Terms & Conditions

COVID-19: Please note that by entering our phyical centers in Berlin-Mitte or Neukölln, all visitors and staff must abide by our hygiene policy.

Last Update to TOS: 01.11.2023 (100% refund policy for group classes changed to five business days before first lesson). Previous update: 02.02.2021 (Berlin, Germany)

I. Language Classes

  1. Payment

a) Full payment must be made prior to course start in order to finalize registration. Participants who have not made a full payment are not guaranteed a spot in the course.

b) Invoices are issued to companies or individual students upon request. Payment for a course may be made prior to receipt of the invoice. Unless otherwise noted, all prices are gross (i.e. no additional taxes are added to the stated amount).

  1. Cancellations & Refunds

a) Cancellations by the participant must be made in written form. Participants who request a refund in writing over 5 business days prior to their first lesson in a course will receive a full refund for this course or be offered a transfer to another course free of charge. Participants who request a refund in writing between 1-5 business days prior to their first lesson will receive a 50% refund for the course. No refund or re-booking will be given after this period.

b) Units of group courses missed due to participant illness, accidents, late arrival, early departure from Germany, or any other reason will not be refunded unless requested in writing within 48 hours of the participant’s first lesson in a course (24 hours for our weekend intensive classes).

c) External, private, or individual one-to-one course sessions may be rescheduled until 2pm on the workday prior to the scheduled and agreed course time. Sessions on Mondays must be rescheduled by 2pm on the previous Friday. Late cancellations will not be refunded or rescheduled. Group lessons in the Expath center cannot be rescheduled or cancelled by the course participant(s).

d) Should class units for private, external or one-to-one lessons remain 12 months after the last attended class, despite efforts to make them up, participants will forfeit the right to receive lessons for those units.

e) Expath reserves the right to change the day/time of group courses in the Expath center or reduce the number of units in a course, for example if there are five or fewer participants enrolled in the class. Participants who are unable to attend under these conditions are given a refund of the remaining units if such a refund is requested within 48 hours of the announcement of the change (24 hours for our weekend intensive classes).

f) If Expath must reschedule, postpone or cancel a course, Expath will move registered participants to a new class or offer participants a refund of the remaining units.

  1. General Conditions

a) One class unit = 45 minutes (including a short break).

b) A change of the course day or time is only possible as a special exception and with written agreement by Expath.

c) Expath reserves the right to change the trainer. Participants may receive a refund of the remaining course units if the participant requests such a refund in writing within 48 hours of the first lesson with the new trainer.

d) Participants may request a letter of attendance from Expath if the participant has attended at least 75% of lessons in the respective course.

e) Students must be at least 18 years of age to attend language classes. It is not allowed to bring bicycles, pets, infants or children to class. Guests may only be brought with written permission from Expath.

f) Students may not photograph, video-record or audio-record other people and people’s voices in Expath’s schools. Photography of the whiteboard/flipchart is permitted.

g) Under no circumstances will Expath share or exchange teacher contact information with students. Expath will also not relay messages between teachers and students (for example, to inquire about missed homework).

h) Provided that the language level is comparable to other students in a class, a student may give his/her place in a class to another person at any time.

i) Students may not enter the courtyard area in our Torstr. (MITTE) center due to a high likelihood of lockout. Expath does not assume responsibility in case of damage or injury. Students may not smoke, make noise or discard cigarette filters directly in front of our Jansastr. (NEUKÖLLN) center due to neighbor complaints. We kindly ask students to move to the nearby intersection, which features a trash bin and ashtray.

  1. Student Responsibilities

a) Punctual and regular attendance, homework and self-study, and regular and active class participation are important conditions for effective language learning and reaching the stated course goals.

  1. Data Protection

Please read our Privacy and Data Protection policy here.

  1. Liability

a) ‘Force Majeur:’ the liability of Expath and its staff is limited to intent and gross negligence. Expath accepts no liability for cancellation of its services due to force majeur (i.e. natural disasters, fire, flooding and all other circumstances beyond the control of the contractual parties.)

b) Students are responsible for any and all damages they cause and must directly compensate the owner of the property involved.

c) Expath bears no responsibility for student belongings. Students should be especially attentive concerning bicycles left on the street and ensure that they are locked.

  1. Contract Validity

a) ‘Severability Clause:’ If an individual term of this contract becomes invalid, the terms of the other conditions are not affected.

b) These terms and conditions apply to future contracts with Expath. Any changes to this agreement must be made in written form.

c) This agreement is governed by the laws of Germany, and the venue for any possible legal proceedings shall be in Berlin, Germany.

II. Workshops

  1. Payment

a) Full payment must be made prior to the start of the workshop or participant loses his/her right to participate. Late payments may still be accepted in case there is space in the workshop.

b) Due to recent EU laws, online workshop registration requires that Expath is informed of the country in which the user is currently located in order to determine VAT. The price charged is gross (“brutto”).

  1. Cancellations & Refunds

a) Cancellations by the participant must be made in written form. Cancellations made up to 24 hours on the workday (Mo-Fr) before the workshop will receive a spot in the next available workshop or a full refund upon request. No refund will be given on or after the day of the workshop. The sum is not transferable to a workshop at a later date if requested later than 24 hours on the weekday (Mo-Fr) prior to the scheduled workshop. Should Expath need to cancel the workshop, participants are entitled to a full refund.

b) External workshops (i.e. workshops not conducted at Expath’s centers in Neukölln or Mitte), their scheduling and payment are governed by the terms and conditions of the respective host. Expath is not liable for refunds under any condition.

c) Online workshops may be fully refunded if Expath receives, in writing (per email), a request for a refund within three days (72 hours) of booking the online workshop. No refunds are given for cancellation requests after this period.

d) Online workshops accessed more than an average of 20 times per day during a period of at least 3 days may result in immediate termination of the account without prior warning. This is to prevent distribution of account details and to safeguard the security of your account.

  1. General Conditions

a) Expath reserves the right to change the facilitator.

b) Participants must be at least 18 years of age to attend live workshops or purchase the online workshops.

  1. Data Protection

Please read our Privacy and Data Protection policy here.

  1. Liability

a) Expath provides general informational services for expats. We are not liable for the outcome of individual appointments at the Bürgeramt, Ausländerbehörde, or other offices. For official legal, tax or insurance advice on your particular situation, please see a lawyer, tax advisor or insurance broker.

b) Expath takes care to ensure that all information contained in its workshops (online as well as live) is accurate, truthful and up-to-date. However, as rules and laws may change suddenly, or individual situations may lead to different results, Expath assumes no liability for losses, damages, delays or rejections of permits, applications or any other unexpected outcomes.

b) Participants are responsible for any and all damages they cause and must directly compensate the owner of the property involved.

c) Expath bears no responsibility for participant belongings. Participants should be especially attentive concerning bicycles left on the street and ensure that they are locked.

d) These provisions apply also apply to workshops held outside of the premises of Expath’s center.

  1. Contract Validity

a) ‘Severability Clause:’ If an individual term of this contract becomes invalid, the terms of the other conditions are not affected.

b) These terms and conditions apply to future contracts with Expath. Any changes to this agreement must be made in written form.

c) This agreement is governed by the laws of Germany, and the venue for any possible legal proceedings shall be in Berlin, Germany.

III. Coaching and translation appointments

  1. Payment

a) Full payment must be made at least 48 hours prior to the coaching or translation appointment or client loses his/her right to have the coaching or appointment at the appointed time.

  1. Cancellations & Refunds

a) Cancellations by the client must be made in written form at least 24 hours in advance of the scheduled coaching or translation appointment in order to reschedule or receive a refund. No refund will be given after the coaching or translation appointment, except in cases of gross negligence on Expath’s part. Should Expath need to cancel the coaching or translation appointment, clients are entitled to a full refund.

  1. General Conditions

a) A change of the day or time of the coaching or translation appointment after it has been scheduled is only possible as a special exception and with written agreement by Expath.

b) Expath reserves the right to change the coach or translator.

c) Clients must be at least 18 years of age to purchase or receive coachings.

  1. Data Protection

Please read our Privacy and Data Protection policy here.

  1. Liability

a) Expath provides general translations and informational services for expats. We are not liable for the outcome of individual appointments at the Bürgeramt, Ausländerbehörde, or other offices. For official legal, tax or insurance advice on your particular situation, please see a lawyer, tax advisor or insurance broker.

b) Expath takes care to ensure that all information contained its coachings is accurate, truthful and up-to-date. However, as rules and laws may change suddenly, or individual situations may lead to different results, Expath assumes no liability for losses, damages, delays or rejections of permits, applications or any other unexpected outcomes.

c) Clients are responsible for any and all damages they cause and must directly compensate the owner of the property involved.

d) Expath bears no responsibility for participant belongings. Participants should be especially attentive concerning bicycles left on the street and ensure that they are locked.

e) These provisions apply also apply to coachings and translation appointments held outside of the premises of Expath’s center.

  1. Contract Validity

a) ‘Severability Clause:’ If an individual term of this contract becomes invalid, the terms of the other conditions are not affected.

b) These terms and conditions apply to future contracts with Expath. Any changes to this agreement must be made in written form.

c) This agreement is governed by the laws of Germany, and the venue for any possible legal proceedings shall be in Berlin, Germany.

IV. Relocation packages

  1. Payment

a) Full payment must be made at least 48 hours prior to the beginning of the relocation package.

  1. Cancellations & Refunds

a) Cancellation of a relocation package by the client must be made in written form at least 48 hours before the start of the package in order to receive a full refund. Cancellation made within 48 hours before the start of the package or during the relocation package will result in a refund of 50% of the unused time remaining in the package. No refund will be given for completed time used during the relocation package, or for unused time after the duration of the relocation package has finished, except in cases of gross negligence on Expath’s part.

Should Expath need to cancel the relocation package, clients are entitled to a full refund of all unused hours.

b) Relocation packages are booked in 5-, 12- or 20-hour increments for a period of 6 or 8 weeks. Refunds will not be given for unused hours after the package time frame ends; however.

  1. General Conditions

a) Expath reserves the right to change the coach.

b) Clients must be at least 18 years of age to purchase a relocation package.

  1. Data Protection

Please read our Privacy and Data Protection policy here.

  1. Liability

a) Expath provides general translations and informational services for expats. We are not liable for the outcome of individual appointments at the Bürgeramt, Ausländerbehörde, or other offices. For official legal, tax or insurance advice on your particular situation, please see a lawyer, tax advisor or insurance broker.

b) Expath takes care to ensure that all information provided is accurate, truthful and up-to-date. However, as rules and laws may change suddenly, or individual situations may lead to different results, Expath assumes no liability for losses, damages, delays or rejections of permits, applications or any other unexpected outcomes.

c) Expath and its coaches will assist in the flat and school search by supporting with the search for available flats or schools, coordinating and speaking German at appointments, completing application paperwork, etc. Expath cannot guarantee that client will receive a flat or school place during the course of the relocation package.

d) Clients are responsible for any and all damages they cause and must directly compensate the owner of the property involved.

e) Expath bears no responsibility for participant belongings. Participants should be especially attentive concerning bicycles left on the street and ensure that they are locked.

f) These provisions apply also apply to coachings and translation appointments held outside of the premises of Expath’s center.

  1. Contract Validity

a) ‘Severability Clause:’ If an individual term of this contract becomes invalid, the terms of the other conditions are not affected.

b) These terms and conditions apply to future contracts with Expath. Any changes to this agreement must be made in written form.

c) This agreement is governed by the laws of Germany, and the venue for any possible legal proceedings shall be in Berlin, Germany.

V. General Limitation of Liability

IN NO EVENT WILL EXPATH, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, PRINCIPALS, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, OR BUSINESS DISRUPTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR YOUR USE OF EXPATH’S PRODUCTS, SERVICES OR THIS WEBSITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN ANY CONTENT OR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS OR DAMAGE. CERTAIN JURISDICTIONS DO NOT PERMIT THE EXCLUSION OF CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, AND IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS, EXPATH’S LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.