General terms and conditions
"BijlesHuis" is the exclusive property of BV OPTIBI with registered office at 9000 Ghent, Wilderoosstraat 2, VAT BE 0540.564.865, RPR Ghent.
1) Capacity: All commercial transactions concluded between the private limited company Optibi, with registered office at Wilderoosstraat 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium, VAT BE 0540.564.865, RPR Ghent (hereinafter “OPTIBI”), and the student and/or teacher as described below, and concluded via the website (hereinafter the “website”), are governed by these general terms and conditions, which, together with the Data Protection Statement, form a single entity. A student under the age of 16 is deemed to have received the approval of their parents/legal guardian to request tutoring via the website. By registering on the website, the student and teacher acknowledge having read and accepted OPTIBI's general terms and conditions. These terms and conditions shall at all times take precedence over any other terms, even if those terms stipulate to be exclusively applicable. These general terms and conditions in no way affect the statutory rights that mandatorily protect the student and teacher, including but not limited to Belgian legislation on consumer protection in regard to the student. The potential invalidity of one or more provisions of these terms does not affect the applicability of all other clauses. In the event of the invalidity of any provision, OPTIBI and the student/teacher shall, to the extent possible and in good faith, negotiate to replace the invalid provision with an equivalent provision that aligns with the general spirit of these terms and conditions. The fact that OPTIBI may fail to demand strict application of one of the provisions of these terms cannot be considered as an implicit waiver of the rights OPTIBI holds under these terms and does not prevent OPTIBI from subsequently demanding strict compliance with those provisions. OPTIBI reserves the right to modify or amend its general terms and conditions at any time. It is the responsibility of the student/teacher to regularly review these terms and conditions.
2) Scope of Services: Through the website, OPTIBI provides a digital platform where students can book lesson modules for a fee, which are subsequently delivered by instructors selected by OPTIBI. In exchange, the instructors receive a payment from the student. The lessons may cover a wide range of subjects, as indicated on the website. The actual delivery of the lessons to students may occur through the following methods (and are hereinafter collectively referred to as the "services"): (i) offline (i.e., in the physical presence of the instructor and student, potentially at the student’s home) or online; and (ii) individually or in a group.
3) Procedure for Registration and Formation of the Assignment A/ Student: In order to be eligible to receive tutoring services via the website, the student must proceed with registration on the website. This registration initially constitutes a non-binding request from the student to obtain information from OPTIBI, which in no case establishes any payment obligation for the student towards OPTIBI. This registration also includes the student’s request to have the assignment posted on OPTIBI’s website, allowing registered tutors to sign up for it afterward. Within five (5) business days of registration, OPTIBI will contact the student by phone for a personal consultation regarding the assignment request. This consultation aims to identify and discuss the most suitable tutoring support for the student and, if necessary, to adjust the assignment request accordingly. Following this phone consultation, OPTIBI will send a confirmation email by which the student’s assignment – after any possible modification to the assignment request resulting from the consultation – is definitively confirmed and finalized (including: type of tutoring, subject choice, number of hours, location, price, etc.). In cases where a phone consultation with the student cannot be established, but communication occurs via email, this will be considered equivalent to a phone consultation. If the student fails to respond in writing within 48 hours of receiving the confirmation email from OPTIBI, the assignment will be deemed final. This finalized assignment can be viewed through the account provided to the student by OPTIBI, which from that point onward will also reflect:
- The times/locations of group classes that the student can attend, if applicable;
- a calendar (which will later be shared between the student and the teacher who will ultimately carry out the assignment);
- as well as, finally, an overview of the (outstanding) invoices from OPTIBI to the student.
Each final assignment is made visible in a limited and modified form on the website for teachers by OPTIBI, without publicly disclosing the personal information of the student. From that moment, registered teachers, as described in Article 3B below, have the opportunity to apply to carry out this assignment. The actual execution of the assignment will be awarded to the first teacher who agrees to it. However, the assignment will lose its definitive status in two cases, specifically: (i) if the student and the selected teacher (who has been assigned to perform the task) fail to reach a practical arrangement regarding the tutoring, in accordance with Article 4; or (ii) if OPTIBI fails to appoint a teacher within a period of 14 calendar days from the assignment becoming final, or if no teacher agrees to perform the student’s assignment within the same period, in accordance with Article 3B. In these two cases, the student has the right to cancel their final assignment without any obligation to provide justification or incur additional costs, provided that the student informs OPTIBI of this in writing.
B/ Tutor: To be eligible to offer tutoring services through the OPTIBI website, a tutor must complete a registration on the website. This requires providing, among other things, the region(s) in which the tutor can offer their services, their highest level of education, and the subjects they wish to teach. Upon registration, the tutor may apply for open and confirmed assignments posted by students on the website via action buttons provided on the platform. Prior to the (initial) acceptance of a registered tutor’s application by a student, the tutor will be subject to a screening interview with OPTIBI, during which OPTIBI will reasonably assess certain quality requirements for the tutor. Only upon receiving written confirmation of a successful screening from OPTIBI will the tutor be officially accepted to provide their services to registered students on the website for one or more open and confirmed assignments. If the screening is unsuccessful, the tutor’s access to the website will be immediately revoked through written notice from OPTIBI.
4) Execution of the Assignment: If a student’s final assignment is formally accepted by a tutor, in accordance with Article 3, the student’s personal information will be made available online to the tutor. The student will be granted an account on OPTIBI’s website, through which the student can view an overview of their assignment request. In the case of an online tutoring session, this means that the tutor will provide the client with the online link needed to access the tutoring session. Through this link, the tutor will conduct the session via the OPTIBI website at the agreed time, using the platform’s online learning environment (i.e., “video calling over the internet”). The student must activate this unique link at the scheduled time to participate in the online session.In the case of an in-person tutoring session, the tutor and student will agree on a specific time and location for the session. Once both tutor and student have agreed on a time (and location), the tutor will carefully enter this information into the shared calendar on the website. The tutor’s entry of the appointment in the shared calendar implies the student's explicit approval through the website. The tutor commits to recording appointments before the scheduled session takes place. Adjustments to the calendar can be made up until the end of the relevant month. Tutoring hours that are recorded more than 30 calendar days after the actual session are not eligible for compensation. The tutor guarantees an awareness of their commitment to carefully recording each confirmed tutoring session in the shared calendar on the website, as this record forms the basis for OPTIBI’s billing to the student and, consequently, for calculating the tutor’s compensation. The student and tutor expressly acknowledge that OPTIBI assumes no responsibility for the practical scheduling or actual delivery of tutoring sessions between the tutor and student. The full responsibility for this lies with the tutor. OPTIBI’s involvement in the final execution of the assignment is limited to verbally or in writing requesting feedback from the student on the tutoring sessions conducted by the tutor. OPTIBI will take the student’s feedback into account to the best of its ability but will make an independent decision as to whether to continue the collaboration with the tutor in question. In any case, the tutor is required to provide feedback to the student after each tutoring session via the online tool provided on the website (namely, the student's progress report).
5) Modification or Non-Performance: At least 24 hours prior to the agreed time for the tutoring session, the student has the right to reschedule the session, provided that a reason is given and that written notice is sent to the tutor. If this requirement is not met, the tutor reserves the right to register a one (1) hour session. As a result, the student will be charged for one (1) hour of tutoring. If the student fails to appear at the agreed time with the tutor or fails to log in on time via the provided link, the tutor is required to wait a maximum of fifteen (15) minutes. If the wait time exceeds this period, the tutor has the right to charge the student for one (1) hour of tutoring. In the event that the tutor fails to appear on time for the session with the student (defined as arriving more than fifteen (15) minutes late), the student has the right to notify OPTIBI of this within 24 hours. Initially, the student and tutor should attempt to reschedule the session without any additional costs incurred by the student. Additionally, OPTIBI reserves the right to hold the tutor accountable for any damages and inconvenience suffered by OPTIBI as a result (such as, but not limited to, reimbursing the fee for a replacement tutor to the student). In any case, the tutor in default is required to mark the missed session on the shared calendar with the student. If the tutor indicates, after accepting an assignment, that they are no longer able to complete the assignment, a notice period of four (4) weeks (28 days) from the date of notification to the organization will apply. During this notice period, the tutor will continue tutoring the student according to the previously agreed schedule. This notice period may be shortened if the tutor personally arranges for a replacement tutor.
6) Student's Right of Withdrawal within 14 Days of Confirmation: Under Belgian law on market practices and consumer protection, dated April 6, 2010 (or subsequently Book VI of the Belgian Code of Economic Law), the student-consumer has the right to withdraw from their contract with OPTIBI if it was entered into exclusively via the website. This right of withdrawal must be exercised by the student-consumer in writing, without any obligation to provide a reason, and within a period of 14 calendar days from the day on which their tutoring request is definitively confirmed, in accordance with Article 3A of these terms. In any case, the student may use the withdrawal form available on the website.However, the student forfeits their right of withdrawal if the agreed-upon tutoring sessions, constituting the full performance of the final assignment, are completed within the 14-day period, provided that the student has given express prior consent for the immediate commencement of the tutoring sessions and has acknowledged to OPTIBI that they understand they will lose the right of withdrawal once the agreed tutoring sessions are fully completed by the tutor. If the student validly withdraws from the agreement before the end of the 14-day period but after the assignment of a tutor by OPTIBI, the student is, in any case, obligated to pay for any tutoring sessions that have already taken place, in addition to the one-time registration fee of €75.
7) Cancellation by the student after 14 days following confirmation: If the student decides to completely withdraw from the finalized assignment after the expiry of the 14-calendar-day cancellation period, this can only occur upon payment of a cancellation fee amounting to 10% of the agreed price of the final assignment, with a minimum of EUR 75. Should the student, after the expiry of the cancellation period, decide to cancel a portion of the finalized assignment, the lessons ultimately taken will be charged at a higher rate than initially agreed upon between OPTIBI and the student, in addition to the enrollment fee of EUR 75.
8) Student Complaints: If the student, after receiving tutoring from the teacher, is not satisfied with the teacher, the student is required to report this to OPTIBI via email within 24 hours of receiving the tutoring session. In such a case, the teacher forfeits any right to compensation for that session, provided that OPTIBI, following the complaint and at its own discretion, determines that there is sufficient reason for this decision. Upon the valid receipt of a complaint from a student, OPTIBI will arrange for the tutoring session to be redone by a different teacher, without any additional fees owed by the student to OPTIBI. If the student submits a subsequent written complaint to OPTIBI regarding the re-delivered session by the second teacher, the student is entitled to cancel the remaining sessions. However, this is subject to payment for the second session and the payment of a cancellation fee of 10% for any other sessions that will no longer take place, in accordance with Article 7 of the terms and conditions.
9) Nature of the collaboration: OPTIBI connects students and tutors. OPTIBI acts as an intermediary and facilitator to establish an agreement between the two parties. OPTIBI plays a purely facilitating role. OPTIBI is not a service provider in supplementary education and does not carry out supplementary education itself. The student and the tutor collaborate independently. Any relationship of subordination between the parties is therefore explicitly excluded. There is no employment relationship between OPTIBI and the tutor. The tutor is fully responsible for the teaching materials, or any other materials used in the execution of the assignment, as well as for the content of the tutoring sessions. Consequently, the tutor accepts full liability for this. The tutor guarantees to carry out the assignment as reasonably expected by the student from any average tutor. Finally, the tutor will be solely responsible for fulfilling all legal, tax, and social security obligations related to the performance of the agreement with the student and will bear all associated costs.
10) Price: All prices as displayed on the website regarding tutoring for the student, as well as the fees for the teacher, are stated in euros and include VAT, registration, or other administrative fees, unless explicitly stated otherwise. To the extent that the prices are based on the then-current level of labor costs, social security contributions, government levies, insurance premiums, material costs, and/or other costs, OPTIBI is entitled, in the event of an increase or decrease in one or more of these price factors, to adjust its prices accordingly and in compliance with legally allowed standards. For students, this refers to the moment when the assignment has become final in accordance with Article 3A, and for teachers, it refers to the moment when the assignment has been definitively accepted by the teacher or definitively assigned to the teacher in accordance with Article 3B. In the event that the teacher needs to travel, travel costs will be added based on the actual travel costs calculated.
11) Student Billing: OPTIBI facilitates the payment flow between the instructor and the student via the electronic platform. A third party responsible for payment processing may be used. The student may choose to make an advance payment for the agreed-upon lesson hours or opt for payment through monthly direct debit/collection, with the first bill always including the advance payment for lesson credit. The student will receive the payment request after registration or after the instructor is appointed. Prepaid lesson credits remain valid for one calendar year unless otherwise communicated. The amount must be paid directly by the student to OPTIBI through the payment options listed on the invoice within the payment term specified on the invoice. OPTIBI charges the student an operational fee for facilitating the platform and related services. The student remains fully responsible for the total payment of the invoice at all times. Invoices can only be validly disputed in writing by registered letter within 7 calendar days of the document date, with the document date, reference, and a detailed explanation included. If this is not done, the customer is deemed to have agreed to the invoice.
Invoices must be paid within 14 days of the invoice date. If invoices are not paid on time, a first reminder will be sent to the student free of charge. If payment is still not made within the payment term specified in the first reminder, interest on arrears will be charged to the student as determined by the Law of August 2, 2002, regarding the fight against payment arrears in commercial transactions, as well as a flat-rate compensation as follows.
- 20 euros if the outstanding balance is less than or equal to 150 euros;
- 30 euros increased by 10% of the amount owed on the portion between 150.01 and 500 euros if the outstanding balance is between 150.01 and 500 euros;
- 65 euros increased by 5% of the amount due on the portion above 500 euros, with a maximum of 2000 euros, if the outstanding balance is higher than 500 euros.
- The reminder fees for each additional reminder amount to €7.50, plus the postage costs applicable at the time of dispatch.
If a student fails to settle one or more outstanding claims to OPTIBI, OPTIBI reserves the right to suspend the further execution of its services as an intermediary and to consider any other bookings for lessons as canceled without any notice of default, with the consequences described in Article 7. Furthermore, this results in the immediate due date of all other accounts, including those that have not yet matured, and all permitted payment terms are voided. Partial payments are always accepted under all reservations and without any detrimental acknowledgment, and are first applied to collection costs, then to the penalty clause, the overdue interest, and finally to the oldest outstanding principal. OPTIBI is authorized to charge third parties for the collection of collection costs, penalty clauses, overdue interest, and finally the oldest outstanding principal. Any costs incurred in this regard will be charged to the student.
12) Teacher's Compensation: The teacher is required to inform OPTIBI by the end of each month about the number of teaching hours given to the student with whom an agreement has been concluded. The teacher is obligated to accurately report these hours in the agenda provided on the website, which is shared with the student. The teaching hours provided by the teacher for the benefit of the student will be charged to the student by OPTIBI, in the name of and on behalf of the teacher - see 11) billing to the student. If preparation time or review is carried out at the student's request, and this needs to be compensated, it must always be confirmed in advance via email with the student and the responsible account manager. The compensation will be advanced by OPTIBI to the teacher. OPTIBI will retain a commission from the total amount billed to the student for facilitating the website and related services. OPTIBI commits to paying the teacher for the billed teaching hours within 14 days of the document date.
13) Liability: The instructor is liable for any damage that arises from or is related to the execution of the assignment that he holds in relation to OPTIBI, and which is suffered by and/or caused to OPTIBI, its appointees/employees, the student, and/or third parties, without prejudice to any other rights and recovery mechanisms of OPTIBI. The private tutor may, however, use the Civil Liability (BA) insurance taken out by OPTIBI with Axa for any relevant claims. The professional tutor undertakes to have their own Civil Liability (BA) insurance. This liability is, in any case, unlimited for bodily injury. The instructor is and remains fully liable to OPTIBI for the execution of the assignment, including the obligation of effort that the instructor has with regard to the assignment. Consequently, the instructor indemnifies OPTIBI against any claims by the student and/or third parties arising from or related to the execution of the assignment. OPTIBI's liability towards the student and instructor is in any case limited to the price the student is required to pay, and in any case, limited to the liability imposed by mandatory law. OPTIBI is under no circumstances obliged to compensate for indirect damage (such as, but not limited to, loss of income or damage to third parties) to the student and/or instructor. OPTIBI is also not liable for defects directly or indirectly caused by an act of the student, the instructor, or any of their appointees/employees, or a third party, regardless of whether they were caused by error or negligence. In the event of any damage caused by the instructor (student), the instructor (student) may call upon their family insurance, provided that the instructor (student) has such coverage. OPTIBI will always attempt to assist in substantiating any potential case, as far as possible.
14) Non-competition: The tutor is free to offer private lessons through other channels. However, the tutor agrees to always guide the students assigned by BijlesHuis through BijlesHuis and to keep them within the organization.
15) Termination of Agreement: The agreement between the student and OPTIBI automatically ends when the student’s final assignment has been completed after the teacher has performed the assignment, or upon the revocation or cancellation of the assignment by the student. After the student has correctly paid all outstanding invoices, OPTIBI will also deactivate the student’s registration and account on the website. The agreement between the teacher and OPTIBI automatically ends when (i) OPTIBI notifies the teacher in writing that it is no longer satisfied with the teacher's services, or (ii) when the teacher notifies OPTIBI in writing that they will no longer provide services, and this is confirmed in writing by OPTIBI. Following this termination, OPTIBI will remove the teacher from its database of available teachers, and the teacher's registration and account on the OPTIBI website will be deactivated.
16) Force Majeure / Hardship: If OPTIBI is unable to fulfill its obligations or if the performance thereof becomes unreasonably burdensome due to force majeure or hardship, it has the right to suspend the performance of these obligations, either entirely or partially, temporarily for the duration of the force majeure event, or permanently, without being obligated to give prior notice or to pay any compensation. Cases that are conventionally considered as force majeure include, but are not limited to: war, blockade, uprising, strike or lock-out, confiscation, website downtime, and restrictions on energy consumption.
17) Personal Data: Both the student and the instructor explicitly grant OPTIBI permission to include the personal data provided by them in OPTIBI’s automated database, which is partially visible on the OPTIBI website. OPTIBI acts in accordance with the Belgian Personal Data Processing Act of December 8, 1992. This data will be used for the purpose of fulfilling the agreements made between OPTIBI and the student, as well as between OPTIBI and the instructor, and possibly for conducting information or promotional campaigns related to the services offered by OPTIBI. Both the student and the instructor have the right at any time to request the communication and correction of their data. If the student or instructor no longer wishes to receive commercial information from OPTIBI, the student must notify OPTIBI. Any costs incurred for changes to the original data of the student or instructor, made at their request, will always be charged. Furthermore, the instructor guarantees that all data concerning the student from OPTIBI, which they acquire through the performance of the assignment, will be treated confidentially, both during and after the agreement with OPTIBI.
18) Set-off: In accordance with the provisions of the Financial Collateral Act of December 15, 2004, OPTIBI and the student, on the one hand, and OPTIBI and the instructor, on the other hand, shall automatically and by operation of law offset and net all existing and future debts owed to each other. This means that, in the ongoing relationship between OPTIBI and the student, only the largest outstanding debt, after the aforementioned automatic set-off, will remain. This set-off will, in any case, be enforceable against the bankruptcy trustee and other concurrent creditors, who will therefore not be able to oppose the set-off carried out by the parties.
19) Competent Court and Applicable Law: Disputes fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in the district where OPTIBI has its registered office, unless OPTIBI expressly deviates from this. Belgian law is applicable.