Handy Mandarin Terms of Use
Handy Mandarin provides a Mandarin Chinese language tuition subscription services which allows students to access our learning material and interact with teachers, practice partners and fellow students thorough various delivery channels, including, but not limited to, our own mobile app, third party social media applications and internet connected PCs.
Handy Mandarin’s service is provided to you by MasterChina Chinese Language & Culture Institute, a Chinese language school based in Shanghai. These Terms of Use govern your use of our language tuition service.
Membership
Handy Mandarin operates a monthly subscription service with no extended subscription period. Students are billed monthly, in advance, until notice of termination is received (see billing section). To use Handy Mandarin’s service, you must have a valid email address, internet access via a PC and/or an internet connected smart phone as well as a valid method of payment. You must also be prepared to install freely available applications to your smart phone and/or PC.
Before you begin our paid subscription service, Handy Mandarin offers all students a free trial membership to ensure not only that our service meets your expectations, in terms of helping you to achieve your language proficiency goals but also that our service is compatible with your daily schedule. Your free trial membership is proceeded by a short discussion with one of our experienced teachers to determine basic suitability and review your goals and previous knowledge.
Upon starting your trial membership, you will be allocated a class that has one or more teachers. In general, you will stick with the same teacher(s) and class as you progress together through the syllabus. However, it may be appropriate to change your class if your rate of progression is no longer in line with the majority of other class members (be it faster or slower) or you suspend your subscription. If you are assigned to a different class then you will also have a different teacher(s).
As part of your subscription, you are entitled to a one hour one on one practice class per week (for clarity this means 4 hours per monthly subscription period irrespective of the actual length of each month in days). The 4 practice hours can be subdivided into shorter sessions to accommodate both parties. These sessions are scheduled via your teacher a week in advance, and in general will be with a different instructor specializing in the section of the syllabus you are covering.
Free Trial
All Handy Mandarin memberships begin with a free trial membership so that you are free to judge for yourself if our program is suitable for you. Free trial eligibility is determined by Handy Mandarin at its sole discretion and we may limit eligibility to prevent free trial abuse. We reserve the right to revoke the free trial, and put your membership account on hold, at any time if we determine you are, or there is reasonable grounds to believe you are, abusing our trail offer. The length of the trial is generally one month, however this can be extended at Handy Mandarin’s discretion. The trial period will be clearly agreed before it begins. In general, only one trial will be provided to an individual.
While Handy Mandarin’s free trial gives equivalent access to all materials and services available to fee paying subscribers, only a restricted section of the syllabus will be delivered during the trial duration to protect against trial abuse. Restrictions on downloading study materials and course customization may also be applied.
Students are able to convert their trial to a full (paid) membership before the end of the agreed trial duration if both parties are satisfied that this is appropriate. For combinations with other offers, additional restrictions may apply.
Billing
Billing Cycle
The membership fee for our Mandarin tuition service, and any other charges you may incur in connection with your use of the service, such as taxes and possible transaction fees, will be charged on a monthly basis via PayPal on the calendar day corresponding to the commencement of your paid subscription. In some cases your payment date may change, for example if your payment has not successfully settled or if your paid membership began on a day not contained in a given month. Our billing cycle is monthly unless explicitly agreed otherwise before commencement of our paid for service. Handy Mandarin may suggest a different billing cycle (with or without inducements) which you may accept or reject.
Payment Methods
You can change your Payment Method via accessing your PayPal account. If a payment is not successfully settled at the beginning of a new billing cycle, due to expiration, insufficient funds, or some other reason, Handy Mandarin will inform you and after a minimum of 7 days from notification of non-payment will suspend your subscription. None notification of your receipt of our intention to suspend your subscription will not extend this 7 day grace period and you will not be able to schedule any new one on one sessions until the payment issue is resolved. You will however be able to access all other aspects of our service. Handy Mandarin may, solely at our discretion, extend the non-payment grace period for longer than 7 days based on you informing us of a valid reason why your payment could not be processed. However, under no circumstances will this period be extended by more than one month and you remain liable for any unpaid fees if you go on to terminate your subscription after receiving tuition during a grace period.
For some Payment Methods, the issuer of your Payment Method may charge you certain fees, such as a foreign transaction fee or other fees relating to the processing of your Payment Method. Local tax charges may vary depending on the Payment Method used. Check with your Payment Method service provider for details.
Changes to the Price and Service Plans
Handy Mandarin may change our service plan offering and the price of our service from time to time; however, any change to either will apply to you no earlier than 30 days following notice to you.
Handy Mandarin uses the USD (United States Dollar) as our primary payment currency, where pricing is indicated, or requested, in different currencies the fee may be higher (based on the prevailing exchange rate). We encourage all students to make payments in USD (as supported by PayPal).
Handy Mandarin may provide supplemental paid services (event/transaction based as opposed to subscription) which you are free to purchase on top of your subscription.
Absence
If you want to put your subscription on hold, for any reason, you can but depending on the duration of your suspension you may have to join a different class when you restart your studies. It is your responsibility to inform Handy Mandarin that you wish to suspend your membership and hence payment. We may, at our discretion, continue to give you access to some of our services during the suspension period. If you want to suspend part way through a pre-paid cycle,you will not be credited for the missed time when you return.
Cancellation
You can cancel your subscription at any time, and you will continue to have access to the all services through the end of your pre-paid monthly (or other pre-agreed) billing period. To the extent permitted by the applicable law, payments are non-refundable and we do not provide refunds or credits for any partial membership periods. To cancel your subscription, either write to Handy Mandarin (contact us address on our Website) or inform your teacher directly. If you cancel your membership, you will automatically be removed from your allocated class at the end of your current billing period. You can rejoin our program, at a later date, but you should follow the same procedure as for a new student (initial assessment) and Handy Mandarin will determine if a free trial period is again appropriate (depending on what program you resume) or you can immediately join your old, or a different class. Handy Mandarin reserves the right not to accept returning students.
Handy Mandarin's Service
Whilst there is no absolute lower age limit to use our on-line Mandarin tuition service, prospective student under 13 years of old will be assessed for suitability during the initial discussion, or as part of the free trial if it is still not clear if you are suitable after a short discussion. At the end of the trial, Handy Mandarin will determine if we feel you are ready and, if not, we encourage you to come back after a mutually agreed period.
Students under 18 years of age, or the age of majority in your province, territory or country may only use the service under the supervision, and with the consent, of a parent or legal guardian. Before you can begin paid tuition with payment via PayPal, Handy Mandarin must receive confirmation from your parent, or legal guardian, who will be responsible for payment. Handy Mandarin’s service and any content are for your personal and non-commercial use only. During your subscription, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, licence to access our service and content. Except for the foregoing limited licence, no right, title or interest shall be transferred to you. You agree not to share our teaching material with others, or make it available to others without our express written permission.
Delivery of our interactive service is based on a reliable Internet connection. It is each student’s responsibility to ensure they have a reliable connection with bandwidth commensurate with the needs of our interactive services (voice, video). Handy Mandarin acknowledges that Internet connectivity can still be variable despite both your, and our, best efforts and if it is necessary to delay or re-schedule interactive classes this will be done with no additional cost to you within the same subscription period; on a best effort basis.
Handy Mandarin’s on-line service is interactive and you are free to contact your teacher anytime. Handy Mandarin’s business hours are 7am to 11pm daily (seven days a week local China time) and it is our aim to address your questions/uploaded material the same working day whenever possible. For out of hours questions, and in the case where we are not able to provide feedback the same working day, we strive to provide feedback the next working day. Handy Mandarin does not guarantee this turn-around time. In the case of complex queries, it may take several days to fully address your question or request (for example correcting a long passage or developing bespoke content to best address your issue). However, in such a case your teacher will indicate how long it will take in an initial response.
Your Handy Mandarin subscription includes 1 hour per week of one on one practice tuition (via one of several free Internet voice/video telephony services). Practice sessions are not generally with your teacher but are held with a practice partner trained to deliver a specific part of Handy Mandarin’s syllabus. The practice partner may change occasionally. You must schedule all practice sessions at least one week in advance via your class teacher. Classes must start and end between 8am and 9pm China time. This may cause individuals difficulties based on the time difference between their location and China and hence we allow subscribers to break down their entitlement into shorter sessions if that eases scheduling. Lessons are also available 7 days a week. If you miss a pre-scheduled lesson, your entitlement is forfeit. Unused entitlement cannot be carried over to a later period. There is no discount for subscribers who wish not to make use of the inclusive practice sessions since Handy Mandarin believe you can only make limited progress without regular spoken practice.
Both parties agree to wait up to five minutes after the agreed start time before the other is classified as a no show. If the no show is by Handy Mandarin’s tutor then the subscriber will be credited an additional practice session of equal duration to the missed session. This may be carried across subscription periods if necessary. The first 5 minutes “set-up time” is not included in the lesson duration for lessons with a total duration less than 30 minutes.
Repeated failure to attend scheduled classes, within a subscription period, by the student will need to be explained to your teacher before any new sessions can be scheduled.
Handy Mandarin regularly makes changes to the service offering and teaching materials and we withhold the right to retire functionality or material at any time. While Handy Mandarin makes every effort to ensure the correctness and accuracy of our teaching material, mistakes can, and will, happen. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to our teaching material. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
Some teaching content is available for download and hence is suitable for offline viewing. Limitations may apply, including restrictions on the duration that the content can be stored and the maximum number of devices that can contain offline content. Your teacher will select appropriate teaching material to download to your account and will remove content which is no longer required. Certain material will be made permanently available to you, for example at the completion of a stage, however as stated previously such material is solely for your personal, and non-commercial, use.
Handy Mandarin provides interactivity with your teacher and fellow students through the use of third party applications, in addition to the terms and conditions outlined here you agree to abide by the application providers’ own terms and conditions of use.
Handy Mandarin will not tolerate inappropriate views, comments or material sharing with fellow students and withholds the right to immediately suspend or terminate your service if you fail to show courtesy and respect in posts shared with your class, or the wider Handy Mandarin community. As subscribers are as young as 13 years old we ask you to take this into consideration before you post any message.
You agree to use Handy Mandarin’s service, including all features and functionalities associated therewith, in accordance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, or other restrictions on use of the service or content therein. You agree not to reproduce, distribute, modify, display, perform, publish, license, create derivative works from, offer for sale, or use (except as explicitly authorized in these Terms of Use) content and information contained on or obtained from, or through, Handy Mandarin’s service.
You also agree not to: circumvent, remove, alter, deactivate, degrade or thwart any of the content protections in our service; We may terminate or restrict your use of our service if you violate these Terms of Use, or are engaged in illegal or fraudulent use of the service.
You acknowledge that the use of the service may require third party software that is subject to third party licenses.
Miscellaneous
Governing Law
These Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Peoples Republic of China. These terms will not limit any consumer protection rights that you may be entitled to under the mandatory laws of your country of residence.
Customer Support
To find more information about our service and its features, or if you need assistance, please visit our website.
Survival
If any provision or provisions of these Terms of Use shall be held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
Changes to Terms of Use
Handy Mandarin may, from time to time, change these Terms of Use. Please check our Web site regularly for updates.
Electronic Communications
We will send you information relating to your subscription in electronic form only, for example via emails to your email address provided during registration or via direct contact by your teacher.
Website Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by Handy Mandarin and while we endeavor to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of Handy Mandarin. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorsement of the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, Handy Mandarin takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.