General Terms & Conditions for courses

The following general terms and conditions, which are applicable to the education services provided by the ICCI, are based on the General Terms and Conditions for Consumers of the Dutch Council for Training and Education (NRTO), which came into effect following consultation with the Dutch Consumers’ Association on 23 November 2018.

Since that model was developed jointly by the relevant branch organisation and a consumer organisation, it reflects a balanced approach, guarding the interests of both the offerer of education services, and its consumers ((prospective) students) – and this is why the International Coaching and Counselling Institute (ICCI) decided to use that model as a basis. Minimal omissions and adjustments were made only insofar as necessary in light of ICCI not being a member of the NRTO.  

Article 1 – Definitions                                                                                                            

Article 2 – Applicability                                                                                                         

Article 3 – Offer                                                                                                                       

Article 4 – Agreement                                                                                                         

Article 5 – Cancellation and (early) termination of the agreement                        

Article 6 – Copyright                                                                                                             

Article 7 – Price changes                                                                                                         

Article 8 – Delivery                                                                                                                    

Article 9 – Conformity and failure to comply with the agreement                                 

Article 10 – Payment                                                                                                                

Article 11 – Payment not made in a timely manner                                                          

Article 12 – Suspension                                                                                                        

Article 13 – Liability on the part of the entrepreneur                                                     

Article 14 – Confidentiality                                                                                                      

Article 15 – Questions and complaints                                                                              

Article 16 – Dispute settlement rules                                                                                  

Article 17 – Amendment                                                                                                         

Article 1 – Definitions

Article 2 – Applicability

1. These General Terms and Conditions apply to all agreements concluded between the entrepreneur and you with regard to an educational service concerning formal education as well as informal education.

2. If the entrepreneur also uses other (sector-related) general terms and conditions and these terms and conditions have not come into effect in consultation with consumer organisations, these terms and conditions will not apply to the agreement. This will not be the case if provisions are included regarding which nothing has been arranged in these general terms and conditions. All documents form part of the agreement, but there may not be any inconsistency. For example, the provisions of the Education and Examination Regulations (EER), the education agreement or the registration form. In the event of inconsistency, the provision that is most favourable for you will apply. However, the entrepreneur is always permitted to derogate, including from the general terms and conditions, to your advantage. If exclusively (modular) examinations, APL courses, or other forms of assessment are offered, the provisions of articles 3 subclause 3 under b, 5 subclause 1, 8 subclause 1, 8 subclause 2 under b, and 9 subclause 1 will not apply. If exclusively (modular) examinations are offered, the provisions of article 5 subclause 1 and subclauses 3 up to and including 7 will not apply.
3. The entrepreneur can also use other general terms and conditions that have come into effect in consultation with one or more consumer organisations. In that case, the disputes committee referred to in article 16 will determine which terms and conditions apply to the agreement on the basis of that which parties have agreed to regarding this at the coming into effect the agreement.

Article 3 – Offer

1. The entrepreneur will issue the offer (preferably) in writing, or as the case may be by electronic means.
2. The offer will contain a complete and precise description of the educational service and/or of the teaching materials that form part of the educational service. The offer will also set out whether the use of these teaching materials is mandatory.
3. Every offer must contain such information, that it is clear to you what the rights and obligations are which are attached to the acceptance of the offer. The offer will in any event set out the following details in a clear and comprehensible manner:

1. 1. in the event of an agreement related to an educational service:

• the manner of performance of the agreement;
• when the educational service starts;
• the terms and conditions under which the educational service might be cancelled;
• insofar as applicable: the admission requirements to be permitted to participate in the education;
• the price, including all additional costs and taxes;
• the payment method;
• the duration of the agreement,

1. 1. or in the event of an agreement related to the purchase of teaching materials:

• the price, including all additional costs and taxes;
• the payment method, the manner of delivery of the teaching materials and/or the performance of the agreement;
• the delivery period of the teaching materials.

4. You will be expressly informed of these general terms and conditions prior to entering into the agreement, and these will form an integral part of the general information provided by the entrepreneur.
5. The entrepreneur is permitted to attach the condition to issuing an offer and/or the acceptance of an assignment that you provide your personal data and, insofar as the regulations of authorities necessitate this and/or permit this, that you submit a copy of a valid passport or a valid identity card.
6. Without prejudice to the provisions of subclause 1 up to and including 5, the offer of a distance agreement will furthermore contain the following details:

1. 1. the identity and the address of the entrepreneur, including the address of the business location of the entrepreneur;
   2. your right to terminate the agreement within fourteen days in accordance with article 5 subclauses 5 and 6;
   3. if additional costs will be charged for contact with the entrepreneur by telephone or via the internet: the amount of the applicable rate;
   4. the validity period of the offer.

Article 4 – Agreement

1. The agreement comes into effect by means of your acceptance of the offer. After the coming into effect of the agreement you will receive confirmation of this in writing or by electronic means.
2. In the event of your providing an assignment by electronic means, the entrepreneur will send a confirmation by electronic means to you; as long as the receipt of an electronically accepted assignment has not been confirmed by the entrepreneur, you can cancel the assignment.
3. After a distance agreement has come into effect, the details referred to in article 3 subclause 3 and subclause 6 will be provided to you in writing, or in another data carrier available to you and permanently accessible for you.

Article 5 – Cancellation and (early) termination of the agreement

1. You can at any time cancel and terminate an agreement concluded for a specific duration. The entrepreneur will provide you with confirmation of this. If there is an agreement concerning face-to-face instruction with a recorded starting date, the following cancellation provisions and early termination arrangement will apply after the end of any cooling-off period. You must pay:

* As standard or in individual cases, NRTO members are permitted to derogate from the percentage in the table above to your advantage. A lower percentage, which is indeed reasonable in the given circumstances, will only be agreed if you can prove that the application of the aforesaid percentage in your specific case does not meet the standards of reasonableness and fairness.

2. Cancellation prior to the commencement of the face-to-face instruction, or early termination, will take place in writing, or as the case may be by electronic means;
3. If there is only an agreement concerning a (modular) examination or an APL course, the following cancellation provisions will apply after the expiry of any cooling-off period: a) cancellation prior to commencement will take place in writing, or as the case may be by electronic means; b) in the event of cancellation until six weeks prior to commencement you will owe the administrative costs with a maximum of € 50. In the event of ‘computer-based examinations’ this period will be two weeks prior to commencement; c) in the event of later cancellation you will owe the full agreed price.
4. In the event of distance education, cancellation after the agreement has come into effect and after the cooling-off period will be possible, but you will still be obliged to pay the agreed price in full.
5. You have the right to terminate the agreement without stating reasons for fourteen days after the concluding of a distance agreement with regard to an educational service. If the entrepreneur has not provided all details required by law, including the details referred to in article 3 subclause 6, this period will be fourteen days after the later provision thereof up to a maximum of twelve months after the concluding of the agreement.
6. In the event of a distance agreement that mainly relates to the purchase of teaching materials, you will have a period of fourteen days during which you can terminate the agreement without stating reasons. This period commences on the day following the day of receipt of the teaching materials. However, if the teaching materials are delivered periodically, such as in the case of regular supplements of Syllabuses or book packages supplied per year or semester, the cooling-off period will end after fourteen days, to be calculated from the first day after receipt of the first teaching materials. If the entrepreneur has not provided all details required by law, including the details referred to in article 3 subclause 6, these periods will be fourteen days after the later provision thereof up to a maximum of twelve months after the receipt of the teaching materials.
7. The entrepreneur will make a form available to you for the termination of the agreement referred to. You will not be obliged to use this form for this purpose.
8. With due observance of the provisions of subclause 9, you have the right, in the event of termination in accordance with subclauses 5 and 6, to a repayment without charge of that which you have already paid. The entrepreneur will make the repayment as soon as possible and in any event within fourteen days after the termination.
9. In the event of termination in accordance with subclauses 5 and 6, you must return any teaching materials received from the entrepreneur as soon as possible. The entrepreneur will be entitled to charge the direct costs of the return to you. The return will take place at your risk. The teaching materials that are offered on an electronic data carrier and of which the seal of the packaging has been broken cannot be returned, and you must pay the price thereof in full to the entrepreneur.
10. If you invoke the termination option under subclauses 5 and 6, any additional loan agreement offered as a payment arrangement by the entrepreneur to you will be terminated by operation of law, without you owing any financial penalty.
11. The educational service can only commence during the cooling-off period on your express request. In such cases you will retain the right to terminate the agreement in conformity with subclause 2. If you terminate the agreement in such a case within the cooling-off period, you will owe a pro rata part of the price of the educational service to the entrepreneur.
12. If the educational service is for the most part offered by means of an electronic (learning) environment, the right to terminate will end in that case at the commencement of the educational service, provided that: a. you have expressly agreed in advance that the execution can commence prior to the end of the termination period and you declare that you waive your right to terminate, and b. the entrepreneur has confirmed the statement referred to under a to you.

Article 6 – Copyright

The offered course materials are exclusively intended for personal use. All the items provided by the entrepreneur, such as books, mock examinations, readers and software are protected by copyright vested in the entrepreneur or third parties. Without the express permission from the entrepreneur, the items referred to in this article may not be reproduced, disclosed and/or otherwise brought to the knowledge of third parties or provided to third parties, during the term of the course as well as thereafter, nor is it permitted to disclose the materials in an altered form, or to use these in one’s own name without permission in writing from the entrepreneur. The copyright/ownership rights to the course are fully vested in the entrepreneur.

Article 7 – Price changes

1. If, within three months after the concluding of the agreement but still prior to the commencement of the educational service, a price change occurs, this will not have any impact on the agreed price.
2. You will have the right to terminate the agreement if, after three months from the concluding of the agreement but prior to the commencement of the educational service, the price is increased.
3. Subclauses 1 and 2 do not apply to price changes ensuing from the law.

Article 8 – Delivery

1. Teaching materials

1. 1. The entrepreneur will deliver the teaching materials to you in a timely manner. Delivery in a timely manner is also taken to mean providing access to the teaching materials that are offered by electronic means in a timely manner.
   2. For the purchase of teaching materials without education, the maximum delivery period is 30 days, unless agreed otherwise. If this delivery period is exceeded, you can terminate the agreement without further notice of default.
   3. The entrepreneur will immediately replace incorrect or damaged teaching materials without any costs for you.

2. Correction work

1. 1. You will be informed of the period within which the assignments or tests sent in will be corrected.
   2. The time of receiving the corrections back must be in a reasonable proportion to the time of the commencement of the continuation of the education, or as the case may be of any resits.

Article 9 – Conformity and failure to comply with the agreement

1. The educational service and the teaching materials provided must meet your reasonable expectations. If you do not fulfil your obligations, the entrepreneur will be entitled to suspend his obligations. If the entrepreneur does not fulfil his obligations, you will be permitted to suspend your obligations. In the event of partial or improper fulfilment, suspension will only be permitted insofar as the failure justifies this.
2. The entrepreneur has the right of retention if you fail to pay an obligation which has become due, unless the failure does not justify this retention.
3. If one of the parties is in default of the performance of the agreement, the other party will be entitled to terminate the agreement, unless the shortcoming does not justify termination due to its minor significance.

Article 10 – Payment

1. Payment will take place by means of transfer of the amount owed to a bank account stated by the entrepreneur at the time of the purchase or delivery, or payment by means of an electronic form of payment recognised by banks. Payment in cash is also possible by agreement.
2. If payment in instalments has been agreed, you must – with due observance of the provisions of subclause 3 – make the payments in accordance with the instalments and the percentages, as these have been recorded in the agreement.
3. The payment for the educational service will take place prior to the time when the course starts. The entrepreneur may require that you have paid the full amount no later than 10 working days prior to the day of the commencement of the educational service, as referred to in article 3 subclause 3 under a.
4. For the purchase of teaching materials without education, the payment must take place no later than at the time and at the location of the delivery. The entrepreneur may require that you to make an advance payment in the amount of half the purchase price.

Article 11 – Payment not made in a timely manner

You will be in default from the expiry of the payment date. After the expiry of this date the entrepreneur will send a payment reminder without charge and provide you with the opportunity to still make the payment within 14 days after receipt of this payment reminder.

1. 1. If you do not fulfil your payment obligation(s) in a timely manner, the entrepreneur will send a reminder to you. You will be given 14 days to make the payment.
   2.  If, after the expiry of this period, you have not paid, the entrepreneur will be entitled to charge the statutory interest over the amount still owed as well as the extrajudicial collection costs.
   3. These collection costs will amount to a maximum of: 15% over outstanding amounts up to € 2,500; 10% over the following € 2,500; and 5% over the following € 5,000 with a minimum of € 40.
   4. The entrepreneur may derogate from the aforesaid amounts and percentages to your advantage.

Article 12 – Suspension

The entrepreneur will suspend the charging of interest and collection costs during the period in which a complaint or a dispute is being dealt with in conformity with the provisions of articles 15 and 16.

Article 13 – Liability on the part of the entrepreneur

Insofar as the entrepreneur fails attributably and you suffer damage as a result, the liability on the part of the entrepreneur for damage, which is not the result of injury, death, or property damage, will be limited to the payment of direct damage. The liability on the part of the entrepreneur for injury, death, or property damage is not excluded or limited. The liability applies to persons employed by the entrepreneur, or as the case may be to persons who are engaged by the entrepreneur for the performance of the agreement.

Article 14 – Confidentiality

The information provided by you to the entrepreneur, his personnel and/or persons who work for him, will be treated with confidentiality. The entrepreneur complies with the applicable privacy legislation.

Article 15 – Questions and complaints

1. The entrepreneur has the intention to answer the question or complaint as soon as possible and to your full satisfaction. The entrepreneur can be reached by telephone and by email for dealing with questions or complaints of an administrative nature, or regarding the contents of the course. These questions or complaints will be answered by the entrepreneur within ten working days, to be calculated from the date of receipt. Questions or complaints that require a longer processing time will be answered by the entrepreneur by return of post with acknowledgement of receipt and an indication of when you can expect an answer.
2. The entrepreneur does of course everything possible to prevent errors in your study package and to prevent the dispatch thereof. If something is nevertheless not in order, you can report this within ten days after receipt of the package. Any complaint must be submitted to the entrepreneur in a timely manner and fully and clearly described. Complaints that are not submitted within 2 months will not be dealt with. If the complaint cannot be resolved in mutual consultation, a dispute will have arisen that will be eligible for the dispute settlement rules of article 16.

Article 16 – Dispute settlement rules

1. Applicable law. The agreement is governed by the law of the Netherlands, unless on the basis of mandatory legal provisions the law of another country applies.
2. Mediation first.
   1. In the event of a dispute that has arisen between you and the entrepreneur regarding the coming into effect or the performance of agreements with regard to the services and items delivered or to be delivered by the entrepreneur, and has not been resolved in mutual consultation directly or with the help of representatives, the entrepreneur encourages you to consider resorting in first instance to mediation in an endeavour to resolve the dispute, in accordance with the subsequent sub-clauses in this paragraph.
   2. Such mediation will be carried out in accordance with the MfN-Mediation-Rules, published by the Mediators Federation Netherlands (MfN), as they stand at the starting date of the mediation, unless you and the entrepreneur otherwise agree.
   3. You and the entrepreneur will jointly appoint a neutral mediator, and if unable to agree, you will jointly approach the MfN for help with the selection of a neutral mediator.
   4. You and the entrepreneur will attend the first mediation meeting together. Subsequently, either party is free to stop the mediation at any time.
   5. As long as the mediation has not ended, neither you nor the entrepreneur will initiate any legal proceedings, except for the preservation of rights.
   6. You and the entrepreneur will bear the costs of mediation in equal parts, unless a different arrangement for this purpose is reached.

Article 17 – Amendment

Amendments to these terms and conditions, whether following publication of new terms and conditions by the NRTO, or for another reason, will only have prospective effect, in the sense that they will not apply to any agreement concluded with you prior to the amendments.

The general terms and conditions as they existed at the time of concluding an agreement with you continue to apply for the entire duration of the agreement, unless you have agreed explicitly and in writing to their replacement by an amendment version.

– Adjustment of the definition of “entrepreneur” in Article 1 (definitions)

– Replacement of Article 16 (dispute settlement rules) with new content, and omission of Article 17 (performance bond) – both changes necessary as NRTO’s arrangement with the Disputes Committee for Private Educational Institutes (Dutch: De Geschillencommissie) is not currently applicable to the ICCI

– Adjustment of Article 18 (regarding amendment)