Terms of service

Last updated: 26 May 2026

These terms govern your use of the TutorPool platform operated by TutorPool (Pty) Ltd. By creating an account or using our services, you agree to these terms. If you don’t agree, please don’t use the platform.

1. Who can use TutorPool

You can use TutorPool if you are:

• 18 years or older, with full legal capacity to enter contracts; or
• Under 18 and registered by a competent parent or guardian who has explicitly consented to your use of the platform under their account.

2. What TutorPool does and doesn’t do

TutorPool is a marketplace that connects students and parents (“Students”) with independent tutors (“Tutors”). We facilitate discovery, scheduling, communication, and payments. We are not the tutor and we do not provide tutoring services ourselves.

Tutors are independent contractors of the Student, not employees or agents of TutorPool. We screen tutors’ identity and qualifications but cannot guarantee outcomes from any particular tutoring engagement.

3. Account responsibilities

• Provide accurate, current information when registering.
• Keep your password secure. You’re responsible for activity under your account.
• Notify us at support@tutorpool.co.za if you suspect unauthorised access.
• Don’t share your account with others or create multiple accounts.

4. Bookings, payments, and cancellations

4.1 Booking

A confirmed booking creates a contract between the Student and the Tutor for the agreed lesson. TutorPool facilitates the booking but is not a party to the lesson contract.

4.2 Payment

Students pay upfront at booking time. Funds are held in TutorPool’s trust account until the lesson is completed (or auto-completed) plus a 24-hour dispute window, then released to the Tutor minus the platform commission disclosed at booking.

4.3 Free trial

Each Student may claim one free trial lesson with a new tutor as their first paid engagement. The free trial counts as a complete lesson and is not a substitute for the platform commission paid by the Tutor.

4.4 Cancellation

• More than 24h before lesson start: full refund to the Student.
• Within 24h of lesson start: Tutor receives 50% of the booked amount as a cancellation fee; the other 50% is refunded to the Student.
• No-show by Tutor: full refund to Student plus a R50 credit for the inconvenience.
• No-show by Student: no refund; Tutor is paid in full.
• Reschedules made more than 24h before the original time are free.

4.5 Refunds and disputes

Students have 24 hours after a lesson is marked complete to request a refund through their dashboard. Refunds are processed within 5 working days back to the original payment method. For disputes, see our refund policy.

5. Tutor obligations

• Be punctual, professional, and prepared.
• Hold and maintain the qualifications you claim on your profile.
• Hold valid SACE registration if required for your subjects.
• Comply with the safeguarding policy, especially when working with minors.
• Mark lessons complete promptly so Students get their invoices.
• Don’t take Students off-platform. Solicitations to avoid the platform fee are a serious breach.

6. Student obligations

• Treat tutors respectfully.
• Pay on time.
• Provide accurate information about the learner.
• Supervise online lessons for minor learners (or have another competent adult present).

7. Acceptable use

You may not use TutorPool to:

• Harass, intimidate, threaten, or harm any other user.
• Post content that is illegal, discriminatory, sexual, or violent.
• Misrepresent your identity, qualifications, or experience.
• Solicit payments outside the platform.
• Reverse engineer, scrape, or attempt to circumvent technical protections.
• Use the platform to spam, advertise unrelated services, or build a competing product.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these rules, with or without prior warning depending on the severity.

8. Platform fees

Tutors pay TutorPool a commission on each completed lesson. The current commission rate is shown to Tutors on their dashboard and snapshotted onto each booking at the time of confirmation. Fees may change with 30 days’ notice.

9. Intellectual property

TutorPool’s branding, code, design, and content are owned by TutorPool (Pty) Ltd and protected by South African and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce or redistribute platform content without permission.

Content you upload (profile information, messages, lesson notes, reviews) remains yours. By uploading, you grant TutorPool a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, display, and process it for the purpose of operating the platform.

10. Liability

TutorPool provides the platform “as is”. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we exclude all warranties and limit our liability to direct damages capped at the total fees paid by the affected user in the 12 months before the incident. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages.

Nothing in these terms limits liability for fraud, gross negligence, or anything that South African law does not permit to be limited.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify TutorPool from any claim arising out of your use of the platform, your breach of these terms, or your interactions with other users.

12. Privacy

We process personal information in accordance with our privacy policy, which is part of these terms.

13. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email and require re-acceptance on your next login. Continued use after non-material updates constitutes acceptance.

14. Termination

You may close your account at any time from your dashboard. We may suspend or terminate accounts for breach of these terms. Termination doesn’t affect any rights that have accrued (e.g. payment obligations).

15. Dispute resolution

These terms are governed by the laws of South Africa. Any dispute that can’t be resolved through good-faith negotiation will be referred to mediation through the AFSA / Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa, followed by arbitration if mediation fails. The seat of arbitration is Johannesburg.

16. Contact

General queries: support@tutorpool.co.za
Privacy / data requests: privacy@tutorpool.co.za
Legal: legal@tutorpool.co.za