Terms & Conditions
LangStart International is a SAS with capital of €8,000, registered in the Paris Trade and Companies Register under number: 919 108 860.
The head office is located at 9 rue des Colonnes, 75002, Paris.
Siret no.: 91910886000017
Registration number for travel and holiday operators: IM075220041.
Professional liability insurance underwritten by HISCOX SA, 38 Avenue de l'Opéra, 75002 Paris.
Financial guarantee provided by : A.P.S.T, 15 avenue Carnot, 75017 Paris
Preamble and definitions
These general terms and conditions of sale, hereinafter referred to as the "GTCS", govern the contractual relationship entered into in connection with the use of the langstart-international.com website, hereinafter referred to as the "Site", operated by LangStart International SAS, hereinafter referred to as "the Service Provider", with all customers and prospective customers, hereinafter referred to as "the Customer", who request one or more services, hereinafter referred to as "the Service", on the Service Provider's Site.
The General Terms and Conditions of Sale set out all the obligations of the parties, hereinafter referred to as "the Parties", understood to be jointly "the Provider" and "the Customer".
The Customer is deemed to accept them unreservedly when registering on the Site, so that they apply to all preparatory and execution stages of the Service.
The Service Provider and the Customer agree that the GTC shall exclusively govern their relationship.
The Service Provider reserves the right to modify the GCS. The GCS applicable to the Service are those displayed on the Site at the time of registration by the Customer on the Site.
The GCS and any amendments thereto are applicable as soon as they are put online. The Customer is deemed to have read and understood the applicable GCS as soon as he/she browses the Site, and at the latest at the time of registration by the Customer on the Site.
Article 1 - Purpose
The purpose of these GTC is to define the rights and obligations of the Parties with regard to the Service and the use of the Site.
The Site is used to inform and propose to the Customer the Service offered by the Provider in the field of language stays.
The Site therefore enables the Service Provider to contact the Customer interested in the Service. Through this contact, the Customer can obtain information about the Service and its price, and make a booking by paying the deposit indicated, with the Service Provider taking responsibility for validating the Service sought with partner schools and language establishments, where applicable, accompanied by a local accommodation or shuttle/taxi Service, and the Customer, after having obtained the relevant information from the Service Provider in advance, takes care of visa formalities, the purchase of a plane ticket and other formalities required for legal entry into the country of the language study stay.
Any registration made on the Site implies full acceptance of the GTCS.
Article 2 - Consent, Capacity and Acceptance of the GCS
The Customer declares that he/she has full legal capacity to enter into commitments under the GTCS. Registrations made by minors must have received the appropriate parental authorization. The parents remain responsible for the proper execution of the Service, with regard to the conditions of execution incumbent upon the Customer (including payment and legal entry into the country of the language stay, in strict compliance with the formalities that apply).
By registering on the Site, the Customer declares that he/she has read the GTC and any special conditions agreed upon that may apply, and accepts all the provisions and rules established without any reservation or guarantee other than those stipulated above.
Article 3 - Registration, deposit and validation
In view of the proposals made on the Site, the Customer has the possibility of choosing the Service that interests him, by registering and requesting a quote.
The Customer's registration and the issuing of a quotation constitute an Order.
The quotation is based on the choices selected by the Customer and the rates charged by the Service Provider's partners.
Upon validation of the Order by the Service Provider, which takes the form of a summary letter with the precise dates of the stay, and payment of the deposit by the Customer, the Order is considered firm.
The payment of a deposit guarantees both the Service Provider's commitment to carry out the Service or have it carried out, and the Customer's firm intention to have the Service carried out and to honour his booking commitment.
The deposit is therefore deducted from the total price of the quote displayed on the Site, the balance of which must be paid 45 days before the customer's departure on the language study holiday.
Any firm Order constitutes a contract between the Parties, including acceptance of the price, of the descriptions of the Service on the Site and of these GCS.
Upon receipt of the validation, in the form of a summary letter with the precise dates of the stay, the Customer must take all necessary steps to ensure that he/she obtains, within the required timeframe, the necessary tickets, visa, identity papers and passport, as well as any other formalities applicable at the borders, enabling him/her to travel to the place where the Event is to be performed.
By paying the deposit, the Customer undertakes to take these steps in good time and as completely as possible so that the Service can be carried out at the place where the Service is to be performed.
The customer is solely responsible for any delays in carrying out the necessary procedures within the specified deadlines.
Article 4 - Service information
The Service is exactly that which appears on the Provider's Site, according to the description given.
Consequently, unless special conditions have been agreed between the Customer and the Service Provider, only the description is contractual. Photos and/or illustrations on the Site are not contractual.
The Service Provider cannot be held responsible for any problem related to or arising from the interpretation of the Service by the Customer, who is free to ask any questions and obtain any answers via the contact form, by email or by telephone, in addition to questions that may be put to the dedicated contact persons throughout the stay.
Once the Order has been validated and the deposit paid, the Service cannot be modified, except by agreement between the Parties.
More generally, the Service Provider reserves the right to modify at any time and without notice the content of the Site or the Service described therein, and/or to cease temporarily or permanently to operate all or part of the Site and/or any Service.
The Customer acknowledges that the Service Provider may not be held liable in any way whatsoever to the Customer or to any third party as a result of such modifications, suspensions, interruptions or cessations.
However, the Service Provider is obliged to carry out the Service for which the Order is firm and the deposit has been paid, except in the event of replacement by an equivalent service, subject to the agreement of the Parties, or except in the event of force majeure or actual impossibility.
Article 5 - Prices
Sales prices are expressed in euros and include VAT. Prices include a fixed lump sum for the Service described on the Site. Any other specific service, not included in the description of the Service, may give rise to a specific and/or additional price, to be mutually agreed between the Parties.
The Service Provider reserves the right to modify its prices at any time, after having informed the Customer, for example, to pass on an increase in the price of its partners, or a change in the exchange rate, within the strict framework of the law. The price cannot be modified during the 45 days preceding the departure date.
Article 6 - Method of payment
The Customer places an order online. Payment of the deposit is due on the date the Order is validated. Once the Service Provider has validated the Service, the Customer must pay the deposit via PayPal or bank transfer. The security offered is that provided by these payment providers.
The Service Provider reserves the right to suspend any order processing in the event of refusal to authorize payment by credit card by officially accredited organizations or in the event of non-payment.
Article 7 - Warranties and exclusions
The Service Provider is responsible, with its partners, for the proper organization of the language stay and is obliged to provide assistance to travelers in difficulty (within the meaning of article R211.6 of the French Tourism Code).
The Service Provider does not provide transport services and does not manage the purchase of tickets, except as provided below, nor the obtaining of visas, nor the completion of all border crossing formalities. Consequently, the Service Provider cannot be held liable in the event of the Customer's failure to appear at the place where the Service is to be provided, or in the event of the Customer's refusal to enter the territory where the Service is to be provided.
The Service Provider may organize, with its partners, the purchase of transport tickets (shuttles and/or cabs) between the train station and/or airport and the Customer's accommodation. The carrier is liable in this respect, and the Service Provider's liability is limited to the provision of a valid ticket, or even accompaniment during transport.
The Service Provider's liability is therefore limited to the organization of language stays.
As a result, the Service Provider is not liable for any damage that may occur outside the organization of language stays. In particular, the Service Provider cannot be held liable for cancellations, delays, postponements, interruptions or suspensions of flights, trains, coaches and/or shuttles, accommodation, language courses and services, and/or for accidents, thefts or losses occurring during the latter services.
However, in the event of a change in course content and/or pedagogical content, the Service Provider is obliged to offer equivalent content and/or pedagogical content, as far as possible.
The Service Provider also has an obligation to inform the Customer of the administrative formalities that must be completed in connection with the language stay, and the applicable deadlines.
The Service Provider, in the person of the academic manager, is the Customer's main contact for all questions concerning the current Service. The Provider also ensures that the Customer has all the necessary information to discover the city and its surroundings, and to take part in activities and excursions during the stay. Finally, the Service Provider offers a point of contact to answer any questions that may arise concerning the Customer's accommodation, health and safety on site.
The Customer may be subject to the internal regulations of the partner providing the Service, or even of the place of accommodation. He/she undertakes to comply scrupulously with these and, more generally, to apply the instructions given to him/her during the language study stay.
The Service Provider cannot be held liable in the event of failure by the Customer to comply with the instructions and the applicable Internal Regulations.
The Service Provider is not responsible for service interruptions or failure to access the Site due to technical problems on the Internet, as the smooth operation of the Internet cannot be guaranteed.
Article 8 - Cancellation
The customer is hereby informed of the contingencies that may affect the organization of a language stay scheduled over a period of time, and which may also depend on additional services such as transport and accommodation. The customer is therefore advised to take out all necessary insurance policies - health, illness, repatriation, civil liability and/or cancellation - to cover these risks.
The Service Provider may link on the Site to the sites of partners who may offer such insurance.
The Customer has a cooling-off period of 14 days from the date of validation of the Order, after deduction of legitimate costs incurred by the Service Provider, without it being necessary to present any proof whatsoever, provided that the Order, which is equivalent to a contract, has not been executed, which is the case within 60 days of the Customer's departure. The Customer may send any request, together with the Order validation letter, to info@langstart-international.com.
After this 14-day period, and only on presentation of supporting documents and on condition that cancellation insurance has been taken out, the Customer will apply to the insurance company for reimbursement, with the deposit paid to the Service Provider remaining due.
Article 9 - Force Majeure
Any circumstances beyond the control of the Parties preventing the performance of their obligations under normal conditions shall be considered as grounds for exoneration from the Parties' obligations and shall result in their suspension.
The party invoking the above-mentioned circumstances must immediately notify the other party of their occurrence, as well as of their disappearance.
Force majeure is defined as any irresistible event or circumstance that is external to the Parties, unforeseeable, unavoidable, beyond the control of the Parties and which cannot be prevented by them. The following are expressly considered to be cases of force majeure or fortuitous events, in addition to those usually accepted by the jurisprudence of French courts and tribunals: blockage of means of transport or supplies, health crises of a nature to create a blockage of transport and/or supplies, earthquakes, fires, storms, floods, lightning, stoppage of telecommunication networks or difficulties specific to telecommunication networks external to the Parties.
The Parties will meet to examine the impact of the event and agree on the conditions under which performance of the contract will be continued, if necessary by substituting an equivalent service that is acceptable to the Customer. If the force majeure event lasts for more than three months and if no equivalent service can be agreed, the Order will be considered cancelled and the Service Provider will reimburse the Customer, less any legitimate costs incurred by the Service Provider.
Article 10 - Partial non-validation
If one or more stipulations of these GTC are held to be invalid and/or unenforceable or declared as such in application of a law, regulation or following a final decision by a competent court and/or administration, the other stipulations will retain all their force and scope.
If any of the terms and conditions of these GTC are found to be inapplicable, they shall be deemed to be governed by current practice, i.e. the fair and honest practices of the language travel industry.
Article 11 - Non-waiver
The fact that one of the parties does not avail itself of a breach by the other party of any of the obligations referred to in these GCS shall not be interpreted for the future as a waiver of the obligation in question.
Article 12 - Title
In the event of any difficulty of interpretation between one of the titles appearing at the head of the clauses and one of the clauses, the titles will be declared non-existent.
Article 13 - Applicable law and mediation
These General Terms and Conditions are governed by French law. In the event of a dispute or claim, the Customer should first contact the Service Provider for an amicable solution at info@langstart-international.com.
In the absence of a solution, and in accordance with Articles L 152-1 et seq. of the French Consumer Code, the Customer may have recourse to a mediator or any other alternative dispute resolution method, with a view to resolving the dispute amicably. To do so, the Customer
may refer the matter to the Médiateur du Tourisme et du Voyage, whose contact details and procedures are available on its website: www.mtv.travel.
If the dispute nevertheless persists, the Buyer may bring proceedings before the competent court at the Service Provider's head office under the conditions of ordinary law.