Terms and Conditions

Spark in the interests of the consumer has adapted its contract of enrollment and general conditions to coincide not only with all legal requirements needed under Spanish law but also to any general code of conduct outlined by the associations and organizations in which we are part of.

***Although these terms and conditions may be translated in other languages we can only guarantee that the English is the fully updated version ***

Payment Terms and Conditions

• Payments in all cases are only accepted in euros €.
• We are proud owners of our own efficient and easy to use Shopping Cart, www.brightsparkshop.com, where you can select the courses, accommodation and add ons you wish for and easily and quickly pay via:
  • Visa or MasterCard using our own secure bank system (supplied by Servired).  As part of our “no hidden costs” policy, we will cover the bank commissions for you if you pay be this means.
  • Using paypal, you would have to pay the apx 4.5% that paypal charges.
  • Bank transfer (all transfer commission must be paid by the sender in this case the student).
• We ask all students to process their payments through our shopping cart, including payments made by bank transfer, in order for Spark to be able to identify your payments and products through the order number generated in our cart. Please note that without a processed order in our cart, Spark will not be able to identify your payment, meaning we will not be able to confirm your booking.
• If you prefer, it is possible to pay 50% of the total cost to guarantee your booking and then pay the other 50% 20 days prior to the start of the course.  In this case however you must contact us and pay by transfer, using the information below:
  • Spark address: Calle de las Espadas 6, El Puerto de Santa Maria, 11500, Cadiz, España.
  • Bank address: Spark Languages S.L., Bankinter, Centro de Gestion Jerez, C/ Porvera 3, 11403 Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz, España.
  • IBAN (International Banking Account Number): ES34 0128 9478 1505 0000 0172
  • BIC (Bank Identification Code): BKBKESMM
• As the person transferring the money, Students are responsible for bank charges.
  • For all transfers either you must indicate to your bank that all transfer costs will be covered by you as the sender or add 5€ to your total course fee.
  • In the case that the transfer cost was more expensive than those stated above, usually Spark will absorb this fee, although if the fee is a lot above the amount, students will be asked to pay the additional amount upon their arrival.
• Students who wish to pay for their course in smaller installments that those stated above should state this on their enrollment form and we will contact you to see what could be possible.
• Once your payment has been received, we will send you an email confirming your booking dates within a working week.  Payment will always guarantee your course with us, although your accommodation preference will depend on availability for the selected dates, although usually when bookings are made ahead of time this will not be a problem.  Also if you have had contact with us previously then the accommodation availability would usually have already been confirmed as long as you booked up very soon after checking this information with us.
• In the case that the available week or accommodation was not available, Spark would refund the payment in full if an alternative week or accommodation could not be arranged.
• If bookings or payment had been done via a third party, rather than with Spark, any refund would be subject to their conditions and not those of Spark.
• All prices are charged at the rate and including the offers as on our prices and offers page on our website at the moment of booking a course or, if buying via a third party, as their conditions in the moment of purchasing.  Prices cannot be taken up Spark if our prices later increase and likewise cannot be reduced if a later different offer is available, the second is especially the case with offer advertisements via third parties who will have, and be responsible for, their own terms and conditions.

Student Terms and Conditions:

Accommodation Terms and Conditions

• All students staying in Spark accommodation are required to pay a 50€ deposit on arrival which will be returned to the student on departure, providing there is no damage to the accommodation and the keys are returned before leaving.
• Students will be fully responsible for any damage in any accommodation or building or damage to objects/machines which resulted from misuse or negligence.  If the damage amounted to more than 50€, the student would be charged for the amount above that of their 50€ deposit.  Students will not be held responsible for any breakages in the accommodation that result from general wear and tear but to ensure we are aware of what happened students must inform us of any breakage as soon as you can.
• Students must be aware that in all Spark accommodation (be it sharing with a family, in our residence or in a shared flat), many parts of the facilities are shared and because of this they must be respectful to other students or the host family at all times.  Students will be asked to bear in mind all common sense things they would do in their own home and apply them to their stay with us and especially bear in mind the following:
  • Students must clean up communal areas immediately after use.  This means if they cook dinner in Sparkville or in a flat that you must wash up afterwards.
  • Sparkville is a residence not a hotel or hostel, meaning students supply their own toiletries, towels etc… and are also responsible in their own room for their own cleaning and laundry (a communal coin operated washing machine is available).  The same applies to flat and homestay accommodation.  Bed linen is provided by Spark or our homestay families.  Students who stay for more than a week, will be required to pass over their dirty sheets and will receive a new set once a week at the weekend.
• To ensure all students get the sleep they wish for, students are asked to be quiet during the usage of communal areas from 00.00 onwards.
• Sparkville  has its own rooftop that can be used by students throughout the day and evening.  Usage after 00.00 must be done quietly, no night parties allowed as we desire to be respectful of our neighbours!
• Spark provides free wifi connection in the Sparkville residence (this is not available in flats although may be available in homestay depending on the family), available via cable and also via wifi.  Although it is un-usual that there are cuts in the service, Spark is not responsible for any interruptions.
• The Sparkville residence has bedrooms upstairs and classrooms and communal areas downstairs.  Access to classes and office spaces during non-class time is permitted when there are people working in the office, although students should bear in mind that other classes may be taking place (Spark runs not only a Spanish academy but also an English academy for children which offers afternoon/evening classes) during this time.  When the office is closed parts of the area downstairs will be lockec and the alarm in these areas will also be turned on.
• Multiple tv channels are available in the communal area via our online home cinema system.  Please take note of the instruction “guide to usage” stuck on the wall on how to use the system.
• Accommodation starts from the Sunday night before the start of the course and lasts until and including the Friday night at the end of your course.  The Saturday night after the end of a course can be booked up for a very reasonable price.
• Guests of students are permitted in the Sparkville residence during normal hours although they must be with the Spark student at all times and are not permitted in the building without a student.  Guests must also adhere to all normal residence rules outlined above.  Guests are not permitted to stay the night in a student’s room, unless prior agreement has been made with Spark directly.  The guest would be charged the standard daily rate for staying in a room.
• Spark is not responsible for any student property that is lost or misplaced in the sparkville residence or in the classes.  Also students should bear in mind our spark insurance does not cover student property.

Pick Up and Drop Offs Terms and Conditions

• Free transfers are available on arrival to El Puerto Train Station and Jerez airport between 16.30 and 22.30 on Sundays if this is your day of arrival (the Sunday before the start of your course) as long as they are booked up 1 week ahead of time.  There may be a short waiting period, if the driver had a transfer first in Jerez airport and then El Puerto Train Station and also at times students may be required to wait with the driver for the arrival of other students on a later flight or train, although usually this will not involve a long delay.  The phone number of the on duty driver will sent to you by email. Please note this number is only manned on the day of the transfer and should only be phoned in the case of an unavoidable problem causing a delay or because of problems locating each other.  Also bear in mind that if the driver is driving they will not answer the call in that moment so you may need to call again a little later.
• A free transfer back to Jerez airport is also available on Sunday after the course, leaving Spark at 10.30 / 10.45 and getting to El Puerto train station at 11.00 and Jerez airport at 11.15 apx. We might be able to offer you a free transfer back to Jerez airport or El Puerto train station during our pick up times but ONLY if it fits in with a pick up done at that same time. Please note that in case the pick up is changed, delayed or cancelled, your drop off would be equally affected as well.
• Unfortunately we don’t have a pick up service running on the other days of the week (our driver needs some free time too!).

Classes Terms and Conditions

• At Spark we have a syllabus with 6 levels coinciding with the Common European Framework, although depending on student numbers, not all of these levels will be running at the same time. Our maximum number of students per class is 9.
• All students are asked to fill out the level test that will be sent out to them and return it at least 4 weeks before the start of their course. If a student is unable to return the level test more than 4 weeks prior to their course, or inform Spark that they are a complete beginner, Spark cannot guarantee being able to place them in the right level. The student will therefore accept that they might be in a class group that does not correspond to their level of Spanish.
• As part of our “no hidden costs” policy no additional payment, beyond the 25€ registration fee, exists for the purchasing of textbooks.  All students will be given a textbook, even for a 1 week courses, and any long term students who go up a level will also be provided with a new textbook free of charge (please note most other Spanish centres will charge student separately for textbooks).  We also operate a purchase back system for any in-date textbook (4€ per book) used on a course which is still in perfect condition and not written in that the students do not wish to take with them.
  • All students will be provided with a course book that is in perfect condition, although at times this might be a book that had been used by a previous student, but has not been written in.
• Spark takes running its Spanish courses very seriously and asks students to bear in mind that we really care about their learning.  For this reason we ask students to have the attitude that attending class (which will always be great fun!) is not an optional thing but a requirement as we know missing class will have its effect on your learning and enjoyment of your stay with us.
• If a student is on their own in a particular level for 1 or more weeks and has paid for the group classes, Spark remains the right, instead of cancelling the class, to change the hours of class to 2,5 contact hours instead of 4 hours. We believe that in this way, looking at the balance of time and being the only student, the student will still have many more learning opportunities and a higher learning curve being on their own, and therefore being able to ask the teacher for specific language aspects, than when in a group class of 4 hours.

Cultural Events Programme Terms and Conditions

• A minimum of 4 events will be organized each week and more in busiest moments of the year.
• A minimum of 1 Spark staff member will always be present during each cultural event, although usually there will be more than one. For social reasons students are usually not grouped by level during cultural events.
• According to the events programme, certain events will be completely run in Spanish although other events will deliberately be run openly for students to communicate in the language of their choice.  This is because the cultural events programme is not just to help improve students’ Spanish level but is also more so to raise awareness of the Spanish culture and encourage positive student bonding so your spark experience is a great one.
• All transport for the cultural programme that can take place in our Spark vehicle will be covered by Spark, although train fares will not be and will be an optional expense for the students.
• Spark will organize all the cultural events and provide the needed equipment and will cover expenses and organization that are an integral part of the event.  However Spark is not responsible for expenses like drinks, entrance tickets, etc which will be the responsibility of the student.  Students would be forewarned of any expense that a cultural activity involves and attendance would be entirely optional.
• Attendance to culturally events is entirely optional.  Students should feel free to join in the events they wish to.  For some events prior confirmation will of course be required due to a need to book up.
• On arrival, students will be given the cultural events programme for that coming week and also it will be displayed in the Spark communal areas at all times.
• Spark will normally organize a minimum of 5 cultural or social events per week if there are a minimum of 5 students. When there are less than 5 students, Spark will organize minimum 3 events per week.

Activities Terms and Conditions

• All activities are run by a third party supplier of Spark and not by Spark itself.
• The night horse ride lasts for apx 1 hour (it may be a little less) and will be along the beach.  No previous horse riding experience is required.  It takes places year round.
• SuperCool runs from July to mid September and lasts for 4 hours.  The activities that a student can do include: kayak, catamaran (sailing), windsurf and paddle surf.
• The running of all courses is subject to suitable weather conditions and student numbers (the number needed varies per activity).  In the case of cancellation due to insufficient student numbers signed up to the activity, students will be given a full refund for the activity price (not for any small admin. commission/fee that banks may have charged for payment).  In the case of weather conditions, a full refund would be given for any course that was cancelled before the event took place although if the activity started and then was cancelled during the activity a refund would not be possible as the supplier would provide alternative lot of activities.
  
  • Some activities may also have a limit on numbers.
  • Not all activities run year round, please check website for information.
• Transport to  the activities would be provided by Spark the first time with no extra cost.  Spark would explain to the student how to get back from the activity by public transport or by taxi. If an activity runs for more than one day, Spark would also help with finding out how to get there after day one. At times the number of students that fit in the van, may limit the numbers of students who could do the activity so signing up ahead of time is wise.
• If you are interested in tennis, sailing, or golf programmes please contact us stating how many hours you are interested in and what type of course (i.e. just doing activity or having lessons) and we will contact our suppliers and get back to you.
• The exact day of the activity will be communicated on arrival but it will always be on a week day in the afternoon.
• The dance programme will be a mixture of common Spanish and Latin dances and will last for 2 hours a day.  Student must contract minimal a week of the activity.  It will take place in the Spark residence in afternoon and will be run by a professional dance instructor.  Students can request to do only one type of dance for the entire week but should do this ahead of time.

Cancellation Conditions Student:

• With a minimum of 20 days advance notice, the Centre will reimburse a student full payment less the registration and any commissions.  In this case the registration fee would be valid for another course starting during the same year.
• Commissions retained depend on the method of payment but is usually 5% unless otherwise stated. Spark is not responsible for any commissions retained by the student’s own home bank.
• If a student bought their course via an agent or third party, the reimbursement would depend on the agent’s terms and conditions and not on ours.
• If notice is given with less than 20 days, then the student will be required to pay two weeks of the course and accommodation for which they signed up for.  The reason for this is that it is possible we would have denied another student a place on the course or in the accommodation.
• Students who start but do not finish their programme will not be reimbursed any course fees.
• Spark can not provide a refund for students failing to turn up for a course.  This includes factors which may not of been of the student’s causing i.e. flight cancellations, environment happenings (volcanic ash etc…).  Students would have to contract their own insurance to cover for these types of unlikely occurrences.

Cancellation Conditions Spark:

• Spark reserves the right to modify or cancel totally or partially any course, activity or service provided and in this very unlikely event of happening, guarantees to inform the client immediately and offer them a full refund.  Cancelling a course is a very unlikely occurrence but possible reasons for cancellations or modification of programmes could be:
  • Not reaching a minimum number of students which we believe is needed for the good or fun running of a course.
  • Weather conditions and factors outside of our control.

General Terms and Conditions

• Although it is an extremely unlikely occurrence, students must be aware that any change of law in Spain or policy change by a third party providing us with a service could affect some terms and conditions in this document.  In this case we would inform the student immediately and if the change were significant, we would give the student the possibility of receiving a full refund from us for the programme part affected.  As stated this is not a likely occurrence.
• Any refunds given will never include the refunding of any bank costs the student may have accrued.
• Students must bear in mind there are of course additional “common sense” terms and conditions affecting all areas above, especially things like accommodation and class, that students are expected to adhere to as they would in any environment.
• Students have an obligation:
  • To make payments within the terms and conditions stated or otherwise agreed.
• With our adult programmes, Spark is not responsible for the supervision nor the conduct of students in their free time, nor are we legally responsible to provide any support (legal or medical) with any non Spark programme matter, although of course we will do our best to support our students with whatever we can help them with but ultimately we are not responsible. nor required to do so.
• Spark is not responsible for providing any medical insurance for the students.  This is entirely the student’s own responsibility.  EU students should be covered by inter-community agreements but students should check this in their home countries and bring relevant documents with them.  We advise non EU students to take out their own medical insurance before coming to Spain and in some countries cases this may be a requirement for getting a visa.
• Spark is not responsible for organizing visas for students getting into the country which is their own responsibility.  Spark will supply on request any evidence needed that the student is studying and staying with us at Spark.
  • EU students do not require a visa to enter Spain and have complete freedom of movement and length of stay.
  • Countries which are part of the Schengan agreement either do not require a visa or have an easy to get visa.  The schengan agreement normally requires students to already have a returnee flight booked before entering into Spain but please check this specifics with your own embassy.
  • In general Spain has very good agreements with most countries and getting a visa is quite straight forward.

• Students have the responsibility to:
  • Pass on to Spark any required document for running our programmes or services.  This could include Spanish level test, copies of passports or visas in some nationalities case.
  • To obey the laws and customs of Spain and adhere and adapt to these accordingly.
  • Inform Spark of any medical issue that we may need to be aware of in order to run our programmes safely.

• The student accepts that Spark has a right to use in their marketing material any photographs or videos taken of them during their stay with us.  We also have the right to use any photographic material that a student uploads to our own web or social networks.

Data Protection Information

• Coinciding with the L.O. 15/1999 de Data Protection for individuals, Spark Languages S.L. reminds the user that personal data from this form will be inserted into our database, along the preferences selected at enrolment stage. The individual authorizes Spark to contact them with the requested information solicited in contact forms or via other means and unless otherwise stated, or selected, to contact them about future offers and information on our courses via email, our newsletter or any other way. Following the “Ley Orgánica 15/1999” the individual can choose to be removed from our mailing lists at any time through accessing their account with mailchimp or via contacting us directly at Spark Languages S.L..

Cookies

• Our websites, along with most other major websites, use ‘Cookies’. Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to the cookie file on your computer’s hard disk. Cookies enable users to navigate around websites and (where appropriate) enable us to tailor the content to fit the needs of visitors who have accessed the site and help us improve the user experience. Without cookies enabled we cannot guarnatee that the website and your experience whilst visiting are as we intended it to be.
• Our website cookies do not collect personally identifiable information and no information is passed to third parties.
  Some of the functions that we use cookies for are:
  * In our online shopping cart: for security to protect you and prevent fraudulent activity. Witout cookies enable you will not be able to use our online shopping cart;
  * within our online forms: without cookies enabled you will not be able to contact us via our forms or apply for our products.
  * On our website in general: to improve your experience of the website by tracking how visitors reach our site and the path they take through it to help us improve our service to you. In this way we can analyse how users use the site and also we can monitor and manage our website traffic.
  * Cookies on our website also allow us to understand how our advertising campaigns are working in order to improve future offers and promotions.
• The Spark websites use two types of cookies:
  * session cookies: these are temporary cookies, which only exist in the period you access the website, until you close the browser. These type of cookies help the Spark websites remember what you chose on the previous page, thereby avoiding having to re-enter information.
  * persistent cookies: these are cookies which remain on your device after you have visited our website. These cookies help us identify you as a unique visitor. The length of time a cooking will remain on your device will depend on the type of cookie. On our website these cookies do not contain personal information and cannot be used to identify you.

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