BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Please read these carefully before booking, then screenshot this page and save a copy for your records. These terms and conditions may change periodically. Your booking is made on the basis of the terms and conditions active at the time of your booking. Please note that different terms and conditions apply depending on the service you have booked. If you are unsure which section applies to you please do get in touch and ask.
When booking a retreat, course, consultancy or online support with me please know that we understand that life is unpredictable and we try to be as flexible as possible with our booking policy. However, our business is very small, our margins tight and significant costs are often incurred well in advance of your booking - particularly retreat bookings. The below policy is designed to be flexible wherever possible and to protect both us and you.
Retreats and In-Person Course Bookings
Our retreats are so small that they can’t go ahead if they aren’t fully booked. Though we’ll always try to be accommodating and look after you, we have to stick strictly to our booking terms and conditions so as not to jeopardise the retreats for everyone. Please let us know as soon as possible if you think you may need to cancel or change dates or are having trouble paying a balance. We’ll always try our best to help and the more notice we have, the more flexible we can be.
If you have to cancel there are different terms for different situations. Please read these in full and only book when you are happy to that you understand and accept these conditions.
BOOKINGS AND PAYMENTS
Your place is only secured with a payment in full unless otherwise agreed in advance. This payment is non-refundable and non-transferable apart from in circumstances as set out below.
Payments are accepted by BACS and/or online payment only.
Occasionally retreats are able to be booked with a 50% deposit or another instalment plan, if agreed with us in advance. These payments are non-refundable and non-transferable apart from in circumstances as set out below.
If you have paid a 50% deposit your balance is due no less than sixteen weeks in advance of the first day of your retreat stay. Please contact us immediately if you need to discuss any delay in making this payment. We reserve the right to offer your place to another writer if the balance is not paid on time and to retain your deposit payment to subsidise this place for another writer and/or cover our additional administration costs.
If you have paid using another instalment plan your schedule of payments will be agreed in writing in advance. The instalments are non-refundable and non-transferable apart from in circumstances as set out below. Please contact us immediately if you need to discuss any delay in paying your instalments. We reserve the right to offer your place to another writer if the instalments are not paid on time and to retain the payments you have made to date to subsidise this place and/or cover our additional administration costs.
CANCELLATION TERMS AND CONDITIONS
In the unlikely event that we have to completely cancel the retreat for business reasons (excepting acts of “god” and national emergencies) we will issue you a full refund of all payments made to date, within 30 days of cancellation. Subject to availability, you can also choose to transfer your payments to a future retreat (to be held within twelve months of the original retreat) or can have a voucher issued to the value of your payment. This voucher can be used against any Mothers Who Write or Rebecca Schiller goods and services within twenty four months of the cancelled retreat. We will not be liable for refunding any travel or other incidental expenses and encourage you to ensure that your travel insurance covers you for such expenses.
In the unlikely event that we have to cancel the retreat because of acts of “god” or national emergency (including but not limited to extreme weather, natural disaster, pandemic, national or international lockdowns or curfews, national or international travel bans/restrictions, conflict/civil unrest and other major event outside our control) we will endeavour to fulfil our obligations to you by offering you a place on another retreat within 24 months (sooner if possible). If you prefer, we will offer a voucher to the value of your retreat place to be used against any Mothers Who Write or Rebecca Schiller retreats, courses, writing support, membership, coaching or attendance at virtual retreats/masterclasses to be used within 24 months of issue, allowing you to benefit from our other on and offline writing support and mentoring offers instead of an in-person retreat. If we are unable to provide you with an alternative retreat date or alternative services to the value of what you have paid within 24 months we will issue you a refund of all unused payments within 30 days of that 24-month deadline. We will not be liable for refunding any travel or other incidental expenses and encourage you to ensure that your travel insurance covers you for such force major/act of god cancellations.
In the unlikely event that the host of your retreat is unable to attend, a suitable replacement host will be provided. No refunds or vouchers will be offered for retreats that go ahead with a different host. If the host is unable to attend at such short notice that a replacement host cannot be provided, we will endeavour to ensure the retreat can go ahead with alternative arrangements to ensure you can get the most out of your time. This may include daily housekeeping and meal preparation instead of a live-in host and online mentoring sessions instead of in-person. A part-refund or voucher may be offered depending on the level of disruption provided.
In the event that you need to cancel for personal reasons payments made are non-refundable. However:
If your cancelation is more than six months or more before the retreat date, subject to availability we will transfer your place and payment to a future retreat date. This retreat must be taken with 24 months of your existing date. We will honour the price made at the time of your booking, only charging an upgrade supplement if you book a larger room. If you prefer, we will issue a voucher for the amount you have paid to be used against any Mothers Who Write or Rebecca Schiller retreats, courses, writing support, membership, coaching or attendance at virtual retreats/masterclasses to be used within 24 months of issue, allowing you to benefit from our other on and offline writing support and mentoring offers instead of an in-person retreat.
If at any time prior to the retreat, you can find another suitable writer to take your place at full or discounted cost, we will issue you with a refund equal to the amount the new writer has paid, within 30 days of receiving that payment from them. If your cancelation occurs within 8 weeks of the retreat start date we reserve the right to deduct a £50 administration fee for this process. If the cancelation occurs within 4 weeks of the retreat start date we reserve the right to deduct a £100 administration fee for this process. If the cancelation occurs within 2 weeks of the retreat start date we reserve the right to deduct a £150 administration fee for this process.
If your cancelation is less than six months or more before the retreat date and you do not find a suitable writer to take your place at full or discounted cost, we reserve the right to retain all or part of your payments made to subsidise another writer’s attendance in your place. Please ensure you have adequate travel insurance to cover this eventuality. However, if we can find a replacement writer/attendee before the retreat starts, we may be able to offer you a part refund of your payment made to date, within 30 days of receiving the replacement writers’ payment however we cannot guarantee this. The amount refunded will be equivalent to how much the replacement writer/attendee can pay, minus an administration fee. If your cancelation occurs within 28-16 weeks of the retreat start date we reserve the right to deduct a £75 administration fee for this process. If the cancelation occurs within 15-12 weeks of the retreat start date we reserve the right to deduct a £100 administration fee for this process. If the cancelation occurs within 11-8 weeks of the retreat start date we reserve the right to deduct a £150 administration fee for this process. If the cancelation occurs within 7-6 weeks of the retreat start date we reserve the right to deduct a £250 administration fee for this process.
We will not offer a refund, nor offer to transfer writers to another retreat, nor offer a voucher for other goods and services for any cancelations made less than 6 weeks before the retreat start date. Please ensure you have adequate travel insurance to cover this eventuality.
It is your responsibility to secure any necessary travel insurance and/or visas or immigration documentation if travelling from outside the UK. We will not offer refunds or vouchers for avoidable cancelations made for these reasons.
We recommend that you obtain travel insurance to cover you for the activities you plan to undertake and additionally includes adequate cover for travel delay, cancellation and/or curtailment, medical expenses and your personal belongings. Your policy should also include cover for any medical claim and repatriation due for trip cancellation due to you falling ill or being unable to travel.
MENTORING AND ONE-TO-ONE COACHING, READING AND EDITING
Bookings
Your session(s) and/or service is secured with a payment in full.
If you ‘pay-as-you-go’, paying for each session/service individually with no commitment to future sessions, this payment is due two weeks before an online session or six weeks before an in-person session.
If you pay for a block of sessions in advance, this payment is due immediately and your mentoring slot secured on receipt of payment in full.
Payments are accepted by BACS and/or online payment only.
Payments for mentoring are non-refundable apart from in the circumstances set out below.
We try to be very flexible about rearranging sessions even at the last minute and always aim to be more accommodating than our policy allows for on a case-by-case basis.
Rescheduling
In the event that you need to reschedule an online session we will honour your booking and reschedule your session without additional charge, even if the cancellation is short notice. Rearranged sessions must be taken within six months of your original session.
In the event that you need to reschedule a service (such as reading and feedback on your writing or editing a proposal for you) we will honour your booking and reschedule your service without additional charge, even if the cancellation is short notice. However, rescheduled services must be undertaken within six months of your original booking and will be subject to fitting in around our existing commitments. If you are unable to send us your work to review within six months of the date that we originally agreed then we may be unable to undertake this work and will not be able to offer a refund.
In the event that we need to rearrange the day/time of an online session for personal reasons we will offer a range of days and times for rescheduling rather than a refund. In the unlikely event that a mutually agreeable time cannot be found for a future session a full refund will be offered, payable within 30 days.
In the event that we need to rearrange the provision of a service (such as manuscript reading) we will offer a new delivery date for the rescheduled work. If a mutually agreeable delivery date cannot be found then a full refund will be offered, payable within 30 days.
In the event that you need to reschedule an in-person session more than 2 weeks in advance of the session, we will honour your booking and reschedule your session without additional charge, even if the cancellation is short notice. Rearranged sessions must be taken within six months of your original session.
In the event that you need to reschedule an in-person session less than 2 weeks in advance of the session, we will honour your booking and reschedule your session. We reserve the right to charge an additional fee of up to £75/session for rearranging in-person sessions with less than two weeks notice, depending on the upheaval the rearranging causes. Rearranged sessions must be taken within six months of your original session.
In the event that you need to reschedule an in-person session less than 1 weeks in advance of the session, we will honour your booking and reschedule your session. We reserve the right to charge an additional fee of up to 50% of the session for rearranging in-person sessions with less than one weeks’ notice, depending on the upheaval the rearranging causes. Rearranged sessions must be taken within six months of your original session.
In the unlikely event that we need to reschedule an in-person session for personal reasons we will do our best to offer you an mutually convenient rescheduled session. If this is not possible you will be offered the choice between a voucher for goods and services (including retreats) to the value of your payment to date to be used within twelve months of the cancellation, or a full refund payable within 30 days.
Please note that we cannot be liable for any travel, accommodation or other costs associated with travelling to or attending in-person sessions and encourage you to take appropriate travel insurance to cover these costs in the unlikely event that either party needs to cancel or reschedule for personal reasons.
Cancelling
In the unlikely event that we need to permanently cancel any paid for sessions (online or in-person), we will offer a full refund payable within 30 days.
In the event that you need to permanently cancel any paid for sessions (online or in-person), we are unable to offer a refund. Depending on circumstances we may be able to offer a voucher for goods and services (including retreats) to the value of your payment to date to be used within twelve months of the cancellation.
COVID, ACTS OF GOD AND OTHER NATIONAL/LOCAL EMERGENCIES
In the event that pandemic, national emergency or other act of god makes our planned mentoring too challenging or unlawful we will offer online sessions, rescheduled timings and other adapted solutions as appropriate. We do not offer refunds in the event of national emergencies but will work hard to make sure you receive equivalent time and energy from us to the value of your payments to date, even if the way we deliver the sessions needs to adapt. If preferred, it may be possible to postpone our sessions until after the situation has passed and reschedule them at no additional cost - though this cannot be guaranteed as it is dependent on the length of the situation and there volume of rescheduling that could be required.
GROUP MENTORING/COACHING/SERVICES
Terms and conditions for group mentoring, coaching and services are the same as our one-to-one mentoring terms and conditions with the following amendments/additions.
Your place in our group is confirmed with a one-off or regular monthly payment - details of which will have been sent to you in an email. If you choose to pay monthly, your place in the group remains contingent on prompt and full payment by the agreed date each month. If you are unable to pay please let us know as soon as possible. We reserve the right to remove you from the group if you do not keep up with your payments but may be able to offer revised payment schedules if you communicate with us in advance.
If you are paying for group sessions on a monthly basis, you have made a commitment to pay this amount in full, every month during the stated period. If you leave the group and cancel your monthly payments before the six month period has ended, we reserve the right to ask for payment in full of any services (e.g. one-to-one mentoring sessions) that you have already enjoyed but have not yet paid in full for.
We will be clear what the group meeting times and scheduling commitments will be when we start working together and will endeavour to stick to these timings wherever possible. If your availability or schedule changes we will try our best to accommodate you but, given the group nature of your booking, we may not be able to rearrange sessions once they have been confirmed and will prioritise group members who are still able to commit to the original time/date/day. We will do our absolute best to schedule group sessions at a mutually convenient time, however it is expected that some group members will miss the occasional session and we will have planned and discussed how to manage this to ensure you still get the support you need even if you don’t attend every session.
We are unable to offer refunds for group participants if they are no longer able to attend sessions they have committed to or if their schedule changes and they can no longer commit to the agreed group day or time. In these cases we may be able to set your payments against other Mothers Who Write services, though this cannot be guaranteed and is at our discretion.
If we need to change group meetings and commitments to a different day/time/slot from what the group had originally agreed to, we will endeavour to make this at a time that works for everyone. If you are unable to attend a session or continue with the group because of changes we have made to the originally-agreed schedule, then we will offer a full refund (payable within 30 days of request) or will be happy to transfer your payment to be set against our other services.
We are unable to offer refunds to participants if you miss a session because of illness, caring responsibilities or other personal commitments - though we will ensure you have a chance to engage with the group in other ways and feel supported nonetheless.
If you are unhappy with any aspect of working in the group, or with the conduct of another group member, then please contact Rebecca or the group leader immediately. They will be very keen to listen and address your concerns and/or move your support to a one-to-one offer if this is more appropriate.
Groups will discuss boundaries, safe working conditions and needs when we start working together. Your membership of the group is contingent on respect for these agreed boundaries. If we have concerns about any aspect of your conduct within the group we will discuss this with you and offer support and understanding to help you participate in a way that’s safe for everyone. In some situations we do have to reserve the right to ask you to leave the group. If possible we will offer alternative support in lieu of the group membership. If we are unable to offer alternative support we will offer you a refund for the sessions/services you have not accessed.