TERMS & CONDITIONS

By signing up for guitar lessons and setting up a Direct Debit through GoCardless, you agree to the following Terms & Conditions.

1. Lesson Fees & Payments

Group guitar lessons cost £9.25 per lesson.
Up Strum aims to provide 36 guitar lessons during the academic year.
For convenience, the annual tuition fee is divided into 12 equal monthly instalments of £27.75.
Payments are collected by Direct Debit through GoCardless, with 12 payments running from the end of August through to the end of July.
The £27.75 monthly payment is an instalment towards the cost of the year's tuition. It is not payment specifically for lessons delivered during that calendar month.
This means Direct Debit payments continue during school holidays, including Christmas, Easter and the summer holidays.
Parents/carers can keep track of lessons delivered during the academic year using our online Lesson Tracker:
www.upstrum.co.uk/p/lesson-tracker.html

2. Cancelling Lessons

You may cancel your child's guitar lessons at any time.
Please contact Up Strum before cancelling your Direct Debit.
When lessons are cancelled, we will reconcile the number of lessons delivered × the lesson rate against the total payments received.
Because the annual tuition fee is spread evenly across 12 months, the number of lessons delivered at the point of cancellation may be ahead of or behind the amount you have paid.
If you have paid more than the value of the lessons delivered, Up Strum will refund the difference.
If the value of the lessons already delivered is greater than the payments received, the outstanding balance remains payable.
Cancelling a Direct Debit does not cancel or write off fees already due for lessons that have been provided.
If a Direct Debit is cancelled without contacting us, we reserve the right to suspend further guitar lessons until the account has been resolved.

3. Our Lesson Commitment

Up Strum aims to deliver 36 lessons during each academic year.
School years usually contain approximately 39 teaching weeks, which allows some flexibility in scheduling lessons.
If an Up Strum teacher is absent, we will notify the school and, where appropriate, parents/carers.
Where necessary, we will attempt to make up missed lessons through rescheduled lessons or lesson credits.
If, by the end of the academic year, fewer lessons have been delivered than have been paid for, the account will be reconciled and an appropriate refund or credit provided.

4. Pupil Absence

If your child is absent but their Up Strum teacher attends school and is available to provide the scheduled lesson, the lesson will normally be counted as delivered and no refund or lesson credit will be issued.
If your child is absent for more than three consecutive lessons, please contact us. Depending on the circumstances, we may be able to pause payments or provide an appropriate lesson credit.
Where a pupil misses a lesson because of an unavoidable whole-class or school-organised event, such as:

• an off-site class trip
• sports day
• a school production or similar whole-school/class event

We will make reasonable efforts to reschedule the lesson where possible.
Lessons missed because a pupil chooses to participate in another activity instead of their scheduled guitar lesson will normally still be counted as delivered.
Examples include:

• another school club
• school council meetings
• volunteering roles
• extracurricular activities
• choosing to support rather than participate in a school event.

5. School Closures

Occasionally a School may close or become unavailable for reasons outside Up Strum's control. Examples include:

• severe weather
• flooding
• heating, electricity, gas or water failures
• public-health emergencies
• industrial action

• other emergency school closures.

Where reasonably possible, Up Strum will attempt to rearrange affected lessons or provide an appropriate alternative lesson.
If this is not possible, the missed lesson will be taken into account when the pupil's annual lesson total is reconciled.

6. Refunds & End-of-Year Reconciliation

Accounts are reviewed at the end of the academic year.
If the value of the lessons delivered is less than the amount you have paid, you will be entitled to the appropriate refund or credit.

Where a refund is due, we will contact you.

Refunds will normally be made by bank transfer. We may therefore ask you to provide:

• Name on account
• Sort code
• Account number

Please provide requested refund information by 31 July wherever possible.

7. Failed or Cancelled Payments

If a Direct Debit payment fails or is cancelled while money remains outstanding, we will contact you and provide an opportunity to settle the balance using an alternative payment method.
If an outstanding balance remains unpaid after reasonable requests for payment, Up Strum may suspend further lessons.
Where a payment remains outstanding for lessons already provided, Up Strum reserves the right to pursue recovery of the debt.
Where appropriate, this may include formal debt recovery or County Court proceedings. If court proceedings become necessary, Up Strum may also seek to recover any court fees and other amounts recoverable by law.
We will always attempt to resolve outstanding payments directly with parents/carers before taking such action.

8. Means-Tested Funding & Sibling Discounts

Some pupils may be eligible for school-funded tuition, means-tested support or reduced sibling rates.
Please contact Up Strum if you would like to discuss whether any assistance is available.

9. Agreement

By enrolling your child in Up Strum guitar lessons and setting up the requested payment arrangement, you confirm that you have read and agree to these Terms & Conditions.
If you have any questions about payments, cancellations, absences or lesson totals, please contact Up Strum before cancelling your Direct Debit.

OUTSTANDING FEES

Below we have outlined our process for dealing with outstanding lesson fees.

This process applies where a Direct Debit payment is unsuccessful, or where a Parent / Carer cancels their Direct Debit while lesson fees remain outstanding.

We understand that payments can occasionally be missed or cancelled by mistake, and we will always try to resolve any outstanding balance informally first. However, as a small business, we do need to ensure that fees for lessons provided are paid in full.

Our four-stage process below is designed to give Parents / Carers clear notice and several opportunities to resolve an outstanding balance before any further action is considered.

Stage 1 – Payment Reminders
Email reminders are sent when a payment becomes overdue, giving the opportunity to settle the outstanding balance informally.

Stage 2 – Final Payment Notice – 10 Days
If payment remains outstanding following our reminders, a final notice is issued giving 10 days to make payment in full.

Stage 3 – Formal Letter Before Claim
If payment is not received within those 10 days, we may issue a formal Letter Before Claim, giving the required notice before court proceedings are considered.

Stage 4 – Small Claims Proceedings

If the balance remains unpaid after the deadline set out in the Letter Before Claim, we may begin a small claim to recover the outstanding amount. We may also seek to recover the court fee and any other costs that can legally be claimed