Terms & Conditions
The following Terms and Conditions apply to all lesson agreements made between Blockhouse Bay School of Music (“BHBSM”) and its pupils and the parents / carers of its pupils (“the pupil”).
The Terms and Conditions described below may seem relatively strict but have been discussed at length amongst the BHBSM leadership team with the endeavour of making them as fair as possible for both client and provider. As BHBSM is a social enterprise that functions with minimal margins, such lines in the sand have had to be drawn and are not a reflection of how awesome the majority of BHBSM Families are. They are a reflection of the small margin of people that have taken advantage and never paid for services rendered that jeopardise the livelihood of our tutors and managers. We try to approach each individual case in good faith with an open ear and we hope that you will also approach us in the same manner. There will be times that the terms and conditions are more in favour of BHBSM but there are also other times that they are more in favour of the student/caregiver.
1. Term Dates
1a. Teaching weeks at BHBSM roughly adhere to the New Zealand Ministry of Education School Terms. However, there are occasional differences and our term dates are sent out before every term begins.
1b. At all times it is the responsibility of the pupil to be aware of the first and last dates of term at BHBSM.
2. Communications
2a. All correspondence is sent out to the pupil by email. If this causes a problem, please let BHBSM know.
2b. It is the responsibility of the pupil to make BHBSM aware of any changes to their contact details. BHBSM will not be held responsible for any missed communications, late / overdue payments, missed lessons, etc. if this is due to incorrect contact information.
2c. If you notice something incorrect e.g. lesson details or account details, it is not meant offensively. In these cases please let us know via email to admin@bhbsm.ac.nz so we can rectify the situation as soon as possible.
3. Timetabling of Lessons
3a. The pupil will be informed of the lesson day, time and the date of their first lesson before their first lesson commences, either by phone, in person or by email. BHBSM will aim to confirm all the lesson details by email, but does not guarantee that this will be the case if it deems sufficient confirmation has been provided by other means.
3b. If the agreed lesson times of days need to be changed, the pupil will be contacted as far in advance as possible and alternative arrangements will be made to continue the lessons at times and days that suit the pupil and BHBSM.
4. Absence
4a. Individual Lessons
4.a.i. If the pupils is unable to attend a lesson please let BHBSM know at the earliest time possible by email to absence@bhbsm.ac.nz. Emails will be passed on to the relevant tutor(s) - you are welcome to make direct contact with the tutors as well if you choose to.
4.a.ii. Where less than 24 hours’ notice is given for missing a lesson no catch-up lesson or credit will be given. This lesson is considered forfeited.
4.a.iii. Where at least 24-hours’ notice of the intended absence is given, this is deemed an “explained absence”.
4.a.iv. You or your child’s BHBSM tutor will arrange a replacement/catch-up lessons for up to two lessons per term for explained absences with you at a mutually agreeable time. This often happens in the form of an extra 30minutes on top of your next two lessons or if this isn’t possible with the tutors schedule, they will choose a day or two during the term break to provide this lesson.
4.a.v. BHBSM tutors are trained to go above and beyond to help work these replacement/catch up lesson timings out with you, however if you decide that you would prefer to not have this, this lesson is considered forfeited.
Please note the onus is on the caregiver/parent to jointly work with their tutor to find a mutually beneficial time. The tutors are instructed to diligently help in this so please let the main office know if you feel this is not happening.
4.a.vi. It is only by managerial discretion that customer credit is placed on a pupils account to the value of a missed lesson. Customer credit is not transferable for money but will be used at the earliest convenience - usually the next term’s fees.
4b. Group Lesson
4.b.i. No catch-up lessons or credits will be provided for an individual’s absence from any group-based tuition activity.
4.b.ii. Where the entire group is absent we will endeavour to provide a replacement/catch-up lesson later that term, if we are unable to do this, we may choose instead to place this on pupil’s account as customer credit.
4c. Tutor Absence
4.c.i. if the pupil’s tutor is unavailable to teach, BHBSM will attempt to arrange a cover tutor and give you as much notice as possible.
4.c.ii. If this is not possible, the pupil’s normal tutor will arrange catch up lessons with the pupil as stipulated in 4.a.iii.
4.c.iii. A tutor’s absence is not counted as one of the two explained absences per term but as an additional replacement/catch up lesson owed.
4d. Unavoidable cancellations
4.d.i. If BHBSM cancels any lessons due to events out of its control, customer credit may be given at the discretion of BHBSM management.
4.d.ii. BHBSM diligently attempts to exclude all events planned by the school that conflict with lessons at the start of each term. However we appreciate any parent who notifies us of events that may have been not communicated by the school.
4e. Ongoing absences
4.e.i. If a pupil will be absent for more than three weeks due to medical reasons, a credit may be given, at the discretion of BHBSM management.
5. Duration of the Lesson Agreement - ongoing
5a. The lesson agreement between BHBSM and the pupil is a rolling agreement that continues into each new term and new year.
5b. The pupils are emailed their invoices towards the end of each term in respect of the following term’s lessons, until a cancellation notice is received, as discussed below.
6. Cancelling the Lesson Agreement - the must pupil opt out of the Lesson Agreement with BHBSM
6a. If the pupil wishes to cancel the lesson agreement with BHBSM, written notice must be received by BHBSM Management at least two weeks prior to the intended last lesson. Any lessons remaining after the end date will be credited to the pupil’s account if payment has already been made.
6b. Verbal notice given to the tutor will not be acted upon and is not considered sufficient unless confirmed in writing to BHBSM main office by the pupil.
6c. If the pupil is unable to give two weeks’ notice, they will be charged a late notice fee equivalent to two weeks of lessons (or if only one week’s notice is given, a late notice fee equivalent to the cost of one week’s lessons will be charged).
6d. Exceptions on medical grounds may be made to this as divided by BHBSM management.
6e. No refund or credit will be given for any cancellations part way through a fixed length programme (such as an Intro to Music course).
6f. If BHBSM has to cancel a lesson agreement it will endeavour to give two weeks’ notice to the pupil. Any lessons remaining after the lessons’ end date will be credited to the pupil’s account if payment has already been made.
6g. If, in exceptional circumstances, BHBSM has to cancel the pupil’s lesson due to damage of BHBSM property or harassment of BHBSM staff by the pupil, this may be done with no notice and no credit or refund for any outstanding lessons.
7. Tuition Fees and Accounting
7a. BHBSM tutors CANNOT accept payments in any form.
7b. The pupil will be billed for each future term in full towards the end of the preceding term.
7c. Full payment must be received before the new term starts.
7d. BHBSM’ s bank details are - ANZ Account Number - 01-0281-0677850-00. Please use the surname of the guardian that is the main point of contact with us and the invoice number (found at the top of the BHBSM invoice) as a reference.
7e. New pupils will receive an invoice when their enrolment is processed.
7f. If the pupil commences lessons part way through a term, the remainder of that term will be billed in full and payment must be received within one week of the invoice being used.
7g. A discount of 10% will be applied to all lessons where three or more lessons/activities are attached to a single family record on the BHBSM database. This discount will not be applied retroactively for any lessons already billed.
8. Penalties
8a. Overdue accounts can accrue penalties of $30 when overdue for 28 days and $15 for every following 14 days period.
8.a.i. Late Payment Penalties will be aded to accounts that are 28 days in arrears. If the account remains overdue, further penalties will be added every 14 days.
8.a.ii. Late Penalty charges are made up of two parts - $10 late fee and $20 administration cost.
8b. BHBSM dose reserve the right to temporarily and fully suspend pupils from lessons with unpaid term fees during term time. A temporary suspension means that BHBSM will keep the lesson time slot available for the pupil in the hopes that payment will be made. A full suspension means that BHBSM has the right to fill the pupils lesson time slot with another pupil from the waitlist.
8c. Debt Collection details.
8.c.i. Payment more that 30 days in arrear may be handed over for debt collection.
8.c.ii. BHBSM will attempt numerous contacts prior to resorting to this unfortunate measure.
8.c.iii. All costs incurred for sending an account for debt collection are added to the pupil’s outstanding balance.
9. Photography and Filming
9a. BHBSM may use film or still photographs of students for appropriate promotional purposes.
9b. You (or your parents if you are under 18 years of age) must inform BHBSM in writing at anytime if you will not allow the use of such images.
10. Changes to to Term and Conditions
10a. The Term and Conditions described above are agreed to upon enrollment and may be changed at any point by BHBSM without providing notice to the pupil. A copy of the Term and Conditions will always be available on our website and may be emailed to the pupil on request.
Contact Details
General Enquiries: info@bhbsm.ac.nz
Absence notification: absence@bhbsm.ac.nz
Resource queries (e.g.workbooks purchase): orders@bhbsm.ac.nz
Fee related queries: accounts@bhbsm.ac.nz
Ph: 09-213 3377
Campus: 509 Blockhouse Road, Blockhouse Bay, Auckland
Office Hours: 10:00am-6:00pm Monday to Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm Weekend