Welcome to Sprachschule Schneider in Zurich!

1. Course location

Unless otherwise stated in the offer or on the invoice, courses take place online or at the premises provided by Sprachschule Schneider AG. For in-company language courses, the course location is specified in the registration documents or on the invoice.

2. Registration, Invoicing and Liability for Orders Placed on Behalf of Companies

2.1 Registration and Invoicing
After registration, the customer receives the course invoice. Unless otherwise stated on the invoice, payment is due before the course begins or can be made in instalments through our payment partner.

A course booking may also be concluded via email or other written communication.

Any clear expression of intent by the customer to book or confirm a course — including the agreement on lesson times, course start or continuation — shall be considered a binding registration, even if no formal booking process or separate confirmation has taken place. This applies in particular to email communication in which lesson dates, course start or continuation are agreed or confirmed.

2.2 Orders Made on Behalf of Companies
If you register or place an order on behalf of a company, the invoice will be issued to the company as specified in your order.
However, you remain personally responsible for ensuring timely payment if the company fails to do so.
If the company does not pay, the outstanding amount will be claimed directly from the person who placed the order.

3. Instalment payment

The conditions for instalment payments are explained clearly and simply by our partner company in our online shop: www.sprachschuleschneider.com/find-a-course

4. Course execution

Course places are allocated in the order in which registrations are received (subject to timely payment). If there are insufficient participants, we reserve the right to run the course as a very small group with a proportional reduction in teaching hours.

4.1 Trial lessons in group courses – course operation

Trial lessons in group courses are only available if the course will run independently of the person attending the trial lesson. A new group course will not be started solely on the basis of a trial lesson registration.

4.2 Trial lessons in group courses – fees and limits

Each person may attend up to two free trial lessons in different group courses, with a maximum of one trial lesson per course. The trial lesson remains entirely free of charge even if the person subsequently decides to book that course. It will neither be charged retrospectively nor counted as a paid course session. If the person subsequently books the course, only booked sessions from the course session following the trial lesson onwards will be charged.

4.3 Trial lessons and lesson duration

A trial lesson registration is not a confirmed course enrolment and does not affect lesson duration or any reduction based on participant numbers. For the trial lesson, only the number of confirmed course participants is taken into account; people attending solely for a trial lesson are not counted. For example, if a group has two confirmed participants and a third person attends a trial lesson, the lesson duration specified for that course with two participants continues to apply. The reduction rules published for the relevant course offer apply.

4.4 Trial lessons in private tuition

A private trial lesson lasts 45 minutes and costs a flat fee of CHF 50 online or CHF 100 on site. Trial lessons are excluded from the EduTrust™ satisfaction guarantee (see section 8.1).

5. Course cancellations

Course cancellations must be submitted in writing (by email or letter) to Sprachschule Schneider. Cancellations by telephone cannot be considered. Depending on the timing of the cancellation, a refund of course fees may be granted as per section 6. For rescheduling of lessons, see section 9.

6. Refund of course fees

Following a course cancellation, any refund due will be paid within 10 days of receipt of the written cancellation. Any outstanding balance, after applying the refund rules and taking payments already made into account, must also be paid within 10 days of receipt of the cancellation. This also applies where instalment payments have been agreed. If Sprachschule Schneider cancels a course, any refund due will be paid within 10 days of notification of the cancellation.

6.1 For cancellations received at least 20 days before the course start date, we will refund the course fees already paid in full, minus a processing fee of CHF 50.

6.2 For short-notice cancellations (e.g. due to illness or holidays) received after this deadline but at least 10 days before the course start date, 50% of the total booked course fee will be charged. This also applies where instalment payments have been agreed. Refunds will be paid and any outstanding balance will become payable within 10 days of receipt of the course cancellation.

6.3 For cancellations made less than 10 days before the course starts, during the course (e.g. due to illness or holidays), or in the event of a no-show without cancellation, the entire booked course fee is due and no refund or credit for paid fees will be given.

6.4 In exceptional cases, a credit for a future course may be granted upon written request to the school management, taking into account any special circumstances. Refunds are excluded, except as per section 6.5. A processing fee of at least CHF 50 will be deducted in any case.

6.5 Sprachschule Schneider will issue a refund in the following cases:

  • If a course is cancelled by Sprachschule Schneider (e.g. due to insufficient participants or because a suitable teacher is temporarily unavailable due to illness or relocation).

  • If a planned course does not take place.

In all cases of course fee refunds, the refund is strictly limited to the course fee only (excluding the registration fee and course materials) for lessons that have been paid for on a pro-rata basis but did not take place. Any further claims — for example due to not achieving a diploma, a personal or professional goal, or due to external claims and fees — are excluded.

6.6 Special cancellation rules for teacher training courses

For cancellations of teacher training courses, the following refund rules apply instead of sections 6.1 to 6.3. The total amount means the agreed overall price for the relevant teacher training course after any discounts. The date on which Sprachschule Schneider receives the written cancellation is decisive.

  • Up to and including the third calendar day after the booking date, the total amount is refunded minus a cancellation fee of CHF 50. The booking date itself is not counted. During this period, this rule takes precedence over the time-based tiers below.
  • From the fourth calendar day after the booking date, for cancellations received at least 20 calendar days before the first group session, the total amount is refunded minus CHF 130. This deduction consists of CHF 80 for self-study, materials and individual preparation plus a cancellation fee of CHF 50.
  • From the fourth calendar day after the booking date, for cancellations received 10 to 19 calendar days before the first group session, 50% of the total amount less CHF 130 is refunded: refund = 0.5 × (total amount − CHF 130). The deductions stated above are already included; no further deduction is made.
  • From the fourth calendar day after the booking date, for cancellations received less than 10 calendar days before the first group session, once the group sessions have begun, or in the event of a no-show, no refund is given.

If the deductions equal or exceed the total amount, no refund is given. You will never be charged more than the agreed total amount. Activation of Academy access and the start of self-study do not exclude the refunds provided for here. Deadlines before the first group session are calculated using the date of that session stated at the time of booking (see section 7.2).

Refunds are paid within 10 days of receipt of the course cancellation. If the total amount has not yet been paid or has only been paid in part, the total amount less the refund provided for under this section remains payable; any outstanding balance must be paid within 10 days of receipt of the cancellation. This also applies where instalment payments have been agreed. Section 6.5 remains unaffected.

7. Course start

The course start date is indicated on the course confirmation or invoice.

7.1 Private Lessons

For private lessons, the actual course start is arranged individually with the teacher. As this date is often not yet fixed at the time of booking, we define – solely for the purpose of calculating refund deadlines in accordance with section 6 – the 23rd calendar day after the booking date as the standard course start date. The booking date itself is not counted. This calculated date applies as long as the first lesson has not yet taken place.

However, once the first lesson has effectively taken place, the actual date of this first lesson shall be considered the binding course start date for all further provisions, in particular for refunds in accordance with section 6 as well as for the validity period in accordance with section 11.2, and shall fully replace the standard course start date defined above.

Any cancellation after the first lesson has taken place shall in all cases be treated as a cancellation after the course start, regardless of the standard course start date defined above.

Example: The course is booked on 1 July 2026 → the relevant course start date for section 6 is 24 July 2026, provided no lesson has yet taken place. However, if the first lesson takes place on 6 July 2026, then, once that lesson has taken place, 6 July 2026 is considered the course start date.

7.2 Teacher Training Courses

Teacher training courses consist of a self-study and preparation phase followed by group sessions. The training begins when access to the self-study materials on the Academy is activated. Individual preparation and administrative steps are initiated after booking. The start of the group sessions is distinct from the start of the training.

Refunds following cancellation are governed exclusively by the special rules in section 6.6. The first three calendar days are calculated from the booking date, excluding the booking date itself. The 20-day and 10-day deadlines are calculated using the date of the first group session stated at the time of booking. This date is recorded in the course confirmation or invoice.

8. EduTrust™ Satisfaction Guarantee

8.1 Sprachschule Schneider AG offers a satisfaction guarantee under the name EduTrust™️ for all courses except e-learning and trial lessons. Additional exclusions may apply to course formats introduced in the future, provided that they are expressly stated in the relevant course offer before booking. The scope stated at the time of booking applies; subsequent changes do not restrict the guarantee for bookings already made. This guarantee allows participants who are dissatisfied with the course content or teaching quality to switch to a comparable course free of charge. Refunds are generally not granted (see section 8.3).

8.2 The deadlines for claiming EduTrust™ vary depending on the course type:

  • For private courses: notification must be given at least 24 hours before the second lesson.

  • For group courses: notification must be given at least 24 hours before the third lesson (12 hours for daily intensive courses).

  • If the relevant lesson falls on a Monday, notification must be received by Friday at 12:00 noon.

Notifications must be submitted by email to info@sprachschuleschneider.ch.

8.3 A refund will only be granted if no suitable alternative course can be offered within 6 weeks of the written notification to Sprachschule Schneider. A suitable alternative course is defined as one of the same or a very similar level, although course days and/or course times may differ from the originally booked course.

8.4 For any refund under section 6, only the start date of the originally booked course is relevant. The start date of a replacement course has no impact on refund eligibility or deadlines.

8.5 The EduTrust™️ Satisfaction Guarantee can be used a maximum of two times.

9. Rescheduling lessons

9.1 Lesson rescheduling must be arranged directly with the teacher. It is the participant’s responsibility to ensure and confirm that the teacher receives the notice in time.

9.2 Private lessons can be rescheduled free of charge up to 24 hours before the lesson (by Friday 6:00 p.m. for Monday lessons). Later cancellations, e.g. due to illness, will be charged.

9.3 For private two-person lessons, the rule in 9.2 applies. For rescheduling, both learners must agree. If one cannot attend, they must contact their partner in time and obtain their agreement to reschedule the lesson free of charge under section 9.2. If only one or no one attends, the lesson will be charged as if both had attended.

9.4 For group courses, rescheduling is not possible – even in cases of illness, holidays, or if only one person attends. Missed lessons cannot be made up or credited.

9.5 For in-company or fully booked group courses, one course date per semester can be rescheduled free of charge if notice is given 7 days in advance. Late notifications will be charged.

9.6 For Immersion™️ courses (half-day private or semi-private lessons), appointments can be rescheduled up to 7 days in advance at no cost. If rescheduling is done 48+ hours in advance, 50% of the session can be made up later. For later cancellations or no-shows, the full session will be charged.

10. Transfer of lessons

Course bookings are valid only for the person(s) named on the invoice and cannot be transferred to others.

11. Validity

11.1 For group courses, the validity period is stated on the invoice. Missed lessons due to teacher absence (e.g. illness) will be rescheduled or the course extended accordingly.

11.2 Bookings for private lessons and immersion courses are valid for 12 months from the course start date. The start date is defined as the date specified under point 7 above.

Upon written request to the school management, the validity may be extended, which results in the following reductions: for each 6-month extension, 10% of the originally booked hours will be deducted. Bookings can be extended a maximum of 2 times for 6 months each (total of 12 months). After that, the remaining credit expires in any case.

11.3 For company group courses, validity is 6 months for up to 50 full hours (unless stated otherwise). For larger bookings, it increases by 6 months per 50 additional hours. Upon request, the school may extend the validity, which reduces the hours by 20% per 6-month extension. Maximum 3 extensions (18 months total) are possible. After that, the booking expires in any case.

It is the participant’s responsibility to monitor the expiry date on their documents. The school is not obliged to notify them.

12. Change of Course Format or Language (Rebooking)

Your booking is binding for the course format and/or language stated on your order confirmation and invoice.

In certain exceptional cases, we may consider a rebooking upon written request sent to info@sprachschuleschneider.ch, for example in the following situations:
• from semi-private lessons to one-to-one lessons
• from immersion courses to one-to-one lessons
• from one-to-one lessons to a group course
• from one language to another (applies to all course formats)

Switching from a group course to private lessons is strictly excluded.

A change is only possible if the requested format is available at the desired time. A processing fee of at least CHF 65.– applies in every case.

If the course has already expired, a switch is generally not possible. If a valid extension is still available under clause 11.2, the switch may be granted, subject to the credit reduction rules defined there. No further extensions beyond clause 11.2 are possible, even in case of a switch.

13. Recruitment of staff or freelancers

Recruiting or hiring Sprachschule Schneider teachers (employed or freelance) during or within 24 months after a course leads to a fee of half a year’s salary (minimum CHF 40,000) payable by the client.

14. Jurisdiction

Swiss law applies. Place of jurisdiction is Zurich.

Zurich, 28 April 2026