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Terms and Conditions

 

Edu-Culture Immersion S.L.U: Terms and Conditions

 

The following booking conditions will form the contract between you and us for your trip with us.

In this contract a reference to “you” and “your” include the lead-named person on the confirmation invoice (who must be at least 18 years old at the time of booking) and all persons on whose behalf a booking is made.

We are Edu-Culture Immersion S.L.U. of C/Mano de Hierro 9, 4-D 18001 Granada, Spain. Registered in Spain company no: B72566961. Registered office: Registro Mercantil de Granada, Calle Arandas 6, 18001 Granada

 

1. In this agreement:

  • “Meeting Point” means the place specified by us in the pre-departure information as the place we will meet and start your Program.
  • “Start Date”means the date on which we meet to start your Program.
  • “Tour” means a Program organised by Edu-Culture Immersion S.L.U.
  • “Tour Pack”means means the entire package provided and organised by Edu-Culture Immersion S.L.U, including all components: language school, host family stay, sight-seeing tour and whatever documents we send to you in hard or soft copy to provide information about your Tour – usually referred to as pre-departure information.

2. What is in the Program

2.1. The following items are included:

  • 2.1.1 Accommodation
  • 2.1.2All meals (unless otherwise stated in the itinerary)
  • 2.1.3 Services of one or more leaders: host Family Coordinator, Local Leaders or teacher chaperones; usually 1:8 chaperone/student ratio for group programs
  • 2.1.4 All transportation while abroad
  • 2.1.5 All group activities for group programs (unless specified as an “optional activity”)
  • 2.1.6 All classes at language schools in the program towns (excluding private classes during Individual Immersion programs)
  • 2.1.7 All admission fees relating to activities for group programs

2.2. The following items are not included

  • 2.2.1 Return flights to the Tour destination (unless otherwise stated);
  • 2.2.2 All other costs incurred before you board transport at the Meeting Point and after you return to the departure point;
  • 2.2.3 Travel and medical insurance or any other insurance personal to you;
  • 2.2.4 Passport and visa costs;
  • 2.2.5 Vaccinations and medication, before, during and after the Tour;
  • 2.2.6 Food and drink over and above what we include in the Tour;
  • 2.2.7 Gratuities you choose to give, in addition to any we give on your behalf where we consider appropriate.

3. Booking your Program

  • 3.1. You can book at any time once our program is listed online. When we receive your deposit, we will send you a confirmation invoice by email which confirms your booking. The contract between us comes into existence at that time. You undertake to pay for the Program you have booked and we undertake to provide you with the program we describe online and in the downloadable brochure.
  • 3.2. If you make a booking on behalf of others as well as yourself, we shall take it that you have the authority of each of those other people to enter into the contract on the basis of these booking conditions and that you and they have agreed to be jointly and severally liable to us.
  • 3.3. If we are unable to accept your booking, we will of course refund your payment to you immediately. The balance payment for all tours is due at latest 8 weeks (56 days) before departure. We will send you a reminder 1 – 2 weeks before the balance due date. If you are making your booking within this period, full payment will be necessary immediately.
  • 3.4. Where the cost to us of any part of the tour increases, we reserve the right to pass on that increase to you and to change the price of unsold Programs. We will return to you the balance if our costs change significantly in your favour.
  • 3.5. You can give us your personal details, insurance, special requests, medical conditions, next-of-kin and passport details by completing the online form.
  • 3.6. For bookings made after April 1st 2024, we require full payment within 24 hours of a verbal booking. If applicable, it is also essential that you give us your passport details so that your flight tickets, if applicable, can be reserved correctly. (except for programs taking place after August 2024 – see specific payment schedule and refund policy for your trip)
  • 3.7. For some tours we are able to make provisional bookings. In other cases we have to use scheduled flights. Availability and prices of these flights can change significantly, so we book them as soon as possible after a tour becomes viable. You are therefore liable to us for the cost of the flight as soon as you receive our invoice for the flight or the whole tour.
  • 3.8. If you book a trip less than six weeks prior to the departure date you must send us the full payment at the time of booking.

4. Payment

  • 4.1. You can pay by giving credit or debit card details online (We accept i.a. VISA and MasterCard, ). For payment by credit card there is a charge to ECI of 2.9% of the transaction amount, but not payable by you. We do not keep your card details.
  • 4.2. Alternatively, payment may be made by electronic transfer for which full information will be provided at the time of booking. Please contact us by phone to arrange such a payment.
  • 4.3. A second payment of $1000 (EXCEPT FOR SCHOOL GROUP PROGRAMS) is due 6 weeks after the deposit. The last date for payment of the balance of the cost of your program will be due to us April 1st 2024 (except programs taking place after August 2024 – see specific payment schedule and refund policy for your trip)
  • 4.4. If you do not pay us before the last date for payment, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled. If we do that, you accept that a cancellation fee will be due to us.

5. Surcharges and Refunds

  • 5.1. The prices given on our web site are calculated at costs current at the time we fixed them. If costs rise or adverse currency exchange rates apply, you agree that we may increase prices at any time to a maximum of 5% of the advertised cost of the Tour. If we do this we shall tell you the costs which have risen and the percentage by which they have risen.
  • 5.2. No matter what the increase, we shall not increase the cost less than six weeks before the departure date.
  • 5.3. If we increase the price of your Tour by more than 5%, you are free to cancel. In that circumstance we will return to you all money paid to us.
  • 5.4. A minimum number of participants are required in order for a group program to be viable. In the unusual event that we cancel a program, we shall return the full amount of your deposit or other payment.

6. Changes and Cancellations by you

  • 6.1. We will try to accommodate any change you are compelled to make, but we cannot promise to do so. If we do, you agree to pay an administration fee and any additional cost of a different arrangement. Please note that an airline may treat a change as a cancellation and create a new booking, charging a 100% cancellation fee.
  • 6.2. Only the person who made a booking may cancel. The cancellation takes effect from the date at which an email notification reaches us.
  • 6.3. If you cancel, your deposit and any flight costs which have been invoiced, will be forfeit.
  • 6.4. We shall operate a refund policy as follows – per student:
    •  
    • Prior to January 3, 2024: All monies paid less $200
    • -Between January 3, 2024 & March 4, 2024: All monies paid minus $750
    • -Between March 4, 2024 & May 3, 2024: All monies minus $1500
    • -After May 3, 2024: No refund
    •  
  • 6.5. If circumstances force you to leave the Tour early, you will have to bear any additional costs yourself.
  • 6.6. In any circumstances giving rise to cancellation, we will consider allowing you to transfer the money you have paid, to some other Edu-Culture Immersion Program or this booking to some other person. That person must meet any conditions which may apply to the booking and you, must ask for the transfer not less than 42 days prior to the Tour Start Date.

7. Changes and cancellations by us

  • 7.1. We reserve the right to change travel and tour arrangements. This is necessary because many of our tours involve variables which are outside our control. These include, weather, political issues, currency problems, flights and accommodation issues. Trips to specific countries will only be cancelled if the US department of State – Bureau of consular affairs’ website’s official advice is that travel to that country is not advised – Advisory Level 4 “Do not travel”. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel.html
  • 7.2. We shall tell you about small changes before departure. If we think a necessary change is important, we will tell you about it as soon as we can and give you the opportunity to either accept the change, or take an alternative Program (paying or receiving a refund / credit in respect of any price difference), or cancel and accept a full refund.
  • 7.3. If such problems occur during a tour, we will make alternative arrangements so as to comply as closely as possible to the description of the tour online.
  • 7.4. If a problem occurs which is so serious that we have to cancel a tour before the date of departure, you may choose to accept either an alternative Program (paying or receiving a refund/credit in respect of any price difference) or a full refund of all money paid.
  • 7.5. We are not liable to you in any circumstances for loss or damage or loss of your Program when:
    • unusual and unforeseeable circumstances arise which are beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care; or the change is not significant. We are not liable to pay you any additional travel or any other costs, expenses or losses which you incur as a result of any change or cancellation by us, such as changes to times of connecting flights or other travel arrangements.
  • 7.6. We reserve the right to cancel any program, for which there are not enough bookings, not less than four weeks prior to departure. In the event of our cancellation, your deposit (and any other payment you may have made to us) will be refunded in full, or, if you prefer, transferred to an alternative Edu-Culture Immersion Program.

You agree that all these provisions are reasonable.

8. Travel and Medical Insurance

  • 8.1. It is a condition of booking an Edu-Culture Immersion S.L.U that you take out appropriate travel and medical insurance. You must send us proof of cover when you make payment of the balance due for your Tour. We cannot approve the cover you have bought and are not responsible if it is inadequate.
  • 8.2. Cover should be obtained not only against normal travel risks, but against additional risks appropriate to the destination country. In particular, local road transport insurance may be inadequate, so you should check that your cover includes accidents happening whilst you are a passenger in a vehicle.
  • 8.3. We advise that you should also check that any valuable optical equipment is covered either in your travel policy or your home contents policy.

9. Passport, Visa and Health Requirements

Please note carefully:

  • 9.1. To be absolutely safe, it is a good idea to make sure your passport is valid for at least six months after the date of return of your Tour;
  • 9.2. Remember to apply for any necessary visa in good time;
  • 9.3. Check with your doctor what vaccinations and medication you may require and allow time to obtain them. Details are also available from the National Travel Health Network and Centre www.nathnac.org.
  • 9.4. All participants under 18 years of age will be provided with a Medical Authorisation from, which must be signed by a parent or guardian. This authorises Edu-Culture Immersion S.L.U, its directors, officers, agents, and employees to consent to any X-ray examination, anaesthetic, dental, medical or surgical procedure, or the like, and/or hospital care that is deemed advisable by a licensed physician or surgeon. This authorisation is given in advance of any specific diagnosis, treatment or hospital care known to be required. Its purpose is to provide authority and power on the part of the aforesaid agents, to the maximum extent allowable under applicable law, to give specific consent to any and all such diagnoses, treatment, or hospital care that the aforementioned physician or surgeons, in the exercise of his/her best judgment may deem advisable, whether in oral, written or electronic format.
  • 9.5. If you are a national of an EC country and are taking a European tour, you should take your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) available from main Post Offices or online. It is your responsibility to ensure that you obtain all necessary inoculations, take all necessary medication and follow all medical advice in relation to your holiday. Remember to bring certificates and confirmations with you in your hand luggage.
  • 9.6. If you need professional medical care whilst on a tour, our Local Leaders and chaperones will help you to obtain it and inform your travel insurers as quickly as practically possible. Please ensure that you provide us with your next of kin details so that we can make arrangements for them to be contacted in an emergency.
  • 9.7. You agree to repay to us all costs we incur in providing this assistance, including payment for any transport and telephone calls must be reimbursed to the company. We will give you a receipt on your return, for you to pass to your travel insurers.

10. Tour Information and Tour Pack

At the very latest of four weeks before the Start Date, we shall provide you with information relating to your Tour, in the form of a Tour Pack and the ECI Handbook. By signing up take part in the program you agree to abide by all rules and regulations in the ECI Handbook. The information will include:

  • 10.1. Details about the components of the program
  • 10.2. Cultural information about the countries visited during the Program
  • 10.3. Information about the language schools if relevant
  • 10.4. Taking classes for university credit if relevant
  • 10.5. Information about the Host Family Coordinator, chaperones, and Local Leaders
  • 10.6. What to expect from the Host Family experience
  • 10.7. ECI rules and regulations
  • 10.8. ECI discipline policy relating to contravention of ECI rules and regulations
  • 10.9. Location of Meeting Point and time of meeting;
  • 10.10. Climate and clothing recommendations;
  • 10.11. Policy in the event of a medical incident
  • 10.12. Any important details relevant to a particular site that we may visit;

11. Accommodation

Accommodation will be in good quality hotels, residences or student dormitories or Host Families. En-suite facilities will be provided wherever possible. We will discuss your exact accommodation requirements when you have made a booking, but please note:

  • 11.1. We reserve the right to change accommodation to that stated on our website itineraries – (see below “changes of itinerary”).
  • 11.2. Accommodation in some countries will be of a lower standard than comparable accommodation in the US.
  • 11.3 Host Family accommodation for individual programs will be with carefully selected families. Selection is based on the information about the student, provided by the student in the form of a letter and a short video introduction. Families must provide single bed accommodation, but can offer a shared room with a host family sibling.
  • 11.4 Host families provide all meals.
  • 11.5 Host families all have at least one family member of a similar age to the individual student, but not necessarily of the same gender, although this can be requested.
  • 11.6 Host families provide the HF Coordinator with references and these are checked.
  • 11.7 Students must provide details of dietary requirements, medical conditions and any allergies so that they can be matched with an appropriate family. In the case of allergies and medical conditions, students must be able to manage their condition during the tour.11.8 In the event of a problem with the placement, the HF coordinator will attempt to resolve any issues, but ultimately the student can be moved to a new family.

12. Changes of Itinerary

  • 12.1. Despite careful planning, it is possible that a site may become inaccessible, or a visit not possible due to matters outside our control, for example through natural disaster or political turmoil.
  • 12.2. We may therefore decide to make changes to the itinerary to accommodate the above possibility. We will tell you of any such change as soon as we decide to make it. If that happens, you may transfer to an alternative Program. If your chosen alternative is of a lower price we will refund the difference. If it is of a higher price, you must pay the difference

13. Baggage restrictions

We have to work within the restrictions laid down by any carrier we use. Policies vary from one carrier to another and from time to time. We will tell you the exact allowances and terms after you have made a booking with us.

If you have an unusual requirement, perhaps for medical reasons, do contact us and we will try to help you immediately.

14. Limitations on our liability

We want you to enjoy a perfect Program with Edu-Culture Immersion S.LU. We shall do our best to make your Program special for you. Nonetheless, we must make clear the limitations in law. We are not liable to you for:

  • 14.1. Any event which happens before your arrival at the meeting point at the airports in Bilbao, Madrid or Málaga in Spain, or the airport in Marseille in France, for individual immersion programs, or before you board the group flight at the designated Meeting Point. Or any event after you leave the airports in Bilbao, Madrid or Málaga in Spain, or the airport in Marseille in France, for individual immersion programs, or before you board the group flight at the designated Meeting Point.
  • 14.2. Any problem arising from your failure to reach the Meeting Point on time, for whatever reason; (though we would do our best to help you in any way we reasonably could)
  • 14.3. Any aspect of goods or services you buy or accept other than those arranged by us;
  • 14.4. Medical problems or physical difficulties, even if you have told us about them in advance;
  • 14.5. Medical emergencies;
  • 14.6. Your own carelessness or negligence in any aspect of your behaviour whilst with us;
  • 14.7. Changes we reasonably make to an itinerary or to accommodation or any other aspect of the management of a Tour;
  • 14.8. Problems or issues which we could have resolved whilst on a Tour but which you raise only after your return, or which you raise during the tour, but after you have decided to return home and have booked to return home without informing us.
  • 14.9. Injury, illness, death, loss (including loss of enjoyment or possessions), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which results from either:
    • 14.9.1 The act or omission of you or anyone in your party;
    • 14.9.2 The act or omission of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday.
  • 14.10. Services we have not provided or arranged. The services and features included in your Tour are those specified in our web site. If you choose to buy other goods or services during your holiday, those are not part of the package we provide or arranged, even if arranged at your request through our Tour leader. Accordingly we are not liable to you for any happening in connection with that service or those goods.

15.Local standards

  • 15.1. Laws, standards, culture and attitudes are different in many countries from what you reasonable expect at home. We are not responsible for standards of service, safety, hygiene and behaviour which may be lower than you are used to or which you expected.
  • 15.2. We do not make any representation or commitment that all services will comply with applicable local laws and regulations and failure to comply does not automatically mean we or the service supplier has not exercised reasonable skill and care.
  • 15.3. Please also note that we will only be responsible for what our employees, agents and suppliers do or do not do if they were at the time acting within the course of their employment (for employees) or carrying out work we had asked them to do (for agents and suppliers).

16. Limitation of compensation by international conventions

  • 16.1. We and you are subject to international conventions, when they apply. This may limit the amount of a claim you may be make, against us or anyone else. The most we will have to pay you for many claims for personal injury will not exceed what a carrier would pay under, for example, the Warsaw Convention or the Montreal Convention for international travel by air, or the EC Regulation on Air Carrier Liability, or the Athens Convention for international travel by sea, or the Convention on International Travel by Rail. Please note: where a carrier would not be obliged to make any payment to you under the applicable international convention or regulation in respect of a claim or part of a claim, we similarly are not obliged to make a payment to you for that claim or part of the claim. When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the carrier for the complaint or claim in question.
  • 16.2. Where we are found liable for loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions (including money) where international convention or regulation does not apply, the maximum amount of compensation we will pay you will be €500.
  • 16.3. Other than as set out above, and as is detailed elsewhere in these booking conditions, we shall have no legal liability whatsoever to you for any loss, damage, personal injury or death which you suffer arising directly or indirectly from any aspect of your Program.

17. Flight and other transport delays: limit of our liability

  • 17.1. There is no guarantee that flights, trains or ferries will depart at the time specified. If they do not, we are not liable to you for any delay or cancellation or for any failure to take what you think are the best actions to have taken in particular circumstances.
  • 17.2. In the case of air travel, the airline is responsible for providing assistance under the Denied Boarding Regulations. We will try to keep you informed throughout the period of any delay.
  • 17.3. Our policy if a delay occurs, is to continue with our plans until the flight (or other form of transport, if relevant) is cancelled with no suitable alternative flight being offered by the airline. However, if we considered it impossible to find a reasonable alternative form of transport, we would cancel the Program and refund you all program payments.
  • 17.4. Where any delay in returning home lasts for longer than 24 hours, the airline should continue to meet your accommodation and reasonable meal expenses. This will be the case where the airline is an EU carrier or was due to depart from an EU airport. They may, however, require you to stay at the accommodation and take the meal arrangements they provide. We regret we cannot meet such expenses where the airline does not do so, or where you choose not to accept the arrangements offered.
  • 17.5. If you wish to find at any time to return home early or independently, for example by booking an upgrade with the airline or by organising overland travel, we will provide whatever assistance we can. All expenses involved in doing so will be your responsibility.
  • 17.6. EC Regulation No 1107/2006 (The Denied Boarding Regulations) apply where the airline is an EU carrier or the affected flight was due to depart from an airport within the EU. Where applicable, you must pursue the airline for the compensation or other payment due to you. The compensation set by the regulations is your full entitlement. It covers, for example, distress, disappointment, inconvenience or effects on other arrangements. We have no liability to make any payment to you in relation to the Denied Boarding Regulations or in respect of any flight cancellation or delay, downgrading of any flight ticket or denial of any boarding.
  • 17.7. If, for any reason, we make a payment to you or a third party which the airline is responsible for in accordance with the Denied Boarding Regulations, you agree, when requested, to assign to us the rights you have or had to claim the payment in question from the airline.
  • 17.8. If your airline does not comply with these rules you may complain to the Spanish Civil Aviation Authority on +34 91 396 82 10 or by e-mail to sau [dot] aesa [at] seguridadaerea [dot] es or see seguridadaerea.gob.es– “Referring Your Complaint to the Spanish Civil Aviation Authority”.
  • 17.9. Remember that transport and other service providers have their own booking conditions or conditions of carriage or service. You will be bound by these as far as that service is concerned. Such conditions may limit or exclude liability on the part of the relevant provider and they are often also subject to international conventions.

18. Help we need from you

  • 18.1. Most Edu-Culture Immersion tours require reasonable physical fitness and appropriate footwear. You should be prepared to walk up to a couple of miles a day, sometimes on uneven or slippery surfaces.
  • 18.2. To satisfy the majority of our clients, we apply “no smoking” rules in the same way that they are applied by law in Spain. Please note however, that smoking is permitted in some countries we may visit so we cannot prevent third parties from smoking in a bar or restaurant.
  • 18.3. If we provide medical help to you, whether or not you specifically ask for it, we will provide receipts for all costs (for your insurer) and you now agree to repay us that cost on your return from the Tour.
  • 18.4. If at any time, it is our opinion (given by any of our staff or Tour leaders) that you are acting in a way which may cause accident, injury, discomfort or extreme displeasure to any other Tour member, we may exclude you from the programme for the remainder of the Tour. You will understand that this extreme action will not be taken lightly but may be necessary to protect the health, safety or enjoyment of other clients.
  • 18.5. You must comply with the ECI Rules and Regulations relating to our Programs listed in the pre departure Handbook and which form part of the Tour Pack. Failure to do so will result in ECI Tour Leaders implementing our disciplinary procedure, as laid down in the Tour Pack, and which could ultimately lead to being dismissed from the Program and returned home at your own expense.
  • 18.6. Part of the role of ECI Tour Leaders is to ensure your safety, as far as is reasonably possible, during the Program, but you must also play a part in ensuring your own safety by not acting in a dangerous or irresponsible manner. Curfews must be adhered to, and the laws of the country in which your program takes place must be obeyed.
  • 18.7. If you have a specific allergy or medical condition it is your responsibility to manage this condition or allergy. This means that you must take responsibility for avoiding allergy triggers and take any necessary medication for your allergy or medical condition. ECI chaperones and Local Leaders do not have the expertise or training to take care of a student who needs more care than is reasonable to expect on a group trip. Chaperones and Local Leaders will make every effort to ensure students receive medical attention where necessary, but if this becomes burdensome or affects the quality of the trip for the other students in the group, a student may be asked to leave the program in order to receive the care he or she needs.
  • 18.8. It is not a requirement of ECI Local Leaders or chaperones to be first aid trained, but they know that they must immediately call emergency services in the event of a medical emergency relating to one of the students in the group.

19. Complaints

We shall try our utmost to provide a happy and fulfilling Program, but if we fail in any way, do please raise any issue with your Tour leader or HF Coordinator immediately. If your complaint cannot be satisfied it is not dealt with to your satisfaction at the time of reporting it to the leader(s), then you should give us full details in writing, immediately on your return.

If you experience any issues or problems during your host family stay you must immediately report this to your Host Family Coordinator so they can attempt to resolve the situation for you. If this is not possible you will ultimately be moved to a new host family at no additional expense. All costs involved in this move will be covered by ECI. Students will not be moved from a family during the first four days of a stay (except under exceptional circumstances). These first four days are regarded as the “settling in period” and ECI needs this time in order to resolve any issues or misunderstandings.

Refund policy – per student

Prior to January 3, 2024: All monies paid less $200

-Between January 3, 2024 & March 4, 2024: All monies paid minus $750

-Between March 4, 2024 & May 3, 2024: All monies minus $1500

–After May 3, 2024: No refund

 

20. Miscellaneous

  • 20.1. In this agreement unless the context otherwise requires:
    • 20.1.1a reference to a person includes a human individual, a corporate entity and any organisation which is managed or controlled as a unit;
    • 20.1.2 any agreement by any party not to do or omit to do something includes an obligation not to allow some other person to do or omit to do that same thing;
    • 20.1.3 except where stated otherwise, any obligation of any person arising from this agreement may be performed by any other person.
  • 20.2. If any term or provision of this agreement is at any time held by any jurisdiction to be void, invalid or unenforceable, then it shall be treated as changed or reduced, only to the extent minimally necessary to bring it within the laws of that jurisdiction and to prevent it from being void and it shall be binding in that changed or reduced form. Subject to that, each provision shall be interpreted as severable and shall not in any way affect any other of these terms.
  • 20.3. For the purposes of the GDPR act 2018 you consent to our Privacy Policy.

  • WHO WE ARE

    At ECI we are committed to maintaining trust between ourselves and you our customers (both parents and students). We never share your details with any other organisations or companies. Your personal information remains with us. Please read this Privacy Policy for details about how your personal information is handled and stored.

    PERSONAL INFORMATION AND MAILING LISTS

    As part of the registration process when you sign up for an ECI program we collect personal information. We collect this information via the following applications:

    CHECKFRONT

    This is a cloud based booking application that allows organisations such as ECI to manage their inventories online, centralize reservations, and process payments online. For more information please see the Checkfront Privacy Policy.

    GOOGLE FORMS

    This is an online form builder application that we use to collect information from you in the following ways:

    • When you apply for a scholarship
    • When you fill out a Teacher Recommendation Form
    • When you fill out a post trip Evaluation Form

     

    GOOGLE ANALYTICS

    When someone visits educulture.com we use a third party service, Google Analytics, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way which does not identify anyone. We do not make, and do not allow Google to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our website.

    MAILCHIMP

    We use a third-party provider, MailChimp, to deliver our newsletter. We gather statistics around email opening and clicks using industry standard technologies to help us monitor and improve our e-newsletter. You can unsubscribe to general mailings by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any of any of our newsletters or by emailing our data protection officer Marie Harris at info [at] educulture [dot] com. For more information please see the MailChimp Privacy Policy.

    WHY WE COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

    We use the information you supply us for the following reasons:

    • To maintain communication with you both prior to and during the trip or course (both parents and students).
    • To help us place you with a suitable host family or HomeTeach teacher. We share your contact and personal details with Host Family Coordinators, Host Families, HomeTeach teachers, HomeTeach Coordinators and language schools (where applicable in each case).
    • To give you information about ECI news, trips and HomeTeach courses via newsletters that we send out on a regular basis.

    We don’t rent or trade email lists with other organisations and businesses.

    CHILDREN’S DETAILS AND CONSENT

    GDPR sets the age at which a child can give consent at 13 for the UK and 16 for the rest of Europe. For students under the age of 16 filling out our online registration form we require consent from a parent or guardian. This will be asked for on the registration form.

    ABOUT THE INFORMATION WE HOLD

    Once we receive information about you via our online registration application Checkfront, this information is held on our database until the end of your programme with us. After this time it is archived on our system and held securely in our Checkfront account. After 3 years this information is deleted. We keep it for this length of time in case you need to contact us for any follow up reason relating to the financial transactions you made to us, or anything concerning your host family stay. You can contact us at any time during this 3 year period to ask us to delete the information we hold for you.

    ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

    You are entitled to view, amend, or delete the personal information that we hold. Email your request to our data protection officer Marie Harris at info [at] educulture [dot] com.

    ABOUT US

    ECI is based in Spain. It is here that decisions about how your data is processed are taken.

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    • Pass personally identifiable data to third parties
    • Pay sales commissions
    • Granting us permission to use cookies

    If the settings on your software that you are using to view this website (your browser) are adjusted to accept cookies we take this, and your continued use of our website, to mean that you are fine with this. Should you wish to remove or not use cookies from our site you can learn how to do this below, however doing so will likely mean that our site will not work as you would expect.

    MORE ABOUT OUR COOKIES

    WEBSITE FUNCTION COOKIES

    OUR OWN COOKIES

    We use cookies to make our website work including:

    • Allowing you to add comments to our site
    • Remembering if we have already asked you certain questions (e.g. you declined to use our app or take our survey)

    There is no way to prevent these cookies being set other than to not use our site.

    THIRD PARTY FUNCTIONS

    Our site, like most websites, includes functionality provided by third parties. A common example is an embedded YouTube video. Disabling cookies will likely break the functions offered by these third parties.

    SOCIAL WEBSITE COOKIES

    So you can easily “Like” or share our content on the likes of Facebook and Twitter we have included sharing buttons on our site.

    Cookies are set by:

    The privacy implications on this will vary from social network to social network and will be dependent on the privacy settings you have chosen on these networks.

    VISITOR STATISTICS COOKIES

    We use cookies to compile visitor statistics such as how many people have visited our website, what type of technology they are using (e.g. Mac or Windows which helps to identify when our site isn’t working as it should for particular technologies), how long they spend on the site, what page they look at etc. This helps us to continuously improve our website. These so called “analytics” programs also tell us if how people reached this site (e.g. from a search engine) and whether they have been here before helping us to put more money into developing our services for you instead of marketing spend.

    TURNING COOKIES OFF

    You can usually switch cookies off by adjusting your browser settings to stop it from accepting cookies. Doing so however will likely limit the functionality of our’s and a large proportion of the world’s websites as cookies are a standard part of most modern websites.

    It may be that you concerns around cookies relate to so called “spyware”. Rather than switching off cookies in your browser you may find that anti-spyware software achieves the same objective by automatically deleting cookies considered to be invasive.

    CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY NOTICE

    This Privacy Policy will be reviewed annually in order to make certain that ECI remains GDPR compliant, and in an effort to improve our relationship with our customers, in terms of protecting your privacy and handling of your personal information you have entrusted to us.

    This policy was last reviewed on October 22nd 2023.

    20.4.The parties agree that electronic communications satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

    20.5.You consent to Edu-Culture International S.L.U. using photographs or film of you taken during the Tour in promotional materials, including, but not limited to the ECI website, brochures, and newsletters, and consent to their use without compensation and written correspondence from you.

    20.6.In the event of a dispute between us, you undertake to attempt to settle the dispute by engaging in good faith with us in a process of mediation before commencing arbitration or litigation.

    20.7.This agreement does not give any right to any third party under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 or otherwise, except that any provision in this agreement which excludes or restricts the liability of our directors, officers, employees, subcontractors, agents and affiliated companies, may be enforced under that act.

    20.8.We are not liable for any failure or delay in performance of this agreement which is caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

    20.9.This agreement is governed by Spanish law. The parties submit all their disputes arising out of or in connection with this Agreement to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of Spain. 

END.