General Terms of Business

General Terms of Business ("terms") of "Die Wiener Volkshochschulen ltd." (VHS Wien), based in Vienna
Dear customer! By registering for a course via e-mail, internet, fax,  letter, or in person, you are entering into a contract with the VHS Wien and thereby accept the terms of business.
Management of the VHS Wien

1. Enrolment
a. You can book a course in person,  via e-mail, fax or on our website. In any case, your booking constitutes a binding contract formation and obligates you to pay the course fee.

b. Persons aged 14 and above are eligible to book a course as long as the respective course fee does not exceed common expenses. In the case of a training contract, the legal representatives have to agree in all circumstances.

c. For a course booking, you are obliged to convey the following data correctly: first name, last name, date of birth, sex, address and telephone number. Additionally, we require an email address should you book online.

d. Any change of the aforementioned data has to be brought to our attention personally or in writing (i.e. via e-mail).

e. Available course places are assigned in the sequence of received bookings.

f. Please note that, generally, registration ends seven working days before the course is due to start - except when another deadline is indicated.

g. Should there be an unsettled claim, the respective customer may not book another course.

h. Please find information on rules and regulations regarding concessions or financial aid on our website or in our course guides.

2. Course fee
a. The course fees are quoted in our updated course guides and on our website.

b. If not indicated differently, you can pay in cash, using a debit or creditcard or via online-banking. Should you register personally at a VHS, you can also pay using a payment slip. Payment of the full course fee has to be received at least seven working days prior to course start.

c. Proof of payment has to be shown to our employees on demand.

d. Unsettled claims that have been urged in writing twice and have not been paid in (including administrative costs for the reminders), will be transferred to a debt-collecting agency.

e. For a course fee from € 1.000 up, interest-free installments can be agreed on by written contract.

f. In the case of short-term changes to the course tutor, customers have no right to withdraw.

g. In the case of short-term changes to the course location, customers have a right to withdraw in the case that the travel time can be deemed unacceptable for them.

h. Should a course be cancelled, the course fee will be refunded in full by the VHS Wien.

3. Course terms
a. Should the course tutor have to cancel teaching units, these will be made up for, where possible, at an alternate date without any extra fee.Should an alternative session be impossible,  the aliquot course fee for the cancelled sessions will be refunded.

b. The VHS Wien reserves the right to cancel courses for which the minimum number of participants has not been reached. Alternatively, the VHS Wien may offer to conduct the course for a smaller group at a higher fee.

d. Course materials (books, lecture notes, ...) are not included in the course fee, unless otherwise indicated.


4. Cancellation
a. A cancellation free of charge is only possible in person or in writing via letter, fax or e-mail until seven working days prior to the course start. Cancellations will be considered from Monday to Friday during regular opening hours. In the time period of seven days prior to course start until one day prior to course start, the cancellation fee amounts to 50% of the regular course fee. From the date of the first course day on, the full course fee will be due, even if the course is not attended.

b. For tele-bookings (especially via internet or email), customers have the right in accordance with the Consumer Protection Act to cancel their booking within seven working days (excluding Saturdays), starting from the day the contract is made - sending a written cancellation within this period is sufficient. This right to cancel expires should the course or event already start as planned within these seven working days.

5. Liability
a. The VHS Wien has provided all information in their publications and on their website in good faith. We do not assume any liability for the up-to-dateness, correctness and completeness of the information provided, as long as the VHS Wien cannot be charged with intent or gross negligence.

b. Additionally, the VHS does not assume any liability for damages or loss of personal items of course participants as long as the VHS Wien cannot be charged with intent or gross negligence. Generally, any kind of liability by the VHS Wien exceeding tort law is ruled out.

6. Compensation
a. Inventory, premises, media and equipment of the VHS is to be used or treated carefully.

b. Course participants have to pay compensation for damages caused by them.

7. Data protection
a. Each booking of a course constitutes a contract formation. By this, the course participants accept the general terms of business and give their consent required by the data protection act to electronically use all provided personal information necessary for the procedures of the VHS Wien.

b. Personal details of our course participants are treated confidentially and are only used for operational purposes of the VHS Wien. They are only used and stored to the extent necessary for administrative procedures of the VHS.

c. Personal data given to us by course participants will not be passed on to third parties without consent. Person-related analyses are not compiled.


8. Copy right
a. When copying material, the copy right responsibility lies entirely with the user of the copying machine. Copying complete books or magazines as well as copying audiovisual media is prohibited in accordance with copy right legislation. Users of the copying machines are obliged to keep the VHS Wien indemnified and harmless.

b. The VHS Wien state that it may produce picture, film and sound material intended for publication. Course participants hereby agree that pictures, etc. taken of them in connection with their visit of an educational programme at the VHS can be used by any up-to-date or future technical procedure for free without any temporal or spatial restrictions.

9. Co-applicable documents
Applicable are the mission statement, the house rules and the scale of fees of theVHS Wien in the currently valid version.

10. Legal form
The Wiener Volkshochschulen ltd. is a non-profit company with limited liability in accordance with Austrian law, situated in Vienna, with the company address: 1150 Hollergasse 22, registered in the company listings of the Commercial Court Vienna, number FN 304196y.

11. Place of jurisdiction
For any disputes resulting from these terms of business the competent court in Vienna is agreed on as place of jurisdiction.

VHS Wien
February 2013