher to make up for the lost classes.

Program change requests

If the participant requests to change the dates or the services included in the program to which he/she subscribed, additional administrative charges may apply, at the discretion of the Hutong School Limited management.

In case of overstay in the apartments, a surcharge of 300 HKD/night will apply. However, overstay is subject to availability and can only be granted if the room has not been reserved yet for new students.

Cancelation Policy

In case of cancelation by the participant, the following cancelation terms will apply:

• Cancelation more than 3 months before the start of the program: full refund of the program fees minus the deposit
• Cancelation less than 3 months but more than 1 month before the start of the program:  50% refund of the program fee
• Cancelation less than 1 month before the start of the program: 25% refund of the program fee
• Cancelation after the start of program: no refund of the program fee

In case of cancelation, Hutong School Limited cannot be held liable for any other expenses the participant may have incurred related to his/her program.

Insurance and liability

Hutong School Limited, its representatives, staff and any individual affiliated to its activity cannot be held liable for any loss, damage, illness or injury suffered by the participant. Hutong School Limited cannot be held liable for any damage or injury caused by the participant to third parties. It is the participant's responsibility to have personal medical and civil liability insurance.

Hutong School Limited is not liable for any expenses the participant may incur for services not included in the offered program. Visa fees and travel costs are always excluded from the programs offered by Hutong School Limited and are therefore always fully the participant´s liability.

All participants are obliged to act in compliance with the laws and regulations of the People´s Republic of China during their stay in China. Hutong School Limited cannot be held liable by the participant for any consequences of such violations. In case of violations of the laws and regulations of the People´s Republic of China or improper behavior by the participant, Hutong School Limited has the right to immediately and unilaterally terminate the service contract with the participant without any refund. The participant is liable for any loss or damage incurred by Hutong School Limited due to the participant’s violation of the laws and regulations of the People’s Republic of China.

For any program including accommodation, the participant is liable for any material damage to the accommodation occurring during his/her stay. Hutong School Limited reserves the right to enter all accommodation at any time without prior notification for repairs, maintenance and other situations when it may be necessary. Hutong School Limited cannot be held responsible for loss of belongings, damage or personal injuries occurring in the accommodation.

In case the participant suffers from fire, explosion, water flood, gas leakage, electric shock ascribed to the participant, the participant shall assume responsibilities himself/herself and Hutong School Limited shall assume no responsibility. In case Hutong School Limited or any third party is injured or suffers property losses by virtue of the aforesaid causes, the participant shall assume compensation responsibilities.

Force Majeure

The Hutong School Limited cannot be held liable for program cancelation or reduction of services due to force majeure, e.g. war, civil strive, terrorism, fire, sickness, environmental disasters, acts of the Chinese government or any other Chinese authorities.

Validity of Conditions

These Terms and Conditions are valid from February 1st, 2013 and are subject to Hong Kong law. Alterations to these Terms and Conditions are valid from the moment of publication on the website.