Lesson Terms and Conditions - Turtle Tots | Baby & Toddler Swimming Lessons

Lesson Terms and Conditions

These are the terms and conditions on which our franchisees (“Franchisees”) licensed to provide Turtle Tots lessons supply their services to you. The specific Franchisees will be notified to you when you book your lesson. All customers are expected to abide by the terms and conditions set out below.

Please read these terms and conditions carefully. These terms and conditions tell you who we are, how the Franchisees will provide services to you, how you and the Franchisees may change or end the contract, what to do if there is a problem, and other important information.

Please note that we are not the provider of the lessons, and your contract is between you and the Franchisee.

Information About Us, And How To Contact Us

We are Turtle Tots Ireland Limited, a company registered in the Republic of Ireland.. Our company registration number is 3425246IH and our registered office is at 43 Clonlea, Ballinteer, Dublin, D16W7W8 . You can contact us by writing to us at 43 Clonlea, Ballinteer, Dublin, D16W7W8.

If we have to contact you we will do so by telephone or by writing to you at the email address or postal address you provided to us in your order.

When we use the words “writing” or “written” in these terms, this includes emails.

1. The Franchisees’ Contract With You

1. Acceptance of your order by the Franchisee will take place when we email you with an order acknowledgement, at which point a contract will come into existence between you and the Franchisee.
2. If the Franchisee is unable to accept your order, they will inform you of this in writing and will not charge you for the lesson.

2. Health, Safety And Instructions

1. Customers are responsible for their children at all times.
2. It is the customer’s responsibility to inform their Franchisee or teacher of health issues or anything else that could affect their or their child’s capabilities in the pool, and enjoyment of Turtle Tots lessons. All information provided will be treated confidentially.
3. Nappies (including disposable swim nappies) must not be left on the pool premises.
4. Customers may not run on the side of the pool or enter the pool without a Franchisee or other member of Turtle Tots staff present.
5. Customers must follow pool procedures as advised to them at the time of confirmation or subsequently.
6. Customers should aim to arrive no more than 15 minutes before the lesson and leave no more than 15 minutes after the lesson to help improve changing room comfort.
7. Car seats and pushchairs etc. should not be left in the changing rooms and your local office will advise you of where they can be safely left. Pushchairs are strictly not allowed at any poolside.
8. Food is forbidden in the pool buildings.
9. Smoking is forbidden in any pool building and pool grounds.
10. Strictly no outdoor footwear is to be worn poolside.
11. You must not bring your child to a lesson for at least 48 hours after being clear of any symptoms of illness, sickness or diarrhoea, or at least two weeks after being clear of symptoms in the very rare event of cryptosporidiosis. If in doubt seek medical advice.
12. Always change your child on the floor using its own changing mat or a designated baby-changing table.
13. Please take away used nappies, unless there is a clearly marked designated nappy bin at the venue.
14. Lost property found at the pools will be submitted to the Leisure Centre Reception of the Venue.
15. Please adhere to the instructions given to you regarding car parking, entry and exit route to pools.
16. Franchisees occasionally operate in lone worker environments. In this situation customers will be informed of the emergency procedure to follow in the unlikely event of the Franchisee becoming seriously ill or injured.

3. Price And Payment

1. The price of the lessons will be the price indicated on the order pages when you placed your order.
2. It is always possible that, despite our best efforts, our lessons may be incorrectly priced at the time you place your order. We will contact you if the lessons have been incorrectly priced when you placed your order, and we reserve the right to cancel the order if we are unable to agree the correct price.

4. Payment options

1. Turtle Tots franchisees may at their discretion choose to limit or change the type of payment options they offer, but they will offer at least one standard payment option at all times.
2. For the payment option set out below, all fees and any other charges could change in line with section 9.
3. The standard payment option we offer is as follows:
4. Standard Termly Payment
- 4.1. With this payment option, you commit to being a customer and paying the fees for a full term of lessons for at least one full term
- 4.2. Your franchisee may entirely at their own discretion allow you to pay your termly fees by fixed instalments across the duration of the term you have committed to.
- 4.3. If you pay in instalments for your term you are committed to the full term of lessons and cannot cancel during the term you have committed to without prior written consent from your local Turtle Tots franchisee.
- 4.4. With this payment option, you will be asked by week five of the current term if you wish to continue with the lessons next term.
- 4.5. You will be able to renew your place for the next term by paying the fees for the next term but you can cancel it in line with section 7.
- 4.6. Places in your existing lesson will normally be held for one week and then offered on a “first come first served” basis to others.

5. Payment methods

1. You must pay for your term of lessons at the point of booking your place using the payment methods available.
2. We may, entirely at our discretion, accept other payment methods.

6. Your right to cancel

1. Cancelling your lessons if you have used our Standard Termly payment option.
- 1.1. If you want to cancel your lessons, you must send your notice in writing to your Turtle Tots franchisee.
- 1.2. You can cancel at any time but any lessons you have paid for but not yet received will not be liable for a refund unless an alternative customer can be found to fill your space.
- 1.3. If a new customer takes your vacated space, a refund will be processed within 10 days of the new customer paying for the lessons you have vacated.
- 1.4. Lesson cancellations liable for a refund are subject to a €50 administration fee.

7. Our right to cancel or freeze your enrolment

1. We may cancel your enrolment without giving you notice, if:
- 1.1. We, in our professional opinion, consider that you are not medically or physically able to attend our lessons safely, or;
- 1.2. You seriously or repeatedly break the conditions of your enrolment or;
- 1.3. If you and/or anyone else bringing your child to lessons use offensive, abusive or discriminatory language or use or threaten violent, offensive or intimidating behaviour or conduct at any of our venues, or if your behaviour or conduct does or, in our reasonable opinion may, put our employees and/or other customers/swimmers at risk.

8. Our right to change your enrolment or these terms and conditions

1. We may, at any time, withdraw and/or substitute a type of payment option.
2. From time to time we may change our termly fees. We will try not to change the fee more frequently than once in a calendar year, and to ensure that any change is reasonable, but we cannot guarantee this. We will tell you about any change that will apply to you, and will give you at least one full calendar month’s notice before the change comes into effect.
3. We may, without notice to you, make reasonable changes to these terms and conditions if the changes are for the benefit of the majority of our customers.

9. Events Outside Of Our Control And Lesson Refunds

1. We are not responsible for delays outside our control. If our provision of the classes is delayed by an event outside ours or the Licensee’s control then we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and we will take steps to minimise the effect of the delay. If there is going to be a substantial delay (10 weeks or more) you may contact us to end your contract with the Franchisee and receive a refund for any classes you have paid for but not yet received.
2. We will provide a replacement lesson, credit for the value of that lesson or a refund.
3. We will make any refunds due to you as soon as possible, and in any event within 14 days of a refund being agreed.
4. In the event that you are unable to attend a lesson (for example, due to your or your child’s sickness or holiday), we are unable to refund you as your payment secures your place for the full term.
5. If the Franchisee is unable to run a lesson because of reasons beyond our reasonable control (for example, in severe weather), we are unable to refund you. However we will use reasonable endeavours to provide a replacement lesson.

10. Lesson Cancellations and Changes

1. Occasionally we may have to cancel or change a lesson, and in these instances the Franchisee or teacher will contact you by text message, email or telephone to give you as much notice as possible.
2. If a lesson is cancelled the Franchisee will give you a credit for the value of that lesson, or provide a replacement lesson.

11. Clothing In The Pool

1. We operate a strict ‘double nappy’ policy for babies, toddlers and children that are not fully toilet trained. An approved snug-fitting neoprene swim nappy must be worn with a disposable or re-usable swim under-nappy underneath. Approved Turtle Tots neoprene nappies and re-usable under nappies are available from the Turtle Tots online shop or from your local Turtle Tots office.
2. Babies, toddlers and children may also wear swimming costumes, swimming trunks, wetsuits and similar swimwear, but must still adhere to our double nappy policy if they are not fully toilet trained.
3. Customers must not wear make-up, or loose or sharp jewellery.
4. Adults must wear appropriate swimwear in the pool.
5. Adults are required to bring clear-lensed goggles to some of our lessons, where underwater activities are included. Recommended goggles are available from the Turtle Tots online shop or from your local Turtle Tots office.

12. Teachers

1. We always try our best to make you always have the same teacher for your lesson, but we cannot guarantee this. Occasionally teachers are unwell, or leave, or are unable to attend for other reasons. All teachers are as qualified as they possibly can be through the Swimming Teachers’ Association or Swim England, and also complete the same Turtle Tots training. Therefore a different teacher leading it will in no way affect the quality of your lesson.

13. Lost Property & Valuables

1. All clients are responsible for their own property, including valuables, before, during and after lessons.
2. Should a client leave any property they should subsequently inform the Turtle Tots office. Turtle Tots will then phone the relevant staff and, if they are still at the pool, request that they make a search for the item as soon as convenient.
3. Any property left at a pool, spotted by Turtle Tots staff – and known to belong to a client – will be retained by the instructor or handed in to the leisure centre office and kept for a period of at least three months. At that point if it remains unclaimed it will be given to a charity shop or disposed of accordingly.

14. Exclusion Of Liability

1. We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of any Franchisees, our employees, agents or subcontractors, and for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
2. We are responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by us. If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking this contract or our failing to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time the contract was made, both you and we knew it might happen.

15. Queries And Complaints

1. We hope you will be delighted with your Turtle Tots experience. However if you have any questions or complaints, please speak to your teacher or local office in the first instance, who will do their utmost to resolve the issue.
2. If the issue is not resolved to your satisfaction you may submit a written complaint to Turtle Tots head office, using the details provided at the beginning of these terms & conditions.

16. Other Important Terms

1. The Franchisee or we may transfer this agreement to someone else. The Franchisee or we may transfer the Franchisee’s rights and obligations under these terms to another Franchisee or organisation.
2. You need the Franchisee’s consent to transfer your rights to someone else. You may only transfer your rights or your obligations under these terms to another person if the Franchisee agrees to this in writing.
3. Nobody else has any rights under this contract. This contract is between you and the Franchisee. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms.
4. If a court finds part of this contract illegal, the rest will continue in force. Each of the paragraphs of these terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.
5. Even if the Franchisee or we delay in enforcing this contract, we can still enforce it later. If we or the Franchisee do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of you breaking this contract, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us or the Franchisee taking steps against you at a later date. For example, if you miss a payment and we do not chase you but the Franchisee continues to provide the lessons, we can still require you to make the payment at a later date.
6. These terms are governed by Republic of Ireland law and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in the Irish courts.

17. Changes To Our Terms And Conditions

1. We reserve the right to update our terms and conditions from time to time, and the amended version will be posted on our website and will take effect immediately. If deemed necessary, the amended terms and conditions will also be emailed to customers.
2. By using our website, and booking lessons, customers are agreeing to be bound by our terms and conditions.

18. Data protection, Online Security And Privacy

1. Occasionally we take photographs and videos during lessons and use them for marketing purposes e.g. on social media sites and the Turtle Tots website. If you do not want your photograph used in this manner please advise the Franchisee or your teacher.
2. When you book a Turtle Tots lesson we require you to register your details and those of your child or children.
3. We respect your need for privacy and keep any information that you share with us in confidence. We are bothered by spam and unsolicited phone calls as much as you are, and we do what we can to discourage these practices. The information you provide us is only shared with Turtle Tots Ireland Ltd and we do not share this information with any third parties. In short, we use your personal information only to serve you better. We want you to be comfortable contacting us.
4. From time to time we send out emails to our customers with information that we hope will be of interest. You can choose to unsubscribe to these emails at any time.
5. On very rare occasions we may be obliged to disclose your personal information to third parties, but this is only when we are legally obligated to disclose information or to assist fraud protection and minimise credit risk.
6. Any payment card details that you choose to use within our payment system will be used 100% securely by our payment processors.
7. Any data sent electronically to us is done so entirely at your own risk. You are responsible for keeping the password you use to access your Turtle Tots account confidential.