Cancellation & Rescheduling Policy

How the 24 hours are counted

From the lesson's start time, to the minute. Every time on the site and in our emails is shown in your own timezone (the one in your profile), so there's nothing to convert. For example, a lesson on Tuesday at 18:00 can be moved or cancelled for free until Monday at 18:00.

Cancelling a lesson

• Cancel from My lessons in your dashboard. You can add a reason: it helps Maria, but it isn't required.
• 24 hours or more before the start: the lesson is cancelled and its credit goes straight back to your account, with the same expiry date, ready to book again.
• Less than 24 hours before: you can still cancel, and please do, so Maria knows you're not coming. But you pay the full price of the lesson even though you cancelled: its credit is used and isn't returned.
• You'll get an email confirming the cancellation and saying whether the credit came back.

Moving (rescheduling) a lesson

• 24 hours or more before the start: move it yourself from My lessons to any free time in the calendar. It's free: the credit stays with the lesson and nothing else changes.
• Less than 24 hours before: you can't move it yourself any more.
• If you can't attend a lesson that begins within 24 hours, send Maria a message and ask to move it to a future date. Whether that's possible is her decision.
• If Maria agrees to move a lesson that begins within 24 hours, the new time is final: that lesson can't be moved again, or cancelled for free, however far away its new date is.

Missed lessons and lateness

• If you don't come to a lesson and didn't cancel it, it counts as taken and is charged in full: its credit is used.
• If you're late, Maria waits for you, but the lesson still ends at its usual time. If you haven't joined 15 minutes after the start, she may treat the lesson as missed.
• If your own internet connection or device fails during a lesson, it carries on as well as it can; the lost time can't be added at the end.

When Maria cancels or moves a lesson

Depending on the circumstances, Maria may need to cancel or move a lesson herself: because she's ill, because of an emergency, or because of a technical problem on her side. You're never charged when that happens. You'll be offered a new time or the credit goes straight back to your account, and you'll get an email. If she's late, or her connection fails during the lesson, the lost time is made up or the credit is returned.

How charges work, and how to dispute one

• Lessons are paid for in advance with lesson credits: booking a lesson uses one credit. When a lesson is charged, its credit stays used and doesn't come back.
• A late cancellation is charged at the moment you cancel. A missed lesson is charged when Maria marks it as missed, which she does within 7 days of its scheduled time.
• Either way you're notified by email that the lesson was charged.
• If you think a charge is wrong, you can dispute it within 72 hours of that email: reply to it, or send Maria a message from your dashboard, and tell her what happened. She'll look at it and let you know her decision. If she agrees, the credit goes back to your account.

Exceptions

Life happens. Whatever the timing, you can always talk to Maria about moving or cancelling a lesson without charge. Depending on the circumstances she may give the credit back or find you a new time, but the decision is hers, and an exception doesn't change the rules for next time.

Trial lessons, duo lessons and credit expiry

• Trial lesson: the same rules apply. A trial cancelled late or missed counts as your trial, which is once per person.
• Duo lessons: the student who bought them books, moves and cancels them, and the same rules apply to the lesson for both students. If one of you can't come, the lesson can go ahead with the other and counts as taken.
• Expiry: a credit that comes back after a cancellation keeps its original expiry date, and credits must be used before they expire. Refunds of money are covered by the Refund Policy.
• Membership: cancelling your monthly membership is a different thing, covered in the Terms of Service.

Changes to this policy

The numbers on this page are always the ones the booking system uses today. If the policy changes, we'll update this page and the date at the top, and tell students by email before an important change applies.