Terms and Conditions

1.1. These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Tutorverse platform ("Platform"), which facilitates connections between tutors ("Tutors") and students ("Clients"). By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to comply with these Terms. If you do not agree, you may not use the Platform.

3.1. Account holders. To hold an account on the Platform you must be at least 18 years old and legally capable of entering into binding contracts in South Africa. Minors may not create accounts.

3.2. Booking for a Minor. A Client may book lessons for a Minor. If you do so, you warrant that:

• 3.2.1 you are the Minor’s Responsible Adult;
• 3.2.2 you consent, as the competent person contemplated in POPIA, to our processing of the Minor’s personal information for the purpose of arranging and delivering the lessons;
• 3.2.3 you accept these Terms on behalf of the Minor and remain responsible for the Minor’s conduct on and in connection with the Platform; and
• 3.2.4 you are responsible for payment of all fees.

3.3. Supervision of in-person lessons with a Minor. Where a lesson with a Minor takes place in person, the Responsible Adult must ensure that a responsible adult is present at the premises for the duration of the lesson, or is otherwise contactable and in the immediate vicinity. Tutorverse does not supervise lessons and cannot accept responsibility for the supervision of a Minor.

3.4. Information about a Minor. We need no more than a Minor’s first name, school grade and the subject to be taught. Please do not provide a Minor’s identity number, medical information, home address or photograph through the Platform.

3.5. Account Registration: Users must provide accurate and complete information during registration.

3.6. Account Security: Users are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of login credentials and must notify Tutorverse immediately of unauthorized access.

4.1. Facilitator Role: Tutorverse acts solely as a facilitator connecting Tutors and Clients. Tutorverse is not an employer, agent, or partner of any Tutor.

4.2. Independent Contractors: Tutors operate as independent contractors and retain full control over their rates, schedules, and methods of service delivery.

4.3. No Guarantees: Tutorverse does not guarantee the quality, accuracy, or legality of Services. Users engage with one another at their own risk.

4.4. Tax Obligations: Tutors acknowledge that they are responsible for their own tax affairs, including income tax, provisional tax, and any other applicable levies under South African law. Tutorverse does not withhold or remit taxes on behalf of Tutors.

4.5. No Employment Relationship: Nothing in these Terms shall be construed as creating an employer-employee relationship, agency, joint venture, or partnership between Tutorverse and any Tutor.

6.1. Lessons may be delivered online or in person, as specified in the listing and agreed at the time of booking.

6.2. Online lessons. Online lessons take place over a third-party video conferencing service. The meeting link may be provided by the Tutor or arranged by Tutorverse as a convenience. Tutorverse does not attend, host, supervise or record online lessons, and is not responsible for the availability or performance of the video conferencing service.

6.3. Venue for in-person lessons. The venue for an in-person lesson is the location specified in the Tutor’s listing, or such other location as the Client and the Tutor agree. Tutorverse does not select, inspect, approve or take responsibility for any venue.

6.4. Safety at the venue. Each party is responsible for satisfying themselves that they are willing to attend the venue, and either party may decline an in-person lesson at a venue they are not comfortable attending, and should tell us if they do so. A Tutor who nominates a venue is responsible for its suitability and safety.

6.5. Liability. Tutorverse is not liable for any loss, injury or damage occurring at or in connection with a lesson venue, save to the extent that liability cannot lawfully be excluded (see clause 13).

6.6. Travel. A Tutor’s rate includes all travel to the lesson venue. Tutors may not charge, request or accept any additional amount in respect of travel, whether through their listing, through the Platform or directly.

6.7. Recording. Neither party may record a lesson, in whole or in part, without the prior consent of the other party and, where the Learner is a Minor, of the Responsible Adult.

8.1. Prohibited activities. You may not:

• 8.1.1 engage in fraud, misrepresentation or impersonation;
• 8.1.2 harass, threaten, intimidate, defame or discriminate against any person;
• 8.1.3 reverse engineer, decompile, interfere with or attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Platform or its systems;
• 8.1.4 scrape, harvest or extract data from the Platform by automated means (see clause 21);
• 8.1.5 share unlawful, obscene or harmful content;
• 8.1.6 use the Platform to advertise or promote any product, service or business other than your own tutoring services;
• 8.1.7 share contact details, or solicit contact or payment outside the Platform, before a booking has been confirmed (see clause 17);
• 8.1.8 use another user’s account, or allow another person to use yours;
• 8.1.9 hold yourself out as an employee, agent or representative of Tutorverse, or as being authorised to act or contract on our behalf, except as expressly permitted under a referral, ambassador or partner programme that we operate.

8.2. Communication. All communication relating to a booking must take place through the Platform’s messaging system, or through a channel arranged by Tutorverse, until the lesson has been confirmed. Messages may be reviewed by us in the circumstances set out in our Privacy Policy.

8.3. Content Liability: Users are solely responsible for Content shared on the Platform. Tutorverse reserves the right to remove unlawful or abusive Content without notice.

8.4. Compliance with Laws: Users must comply with all applicable laws, including the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and Consumer Protection Act (CPA).

9.1. Tutors who teach Minors must, at all times:

• 9.1.1 conduct all arrangements, scheduling and communication through the Platform’s messaging system, or through a meeting or communication channel arranged by Tutorverse for that purpose, and not through private channels agreed directly between them;
• 9.1.2 not communicate with a Minor privately or outside the Platform or a channel arranged by Tutorverse, other than in the presence or with the knowledge of the Responsible Adult;
• 9.1.3 not meet a Minor other than for a lesson booked through the Platform;
• 9.1.4 not photograph, record or publish images of a Minor without the written consent of the Responsible Adult;
• 9.1.5 not transport a Minor;
• 9.1.6 behave professionally, and refrain from any conduct of a sexual, intimidating, discriminatory or otherwise inappropriate nature.

9.2. Reporting. Any user who becomes aware of conduct that places a Minor at risk must report it to us immediately at info@tutorverse.co.za. Where we have reason to believe that a child has been abused or deliberately neglected, we will report the matter to the police, a designated child protection organisation or the provincial department of social development as contemplated in section 110 of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005.

9.3. Consequences. A breach of this clause 9 is a material breach of these Terms and will result in immediate suspension of the account pending investigation, and may result in permanent removal from the Platform and referral to the authorities.

9.4. Limits of our role. Tutorverse offers optional identity verification and displays a badge where a tutor has completed it. That check confirms only that the name on a government-issued identity document matches the tutor’s profile name and that the tutor is over 18. We do not conduct criminal record checks or child protection register checks, and the badge is not a warranty as to a tutor’s suitability to work with children. Clients and Responsible Adults remain responsible for satisfying themselves as to the suitability of any tutor they engage, and are encouraged to remain present during lessons with a Minor.

10.1. A Client may leave a rating and a written review after a completed lesson. Reviews are published on the Tutor’s public profile.

10.2. You warrant that any review you submit is your own honest opinion, based on a lesson you actually received, and that it does not contain anything false, defamatory, discriminatory, obscene or unlawful, and does not disclose the personal information of any other person.

10.3. You may not offer, request or accept any payment, discount or other benefit in exchange for a review, and you may not submit a review about yourself, a competitor or a person connected to you.

10.4. By submitting a review you grant Tutorverse a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to publish, reproduce and display it on the Platform and in our marketing.

10.5. We do not edit reviews. We may remove a review, at our discretion, where it breaches this clause, is the subject of a substantiated complaint, or relates to a lesson that did not take place. A Tutor who believes a review breaches this clause may report it to info@tutorverse.co.za and we will consider it within a reasonable time.

10.6. Reviews reflect the views of the users who wrote them and not those of Tutorverse. We do not verify the factual accuracy of reviews.

11.1. User Content. You retain ownership of the Content you upload. You grant Tutorverse a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to host, store, reproduce, adapt for formatting purposes and display that Content for the purpose of operating, promoting and improving the Platform. This licence ends when you remove the Content, save for copies retained in backups or required for legal or dispute purposes.

11.2. Your warranty. You warrant that you own the Content you upload or are licensed to upload it, and that it does not infringe the rights of any third party. This applies in particular to teaching materials, past examination papers, textbooks and worksheets, which are frequently protected by copyright.

11.3. Study resources. The Platform’s resource library contains materials uploaded by users and materials uploaded by Tutorverse. They are provided for the personal, non-commercial study use of Platform users, and may not be redistributed, resold or published elsewhere.

11.4. Takedown. If you believe that any content on the Platform infringes your rights — whether it was uploaded by a user or by Tutorverse — notify us at info@tutorverse.co.za, identifying the content, your rights in it and your contact details. We will remove or disable access to the content while we investigate, and where it was uploaded by a user we will notify that user, who may respond. We will restore content where a complaint is not substantiated.

11.5. Platform IP. Tutorverse owns all rights in the Platform’s trademarks, logos, ranking algorithms, databases and software. Nothing in these Terms transfers any of those rights to you.

12.1. We may record an infraction against a Tutor’s account where the Tutor cancels lessons, fails to attend a lesson, receives substantiated complaints, repeatedly fails to respond to student enquiries within a reasonable time, becomes inactive without notice, or otherwise breaches these Terms. Infractions are graded according to severity.

12.2. Depending on the number and severity of infractions, we may:

• 12.2.1 issue a warning;
• 12.2.2 reduce the prominence of the Tutor’s listings in search results;
• 12.2.3 temporarily suspend the Tutor’s ability to accept new bookings;
• 12.2.4 suspend or terminate the account.

12.3. Where the ground is unresponsiveness or inactivity alone, we will issue at least one warning and allow a reasonable opportunity to respond before suspending or terminating the account.

12.4. Before suspending or terminating an account on any other ground, other than where there is a risk to the safety of a person or a suspicion of fraud or unlawful activity, we will notify the user of the reason and give them a reasonable opportunity to respond. A decision to suspend or terminate is taken by a member of our team and is not made solely by automated means.

12.5. Where an account is suspended or terminated, existing confirmed bookings will be cancelled and Clients refunded in full, and the Tutor’s available wallet balance in respect of completed lessons will be paid out in the ordinary course, subject to clause 17 (Non-Circumvention) and to any amounts we are entitled to set off.

12.6. A user may appeal a suspension or termination by writing to info@tutorverse.co.za within 14 days.

13.1. What we are responsible for. We are responsible for operating the Platform with reasonable care and skill, and for handling payments and refunds in accordance with these Terms.

13.2. What we are not responsible for. Tutorverse acts as a facilitator. We do not provide tutoring services, we do not employ Tutors, and we are not a party to the agreement between a Client and a Tutor. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for:

• 13.2.1 the quality, accuracy, suitability or outcome of any lesson;
• 13.2.2 the conduct of any user, whether online or in person;
• 13.2.3 loss or damage occurring at a lesson venue;
• 13.2.4 indirect or consequential loss, including loss of profit, loss of opportunity or loss of data;
• 13.2.5 interruptions to the Platform, or failures of third-party services outside our reasonable control.

13.3. Cap on liability. Where we are liable to you, our total liability arising out of or in connection with these Terms is limited to the total amount you paid through the Platform in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

13.4. What is never excluded. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for:

• 13.4.1 death or personal injury caused by our negligence;
• 13.4.2 fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
• 13.4.3 gross negligence or wilful misconduct; or
• 13.4.4 any other liability which cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008.

13.5. Your rights under the Consumer Protection Act are not affected by this clause.

14.1. By Tutorverse: Accounts may be terminated for breaches of these Terms, fraud, or illegal activity.

14.2. By Users. You may close your account at any time by contacting us at info@tutorverse.co.za. We will close the account and delete or de-identify your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy, save where we are required to retain records by law or to resolve an outstanding booking, payment or dispute. Closing your account does not entitle you to a refund of amounts already paid for lessons that have taken place, and does not affect any obligation that has already arisen.

15.1. These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the law of the Republic of South Africa.

15.2. If you have a complaint about the Platform, please first raise it with us at info@tutorverse.co.za. We will acknowledge it within 5 business days and aim to resolve it within 15 business days.

15.3. If we cannot resolve your complaint, you may refer the matter to an alternative dispute resolution agent, or to the National Consumer Commission or the National Consumer Tribunal, in terms of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008. Nothing in these Terms limits your rights under that Act.

15.4. Subject to clause 15.3, you and Tutorverse consent in terms of section 45 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 32 of 1944 to the jurisdiction of the Magistrates’ Court having jurisdiction in respect of any dispute arising out of these Terms, notwithstanding that the amount in dispute may exceed the ordinary jurisdiction of that court. Tutorverse remains entitled to institute proceedings in a High Court having jurisdiction.

16.1. We may amend these Terms from time to time, for example to reflect changes to the Platform, to our fees, or to the law. We will notify you by email or in-app notice at least 14 days before an amendment takes effect, except where an amendment is required immediately by law or to address a security or safety risk.

16.2. Amendments do not apply to bookings already confirmed before the amendment takes effect. Those bookings remain subject to the Terms in force at the time of booking.

16.3. If you do not accept an amendment, you may close your account before it takes effect, without penalty. Continued use of the Platform after the amendment takes effect constitutes acceptance of the amended Terms.

16.4. The date on which these Terms were last amended is shown at the top of this page, and previous versions are available on request.

17.1. Users agree not to circumvent the Platform by initiating, accepting, or processing payments for tutoring services outside of the Tutorverse Platform once an initial introduction has been facilitated through the Platform.

17.2. This restriction applies to any Client-Tutor interaction that originates from or is connected to the Platform, regardless of whether the service is ultimately provided through the Platform.

17.3. Any attempt to bypass the Platform's payment system, including but not limited to direct payment arrangements between Tutors and Clients, will be considered a material breach of these Terms.

17.4. Where a user breaches this clause, Tutorverse may:

• 17.4.1 suspend or terminate the user’s account in accordance with clause 12;
• 17.4.2 recover from the user an amount equal to the commission Tutorverse would have earned on the lessons booked or paid for outside the Platform, and set that amount off against any balance held in the user’s wallet; and
• 17.4.3 recover any further loss it can prove.

17.5. Any amount held in a Tutor’s wallet in respect of lessons actually delivered through the Platform remains payable to the Tutor, less any amount properly set off under clause 17.4.2 and less any refunds due to Clients.

17.6. This clause applies for 12 months from the date of the last lesson delivered through the Platform between the Client and the Tutor concerned, and applies only to that Client and that Tutor. It does not restrict a Tutor from providing services to any person who was not introduced through the Platform.

18.1. Severability: If any clause is deemed unenforceable, the remaining clauses remain valid.

18.2. Force Majeure: Tutorverse is not liable for delays caused by events beyond its control (e.g., natural disasters, outages).

18.3. Indemnification: Users agree to indemnify Tutorverse against claims arising from their misuse of the Platform.

18.4. Contact: These Terms are entered into with Tutorverse (Pty) Ltd, registration number 2025/340598/07, of Cape Town, South Africa, trading as Tutorverse. Direct queries to info@tutorverse.co.za.

18.5. Whole agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any policies referred to in them, constitute the whole agreement between you and Tutorverse in relation to the Platform, and replace all prior understandings.

18.6. No waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of our right to do so later.

18.7. Cession. You may not cede or assign your rights or obligations under these Terms. We may cede our rights and delegate our obligations to a successor in title or purchaser of our business, on notice to you.

18.8. Notices. We may send notices to the email address on your account. You must keep that address current. Notices to us must be sent to info@tutorverse.co.za.

18.9. Survival. Clauses 10 (Reviews and Ratings), 11 (Intellectual Property), 13 (Limitation of Liability), 17 (Non-Circumvention), 18.3 (Indemnification) and any clause which by its nature is intended to survive, survive the termination of these Terms or the closure of your account.

18.10. Plain language. These Terms are intended to comply with section 22 of the Consumer Protection Act. If any provision is unclear to you, contact us at info@tutorverse.co.za and we will explain it.

19.1. Tutors confirm and agree they operate as independent contractors and not employees of Tutorverse.

19.2. Tutors are not entitled to any employment benefits, including but not limited to UIF, paid leave, medical aid, or pension contributions.

19.3. Tutors are solely responsible for ensuring their legal and tax compliance in their personal or business capacity.

20.1. Your use of the Platform is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which details how we handle your personal data under POPIA.

21.1. Scraping and Automated Access: The use of automated systems, software, or tools to extract data from the Platform (data scraping) for any purpose, including commercial uses or AI training, is strictly prohibited.

21.2. Allowed Exceptions: Automated access is permitted exclusively for legitimate search engine crawlers (e.g., Googlebot) for the sole purpose of indexing the Platform for search discovery.

21.3. Breach of this clause is considered a material breach of these Terms, and Tutorverse reserves the right to terminate access and pursue legal remedies including damages.

22.1. Acceptance of Fair Use: Users agree to use the Platform in a manner that is reasonable, fair, and respectful to other members of the community and the Platform's resources.

22.2. Within Reason: "Fair Use" implies that users should not place excessive strain on the Platform's infrastructure, customer support, or messaging systems. Any activity deemed excessive, abusive, or intended to harm the Platform's operation will result in immediate review and potential account suspension.