Company Policies

Introduction

1.1 This website is owned and operated by Lingoinn Limited. We are a limited company registered in England and Wales under company number 11002273. Our registered office is at 167-169 Great Portland Street, 5th Floor, London, W1W 5PF. Our other contact details are specified on our website.

By using our services, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. Please read these terms and conditions carefully.

Lingoinn’s Rights and Responsibilities

2.1 The right to place learner in another area if there is no compatible host teacher in the area of first choice.
2.2 The right to place a learner with more than one host teacher or change the family during the stay if necessary.
2.3 The right to organise a programme with one family and lessons with an outside teacher if a host teacher cannot be found.
2.4 The right to terminate a programme without giving any refund if the learner’s behaviour is unreasonable and causes conflicts with the host teacher and family.
2.5 The right to edit, publish or delete host teachers’ profiles and accommodation photos as well as learners’ reviews on our website and other digital platforms.
2.6 Responsible for placing learners with suitable host teachers according to learners’ language ability and requests.
2.7 Responsible for selecting host teachers based on their qualifications, teaching experiences and home conditions.
2.8 Responsible for communicating new bookings, confirmation of bookings and cancellations with both learners and host teachers.
2.9 Responsible for processing payments promptly for both learners and host teachers.
2.10 Responsible for investigating complaints and finding solutions.
2.11 Responsible for processing refunds promptly according to the cancellations policy.

Learners’ Responsibilities

3.1 Learners using our services must be aged 18 years or over.
3.2 Learners must possess a valid passport to apply for visas.
3.3 All programmes including lessons, cultural activities and excursions must be booked and paid for in advance.
3.4 Learners must make full payment within 48 hours after receiving the confirmation email.
3.5 Learners must take out their own insurance against illnesses, accidents to themselves or third parties as well as loss of property.
3.6 Learners are responsible for applying for visas and submitting the correct documents to the relevant visa authorities.
3.7 If transfers are booked, learners must provide Lingoinn with flight numbers and arrival times at least one week in advance, otherwise the transfers are cancelled and nonrefundable.
3.8 If no transfers are booked, learners must contact the host teachers directly to let them have an approximate arrival time. A mobile phone number is required for all learners.
3.9 If a learner wishes to make a complaint, they must notify Lingoinn by the end of their programme.
3.10 Learners are expected to behave in a courteous and respectful manner to host teachers and family members. Learners should refrain from using any offensive language.

Host teachers’ Responsibilities

4.1 Host teachers are not employees of Lingoinn and are solely responsible for their own actions.
4.2 Host teachers are subject to satisfactory verification requirements to become a service provider.
4.3 Host teachers are responsible for providing accurate personal, professional and accommodation information and in no way misleading. The information must be updated to maintain its accuracy.
4.4 Host teachers must ensure the professional standard is maintained and learners stay in a safe environment. Host teachers are responsible for their own insurance policies to cover the work they undertake.
4.5 Host teachers must promptly communicate and comply with any reasonable request or instruction by Lingoinn.
4.6 All programme activities and excursions must be booked in advance through Lingoinn.
4.7 Host teachers should make no attempts to solicit learners or disintermediate Lingoinn in any way, either during the programme or at any point in future.
4.8 Host teachers are responsible for setting their own accommodation and services fees. The room charge must reflect the standard and location of the accommodation. Host teachers must not knowingly charge a service fee which is not in line with their level of expertise or experience.
4.9 Host teachers are responsible for the payment of any applicable tax according to the local income tax law. We do not offer tax-related advice.
4.10 In the event of sickness or family emergencies, host teachers must inform Lingoinn as soon as possible if a programme is underway or booked.
4.11 Host teachers are expected to be hospitable and professional. If any conflict arises due to cultural differences or miscommunication, host teachers should remain calm and patient and inform Lingoinn as soon as possible.

Payment Terms

5.1 The fee payable by a learner to Lingoinn for a programme will be confirmed via email.
5.2 Prices include a registration fee of $80 and any applicable VAT or other sales tax unless otherwise stated.
5.4 Learners will be advised of payment methods upon the confirmation of a programme.
5.5 Learners make full payment to Lingoinn within 48 hours after a programme is confirmed.

Cancellations and Refunds

6.1 If a learner cancels their programme more than 28 days before it is due to start, they will be eligible for a full refund minus a cancellation fee of $250. Where cancellation is made less than 28 days and more than 7 days before the programme start date, learners will be eligible to receive a 50% refund of programme fees. Where a cancellation is made within 7 days of the programme start date, no refund will be issued. After the start date of the programme, no refunds will be issued in the event of a no-show or curtailment of programme.
6.2 In all cases, the programme registration fee is non-refundable.
6.3 If a host teacher cancels homestay one week or less before it starts due to sickness or family emergencies, a replacement host teacher will be arranged. In the event of no available host teacher, a full refund will be issued to the learner.
6.4 Cancellations must be made in writing with Lingoinn directly via hello@lingoinn.com. Cancellations made through direct contact between learners and host teachers will not be recognised by Lingoinn and learners will still be charged as per this policy.
6.5 Learners may request an alteration to their programme (i.e. area, duration, dates) more than 28 days before the scheduled start date. In these cases, Lingoinn will endeavour to accommodate the modifications but cannot guarantee them. A re-booking fee of $250 will be applied, as well as any increases in programme cost. If learners wish to add an additional cultural activity or tour to their programme, this can be done without incurring a re-booking fee but the extra cost of the activity or tour will be charged.

This privacy policy sets out how Lingoinn Limited uses and protects any personal information that you give us. Lingoinn is a Chinese language and culture training company based in London. We are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Personal information that you give us will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement. By using our services you agree to the use of the data that we collect in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

What personal information do we obtain?

​We obtain personal data through online registrations. For both learners and host teachers, our registration form includes your full name, title, email and phone number, your physical address and your date of birth as well as bank details where required for payment or invoicing purposes. To ensure our assistance with the learner’s visa application and make the right learning recommendations, we might also collect other personal information such as the learner’s passport number, marital status and gender as well as information about past learning experiences. For host teachers, we ask for additional information about availability, qualifications, experience and family members as well as photos of accommodation and people.

Information we collect about you from your use of our Site:

The information will be automatically collected from you whenever you visit our Site. This includes information about your visit and your activity on our Site such as courses and teachers searched and viewed, page response times, length of visit to certain pages, page interaction information such as scrolling and clicks, methods to browse to and away from a page. Technical information may also include the Internet protocol address used to connect your computer to the Internet, your login information, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating systems, and device platform.

How do we use your data?

We use it primarily to process the enquiry which you contacted us for and to ensure direct communication between learners and teachers where necessary. We also use it to send news about new services, special offers and other information we think our learners and teachers may find interesting.

How do we share your data?

We do not sell your personal data to any other person or organisation. We will only share the personal data with individual learners and host teachers to allow direct communication regarding the proposed programme. Our website may contain links to other websites of interest and social media sites. Once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement.

How long do we keep your data for?

We will keep your personal data securely for a maximum of 10 years, after which time it will be safely destroyed if it is no longer needed for lawful purposes.

What are your general rights?

​You have important right to protect your personal data according to GDPR. You can access any of these rights by contacting us.

Right of access – you have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you.

​Right of rectification – you have a right to ask us to correct data that we hold about you that is inaccurate or incomplete.

Right of erasure – you can ask for the data that we hold about you to be erased from our records where there is no longer a good reason for us to continue to process it.

Right of objection – you have the right to object to certain types of processing such as direct marketing.