Terms & conditions

1. Definitions

Our most recent terms and conditions are always available on the Association of Learning website, please visit regularly for updates regarding our most recent terms. Please ensure that you have read and understood the terms outlined before placing an order with Association of Learning. By placing an order online or by any other means (telephone or proforma) you have understood and agreed to these Terms and Conditions.

2. Payments

2.1We agree to provide full costings of your course at point of purchase, this does not include the cost of extending or any additional services you may request.
2.2The price of the course is payable prior to delivery of materials or access to our online portal/reseller access portal.
2.3Prices does not include any external exam fees, which may apply to certain courses, such as A Levels and GCSE
2.4Learners paying for their course using our finance option must pay in full before certification is provided.
2.5In the event that you miss a monthly payment, the card you have used to pay for your course deposit, or any other cards used within our system will be recharged with an administration fee of £12 applied for each missed payment. If this is not successful, your direct debit will be re-charged, further failures could result in your details being passed to a debt collection agency.
2.6Course material and access will not be provided prior to a direct debit being setup if payment via monthly instalments.
2.7Customers who cancel their direct debit will automatically have their support blocked and their course suspended, until payment of outstanding costs have been made.
2.8Customers who fail to pay on more than three non-consecutive payments will be requested to pay the full course charges within a 30-day period with administration fees of £20.
2.9Customers will not be provided with any extension on their course to cover any suspension time due to payment issues.
2.10Price match guarantee is provided on courses with the same structure and certification on completion. Courses must be paid in full when price matching, this option is not available for monthly payments.
2.11Double payments may occur if Association of Learning have failed to collect the instalment due from a previous month.
2.12Any correspondence which relates to late payments will be charged at £12 per email, letter or telephone call.
2.13If after a period of two months there have been no payments made on account for amounts due, a debt recovery process will commence. The total amount outstanding will be passed over to our debt recovery agency, who will add 20% (+VAT) of the outstanding amount to cover fees. Any further fees incurred will be added to the amount outstanding, plus interest, calculated using the base rate set by the Bank of England.
2.14 Failure to make payment for the owing balance will result in refusal of service.
2.15Cancellation of a direct debit without prior consent will trigger a charge of the amount owed for the next payment due, which will be taken within 48 hours. An additional £12 charge will be applicable for each missed payment, or payment taken by other means than direct debit unless otherwise agreed.

3. Course Supplier

3.1Association of Learning work in partnership with other home learning providers.
3.2Courses purchased via Association of Learning may be supplied by another alternative supplier and may not be directly provided by Association of Learning.
3.3If a price different persists between Association of Learning and your course supplier, the difference will not be refunded or reduced if Association of Learning prices are higher.
3.4Unless explicitly stated during your order period that you do not wish to have your parcel left without a neighbour, your parcel may be left in a safe place or with your neighbour who may sign on your behalf.
3.4Association of Learning will provide support as a third-party reseller if a customer is having problems with one of our suppliers.
3.5You may not request cancellation via a reseller/supplier.

4. Services

4.1At our sole discretion, Association of Learning may extend your support period (of 12 months, unless otherwise stipulated), which may incur additional fees.
4.2Coursework submitted will be held on file for a minimum of 12 months. If the learner needs a copy of their work, this must be requested within 12 months of course completion/expiry.
4.3Association of Learning reserve the right to destroy the material after the required period outlined by the awarding body to retain a copy has passed.
4.4Learners are responsible for maintaining a backup of their work at all times. Course content can be downloaded from the learning management system and kept indefinitely (unless stipulated separately that they must be deleted). Following the agreed period of study (12 months, unless otherwise stipulated), access to the learning management portal will no longer be provided.
4.5Association of Learning work with a number of Awarding Organisations and reserve the right to provide certification through an alternative provider other than those advertised should the need arise due to operational requirements or circumstances outside of our direct control.
4.6Assessors are provided with 10 working days to mark work, although during holiday periods this may extend past that period. Please contact our support team directly if feedback has not been provided within the 10-day working period. Marking times are based on averages achievable across all submissions. Assessors mark submissions in order of receipt, it is not possible to commence with a future unit, without ‘passing’ the prior unit.
4.7Association of Learning are not liable to issue predicted grades for A Level and GCSE courses, this service is not included in the provision of these courses.
4.8Contact relating to an issue must be made immediately in order for the company to take appropriate action. If an extended period passes without notification, the company will not be held responsible for compensation for any time that has been lost as a result.
4.9Learners requiring additional help with studies, owing to any existing learning impairment, must make this known within 14 days of purchase by informing our support team, to allow any reasonable adjustments to be considered (we reserve the right to request proof of impairment).
4.10Bundle courses (packages containing a combination of separate courses) must be completed one at a time, and all courses within the bundle must be completed within the standard support period (of 12 months, unless otherwise stipulated). Students must inform Association of Learning upon completion of each course in bundle.
4.11Association of Learning reserve the right to refuse service at any point.
4.12Students that are removed from their course due to academic malpractice, including plagiarism, are not be entitled to a refund and are liable to pay any outstanding course fees.
4.13Students may be required to undertake a professional discussion in cases where malpractice, included use of AI and plagiarism, has been identified. Professional discussions take place with a member of staff and/or an assessor, and are charged at £75 per discussion. Charges will only be issued if the student receives a fail grade for the discussion.
4.14Association of Learning and our suppliers reserve the right to cross-charge customers if work is received via the post without adequate postage costs. We also reserve the right to decline postage which does not have sufficient postage paid and affixed by the customer.
4.15Customers who wish to place their course on hold in extenuating circumstances will need to contact our support team. Management will review, however there is no guarantee that your request will be approved. Customers accept that if a certification or qualification expires or changes during the period of their course due to the course being on hold or following the course being resumed, it will be their sole responsibility. Support accepted to be placed on hold cannot pass a period of three months, the option to hold if granted will only be provided once.
4.16Study packs/Paper Based does not allow for submissions outside of our purpose built learning management system. Study packs/Paper Based provides the underpinning knowledge only, all answer/submissions will still be online.
4.17Our courses are designed to meet current UK legislation at the time of sale. However, legislation may change at any time, and we cannot be held responsible for any impact such changes may have during or after your studies. This includes, but is not limited to, employment outcomes or other implications. No refunds will be provided, and all payments remain due in full regardless of legislative changes.

5. Limitation of Liability

5.1Association of Learning warrant that the materials provided are of a satisfactory quality, however we do not warrant that the materials are error free. If errors are found, please contact our support team.
5.2Other than in respect of liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence, we shall not be liable for: (a) losses that were not foreseeable to both parties when this Agreement was made; (b) losses that were not caused by any breach on our part; or (c) business losses and/or losses to non-consumers.
5.3On completion of all assignments your work will be moderated internally. If amendments are required, your certification will not be applied for. Awarding bodies also reserve the right to moderate your work at any point.
5.4Awarding bodies may enforce changes to course specifications without prior warning. In such cases, Association of Learning will not be liable for any additional work or additional fees required from the learner in order to meet the requirements of the changes.
5.5If a student fails to attend or notify Association of Learning via support@associationoflearning.com of their inability to participate in a scheduled observation (whether in-person, remote, or telephone/phone recorded) at least 72 working hours prior to the agreed date, they will be liable for the following costs to re-book at a later date £175 for an in-person observation, £95 for a remote observation, and £50 for a telephone/phone recorded observation, and must settle these charges before booking future observations. Exceptions to this policy may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Any student seeking an exception should provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances that led to the non-attendance and evidence.
5.6If a student has not prepared all the necessary evidence for their observation and consequently requires an additional observation session, they will be subject to the costs as detailed in point 5.5 of the guidelines. It is essential for students to be adequately prepared to avoid incurring additional charges.
5.7Awarding bodies may change during the course of a student’s studies. While we strive to map the qualification precisely to the original specification, ensuring continuity in the academic experience, there may be instances where adjustments to existing work are necessary or additional submissions are required.
5.8Association of Learning are not responsible for your future based on the outcome of your course, completion of a course provides no guarantees of work or progression.
5.9Learners where a placement is required – If learners leave their placement before course completion and external moderation, we are not liable for any inability to amend their work if required which may result in their certification not being issued.
5.10Learners where observations are required – It may take up to two months from the date of the observation request for the observation to be conducted, and learners cannot progress further until this is completed and approved. This duration will be deducted from the learner’s support period, which is typically 12 months in total. Observations will only take place between the hours of 9am and 5pm, Monday-Friday (excluding public holidays). If you work outside of these hours, you will be required to change your work hours to be observed, if this is not possible we would be unable to assist any further.

6. Cancellation & Refunds

6.1You have the right to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2014 within 14 days of purchase. To request cancellation, please complete our cancellation request form (terms 6.2 – 6.7 apply).
6.2Any refunds due will be issued within 14 working days.
6.3Any student pack materials must be returned within 14 days of requesting a cancellation, with no markings or amendments made to the pack.
6.4Any online learners will not receive a refund or be able to cancel their course if the learning management portal has been accessed.
6.5Original course deposits will be retained on all purchases, if the original deposit exceeds this amount that amount will be retained. This fee is retained as the service provided in part has been customised to you as the consumer (enrolment, assessing setup and logins).
6.6The customer must pay for return of the goods.
6.7Students who submit assignments (excluding those part of any suitability pre-check) for marking during the 14 day cooling off period will waive their right for cancellation within the 14 day cooling off period, due to the bespoke service offered in providing feedback on an individual basis, as per the distance selling regulations.
6.8Cancellation will not apply to computer software or online courseware.
6.9A charge of £30, comprised of a £20 cost from the payment merchant and a £10 administrative fee, will be automatically added to the customer’s balance for any disputes received from their bank.

7. Delivery of Study Materials

7.1If you have ordered a study pack and it has not arrived within 10 days of your order, you must notify us of this within 30 days of your order date, so we can investigate. We are unable to investigate non-deliveries outside of this period.
7.2If the investigation determines that you did not receive your study pack due to a shipping error beyond yours or our control, we will send a replacement free of charge.
7.3If the study pack has been signed for by yourself, or another party (e.g., a family member or receptionist), we will class this as a successful delivery, and will not be liable for sending a replacement.
7.4We are not liable to refund orders based on non-deliveries, if notified outside of the 30-day period.

8. Additional Terms

8.1Association of Learning reserve the right to relax or extend gestures of goodwill, this shall not affect our rights under these Terms and Conditions.
8.2If any sections of these Terms and Conditions are held to be unenforceable, the remaining terms shall continue to be in force.
8.3Change of address must be provided immediately.

9. Data Protection

9.1You have the right to be forgotten, however there are materials which need to be retained to keep your course registration valid due to the requirements of awarding bodies and Ofqual.
9.2If you do wish to have data removed from our systems relating to you, please contact support@associationoflearning.com for further information.
9.3Association of Learning will not pass on your details to third party marketing companies.
9.4You have the legal right to stop Association of Learning from contacting you, please contact our team to exercise this right.

10. Complaints Procedure

If you do wish to make a complaint, please contact the student support team, who will provide an initial response within 24 hours (Monday–Friday).

Process:

1Your complaint will be assessed by our student support team for validity.
2You will be informed within 5 working days of the outcome or actions to be taken.
3You will be appropriately recompensed if the complaint is justified.
4If you are unhappy with the decision, you may choose to appeal.

Appeal Process:

1To begin the appeal process, please inform the support team.
2Appeals are charged at £100 per appeal.
3You will be informed of our decision within 20 working days of receiving the appeal fee payment.
4If your appeal is successful, you will be recompensed where appropriate, and the appeal fee will be refunded.
5Compensation is issued on a pro-rata basis; for example, if one complaint of two is upheld, 50% compensation will be issued.
6If you are unhappy with the decision, you may choose to escalate your appeal.

Appeal Escalation Process:

1To escalate your appeal to your awarding body, please inform the support team.
2The awarding body may choose to charge a fee for your appeal.
3If the awarding body rules in your favour, the appeal fees from both the awarding body and Association of Learning will be refunded, and compensation will be issued where appropriate, on a pro-rata basis.

You can use the contact form to request a copy of the complaints procedure.

Addendum

Competitions and Offers

11. Course Refund Offer

11.1Due to the conditions of the grant, the course refund offer is not available to learners that have previously studied with Association of Learning.

11.2This offer is not available those purchasing on behalf of a business, or for people other than themselves.

11.3When multiple separate courses are purchased at the same time, the offer is only applicable to cheapest course.

11.4On bundle course purchases, the amount refunded will be based on number of courses in bundle:
- 150% of purchase cost will be refunded on bundles containing 2 courses.
- 233% of purchase cost will be refunded on bundles containing 3 courses.
- 325% of purchase cost will be refunded on bundles containing 4 courses.

11.5Any purchases made separately to the course purchase are non-refundable and not included in the refund offer. This includes, but is not limited to:
- 1Platinum Upgrade or Pro-Study Pack add-on packages.
- 2Fees paid to external agencies for exam or assessment bookings.
- 3Fees paid to external agencies for professional membership registrations and/or subscriptions.

11.6Refunds will only be offered when customer:
- 1Has registered their details for the offer before enrolling on the course.
- 2Has successfully completed all scheduled payments on the agreed due dates (if using a payment plan).
- 3Has passed all units of their course (or courses, when multiple are purchased) within the original timeframe, without any extensions.
- 4Has passed course moderation and all checks, including those relating to academic malpractice, such as plagiarism and artificial intelligence (AI).
- 5Informs Association of Learning that they would like to redeem the offer, within 30 days of course completion (please inform us via the contact form provided).

12. Bursary Funded Courses

12.1Upon completion of all bursary funded courses, a fee of £50 is charged for the application and delivery of the certificate, payable on completion of the course.

12.2A bursary funded course is any course purchased using a bursary discount, which is redeemable only against one course

13. Pro-study Pack

13.1Pro-study benefits, including the CV health check and career advice, must be redeemed within 90 days of course completion (passing of final course unit).

13.2Career advice is provided in written report format, based on findings from a comprehensive questionnaire submitted by the learner.

13.3For bundle purchases (packages containing a combination of separate courses), all Pro-study Pack benefits are applicable to the initial course studied only

13.4Superfast marking is only applicable to the initial 12 month support period, and is not applied during any subsequent support extensions.

13.5Superfast marking means assignments are marked within 5 working days on average. We cannot guarantee that all assignments will be marked within 5 working days.

14. Paper Certificate