General Terms and Conditions
“Helios”, “we”, “our” and “us” means any member of Helios Education and its subsidiaries. “You” and “your” means any of you (as a student) and your parent or guardian, as the case may be.
General Terms and Conditions set out below shall be applicable to your enrolment of our programmes, courses, classes, and lessons (collectively, the “Programmes” and each a “Programme”), enrolment in lessons, classes, or courses (collectively, the “Lessons” and each a “Lesson”) as well as your participation of our admissions services or any other services (collectively, the “Services” and each a “Service”), you must accept and agree with all Terms and Conditions as listed on Helios website (https://www.helios-edu.com/terms-and-conditions/) and any Helios document. Between the version on Helios website and the version that presents in any Helios document, the version on Helios website shall prevail.
In addition to these General Terms and Conditions,
- Terms and Conditions for Lessons set out on our website shall apply if you enrol in our Lessons (as defined therein);
- Terms and Conditions referred to and/or annexed to your application or agreement form, and
- any other Terms and Conditions applicable to you from time to time including those set out on our website (collectively, the “Terms”).
By enrolling in the Programme and/or participating in the Services, you confirm that you are at least the age of 18 and your parent agree to undertake the due and punctual payment of all amounts payable by you under the Terms and the due and punctual performance and observance by you of all your obligations, commitments, undertakings, warranties, and indemnities under or pursuant to the Terms. If you are under the age of 18, you should obtain consent from your parent or guardian before your enrolment and/or participation.
To the maximum extent permitted by the Laws of Hong Kong, Helios and all our employees, directors, officers, agents, shareholders and affiliates shall not be liable for any and all loss, expense, damage, delay, injury, claim, damage, liability, costs, or compensation, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from or in relation to your attendance of our Programme, the use of our centre, and your participation of our Services, other than any liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence by Helios or our employees, directors, officers, agents, shareholders or affiliates.
Our liability for loss or damage of any kind (including loss or damage caused by negligence) is reduced to the extent that you caused or contributed to that loss or damage.
To the extent that our liability cannot be excluded, and we are able to limit our liability, our maximum aggregate liability for all claims arising from, in connection with, or related to your attendance of our Programme, your use of our centre, and your participation of our Services shall be limited to an amount equal to the aggregate amount of fees we received from you in respect of that Programme or Service.
You agree to compensate and hold Helios and our directors, officers, employees, consultants, advisers, and agents harmless from any and all claims, liabilities, costs, damages, losses, and expenses, including but not limited to any direct, indirect, or consequential losses, loss of profit, loss of reputation, and all interest, penalties and legal costs, and all other professional costs and expenses, suffered or incurred by any of us arising out of or in connection with your breach or violation of any applicable laws and regulations or of any of the Terms. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defence and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, and in such case, you agree to cooperate with our defence of such claim.
We may assign, transfer, or subcontract any of the rights or obligations under these Terms to any third party at our discretion.
No failure or delay by us in exercising any right or remedy under these Terms shall operate as a waiver of that right or remedy or shall affect our ability to subsequently exercise that right or remedy. Any waiver must be agreed by us in writing.
Each provision in the Terms shall be construed separately as between you and us. If any of the provisions is held to be invalid, illegal, unenforceable, or incapable of performance but would be valid if some part thereof was deleted such provision shall apply but with such modification as may be necessary to make it valid, legal, and enforceable.
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify, change, add, or remove any terms and conditions of each of the Terms at any time and the latest version of the Terms will be the one available at http://www.helios-edu.com/terms-and-conditions/. Such modification, change addition, and removal will be effective when it is posted on our website or sent to you. Your continued participation with us after any changes to these terms are posted or sent will be deemed acceptance of those changes.
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to vary, cancel, and terminate any of our Programmes and Services provided that
- if the variation of the scope of such Programme or Service is substantial; or
- if our Programme or Service will be cancelled or terminated, we shall give at least a 1-month prior notice in respect of such substantial variation, cancellation, or termination.
You agree that we may take any photographs, videos, and/or audio recordings taken of you and all or any part of our Programmes or Services (including voice messages and videos) for the purposes of quality control, internal staff training, and publications and promotional activities (including but not limited to our website, social media platform, and promotional and marketing materials), and that we shall be entitled to use all such photographs, transcripts, and recordings made of you (without having to identify you by name), in their original format or edited, adapted or altered for the said purposes. You acknowledge that Helios shall be the absolute owner of all such photographs, transcripts, and recordings.
Save that any member of Helios may enforce these Terms, a person who is not a party to this agreement shall not have any right to enforce any term of this agreement or have any benefits under this agreement. Subject to the immediately preceding sentence, application of the Cap. 623 Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Ordinance of the Laws of Hong Kong is expressly excluded.
These Terms shall be governed by and are to be construed in accordance with the Laws of Hong Kong. Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms, or the breach, termination, or invalidity thereof, shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Hong Kong courts.
Terms and Conditions for Service
“Helios”, “we”, “our” and “us” means any member of Helios Education International Limited and its subsidiaries. “You” and “your” means any of you (as a student) and your parent or guardian, as the case may be.
By registering for Helios programmes, courses, classes, and lessons (collectively, the “Programmes” and each a “Programme”), enrolment in lessons, classes, or courses (collectively, the “Lessons” and each a “Lesson”), your participation of our admissions services or any other services (collectively, the “Services” and each a “Service”), as well as your participation in the Admission Proposals Helios produces including but not limited to Helios Prime Admission Proposal, Helios Blaze Admission Proposal, Helios Spark Admission Proposal, Helios Edge Admission Proposal, and Helios Advance Admission Proposal (collectively, the “Proposals” and each a “Proposal”), you must accept and agree with all Terms and Conditions as listed on Helios website (https://www.helios-edu.com/terms-and-conditions/) and any Helios document. Between the version on Helios website and the version that presents in any Helios document, the version on Helios website shall prevail.
Terms and Conditions for Service set out below (“Terms and Conditions for Service”) shall apply to your enrolment of our Service (as defined hereinbelow).
Unless otherwise defined in these Terms and Conditions for Service, capitalised terms defined under the General Terms and Conditions have the same meaning.
Enrolment Policy
1. Enrolment(s) in any Programme(s), Lesson, or other Service(s) may be subject to an academic assessment prior to the enrolment to determine the applicant’s appropriateness. Helios reserves the right to refuse the admissions of any applicant who, in its opinion, does not meet the minimum requirement for the Programme, Lesson, or other Services and/or may affect the learning of our other students.
2. In the event of non-payment of tuition fee, disruptive behaviour in a lesson, or at our centre, negative impact on other students’ learning, potential or actual non-observance of any of the Terms (including these Terms and Conditions for Service), Helios reserves the rights to terminate an applicant’s enrolment, to suspend his/her attendance from the Service, to the change the tutor for courses and to make any arrangement in the lesson as deemed appropriate or necessary, at any time without prior notice.
Product Policy
3. Any start date of the service period that is presented in advance in a Proposal is provisional. The official start date is the one as presented in the Proposal, or the date when the relevant payment is settled, whichever is later.
4. Any end date of the service period that is presented in advance in a Proposal is fixed after it is issued. The end date cannot be changed and shall not be affected by the official start date unless an additional mutual agreement in writing with countersignatures as set out between Helios and you.
5. Any other amendment to a Proposal, including rephrasing and/or add-drop, will only be valid on condition that a mutual agreement in writing with countersignatures of Helios and you set out.
6. For personal statement, you agree that the processing time for each draft shall be 7 business days upon receipt of the draft the student provided. Under urgent circumstances or the school’s internal deadline evidenced with relevant documents in hard copy or soft copy, the processing time could be adjusted to around 3 business days upon receipt of the draft the student provided.
7. Should the service period in a Proposal covers the next academic year which is not the academic year of application we agree to assist, we do by no means offer any assistance for you. In other words, we only offer assistance for one academic year of application. Regardless of the duration of the service period, we do not offer any assistance for reapplication that takes place in the next or any other academic year, unless otherwise specified in the Proposal.
Payment Policy
8. Payment must be done prior to the commencement of the Lesson, or such other date as requested under the additional terms as set out in the confirmation email.
9. Helios reserves the right to suspend the student’s attendance from the Lesson if the tuition fee has not been paid as requested.
10. An HKD50 administration fee will be charged for any cheques returned by your bank.
11. Helios reserves the right to apply the following policies for late payment of the tuition fee as follows:
11.1. 5% of the outstanding fees shall be charged after 5 working days following the date on which the fee is due and payable;
11.2. 10% of the outstanding fees shall be charged after 10 working days following the date on which the fee is due and payable;
11.3. 15% of the outstanding fees shall be charged after 15 working days following the date on which the fee is due and payable; and
11.4. all services presented in the designated Admission Proposal for you shall be ceased after 10 days in which Saturdays, Sundays and Hong Kong public holidays are inclusive until the outstanding payment is settled. No temporal or financial compensation for time lost until the outstanding payment is settled.
12. A payment invoice shall be issued individually:
12.1. in 60 business days when you spent fewer than 1 hour in the last Lesson after the contact hours covered by the designated Admission Proposal are used up; and
12.2. at the end of the month for the Lessons that are outside the contact hours for circumstances other than 12.1.
13. Where any Lessons reservation is made with us within the same calendar month, the tuition fee for all reserved lessons must be paid within 1 working day after confirmation of the reservation, or 48 hours before attending the first reserved lesson, whichever is earlier.
14. Where any private Lessons reservation is made for the next calendar month, the tuition fee for all reserved lessons must be paid within 3 working days after confirmation of the reservation, or 48 hours before attending the first reserved lesson, whichever is earlier.
Refund Policy
15. Except where clauses 16, 17 and 18 of Terms and Conditions for Service apply, or additional mutual agreement in writing that set out, there is no refund for any Programme.
16. In case of Helios permanent closure of business prior to the commencement of any Programme, we will refund in full all the tuition fees received in respect of such Programme to you.
17. In the case where Helios suspends, cancels or ceases to continue any Programmes, and any alternative arrangements offered by Helios (if any) are refused, we will refund the tuition fee received in full (where such cancellation is made prior to the commencement), or on a pro-rata basis (where there is any class paid but unattended until cessation).
18. Partial or tailored refund
18.1. partial or tailored refund shall be offered if you officially failed to receive a conditional or unconditional offer from the designated university as shown in a Proposal, and
18.2. you fulfilled the entry requirements of the university as guaranteed by Helios.
18.3. NO partial or tailored refund shall be offered if such a request is proposed within the service period, yet the services are not fully utilised or utilised partially.
19. A refund request shall be made if you agree to provide
19.1. the latest predicted grades issued by your last secondary school; and
19.2. any written evidence for failure of receiving university offers (generally known as the “rejection letter”).
20. Refunds will be made by cheque or direct deposit into your designated bank account at the end of next month commencing from the day the refund request is proposed.
21. With regard to the refund procedure
21.1. first, the parent(s) places a refund request in writing (e-mail, fax, or letter) within 30 consecutive days after the result is released by the university guaranteed in the Proposal. Late requests shall not be accepted;
21.2. after a refund request is successfully placed as described in clause 19.1, we then inform the parent(s) and the student of refund arrangements in writing (e-mail, fax, or letter); and
21.3. we finally issue a refund receipt which the student is required to sign to acknowledge receipt of the refunded amount.
Make-up Lesson Policy
22. Other than group Lessons, no make-up Lessons (including but not limited to Summer and holiday courses and private lessons).
Rescheduling / Shortening / Cancellation of Private Lessons
23. The student or the parent of the student must report to Helios for any rescheduling, shortening, or cancellation of any scheduled lessons in which they are confirmed and paid:
23.1. more than 24 hours for the reasons of being diagnosed with light or severe physical or mental illness, and natural or man-made disasters; and
23.2. more than 48 hours before the lesson for reasons other than clause 23.1.
24. All confirmed and paid Lessons are non-refundable (except where clauses 16, 17 and 18 of Terms and Conditions for Service apply), and non-transferable between students or subjects. All confirmed Lessons are fully deductible from the given number of hours in each of your Proposals / fully chargeable if you fail to perform clause 23.
25. The rearranged lessons must be on any day three days after the original lesson (that is, the lesson in which it is proposed to be cancelled). Further discussion with the relevant tutor shall be taken place as to whether the “three days” will include Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays due to the different availability of each tutor.
26. You agree that the conversation records of communication applications including but not limited to WhatsApp, WeChat, LINE, Signal, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, or email communication shall be evidenced for such arrangement. Helios will cross-check with corresponding instructors, tutors, personnel employed, or whoever is legally contracted by Helios, for authenticity.
27. Any rescheduling, shortening, or cancellation will only be valid on condition that any Helios or corresponding tutor has confirmed through communication applications including but not limited to WhatsApp, WeChat, LINE, Signal, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, or email communication.
28. Helios reserves the right to execute the following terms for violation of clause 23 for more than 2 times within 3 consecutive months:
24.1. change a tutor for the student; and
24.2. charge a fixed administration fee of HKD $1,000.
Programme Withdrawal
29. You may withdraw any Programme by giving Helios at least 30 consecutive days prior notice in writing (via email or letter). For the avoidance of doubt, you shall remain the responsible for any tuition fee payable after giving your withdrawal notice.
30. Unless Helios has received your withdrawal notice made in accordance with clause 29 of the Terms and Conditions for Service, your enrolment of our Programme and your obligations hereunder (including payment of tuition fee) shall continue.
31. All paid proposals and lessons fees are non-refundable (except where clauses 16, 17 and 18 of Terms and Conditions for Service apply), and non-transferable between students or programmes.
Your Responsibility
32. You agree and undertake
32.1. not to take any photographs, make any video or audio recordings, reproduce, distribute, show, display, copy, modify, perform, transfer, create derivative works from, rent, lease, sell, or otherwise exploit, in whole or in part, any of the Materials (as defined below) (for example, lesson materials, lesson notes, assessments and tests) shared by Helios without our prior written consent;
32.2. not to solicit or make private arrangements for tuition with our instructors, tutors, personnel employed, or whoever is legally contracted by Helios, without our prior written consent;
32.3. arrange appropriate transportation or pick-up for students to and from Helios Education premises. Helios does not require students to sign out or notify us when they are leaving the premises;
32.4. to check emails regularly for notifications from Helios;
32.5. to settle the tuition fees when the given number of hours covered by an Admission Proposal no later than 10 days in which Saturdays, Sundays and Hong Kong public holidays are inclusive; and
32.6. to attend all Lessons enrolled in order to gain the most benefit from the Programmes.
32.7. to be respectful and nice to our consultants, tutors and any other personnel of Helios in any form and at any time, given that we promised to have ALL services mentioned in a Proposal executed completely, professionally and wholeheartedly.
Adverse Weather Conditions Policy
33. Morning Lessons will be cancelled if Black Rain Warning/Typhoon Signal No. 8 or above is hoisted within two hours of the scheduled start time.
34. All afternoon Lessons will be cancelled if Black Rain Warning/Typhoon Signal No. 8 or above is hoisted at 16:00 Hong Kong Time.
35. There will be no make-up Lessons, rescheduling, or refund for any Lessons cancelled as a result of the adverse weather conditions unless otherwise specified under an additional mutual agreement in writing set out between Helios and you.
Privacy
36. Any collection, retention, disclosure, transfer, and use of any personal data shall comply with Cap. 486 Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance of the Laws of Hong Kong.
Intellectual Property
37. You acknowledge and agree that all materials provided to you as a result of your enrolment in our Programme, whether in writing or in any other form or medium, including without limitation books, articles, news, class materials, lesson notes, assessments, tests, drilling/mock exam papers, audio, photographs, illustrations, graphics, and videos (collectively, the “Materials”), are the intellectual property owned by Helios, our affiliates, our licensors, or other third parties which are protected by copyright laws and/or other intellectual property laws.
38. “Helios Education” and our logos, trademarks, and trade names contained in the Materials are the marks, names and/or logos owned by Helios. Other names and logos contained in the Materials are the marks, names and/or logos owned by others.
39. You acknowledge and agree that
39.1. Nothing contained in the Materials shall be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel or otherwise, any licence, or right to use any Materials, trademarks, trade names, or logos contained in the Materials.
39.2. You will not copy or permit the copying of the Materials, or distribute any of these Materials through any means, or disclose or permit the disclosure, or sell or hire the same to others.
40. Helios agrees to grant to you a non-exclusive, royalty-free, non-assignable, non-transferable, and revocable licence to use the Materials solely for your personal non-commercial study.
41. Any use of the Materials other than those permitted under these Terms and Conditions for Service is strictly prohibited.
42. You agree that all information including ideas, testimonials, comments, messages, data, suggestions, designs, concepts, and other items or materials disclosed or provided to Helios because of your enrolment in our Programmes (“Submissions”) will deemed non-confidential and may be used by us for any purposes without your prior consent.
43. You shall be responsible for your Submissions. You represent and warrant that the disclosure and provision of such Submission shall not in any manner:
43.1. violate any applicable law or regulation or advocate illegal activities;
43.2. infringe the copyright, trademark, trade secrets or other intellectual property rights of others;
43.3. violate the privacy or publicity or other personal rights of others;
43.4. be libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, scandalous, threatening, abusive or hateful; or
43.5. advertise or solicit funds, goods, services or disseminate any junk mail, spam, chain letters, schemes, or other forms of solicitation, and you agree not to submit any such material.
44. If your Submission is original to you, you confirm no other party has any rights thereto, and agree to grant us and our affiliates a royalty-free, unrestricted, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully transferable, assignable and sub-licensable right and license to display, use, reproduce, copy, incorporate, modify, create derivative works of, transfer, and distribute the same (in whole or in part) for any purposes. We shall not be responsible to accept, maintain, pay or compensate, respond, save, or retain any Submissions and may delete or destroy all or any of them at our sole discretion at any time.
Guarantee Terms
45. Please visit https://helios-edu.com/zh/terms-and-conditions-guaranteed-terms/