These terms are the agreement between you and MariaNihongo when you create an account, buy lessons or a membership, and take lessons. We've tried to write them so they can actually be read. If anything is unclear, just ask us.
Who we are
MariaNihongo is a private online Japanese teaching service run by Maria, based in Spain.
- Name: Maria
- Email: marianihongobusiness@gmail.com
- Website: marianihongo.com
In these terms, "we" and "us" mean MariaNihongo, "Maria" means the teacher, and "you" means the person who holds the account.
These terms and our other policies
- By creating an account you accept these terms. They include our Cancellation & Rescheduling Policy and Refund Policy. How we handle personal data is explained in the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.
- If you're a consumer, nothing in these terms takes away the rights consumer law gives you.
- These terms are available in English and Spanish, and both say the same. You can save or print this page at any time.
Your account
- You must be 18 or over to create an account and buy lessons.
- Students under 18: a parent or legal guardian creates the account, buys the lessons and accepts these terms on the student's behalf, and is responsible for how the account is used. The young student takes the lessons. For young children we recommend that an adult stays nearby, and parents are always welcome to join in.
- Give accurate details and keep them up to date, especially your email and your timezone: lesson times are shown in it.
- You need to confirm your email address before you can use your account.
- An account is for one learner (duo lessons, below, are for two). Don't share your login, keep your password safe, and tell us straight away if you think someone else has used your account.
- You can close your account at any time by asking us. We may suspend or close an account that breaks these terms (see "Respect and fair use"). If we close it through no fault of yours, we refund any unused, unexpired credits.
Lessons
- Lessons are private and live, one to one with Maria (or with two students in a duo lesson), by video call. The meeting link is in your dashboard and in the reminder emails.
- The length of each kind of lesson is shown on its page before you buy.
- You need a device with a microphone (a camera helps but isn't essential), a stable internet connection and a quiet place. Joining on time is up to you: if you're late, the lesson still ends at its usual time.
- Lessons are never recorded, by us or by you, unless everyone in the lesson agrees beforehand.
- Maria plans the lessons around your level and goals, and shares notes, vocabulary and homework in your dashboard. She can't guarantee a particular result, such as passing a JLPT exam: that depends on many things, including your own practice.
- If Maria can't give a lesson (because she's ill, because of an emergency or a technical failure on her side), she'll tell you as soon as she can and move it or give the credit back, at no cost to you.
Prices, payment and lesson credits
- Prices are in euros and are the full price you pay: nothing is added at checkout. They're shown on the Lessons & pricing page and on each lesson's page. Prices can change, but never for something you've already bought.
- You pay by card through Stripe, our payment provider. Your card details go straight to Stripe: we never see or store them. You get an order confirmation email when the payment goes through.
- Lessons and packs arrive as lesson credits in your account. One credit books one lesson. Duo credits book duo lessons, and a trial credit books the trial lesson.
- Credits last for the time shown before you pay, counted from the purchase. Credits not used by then expire and can't be exchanged for money, except as the Refund Policy explains. We remind you by email before your credits run out.
- Credits are personal: they can't be transferred to someone else or resold.
- The trial lesson is once per person (15 minutes, €10).
Duo lessons
A duo lesson is one lesson for two students. The person who buys it gives the second student's email before paying, and that student gets their own free account with the learning space for as long as the duo credits last. The buyer books, moves and cancels the lessons, and the policies apply to both students. If only one of you can come, the lesson can go ahead and counts as taken.
Membership
- The membership is a monthly subscription (€7.99 a month) that opens the word games, homework and weekly content, and includes one free trial lesson per person.
- It renews automatically every month on the day you joined, charged to the card you paid with, until you cancel.
- Cancel any time from Payments in your dashboard. That stops the next payment, and you keep access until the end of the month you've paid for.
- If the price changes, we'll email you at least 30 days before it applies to you, so you can cancel first if you prefer.
- Students who have lesson credits get the same learning space while their credits last.
Booking, moving and cancelling
You book, move and cancel lessons from your dashboard, and times are always shown in your own timezone. In short: at least 24 hours before a lesson you can move or cancel it for free; closer than that it can't be moved, and cancelling it is charged. The full rules, including missed lessons and how to dispute a charge, are in the Cancellation & Rescheduling Policy.
Your right to change your mind (14 days)
If you're a consumer, you can withdraw from a purchase within 14 days of making it, without giving a reason. Lessons you've already had in that time are paid for in proportion, and everything unused is refunded. The Refund Policy explains how, and includes a form you can use.
Learning materials
Lesson notes, homework, the word games and their word lists, sentences, the weekly content, videos and the other materials on the site are made by MariaNihongo and protected by copyright. You may use them for your own learning. Please don't copy, share, sell or publish them, or use them to teach others, without our written permission. What you write (homework, messages) stays yours; you allow us to use it to teach you.
Respect and fair use
Lessons are a friendly, respectful space. We may end a lesson, or suspend or close an account, in case of harassment or abusive or discriminatory behaviour, sharing lesson links or materials, recording without consent, misusing the site (for example trying to get around payments or to reach other people's data), or repeatedly missing lessons. We'll tell you why. If an account is closed through its holder's fault, unused credits aren't refunded, unless the law says otherwise.
The website
We work to keep the site running and secure, but it may sometimes be unavailable for maintenance or for reasons outside our control. If that stops a lesson from taking place, we'll arrange a new time or give the credit back.
Responsibility
We're responsible for giving you the lessons and services you pay for with reasonable care and skill. We're not responsible for losses we couldn't reasonably have foreseen, for problems caused by your own equipment or internet connection, or for events beyond our reasonable control. Nothing in these terms limits our responsibility where the law doesn't allow it to be limited, and nothing affects your rights as a consumer.
Changes to these terms
We may update these terms, for example when we add a new kind of lesson or when the law changes. The date at the top of the page shows the current version. For important changes we'll email account holders at least 30 days before they apply, and changes never apply to lessons or plans you've already paid for.
Questions, complaints and the law
- If something isn't right, tell us first: send Maria a message from your dashboard or email marianihongobusiness@gmail.com. We usually answer within a few days, and we'll try to put it right.
- Consumers in Spain can also ask us for an official complaint form (hoja de reclamaciones), or contact their local consumer information office (OMIC).
- These terms are governed by Spanish law. If you're a consumer, you also keep the protection of the mandatory laws of the country where you live, and you can take a claim to the courts where you live.