Booking terms and conditions

Here’s all the small print in one handy page just so you can be sure you know what’s what.

Bookings

1. Bookings can be made securely online at www.vegsoc.org. Online bookings are processed via Stripe or ApplePay.
2. All bookings must be paid for in full by one of the listed credit or debit cards, by gift voucher or part card and voucher in advance of the course commencing.
3. If you have paid a deposit, we will contact you by email for instalment payments, however it is your responsibility to ensure payments are made by the due date. Failure to pay instalments by the necessary date may result in your booking being cancelled. Any pre-paid deposits or instalments are non-refundable in this instance. If you book The Vegetarian Society Certificate in Vegetarian and Vegan Cookery or The Vegetarian Society Chef’s Diploma less than one month before the class takes place, we will require full payment. If you book more than one month but less than two months before the class takes place, we will require your deposit and first instalment.
4. We reserve the right to refuse any bookings. If this happens, we’ll notify you in writing or by email. No further correspondence will be made in such cases. All monies paid will be refunded in full unless payment was made using a gift voucher, in which case we will re-credit the original voucher provided the expiry date has not passed. We will not offer a cash refund for vouchers.
5. Bookings can only be accepted from people aged 18 or older. Some classes and workshops may be suitable for under 18’s if accompanied by a paying adult. Please get in touch as this is best advised on an individual basis. For classes specifically designed for children and under 18’s, see the booking page for more information on the suitable age range. 
6. We reserve the right to cancel any booking which has been taken in error or which would contravene any of our terms and conditions.
7. While we will endeavour to run all scheduled classes, we reserve the right to cancel any class at any time. Confirmation of booking does not constitute a guarantee that the class you are booked on will run. We may occasionally have to cancel classes at short notice due to tutors’ illness etc. We will always do our best to let you know as soon as possible. Refunds for cancellations are outlined below. 

VIP Bookings

1. The Vegetarian Society VIP Club gives those members the opportunity to book last-minute cookery classes at special prices.
2. VIP place offers are subject to availability.
3. Offers are only valid for the date specified in the SMS message / email.
4. If a VIP code is accepted for any date other than the one(s) specified in the SMS / email, the booking will be cancelled.
5. All VIP places are subject to change without prior notice.

Cancellations and Refunds

1. You may cancel your booking up to 10 days before your lass commences by emailing COOK@vegsoc.org.uk or phoning 0161 925 2000. After this cut off point we cannot offer a refund or transfer if you cancel your booking.
2. Should we cancel a class under normal circumstances, you will be notified 7 working days before the class commences using the contact details you have given at the time of booking. Normal circumstances include, but are not limited to, classes that we have identified to be impractical to run due to low attendance numbers or that could only be run at a financial loss to the Society.
3. Should we cancel a class under exceptional circumstances, we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible. Exceptional circumstances include, but are not limited to, circumstances which are out of our control such as flooding, gas leaks, power failure, etc. or any factors explained in clause 9 that would make the class unworkable or financially nonviable for the Society to run.
4. In the event we are not able to get in contact with you regarding class cancellation it remains your responsibility to ensure you know if the class you are booked on is running or has been cancelled.
5. In the event we cancel a class any money paid to us for the booking by credit or debit card will be refunded back to the original card of payment. If the booking was made using a voucher, we will re-credit the balance of the voucher by the amount used to book the class. We will not offer a cash refund for vouchers.
6. We reserve the right to refuse to process any refund or transfer which has been offered or given in error, without due authorization or which would contravene our terms and conditions.
7. In the event of any class cancellation we will not refund any other costs you may have incurred in advance. We recommend all students take out cancellation (and travel, if appropriate) insurance to cover their costs if they are unable to attend. 
8. We reserve the right to cancel any course at any time in the event that the number of attendees on the course falls below the minimum required to make the course practical to run, where the course would not generate enough income to cover its running costs or where running the course would cause a financial loss to the Society.
9. In the event we are not able to get in contact with you regarding course cancellation it remains your responsibility to ensure you know if the course you are booked on is running or has been cancelled.
10. In the event we cancel a course any money paid to us for the booking by credit or debit card will be refunded back to the original card of payment. If the booking was made using a voucher, we will re-credit the balance of the voucher by the amount used to book the course, provided the expiry date has not passed. If the expiry date has passed re-crediting the original voucher will only be done at our discretion. We will not offer a cash refund for vouchers.
11. In the event of any course cancellation we will not refund any other costs you may have incurred in advance. We recommend all students take out cancellation (and travel, if appropriate) insurance with a local travel agents to cover their costs in the event of bereavement, work commitments or ill-health prevents attendance.
12. We reserve the right to refuse to process any refund or transfer which has been offered or given in error, without due authorization or which would contravene our terms and conditions.

Allergies, Dietary Requirements and General Health

1. Any food allergies or special dietary requirements must be declared at time of booking or as soon as possible before the day of the course. If you only declare an allergy or special dietary requirement on the day of the course and this poses a health risk or cannot be accommodated, your place may be cancelled. In the event of this happening no refund or transfer will be offered.
2. We reserve the right to refuse admission to our school to any student arriving on the day unfit to participate through alcohol, drugs and/or ill health. No refunds or transfers will be offer under these circumstances.
3. All food cooked during Vegetarian Society Cookery School courses will be suitable for vegetarians.

Course Description and Content

1. We reserve the right to reasonably alter the schedule of a course or to change a course title without notice.
2. Due to student numbers, allergy or dietary requirements, seasonal availability of ingredients or other factors outside of our control, some recipes mentioned in our course descriptions may not be made on the day.
3. We reserve the right to allocate any of our freelance or employed tutors the teaching role of any of our courses at any time. Where a specific tutor has been promoted as teaching the course in any of our promotional material or on our website and cannot subsequently tutor on the day, we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible.

General

1. It remains the responsibility of the person booked on a course to ensure that any contact details we have are correct for the purposes of us sending correspondence relating to the booking.
2. It is the responsibility of the person attending to ensure they can get to the course venue on time and/or on the day. No refunds or transfers will be offered for late arrivals or no-shows.
3. We reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions without notice. In the event of dispute, the Vegetarian Society Cookery School’s decision will be final. Booking on a course constitutes acceptance of these terms and conditions.

General Limitations on Liability

1. Independent Contractors: If loss, death, personal injury or damaged is caused by the act or omission of any third party unconnected with the provision of the courses neither the Vegetarian Society (the Society) nor its employees or contractors will have any liability to you for such loss, death, injury or damage. If any loss, death, injury or damage arises from any failure to perform or improper performance of all or any part of the courses, neither the Society or its employees or contractors will have any liability to you for such loss, death, injury or damage.

Unusual, unforeseeable or unavoidable circumstances

1. If any loss, death, injury or damage arises from any failure to perform or improper performance of all or any part of any course which is due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of the Society, its employees, or contractors the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised or any event which neither the Society its employees or contractors could, even with all due care have foreseen or forestalled neither the Society nor its employees or contractors will have any liability to you for such loss death injury or damage.
   Indirect or consequential loss: Unless provided elsewhere in these conditions the Society or its employees or contractors will not be liable for any indirect or other consequential loss or damage.

Severability

1. In the event that any provision of these conditions shall be held by any Court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid it shall not in any way impair the validity of any of the provisions of these conditions but these conditions shall have effect as if that provision had never been inserted.

Gift voucher terms and conditions

On purchasing a gift voucher the purchaser has 30 days to cancel and receive a full refund, unless the voucher has already been used to book a course. After 30 days the gift voucher cannot be refunded.

Any refund for gift vouchers can only be made to the original purchaser of the voucher, not the recipient or any other third party.

Vouchers must be redeemed within the validity period which is 12 months starting from the day of purchase. After this the voucher will become invalid and no refund or alternative will be offered.

Gift vouchers cannot be exchanged for cash. No cash will be given in return for any unused balance if the amount spent using the voucher is less than the total. However, the outstanding balance can used as part payment toward another course purchase.

If the purchase price exceeds the voucher balance, the bearer must make up the difference with another payment method.

Gift vouchers containing a message that has been worded to imply a course has been booked, paid for or otherwise will not be held valid unless it refers to a booking which has already been accepted and confirmed by COOK! with the Vegetarian Society. Possession of a gift voucher does not imply any actual booking has been made or accepted.

Gift vouchers are only redeemable for courses run by COOK! with the Vegetarian Society and no other products or services provided by the Vegetarian Society.

In the event we cancel a session which was booked using a voucher, we will re-credit the balance of the voucher by the amount used to book the course, provided the expiry date has not passed. If the expiry date has passed re-crediting the original voucher will only be done at our discretion. We will not offer a cash refund for vouchers in the event of cancellation.

Gift vouchers cannot be used for the purchase of other gift vouchers. Multiple gift vouchers may be redeemed in the same transaction, but this service is not available online, please contact us by phone or email.

Once a gift voucher is used to book a session, our terms and conditions for course bookings apply.

We reserve to right to refuse the use of, and to cancel immediately, any voucher which we believe to have been stolen or acquired dishonestly.

In the event we extend the expiry date of a voucher that has expired, we reserve the right to cancel that voucher at any time without offering further extensions or a refund.

We reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions without notice. In the event of dispute, COOK! with the Vegetarian Society’s decision will be final. Your purchase or use of gift vouchers constitutes acceptance of these terms.