ScienceXperts eTutoring Cancellation Policy

Cancellation Policy

ScienceXperts eTutoring Programme

Version 1.2   ·   Last updated: 01 August 2026   ·   Effective date: 01 August 2026

 

Summary

You can cancel or move a session free of charge if you tell us at least 24 hours before it starts.

You can cancel your monthly subscription at any time. You simply finish the period you have already paid for, and no further payments are taken.

If you signed up online, you have 7 days to change your mind and get your money back in full, as long as sessions have not started yet.

Your cancellation counts from the moment you first notify us you wish to cancel.

 

1. What this policy covers

This policy explains how to cancel a single tutoring session, a monthly subscription, or a prepaid package with ScienceXperts eTutoring, and what you can expect from us when you do. It applies to both group and one-on-one tutoring, and it works hand in hand with our Refund Policy, which explains when money is paid back, and our Terms of Service. One small note for learners reading this: cancellations need to come from your parent or guardian, because they hold the account.

2. Cancelling or moving a single session

2.1 With 24 hours or more notice

Life happens, and sometimes a session just cannot go ahead. If you let us know at least 24 hours before it starts, we will happily reschedule it free of charge to another time in the same calendar month, depending on when your tutor is available. Just keep in mind that make-up sessions do not carry over into the next month.

2.2 With less than 24 hours notice

When a session is cancelled with less than 24 hours notice, it is counted as delivered. We know this can feel strict, but by that point your tutor has already reserved and prepared for that time, and the slot cannot realistically be filled by someone else. You will never be charged anything extra beyond what you have already paid. And because we understand that even the most organised families get caught out sometimes, each learner may reschedule one late-cancelled session per school term as a goodwill gesture, subject to availability.

 

2.3 Not showing up

Your tutor will wait online for 30 minutes. If the learner has not joined by then, the session is treated as a no-show and counted as delivered. The same standard applies to us, of course: if your tutor is more than 30 minutes late, the session is redone in full at no cost to you.

 

2.4 Emergencies

If a session or booking cannot be honoured because of the death or hospitalisation of the learner, no cancellation charge of any kind applies. This is your right under section 17 of the Consumer Protection Act, and it is also simply the right thing to do. For other serious situations, such as sudden illness or a family emergency, please reach out to us. We will do our best to reschedule with compassion, and we may ask for brief supporting information.

 

2.5 Load-shedding and technical problems

If a session fails because of a problem on our side or your tutor’s side, including their connectivity or power, we will redo the session in full at no cost to you. If the problem is on the learner’s side, including load-shedding or internet trouble at home, the session is treated as a late cancellation. That said, we live in South Africa too, and we know these interruptions are a reality. So each learner may claim one free reschedule per month for a documented technical failure on their side.

 

2.6 If your tutor cancels

Tutors are expected to give as much notice as they possibly can. When a tutor cancels, the choice is yours: a make-up session or a credit on your account, whichever suits you better. And if a tutor cancels three or more sessions in a term, we will offer you a replacement tutor, because consistency matters.

 

2.7 Sessions close to major exams

For sessions scheduled within 14 days of a major examination, such as the NSC exams, we ask for 48 hours notice instead of the usual 24. Exam-season slots are in high demand, and they are very hard to refill at short notice.

 

3. Cancelling your subscription or package

3.1 The 7-day cooling-off period

If you signed up through our website or any other electronic channel, you are free to change your mind within 7 days of signing up. You do not need to give a reason, there is no penalty, and you will receive a full refund of everything you have paid, including the registration fee, within 30 days. This is your right under section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, and we honour it gladly.

There is one exception. If you expressly ask us to start within the first 7 days and the service actually begins, the cooling-off right falls away. For group packages, the service begins when the learner attends a live lesson or watches session recordings, not merely when access is switched on. During sign-up we ask you clearly whether you want access to start straight away, and we record your choice, so this never happens by accident.

Two commitments go along with this. If you were given early access but the learner never attended a lesson or watched a recording, we treat the service as not yet begun, and the full cooling-off refund still applies. And if the learner used part of a package within the first 7 days before you cancelled, we refund what you paid less the sessions actually attended or watched, charged at our standard single-session rate.

 

3.2 Monthly subscriptions

Your subscription is billed monthly in advance through Paystack/Other subscription service we use at that time, on the billing date you chose at sign-up. Each payment covers what we call your billing month, which runs from your billing date to the day before your next one. So if you are billed on the 15th, that payment covers you from the 15th to the 14th of the following month.

You may cancel at any time by written notice, and there is no cancellation fee. Your cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing month you have already paid for, which means tutoring and access to lessons and recordings continue until then, and no further payments are collected. To make sure your next debit does not go through, we ask that you give notice at least 5 days before your next billing date. And if a debit does slip through on or after the date of your notice, you do not need to worry or even ask: we refund it in full automatically.

Here is an example of how it works. Say you are billed on the 17th and you cancel on the 21st. No further debits are taken, and your learner keeps full access until the 16th of the next month, when the paid period ends. The month you have already paid for is not refunded, because the lessons and recordings remain available to you for all of it. This works exactly the same way for group and one-on-one subscriptions.

Group programme subscriptions follow the academic year, which ends preliminarily on 15 November. We confirm that date, or announce any change to it, closer to the beginning of November. Your November debit is the final bill of the year at the normal amount, access to lessons and recordings stays open for that full paid billing month, and we then cancel all subscriptions ourselves. No billing occurs after November, and re-enrolling for the new year is always your fresh choice, and is never an automatic charge. Section 3.1 of our Terms of Service sets this out in full.

 

3.3 Choosing and changing your billing date

At sign-up you choose the monthly billing date that suits your household, for example the 15th, the 25th or month-end, so that payments line up with when you get paid. If your circumstances change, you are welcome to change your billing date later. Just ask us in writing at least 5 days before both your current and your new billing date, and the change will take effect from your next cycle.

Sometimes moving your date leaves a short gap between the end of your last paid period and your new billing date. When that happens, we charge a once-off pro-rata amount for just those days, worked out as your monthly fee divided by 30 and multiplied by the number of days in the gap. For example, moving from the 8th to the 15th creates a 7 day bridge, which on a fee of R600 comes to about R140. We always show you the exact amount before you confirm, we never overlap periods or charge you twice for the same days, and we confirm the new arrangement in writing. To keep billing orderly, we allow one billing date change every 3 months.

 

3.4 Prepaid packages

If you have paid upfront for a package covering a longer period, you may cancel it by giving 20 business days written notice, as provided for in section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act. We will then work out your refund fairly, and here is exactly how:

• The sessions you have already used are charged at our standard single-session rate, because the package discount rewarded a commitment that is no longer being completed.

• A once-off administration fee of R150 covers the work of processing the cancellation.

• Whatever remains of your balance is refunded to you.

And here is our promise: the total cancellation charge on a package will never be more than 10% of the unused balance or one month’s fee, whichever is lower. We look at every cancellation individually. We do not apply flat forfeitures, and for group packages the charge is normally just the administration fee.

 

3.5 The registration fee

The registration fee pays for your learner’s assessment, tutor matching and onboarding. Once that work has been done, the registration fee is not refundable, except during the cooling-off period described in section 3.1.

 

3.6 If we end the service

If we ever have to terminate your subscription for reasons other than a breach of our Terms of Service, for example if we can no longer offer a subject, we will give you proper notice and refund any unused prepaid fees in full. Where an account is terminated for non-payment or misconduct, the Terms of Service apply instead.

 

3.7 Suspension for non-payment

If your account is suspended because of unpaid fees, sessions falling within the suspension period are unfortunately forfeited and are not owed back. Access resumes as soon as the account is settled. Our Terms of Service explain the details.

 

4. How to cancel: the process

Step 1. Contact us. Send a WhatsApp message to 067 248 6493 or an email to sciencexpertstutoring@gmail.com letting us know you want to cancel. Your cancellation counts from the date and time of this first message. Everything that follows is administration on our side, and it does not move your cancellation date.

Step 2. Complete the cancellation form. We will send you a short cancellation form, and we ask that you complete it within 5 days so we can process everything correctly. If you may be eligible for a refund, the form lets you request one at the same time, so you never have to wait for one process to finish before starting the other.

Step 3. We confirm everything in writing. Within 48 hours to 7 days of your notice, we will send you a written confirmation that covers all of the following:

• We cancel your payment subscription ourselves, whether it runs through Paystack, Peach Payments or another platform, and confirm to you that billing has stopped. You do not need to do anything here, and if any amount is debited after your cancellation notice, we will refund it in full automatically.

• We unsubscribe you on the website and close off any sessions scheduled after your end date.

• We ask the learner and parent to exit the WhatsApp groups at their convenience. Anyone still in a group 7 days after the end date is removed by us, simply to keep the groups current.

If you are eligible for a refund, the refund process and timelines in our Refund Policy take over from there.

 

5. Questions

If anything in this policy is unclear, or you feel a cancellation charge is unfair, please talk to us first at sciencexpertstutoring@gmail.com or 067 248 6493. We would much rather work it out together. If we cannot resolve it between us, you are welcome to take the matter to the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (www.cgso.org.za), a free dispute resolution service, and we will cooperate fully.