Terms of Service

1. Who we are

TMTD Academy is the tutoring and education division of TMTD Corp (Pty) Ltd. The details below are provided as section 43 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 requires of a supplier offering services through an electronic transaction.

2. Agreeing to these terms

You agree to these terms when you do any of the following:

• submit an enquiry or use the study planner on our website;
• accept a quote or confirm a booking with us, in writing or over WhatsApp;
• attend, or send a learner to, a session we provide;
• pay an invoice we issue.

If you do not agree with these terms, please do not book with us. If you are booking on behalf of a company, school or other organisation, you confirm you are authorised to bind it to these terms.

3. Definitions

• We, us, our — TMTD Corp (Pty) Ltd trading as TMTD Academy.
• You, the Client — the person or organisation that books and pays for our services. Where the learner is a child, the Client is the parent or legal guardian.
• Learner — the person receiving tutoring or taking a course.
• Parent or Guardian — the parent, legal guardian or other competent person legally responsible for a Learner under 18.
• Session — a scheduled tutoring or teaching period, in person or online.
• Tutor — a person we engage to deliver Sessions, whether as an employee or an independent contractor.
• Materials — any worksheet, notes, slides, recording, question bank, study plan or other content we supply.
• Services — everything described in clause 4.
• Business day — any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or South African public holiday.

4. What we provide

Depending on what you book, we provide:

• One-on-one tutoring in school subjects from the primary grades through to Grade 12 and matric, and in selected university-level subjects.
• Small-group tutoring for learners working on the same subject and level.
• School and organisation bookings — tutoring or enrichment programmes delivered to a group on behalf of a school or organisation.
• Coding courses — structured programming courses for learners.
• Exam and matric preparation — focused revision, past-paper work and study-skills support.
• A study planner on our website, which produces a suggested study schedule.

Session length, frequency, subject, level, mode of delivery (in person or online) and fees are agreed with you before we start, and confirmed in writing. That written confirmation, together with these terms and our Privacy Policy, is the whole agreement between us.

The study planner is a free tool that gives a suggestion based on what you enter. It is not advice, and we give no warranty about the results of following it.

5. Who may book

• A Learner under 18 may only be booked by their Parent or Guardian, or by a school acting with parental authority. We do not accept bookings made by a child on their own behalf.
• By booking for a Learner under 18, you confirm that you are that Learner’s Parent or Guardian, or that you have their authority, and you consent to us processing the Learner’s personal information as set out in our Privacy Policy.
• An adult Learner (18 or older) may book for themselves and is the Client.
• A school or organisation books through an authorised representative, who must confirm that the necessary parental consents for the learners enrolled are in place.

6. Enquiries, quotes and booking

• Information on our website about subjects, courses and indicative pricing is an invitation to enquire. It is not an offer we are bound to accept, and it is not a quote.
• After an enquiry we discuss what the Learner needs and send you a written quote or confirmation setting out the subject, level, session length, frequency, start date, mode of delivery and the fee, inclusive of VAT where VAT applies.
• A booking is made once you accept that quote or confirmation in writing — email or WhatsApp is fine — and, where we ask for payment in advance, once that payment reflects.
• We may decline or withdraw from a booking where we have no suitable Tutor available, where the Learner’s needs fall outside what we can properly support, where the information given to us is materially inaccurate, or where an account is overdue. If we decline after you have paid, we refund in full.
• We assign the Tutor. We take the Learner’s subject, level and needs into account and we try to keep the same Tutor throughout, but we may substitute a Tutor where one becomes unavailable. We will tell you before the Session where we can.

7. Scheduling and cancellation

7.1 Rescheduling and cancelling a single Session

Section 17 of the Consumer Protection Act entitles you to cancel a booking and entitles us to charge a reasonable cancellation fee. The charges above reflect the Tutor’s time reserved for you and nothing more. We waive a late-cancellation charge where you could not give notice because of illness, bereavement or another genuine emergency — tell us and we will apply that in good faith.

7.2 If we cancel

If we cancel a Session — Tutor illness, load shedding affecting an online Session, or anything else — you are not charged. We offer you a replacement Session at a time that suits you, or a credit, or a refund of what you paid for that Session. The choice is yours.

7.3 Lateness

A Session runs for its booked length from its booked start time. If a Learner arrives or logs in late, the Session still ends at the booked time and is charged in full. If a Tutor is late, the Session is extended by the lost time where possible, failing which that portion is credited to you.

7.4 Prepaid packages

Where you buy a block of Sessions in advance, the Sessions are valid for six months from the date of purchase unless we agree otherwise in writing. Unused Sessions at the end of that period are forfeited, except where you were unable to use them because of something we did or failed to do.

8. Fees and payment

• Fees are those in your written quote or confirmation. Quoted amounts include VAT where VAT applies, and we state separately any travel charge for in-person Sessions outside our normal service area.
• Unless we have agreed otherwise in writing, Sessions are payable in advance, either per Session or per block.
• Where we invoice in arrears, invoices are payable within seven days of the invoice date.
• Payment is by electronic funds transfer to the bank account on the invoice, or by any other method shown on the invoice. Use the reference we give you so we can allocate the payment.
• We may suspend Sessions while an account is more than 14 days overdue. We will tell you before we do.
• Interest on overdue amounts runs at the maximum rate permitted by the National Credit Act 34 of 2005, from the due date until payment.
• We may change our fees. We give you at least 30 days’ written notice of a change, and the change does not affect Sessions already booked and paid for. If you do not accept the new fees you may end the arrangement under clause 11.

9. Online payments

Online card payment is not yet available on our website. Until it is, pay by electronic funds transfer using the details on your invoice. This section sets out the terms that will apply once card payment goes live, and it has no effect before then.

• Card payments will be processed by a registered third-party payment provider over a secure, encrypted connection, as required by section 43(5) of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act.
• We will not receive or store your full card number, expiry date or CVV. Those go directly to the payment provider. We will hold only the outcome of the payment and a reference for it.
• Prices will be shown in South African Rand, inclusive of VAT where VAT applies. Your bank or card issuer may add its own charges, which are between you and them.
• A payment is only complete once the payment provider confirms it to us. Until then no Session is secured.
• Refunds will be made to the same card or account used for the payment, and will be processed within 10 business days of us approving the refund. How long your bank then takes is up to them.
• If you believe a payment on your card was not authorised by you, tell us and your bank immediately. We will cooperate with your bank’s investigation.

10. Your cooling-off right

Because you book our Services electronically, section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act gives you a cooling-off right: you may cancel the booking without giving a reason and without penalty within seven days of concluding the agreement.

If you cancel within that period, we refund what you paid within 30 days. We may deduct the direct cost of returning anything physical we sent you.

One important limit. The cooling-off right falls away in respect of a Session that has already been delivered where you asked us to start before the seven days had run. So if you book on a Monday and the first Session takes place on the Wednesday, you may still cancel the rest of the arrangement within the seven days, but that Wednesday Session is payable. If you would rather keep the full seven days, tell us and we will schedule the first Session after the period ends.

To exercise this right, email [email protected] with the booking reference and the words “cooling-off cancellation”. Nothing in this section limits any other right you have under the Consumer Protection Act.

11. Ending an ongoing arrangement

Where you have an ongoing tutoring arrangement with us — weekly Sessions for a term, for example — you may end it at any time by giving us 20 business days’ written notice, as section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act entitles you to do. You remain liable for Sessions already delivered and for Sessions scheduled within the notice period that you do not cancel under clause 7.1.

We may also end an ongoing arrangement on 20 business days’ written notice to you. Where we do, we refund any amount you have paid for Sessions we will not deliver.

We may end it immediately, with written reasons, where a Learner’s or a Client’s conduct makes it unreasonable for us to continue — see clause 23.

12. What we commit to

Section 54 of the Consumer Protection Act entitles you to services performed in a manner and quality that persons are generally entitled to expect. We commit to:

• assigning a Tutor with demonstrated competence in the subject and level booked;
• vetting every Tutor before they work with a Learner, including checks appropriate to working with children;
• delivering Sessions at the agreed times, for the agreed length, with reasonable skill and care;
• preparing for Sessions and supplying Materials suited to the Learner’s curriculum and level;
• keeping you informed about attendance and progress, and telling you honestly where we think a different approach would serve the Learner better;
• treating every Learner with respect and maintaining a safe learning environment;
• handling personal information as set out in our Privacy Policy;
• putting right, at no charge to you, any Session that falls short of this standard — by repeating it or by refunding it.

If a Session falls short, tell us within seven days so that we can look into it while the facts are fresh. Telling us later does not take away any right you have in law.

13. No guarantee of results

We will teach well and work hard for every Learner. What we cannot do is guarantee an outcome.

Academic results depend on the Learner’s own effort and attendance, work done outside Sessions, school teaching, the marking of assessments, and circumstances none of us control. We therefore give no warranty or guarantee that tutoring will produce any particular mark, symbol, pass, distinction, admission, bursary or other result, and no statement by us, a Tutor or our website should be read as one.

This does not limit our obligation under clause 12 to deliver the Services themselves properly, and it does not limit your rights under the Consumer Protection Act.

14. What we ask of you

So that we can do our part, you agree to:

• give us accurate and complete information about the Learner’s grade, subjects, curriculum, difficulties and any learning or medical need relevant to how they should be taught or supervised, and tell us when it changes;
• make sure the Learner attends on time, prepared, with the required books, devices and stationery;
• for in-person Sessions at your premises, provide a quiet, safe, well-lit working space, and ensure a responsible adult is present in the home or venue for the whole Session where the Learner is under 18;
• for online Sessions, provide a working device, a stable internet connection and a quiet space, and ensure a responsible adult is contactable where the Learner is under 18;
• pay invoices on time;
• treat Tutors and staff with courtesy, and not subject them to abuse, harassment, discrimination or unsafe conditions;
• not record a Session, in audio, video or screen capture, without our written permission;
• raise any concern about a Tutor or a Session with us directly and promptly.

If a Tutor arrives for an in-person Session and reasonably considers the environment unsafe or inappropriate, they may decline to proceed and leave. That Session is charged as a no-show, and we will contact you to resolve the problem before the next Session.

15. Safeguarding

Our learners are mostly children, so the following are strict rules, not guidelines.

• Every Tutor is vetted before working with a Learner, and is bound in writing to our conduct and safeguarding requirements.
• Tutors may contact a Learner under 18 only through the Parent or Guardian, or on a channel the Parent or Guardian has approved. Private one-to-one messaging between a Tutor and a Learner under 18 on personal social media accounts is prohibited.
• Tutors may not arrange private tutoring with a Learner or Client outside TMTD Academy during the engagement or for six months after it ends. If a Tutor proposes this to you, please tell us. Arrangements made privately are entirely between you and that person, and we carry no responsibility for them, including no vetting, no insurance and no recourse through us.
• Tutors may not transport a Learner in a private vehicle without the Parent’s written permission.
• Tutors may not administer medication or provide medical, psychological or therapeutic treatment.
• Where we have reason to believe a child is being abused, neglected or is otherwise in need of care and protection, we are obliged by the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 to report it to the designated authorities, and we will do so. We will tell you unless doing so would place the child at risk.

Raise any safeguarding concern immediately with [email protected] or +27 66 421 3418. We treat these as the highest priority.

16. Online sessions

• Online Sessions run on a video-conferencing platform we nominate. You need a device with a working camera, microphone and speaker, and a stable internet connection. The cost of your device, data and electricity is yours.
• Join links are for the booked Learner only. Do not share them, and do not admit anyone else to the Session without our agreement.
• We record a Session only where we have told you in advance and, for a Learner under 18, the Parent or Guardian has agreed. Recordings are used to support the Learner’s revision and to review teaching quality, are kept as set out in our Privacy Policy, and may not be shared or published by you.
• If a Session is interrupted by a connection failure or load shedding on our side, we reschedule the lost time at no charge. If the failure is on your side, we will try to make up the time and will do so where the Tutor’s schedule allows.

17. Course materials and intellectual property

• All content on our website — text, layout, graphics, logos, the TMTD Academy and TMTD Corp names and marks, and the study planner — belongs to us or is used by us under licence, and is protected by the Copyright Act 98 of 1978 and other laws.
• Materials we supply for a Session remain ours. We grant the Learner a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use them for that Learner’s own study.
• You may not copy, publish, resell, distribute, upload to a file-sharing or “study notes” site, or use for commercial tutoring any of our Materials, and you may not remove our branding or copyright notices from them.
• Where Materials reproduce third-party content, such as past examination papers or prescribed texts, that content belongs to its owner and is used only as the law or a licence permits.
• Where a Learner creates work during a Session — an essay, a project, code written in a coding course — that work belongs to the Learner. We may keep a copy for assessment and record-keeping, and we will ask permission before using any of it as an example or in marketing.
• If you send us a suggestion about our Services, we may use it without owing you payment or acknowledgement. We will not claim ownership of anything else of yours.

18. Acceptable use of the website

When using our website, you may not:

• submit false, misleading or abusive content through our forms, or impersonate anyone;
• attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the site, its hosting or our systems;
• introduce malware, or interfere with the operation or security of the site;
• scrape, harvest or systematically copy content from the site, including through automated tools, except as a search engine crawling in the normal way;
• use the site for anything unlawful, or in a way that infringes anyone’s rights.

Unauthorised access to or interference with data is an offence under Chapter XIII of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act and under the Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020. We block, report and, where justified, pursue it.

We try to keep the website available, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted access. We may change, suspend or withdraw any part of the site, or take it down for maintenance, without notice.

19. Third-party links and tools

Our website links to and embeds things other people operate — maps, a messaging button, video-conferencing, a payment provider, educational resources. We include them because they are useful, but we do not control them. We are not responsible for their content, their availability or their privacy practices, and a link is not an endorsement. Their own terms and privacy policies apply when you use them.

20. Limitation of liability

Please read this clause carefully. It limits what we are liable for.

What we do not limit. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for:

• death or personal injury caused by our negligence;
• gross negligence, fraud, or deliberate misconduct by us or anyone acting for us;
• anything that may not lawfully be excluded or limited, including liability under sections 48, 49, 51 and 61 of the Consumer Protection Act.

Subject to that, and to the fullest extent the law allows:

• we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including loss of opportunity, lost bursary or admission, loss of profit, or loss of data;
• we are not liable for a Learner’s academic results, for the reasons set out in clause 13;
• we are not liable for loss caused by information you gave us that was inaccurate or incomplete, by a Learner not attending or not doing the work, or by your device, internet connection or electricity supply;
• we are not liable for any arrangement you make privately with a Tutor outside TMTD Academy;
• we are not liable for failure or delay caused by something beyond our reasonable control — load shedding, network or platform outage, natural disaster, civil unrest, epidemic, or a change in law;
• our total liability arising out of or in connection with the Services, for all claims taken together, is limited to the total fees you paid us in the three months before the event giving rise to the claim.

We believe these limits are fair, reasonable and just in the sense of section 48 of the Consumer Protection Act: our fees are modest relative to the loss a party could otherwise claim, and the matters we exclude are ones we genuinely cannot control. If you consider any of them unreasonable, tell us before you book and we will discuss it.

21. Indemnity

You indemnify us against any claim, loss, damage or expense, including reasonable legal costs, that we suffer because of:

• your breach of these terms;
• information you gave us that was false, misleading or incomplete;
• your use of our Materials outside the licence in clause 17;
• a claim by a third party arising from your conduct or that of a Learner you are responsible for.

This indemnity does not apply to the extent that the claim arises from our own breach, negligence or unlawful conduct.

22. Privacy

How we collect, use, share and protect personal information — yours and a Learner’s — is set out in our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these terms. It explains the rights you have under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, including how to access, correct or delete information we hold, and how to complain.

23. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or end Services immediately, with written reasons, where:

• an account is materially overdue and remains unpaid after we have asked for it;
• a Learner or Client abuses, harasses, threatens or discriminates against a Tutor, a staff member or another Learner;
• a Learner or Client is dishonest with us in a material way, including about a Learner’s identity, age or needs;
• our Materials are copied, published or resold in breach of clause 17;
• continuing would place a Tutor or a Learner at risk;
• you breach these terms materially and do not remedy it within seven days of us asking you to.

On termination: amounts owing for Sessions delivered become payable immediately; any amount you prepaid for Sessions we will not deliver is refunded, less any amount you lawfully owe us; your licence to use our Materials ends and you must stop using and distributing them; and clauses 17, 20, 21, 22 and 26 continue to apply.

24. Complaints and disputes

Step 1 — tell us. Email [email protected] or call +27 66 421 3418. We acknowledge a complaint within two business days and give you a substantive response within 10 business days. Most things are resolved here.

Step 2 — escalate internally. If our response does not satisfy you, ask for the matter to be referred to a director. We respond within a further 10 business days.

Step 3 — outside help. If we still cannot resolve it, you are not bound to us and may take the matter to:

• the National Consumer Commission — thencc.gov.za;
• a consumer court in your province, or an accredited consumer alternative dispute resolution agent, as section 70 of the Consumer Protection Act allows;
• the Information Regulator for anything about personal information — see our Privacy Policy;
• a court of competent jurisdiction.

We will take part in any such process in good faith. Nothing in this clause stops either of us approaching a court for urgent interim relief.

25. Changes to these terms

We may change these terms as our Services, our providers or the law change. The current version always appears on this page with its effective date and version number.

Where a change materially affects your rights or obligations, we give you at least 30 days’ notice by email or by a notice on the website before it takes effect, and it does not apply to Sessions already booked and paid for. If you do not accept a material change, you may end an ongoing arrangement under clause 11 without penalty. Continuing to use the Services after a change takes effect means you accept the updated terms.

26. General

• Governing law. These terms are governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa.
• Jurisdiction. We both consent to the jurisdiction of the Magistrate’s Court having jurisdiction over you, even where a claim exceeds that court’s normal limits. This is for convenience and cost, and does not stop either of us approaching a High Court where that is appropriate.
• Whole agreement. These terms, our Privacy Policy and your written booking confirmation are the whole agreement between us about the Services, and replace anything said or written earlier.
• Severability. If any provision is found unenforceable, it is severed and the rest stays in force.
• No waiver. If we do not enforce a right immediately, we do not lose it. A waiver is only effective if we give it in writing.
• Cession. You may not cede or assign your rights under these terms without our written consent. We may cede ours to a company that takes over this business, provided your rights are not reduced.
• Independent contractors. Some Tutors are independent contractors. Nothing in these terms creates an employment relationship between you and a Tutor, or a partnership or agency between you and us.
• Notices. Notices to us go to [email protected]; notices to you go to the email address or mobile number on your booking. A notice is treated as received on the business day after it was sent, unless it bounced.
• Electronic communications. You agree that email and WhatsApp messages between us are valid written communications, and that an electronic acceptance is as binding as a signature, as the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act provides.

27. Contact us