Cancellation Policy
This policy explains what happens when a scheduled tuition lesson between a family and an independent tutor is cancelled, rearranged or missed. It applies to tuition arrangements introduced and administered through West Lancs Tutors.
Last updated: August 2026
Please read it alongside our Parent Terms and Conditions.
1. How to cancel or rearrange a lesson
Parents and carers should notify both their tutor and West Lancs Tutors as soon as they know that a child cannot attend.
Notification should be sent using the normal agreed contact method. A cancellation is treated as received when the message reaches the tutor or West Lancs Tutors, not when it is subsequently read.
West Lancs Tutors should be copied into or informed about any change so that lesson and payment records remain accurate.
2. Cancellation by a parent or carer
Initial lesson payment
The initial lesson payment secures the first agreed lesson with the independent tutor and is normally collected by West Lancs Tutors when the tuition arrangement is confirmed.
If the first lesson is subsequently cancelled, the payment will be handled under the notice rules below. This is separate from any statutory cooling-off rights explained in the Parent and Carer Terms and Conditions.
Advance notice before a subsequent payment is collected
After the first lesson, subsequent weekly payments are normally collected automatically two days before each scheduled lesson.
Where West Lancs Tutors receives cancellation notice before the payment for a subsequent lesson has been collected, we may cancel or skip the upcoming payment rather than collecting it and subsequently issuing credit.
Parents and carers should provide as much notice as reasonably possible and ideally at least five days for a known absence such as a holiday.
Both the tutor and West Lancs Tutors must be notified. Cancelling, blocking or pausing a payment directly through a bank or payment provider does not constitute notice that the lesson has been cancelled.
Notice received by 9am after payment has been collected
If payment has already been collected and cancellation notice is received by 9am on the calendar day of the scheduled lesson, the amount paid will normally be retained as credit and applied to a rearranged or future lesson.
The tutor will not be paid for the original cancelled slot. Tutor payment will become due when the credited lesson is subsequently delivered.
Notice received after 9am
If notice is received after 9am on the day of the lesson, the lesson will normally be charged in full.
This is because the tutor has reserved the time, may have prepared specifically for the child and is unlikely to be able to offer the appointment to another family at short notice.
Provided the tutor was available and prepared to teach, the tutor will receive their normal payment.
3. Genuine emergency waiver
We understand that genuine illness or emergencies can sometimes arise after the 9am deadline.
Each child may receive one late-cancellation waiver in each school term. For this policy, the three school terms are:
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Autumn term
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Spring term
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Summer term
This means one waiver per term, not one per half-term. Unused waivers do not carry forward.
Where the waiver is approved:
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the family will not be charged;
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any payment already collected will be credited or refunded as appropriate; and
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the tutor will not receive payment because the lesson did not take place.
West Lancs Tutors will decide whether the waiver applies, taking account of the circumstances and the child’s cancellation record. Once the waiver has been used during that term, any further cancellation received after 9am will normally be charged in full.
4. Missed lessons and failure to attend
If a child does not attend a scheduled lesson and no notice has been provided, the lesson will be charged in full.
For online tuition, the tutor will wait and make reasonable attempts to contact the family using the agreed contact details.
For in-person tuition, a family’s absence or failure to provide access at the agreed location will be treated as a missed lesson.
5. Requests to rearrange
A request to change the lesson’s date or time is treated in the same way as a cancellation unless an alternative arrangement is agreed.
Where a request is made by 9am on the day of the lesson, the tutor and family may agree a suitable alternative time, subject to availability.
A request made after 9am does not automatically avoid the late-cancellation charge. If the tutor can reasonably accommodate a change, West Lancs Tutors may approve the rearrangement, but neither the tutor nor West Lancs Tutors is required to do so.
6. Cancellation by the tutor
If the tutor cancels a lesson:
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the family will not be required to pay for tuition that is not provided;
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the tutor will not receive payment for the cancelled lesson; and
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an alternative date may be arranged where mutually convenient.
If payment has already been collected, it will be credited towards a future lesson or refunded where appropriate.
Repeated tutor cancellations should be reported to West Lancs Tutors so that we can review the arrangement and, where appropriate, consider an alternative tutor.
7. Late arrival
If a child arrives late, the lesson will normally still finish at the originally scheduled time and the full lesson price will remain payable.
Tutors are not required to extend a lesson where this would affect another commitment.
If a tutor arrives or begins late, they should make up the missed teaching time either during that lesson or at another mutually agreed time. If this is not possible, West Lancs Tutors will arrange an appropriate proportional credit or refund.
8. Online lessons and technical difficulties
Families and tutors are responsible for having a suitable device, internet connection and any agreed software ready before an online lesson.
If a lesson cannot proceed because of a technical problem within the tutor’s reasonable control, the lesson will be rearranged or credited and the family will not be charged for tuition that was not delivered.
If the lesson cannot proceed because of the family’s equipment, connection or failure to join, it may be treated as a late cancellation or missed lesson. West Lancs Tutors will consider genuine widespread outages or exceptional circumstances reasonably.
9. Severe weather and circumstances outside anyone’s control
Where severe weather, travel disruption, power failure, official guidance or another event outside the reasonable control of the family or tutor makes a lesson unsafe or impractical, both parties should contact West Lancs Tutors as soon as possible.
We will consider the circumstances fairly and may rearrange, credit or cancel the lesson without charge. Online tuition may be offered as an alternative where appropriate and mutually agreed.
10. Stopping regular tuition
Families are asked to give West Lancs Tutors at least five days’ written notice when ending an ongoing tuition arrangement.
Notice should be sent to admin@westlancstutors.co.uk. A message sent only to the tutor, or cancelling or blocking the saved payment method, does not itself end the tuition arrangement.
Lessons scheduled during the notice period remain subject to this Cancellation Policy and may still be chargeable.
Once notice has been received, West Lancs Tutors will arrange for the recurring payment arrangement to end after any properly chargeable final lesson or outstanding payment has been dealt with.
Any valid unused credit remaining when tuition ends will be applied to outstanding lessons or refunded where appropriate.
11. Refunds and credits
Credits will normally be applied to the next suitable lesson within the same tuition arrangement.
Where possible, a credit will be applied before the next automatic payment is collected. This may mean that the next payment is reduced or not collected. If the next payment has already been processed, the credit will normally be applied to the following suitable lesson.
A credit is not the same as a late-cancellation waiver. A credited lesson remains paid for and is delivered at a later date.
Where a refund is due, it will normally be returned using the original payment method. The time taken for funds to reach the account may depend on the payment provider or bank.
12. Exceptional circumstances
West Lancs Tutors may exercise reasonable discretion where strict application of this policy would produce an unfair outcome.
Any exception applies only to the particular circumstances in which it is granted and does not change the policy for future lessons.
13. Statutory rights
Nothing in this Cancellation Policy limits or excludes a family’s statutory consumer rights.
14. Contact
Questions about cancellations, credits or payments should be directed to:
West Lancs Tutors
Email: admin@westlancstutors.co.uk