TERMS & CONDITIONS

I assume you have read the following term and conditions before making a booking. Since they are rather lengthy, and not very exciting, I have provided a little background music which I hope will make your reading a little more pleasant.

Location Unless otherwise agreed visiting lessons take place at the home of the tutor as nominated on the website contact page and the linked location map. Local pupils may mix visiting and online lessons to suit themselves. Online lessons may be booked from any location in the world where Zoom is available along with a suitable internet connection. See more informa- tion about using Skype elsewhere on the website, particularly information relating to the applicable local time. Booking Bookings may be made by using either booking calendar on the website (playfingerstyle.co.uk). If web access is not available bookings may be made by text message or by phone. In all cases an e-mail, text message or phone call will be used to confirm the booking(s). In the unlikely event that you do not receive any form of booking confirmation please try contact us using an alternative service to the one used in making the booking before the date for which it was requested. Assessment In order to assess the existing playing ability of potential pupils, to estab- lish goals and to enable me to put together a suitable lesson programme a short meeting will be arranged ahead of any booked lessons and pupils should bring their guitar with them. The main contact form should be used to request a suitable date and time for the meeting or, if this isn't possible, a text message or phone call will suffice. There is no charge for this. Online pupils, other than beginners, are also asked to follow this same procedure. Online Lessons – Zoom All pupils are asked to run a trial Skype communication session ahead of any lesson to establish suitable position and lighting etc. Non-beginners can do this immediately before the start of the assessment meeting. Payment Lessons may be paid for on the day of the lesson or, if booked online, a deposit is required to be paid in advance using PayPal, with the balance paid on the day of the lesson. Payments other than by PayPal may be made by cash or cheque with a bankers card. Shared lessons can only be paid on the day of the lesson. Note that shared lessons are subject to availability and only available for pupils 16 years-of-age and under and bookings must be requested using the contact form only. Vouchers Anyone in receipt of a lesson gift voucher should use the main contact form to book their lesson(s) stating that payment will be made using a gift voucher and including the name and address of the person who provided the gift voucher so we can match it with our records. Cancellation Deposits are not refundable but may be applied to an alternative time slot, providing notification is received at least five (5) days before the booking. Otherwise the deposit will be forfeited. Notice of changes/cancellations must made using the main contact form and are similarly acknowledged. For the cancellation of multiple-booking lessons the above deposit restrictions only apply to the booking(s) involved and not the full amount pre-paid. In the event a lesson or lessons have to be cancelled by the tutor due for personal or other reasons pupils will be given s much notice as possible and alternative dates and times provided. Material Visiting pupils: During any programme of lessons printed material will be made available to pupils in support of the tuition and to provide sources of reference both during and after lessons. Additionally music sheet arrange- ments (under another James Williams copyright brand, Music Play Charts) will also be provided. All material is provided at no extra cost however it remains the copyright of James Williams and is supplied specifically for pupils who use the Play Fingerstyle service and should, therefore, not be copied, scanned, forwarded, given away or sold, loaned or distributed to any third party at any time without express permission in writing by the copyright holder. Online pupils: All material mentioned above is provided as download files only, in PDF format, for pupils to print for themselves. It is, however, important to understand that the same copyright conditions apply to downloaded material as it does to that provided for visiting pupils. Also note that music arrangements made under the Music Play Charts brand are also sold to the general public as download files and although some of them will be used - and provided at no charge - for pupils during lessons there is, and will continue to be, a growing library of such arrange- ments available commercially. In the event that links are to third party websites are suggested to pupils as part of the lessons programme they are provided purely for reasons of convenience and information. We neither endorse nor are responsible for the content of those sites nor to links to other websites which they may contain. Parents and/or guardians who monitor web access to juniors should make us aware of that situation from the outset. The copyright holder make every effort to ensure that the material commercially provided is wholly correct. In the event that the "copyright owner" determines there is an error or an omission or both, or a purchaser brings such error(s) and/or omission(s) to the attention of the "copyright owner(s)" any resulting corrected publication(s) will be made available to existing purchasers of the applicable title(s) for them to download without charge. Homework Pupils should expect to have "homework" set for the period between lessons and are further advised to play their instrument every day in order to make the most of their lessons and progress satisfactorily. Equipment Visiting pupils should bring the guitar they intend to use for the lesson(s) plus any course material provided for the lessons themselves. A footstool and music stand will be made available for the pupil's use during each lesson. Please do not bring food. For beginners who may only be considering learning to play the guitar there will usually be a few spare instruments, both steel and nylon string instruments, to use at the lesson for the purposes of assessment. The instruments will almost always be full-size and are not available to take away. Pupils are responsible for maintaining their own equipment at all times and for caring for the course material provided. In the event that printed material needs replacing there will be a charge of £0.50 per page. Pupils who use the online lessons service are responsible for the hardware and communications equipment, cameras etc which they use during Skype connections. In the event there is a shutdown failure during an online lesson the lesson will be re-scheduled and the balance of the time remaining applied to it. Rates The rates shown on the website and booking calendars will always be the current figures. If sharing fees change pupils will be notified at least one month in advance. At present VAT does not apply to our music lessons. Trial Lesson Book a lesson using the booking calendar if are uncertain as to your interest in playing the guitar and would like a trial lesson, possibly using one of the instruments which are usually available for visiting pupils, and use the notes section on the form to tell us you wish to have a trial lesson and if you require the use of a guitar for that purpose. Alternatively phone or e-mail the booking. Please note that the same rate applies as for regular lessons. Privacy Personal information supplied to us is confidential and will not be disclosed to any third party unless required to do so by law. We do not, however, guarantee confidentiality of any communications sent via e-mail or through our website. Animal Allergies There are no animals on the premises where lessons take place. Your tutor is a non smoker and smoking is not permitted on or in the premises. Child Minding Please note that only pupils who are booked for lessons may attend during the period of each lesson and there is no provision to care for other children or adults during that time. The only exception would be in the case of a very young child, in which case the practicality of lessons should be discussed before they are booked. Behaviour Bad behaviour by pupils will not be tolerated and will lead to an immediate termination of a lesson, or course of lessons, and a refund applied for any outstanding paid-up fees. DBS certification The tutor, James Williams, is DBS certified which means that anyone has recourse to applicable records should they wish to request them from the authorities. Liability Pupils, guardians and parents who make bookings for lessons with James Williams (directly or via the website playfingerstyle.co.uk) agree not to hold the said operator responsible for any loss, damage or injury incurred directly or indirectly as a result of booking and attending lessons. Consent In booking lessons you will have read, understood and agree to these Terms and Conditions, OR, as the parent or legal guardian of a minor booked to attend lessons, you provide consent for him or her to partici- pate in said lessons in full acceptance of, and agreement to, these Terms and Conditions. Disclaimer While every effort has been made to ensure that the materials contained on this website are accurate, we do not guarantee: the absolute accuracy of the content nor that of the materials provided as part of the lessons programme; the site will be available without interruption, error or omission; that the errors will be corrected; nor that the website/hosting server(s) are free from viruses or harmful components. The website and the materials provided on the website are provided "as is" and "as available" without representations, warranties or conditions of any kind, either expressed or implied. Questions Please direct any questions relating to these terms and condition to james@playfingerstyle.co.uk