Last updated: 21 May 2026
1. About These Terms
These Terms and Conditions govern your access to and use of the Tipu online tutoring platform, operated by Tipu LTD, a company registered in England and Wales.
By creating an account, booking a lesson, or otherwise using the platform, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms, the Privacy Policy, the Cookie Policy, and the Safeguarding Policy. If you do not agree, you must not use the platform.
These Terms form a legally binding contract between you and Tipu. Please read them carefully and keep a copy for your records.
2. Definitions
In these Terms, the following words have the following meanings:
- "Booking" means a request to receive a Lesson placed through the Platform.
- "Client" means a Parent, adult Student, or other person who books or pays for Lessons through the Platform.
- "Credits" means pre-paid lesson credits issued as part of a Lesson Package.
- "Lesson" means a one-to-one tutoring session delivered through the Platform.
- "Lesson Package" means a pre-paid bundle of five or ten Lessons purchased at a discount.
- "Parent" means a parent, legal guardian, or person with parental responsibility for a Student under 18.
- "Services" means the booking, scheduling, payment, communication, lesson delivery, reporting, and supporting services we provide through the Platform.
- "Student" means the individual receiving a Lesson, whether booking on their own behalf or via a Parent.
- "Tutor" means an independent tutor approved by Tipu and registered on the Platform.
- "You" means the person using the Platform, including any Client, Student, Parent, or Tutor.
3. About Tipu
Tipu is an online tutoring marketplace. We provide the technology and support that allows Clients to discover Tutors and book Lessons in subjects at GCSE and A-Level. Tipu also offers a Parent Support Programme and homeschooling support services.
Tipu is not a school, registered education provider, or examination body. Tipu does not itself deliver tutoring; Tutors are independent self-employed professionals who contract directly with Clients via the Platform (see Section 14).
You can contact us at contact@tipu-learn.com.
4. Who Can Use Tipu
To use the Platform you must:
- Be at least 18 years old to register an account in your own name and to make payments using a payment card.
- Have the legal capacity to enter into binding contracts in the United Kingdom.
- Provide accurate, current, and complete information when registering and keep that information up to date.
Students under 18 may only use the Platform under a Parent's account or via a child account created by their Parent. Lessons for Students under 18 must be booked, paid for, and managed by the Parent. The Parent remains legally responsible for all activity on the child's account and for the conduct of the Student during Lessons.
Tipu reserves the right to refuse registration, suspend, or close any account where eligibility is not met or where information is materially inaccurate.
5. Accounts and Parental Responsibility
When you create an account, you must:
- Keep your login credentials confidential and not share them with any third party.
- Notify us immediately of any unauthorised access to, or use of, your account.
- Ensure that any child account linked to you is used only by the named Student and remains under your supervision.
- Be present, available, or otherwise able to safeguard a Student under 18 while a Lesson is taking place in your household.
You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account, and (in the case of Parents) under any linked child account, except to the extent caused by Tipu's own breach of these Terms.
6. Our Services
Through the Platform we provide:
- A directory of approved Tutors and a six-step booking flow for one-to-one Lessons at GCSE and A-Level.
- Lesson packages of five or ten Lessons at a discount.
- Secure payment processing via Stripe.
- Automated generation of Microsoft Teams meeting links for each Lesson.
- Lesson reports prepared by Tutors and delivered to Parents and adult Students by email.
- An optional Parent Support Programme and homeschooling support services (subject to separate fees and any additional terms communicated at the point of sign-up).
- An AI-powered study helper and supporting study tools.
We may add to, modify, suspend, or withdraw any feature of the Platform at any time. Where reasonably possible we will give you advance notice of material changes.
7. Booking a Lesson
A Booking is a request made by a Client. The Booking is not confirmed until both (a) the Tutor accepts the Booking and (b) payment has been successfully authorised. A Booking progresses through the following statuses: pending (awaiting Tutor acceptance), accepted (Tutor has agreed), confirmed (payment authorised and Microsoft Teams link issued), completed (Lesson delivered and report submitted), declined, or cancelled.
A binding contract for the supply of tutoring services is formed between the Client and the Tutor only when the Booking is moved to confirmed status. Tipu acts as a disclosed agent of the Tutor for the purposes of collecting payment and arranging the Lesson.
If a Tutor declines a Booking, no contract is formed and any authorised payment will be released. You may submit a new Booking with a different Tutor.
8. Pricing and Payment
Lessons are priced as follows (in pounds sterling, GBP):
- Single GCSE Lesson: £29.00
- Single A-Level Lesson: £39.00
- Five-Lesson Package (GCSE or A-Level): 5% discount on the headline single-lesson price
- Ten-Lesson Package (GCSE or A-Level): 10% discount on the headline single-lesson price
All prices are quoted inclusive of any applicable taxes. We may change our prices from time to time; the price applicable to your Booking is the price displayed at checkout.
Payments are processed by Stripe, our third-party payment provider. By making a Booking you authorise us (and Stripe) to charge the payment method you provide for the amount due.
For single Lessons booked more than 24 hours in advance, payment is authorised at the time of Booking and captured approximately 24 hours before the scheduled Lesson. For Lessons booked within 24 hours of the scheduled start time, payment is captured immediately. For Lesson Packages, payment is captured immediately and Credits are added to your account upon successful payment.
If a payment cannot be captured for any reason and remains unpaid within 24 hours of the scheduled Lesson start time, we may cancel the Booking and notify the affected parties.
9. Lesson Packages and Credits
Credits purchased as part of a Lesson Package may be used to book Lessons of the corresponding level (GCSE or A-Level). Credits are non-transferable, have no cash value, and cannot be exchanged for cash other than as set out in these Terms or as required by law.
Unused Credits remain available on your account and may be refunded on request, subject to the cancellation rules in Section 10 and to our reasonable verification of your entitlement. Credits that have already been used (i.e. applied to a confirmed and delivered Lesson) are non-refundable.
We may suspend or revoke Credits that we reasonably believe have been obtained or used in breach of these Terms.
10. Cancellations and Refunds
Our cancellation policy is designed to be fair to both Clients and Tutors who reserve their time for confirmed Bookings.
Cancellations by the Client
- More than 24 hours before the scheduled start time: you may cancel a confirmed Lesson and receive a full refund to your original payment method, or, if you booked using Credits, the Credit will be returned to your account.
- Within 24 hours of the scheduled start time: the Lesson is non-refundable and any Credit used will not be returned. This reflects the time the Tutor has reserved and the limited opportunity to re-book the slot.
- Pending Bookings (not yet accepted by a Tutor) may be cancelled at any time at no charge.
Cancellations by the Tutor
- If a Tutor cancels a confirmed Lesson, you will receive a full refund or the Credit will be returned to your account, and we will help you re-book with another Tutor where possible.
- If a Tutor fails to attend a confirmed Lesson without notice (a no-show), you should report this to us within 48 hours. We will investigate and, if appropriate, issue a full refund or return the Credit.
Cancellations by Tipu
- We may cancel a Booking if payment cannot be captured, if a safeguarding concern arises, if we reasonably suspect a breach of these Terms, or in other circumstances where it is necessary to do so.
- Where we cancel a Booking for reasons other than your breach of these Terms, you will receive a full refund or the Credit will be returned to your account.
Statutory cancellation right
- Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 you have a statutory right to cancel a distance contract within 14 days of entering into it.
- By requesting a Lesson scheduled to take place within the 14-day cancellation period, you expressly request that we begin providing the Services within that period and you acknowledge that you will lose the right to cancel under those Regulations once the Lesson has been delivered.
- If you cancel within the 14-day period but before any Lesson has been delivered, you will receive a full refund. If you cancel after some Lessons have been delivered, we may deduct a proportionate amount for the Lessons already provided.
Refunds are processed via Stripe to the original payment method and typically reach your account within 5–10 business days, depending on your bank. Nothing in this Section affects your statutory rights as a consumer (see Section 23).
11. Rescheduling
Rescheduling is treated as a cancellation of the existing Booking followed by a new Booking. The cancellation rules in Section 10 therefore apply: requests made more than 24 hours in advance can be re-booked without charge, and requests made within 24 hours of the scheduled start time are non-refundable.
Where a Tutor is unable to attend due to illness or other unavoidable cause, we will work with both parties to find a suitable alternative time.
12. Lesson Delivery
Lessons are delivered online via Microsoft Teams. You agree to:
- Provide your own device, reliable broadband connection, working microphone, and camera.
- Join the Lesson on time using the Microsoft Teams link provided in your booking confirmation and dashboard.
- Ensure that, where the Student is under 18, the Lesson takes place in a quiet, suitable household setting and that a Parent is contactable for the duration of the Lesson.
- Conduct yourself courteously and not record, share, or distribute any part of a Lesson without the express written consent of all participants.
We are not responsible for failures in your own equipment or connection. Where a Lesson cannot proceed due to a fault on our side or that of our key technology providers, we will reschedule the Lesson or, if that is not reasonably possible, issue a refund or return the Credit.
13. Lesson Reports
After each Lesson, the Tutor will submit a lesson report covering what was covered, what the Student did well, areas to work on, and a plan for the next session. Reports are delivered by email to the Parent and (where appropriate) to the adult Student.
Lesson reports reflect the Tutor's professional opinion at the time of writing. They are not a formal assessment, predicted grade, or any form of certification.
14. Tutor Status
Tutors are independent, self-employed professionals. Tutors are not employees, workers, or agents of Tipu. Tipu does not direct or control the manner in which Tutors deliver Lessons.
We take reasonable steps to verify that the Tutors we approve are suitably qualified and prepared to deliver online tuition. However, you remain responsible for satisfying yourself that a particular Tutor is appropriate for the Student's needs.
The contract for the supply of tutoring is between the Client and the Tutor. Tipu's role is limited to operating the Platform, providing the Services, and acting as the Tutor's disclosed agent for payment collection.
15. Safeguarding and Child Protection
The safety of children and young people is a priority. Parents must read our Safeguarding Policy in full. By using the Platform on behalf of a Student under 18, you confirm that you accept and will follow that policy.
Parents agree to:
- Remain in the home, contactable, and able to intervene during any Lesson involving a Student under 18.
- Ensure Lessons take place in a shared, suitable room rather than a bedroom where possible.
- Not knowingly allow any third party to use the Student’s account or attend a Lesson on the Student’s behalf.
Tutors agree to:
- Communicate with Students only via approved Tipu channels.
- Maintain professional boundaries and never arrange to meet a Student in person or tutor a Student privately outside Tipu.
- Report any safeguarding concern to Tipu Management immediately, in line with our Safeguarding Policy.
If you have a safeguarding concern about a Student or a Tutor, please contact us immediately at contact@tipu-learn.com. We will take any concern seriously and will, where appropriate, share information with statutory authorities.
16. Acceptable Use
When using the Platform, you must not:
- Use the Platform for any unlawful purpose, including any conduct that breaches the Online Safety Act 2023 or other applicable law.
- Upload, post, or share any content that is illegal, defamatory, obscene, harassing, discriminatory, or otherwise inappropriate.
- Attempt to circumvent any security feature, scrape the Platform, reverse engineer our software, or interfere with our service.
- Impersonate any person or misrepresent your affiliation with any individual or entity.
- Use the Platform to send unsolicited commercial communications or to advertise services that compete with Tipu without our prior written consent.
- Submit any false, misleading, or fraudulent Booking, payment, or refund request.
We may investigate any suspected breach and may suspend or terminate your access without notice where we reasonably consider it necessary to protect the Platform or other users.
17. Off-Platform Contact and Non-Circumvention
To protect the safety and integrity of our community, Tutors and Clients must communicate only through approved Tipu channels. Sharing personal contact details for the purpose of arranging Lessons outside the Platform is not permitted.
For a period of six months from the date of your most recent Booking with a Tutor, you agree not to engage that Tutor (directly or indirectly) for tutoring services other than through the Platform. This restriction protects the investment we make in vetting Tutors and supporting families.
18. Intellectual Property
The Platform, including its design, text, graphics, logos, software, and any other content provided by Tipu, is owned by or licensed to Tipu and is protected by intellectual property laws. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the Platform for its intended purpose.
Content created by a Tutor for use in a Lesson (such as explanations, worksheets, or notes) remains the property of that Tutor. By making such content available through the Platform, the Tutor grants the Client and Student a personal, non-commercial licence to use the materials for the Student's own learning.
You retain ownership of content you submit (for example, lesson report notes or messages) but grant Tipu a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to host, store, and use that content for the purpose of operating the Platform and providing the Services.
19. AI Features
The Platform includes AI-powered study tools, including an AI study helper and flashcard generation. These features are designed to support learning and are not a substitute for a qualified Tutor or professional educational advice.
AI outputs are generated automatically and may contain errors, omissions, or out-of-date information. You should not rely on AI outputs for academic assessments, examinations, or any decision with significant personal, financial, or educational consequences. Always verify important information with your Tutor or another trusted source.
You must not submit personal data about a third party, sensitive personal information, or any unlawful content to the AI tools.
20. Privacy and Data Protection
We process personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. Please read the Privacy Policy carefully, as it forms part of your agreement with us.
Where you provide personal data about a child, you confirm that you have parental responsibility and authority to do so. You can read about cookies and similar technologies in our Cookie Policy.
21. Third-Party Services
The Platform relies on the following third-party services to provide our Services:
- Stripe — for secure payment processing.
- Microsoft Teams — for delivery of online Lessons.
- Supabase — for authentication and data storage.
- Resend — for transactional emails (booking confirmations, lesson reports, account communications).
- Cloudflare — for security and CAPTCHA protection.
These providers operate under their own terms of service. We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of third-party providers, but we choose reputable providers and impose appropriate contractual and data-protection safeguards.
22. Service Availability and Disclaimers
We work hard to keep the Platform available, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted, error-free, or always-available service. We may need to carry out maintenance, deal with security incidents, or respond to issues with third-party providers, any of which may cause temporary disruption.
Tipu does not guarantee any particular educational outcome, examination result, grade, or improvement in performance. Tutoring outcomes depend on many factors, including Student effort, attendance, and individual circumstances.
Subject to your statutory rights set out in Section 23, the Platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without any express or implied warranty.
23. Your Statutory Rights as a Consumer
If you are a consumer, you have certain statutory rights under UK law that cannot be excluded or limited by these Terms, including rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.
In particular, the Services we provide must be carried out with reasonable care and skill, within a reasonable time, and as described. If they are not, you may be entitled to a repeat performance, a price reduction, or another remedy as provided by law.
Nothing in these Terms is intended to restrict your statutory consumer rights. For impartial advice you can contact Citizens Advice.
24. Limitation of Liability
Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes our liability for: (a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence; (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; (c) any liability that cannot be limited or excluded under applicable law; or (d) any breach of the statutory rights described in Section 23.
Subject to the paragraph above, and to the maximum extent permitted by law:
- We are not liable for any loss of profits, loss of business, business interruption, loss of anticipated savings, or loss of opportunity, in each case whether direct or indirect.
- We are not liable for any loss or corruption of data that is not the direct result of our breach of these Terms.
- We are not liable for any educational outcome, examination grade, or improvement in performance.
- We are not liable for the acts or omissions of any Tutor in their performance of the contract between you and the Tutor, except to the extent caused by our own negligence or breach.
- Our total aggregate liability to you in any 12-month period (whether in contract, tort, breach of statutory duty, or otherwise) is limited to the greater of (i) the total amount you paid to us via the Platform during that 12-month period and (ii) £100.
This Section sets out the full extent of our liability to you in respect of the Platform and the Services. Each limitation operates separately so that, if any one is held to be unenforceable, the others continue to apply.
25. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold Tipu (and our directors, employees, and agents) harmless from any losses, damages, costs, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) we suffer or incur as a result of: (a) your breach of these Terms; (b) your misuse of the Platform; (c) your breach of any applicable law; or (d) any third-party claim arising out of your acts or omissions. This Section does not apply to the extent that the relevant loss arises out of our own negligence or breach.
26. Suspension and Termination
You may close your account at any time by contacting us at contact@tipu-learn.com. Closing your account does not entitle you to a refund of any Credits that have already been used or of any Lessons already delivered.
We may suspend or terminate your access to the Platform, with or without notice, where we reasonably consider it necessary to do so, including (without limitation): if you breach these Terms; if we receive a safeguarding or other complaint that we are investigating; if your payment method fails repeatedly; if we suspect fraudulent or unlawful activity; or if required by law.
On termination, your right to use the Platform ends immediately. Sections that by their nature are intended to survive termination (including those relating to liability, indemnity, intellectual property, and governing law) continue to apply.
27. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in our Services, technology, applicable law, or commercial practice. Where we make material changes we will give reasonable notice (for example, by email or by an in-product notice) before the changes take effect. Continued use of the Platform after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. The date at the top of this page shows when the Terms were last updated.
28. Complaints and Dispute Resolution
We want to resolve any concern quickly and fairly. If you are unhappy with any aspect of the Platform or a Lesson, please contact us at contact@tipu-learn.com within 14 days of the incident. We aim to acknowledge complaints within 2 business days and provide a substantive response within 14 days.
If we cannot resolve a dispute through our internal complaints process, you may have the right to refer the matter to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider, the small claims court, or, where relevant, the EU Online Dispute Resolution platform.
29. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them (including non-contractual disputes or claims) are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any such dispute or claim, save that if you are a consumer resident in Scotland or Northern Ireland you may also bring proceedings in your local courts.
30. General
- These Terms (together with our Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and Safeguarding Policy) form the entire agreement between you and Tipu in relation to the Platform.
- If any provision of these Terms is held to be unlawful, invalid, or unenforceable, that provision will be deemed deleted to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.
- Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that provision or of any other provision.
- You may not assign or transfer your rights under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign or transfer our rights and obligations to a successor in business or as part of a corporate reorganisation.
- No third party other than you and Tipu has any right to enforce these Terms under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
31. Contact Us
If you have any questions, feedback, or concerns about these Terms, please contact us:
- Email: contact@tipu-learn.com
- Website: https://www.tipu-learn.com
- Company: Tipu LTD, registered in England and Wales.
By creating a Tipu account and using the Platform, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.