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Terms of Service

Last updated: July 2026

Student Policies

1. Handshake Booking Process

TutBuddy uses a secure handshake system. You request a session at no cost. Once a tutor accepts and provides a session link, you must complete the payment to unlock and access that link. Your funds are held securely by our payment partner until the session is finalized or a dispute is raised.

2. Cancellations & Refunds

  • Pre-Payment: Any session request can be cancelled before payment is made at R0.00 cost.
  • Tutor Absence: If a tutor fails to attend a confirmed session, you must contact support to raise a manual dispute. Upon verification, you are entitled to a full refund.
  • Student Absence: If you fail to join the scheduled session, the tutor will start the session timer and remain available. Because you reserved their time, no refunds are provided for student no-shows.

Tutor Guidelines

1. Commitment & Accountability

Platform Integrity: By accepting a session, you are making a legal commitment. If you accept a session and fail to attend, you will be held liable for the non-refundable gateway processing costs.

Repeated absences or direct payment solicitations (Cash/EFT) result in a permanent ban and forfeiture of all pending distributions.

2. Session Completion

You must only mark a session as "Complete" after the lesson has successfully occurred. Falsifying completion to trigger payouts is considered fraudulent and leads to immediate termination.

3. Technical Readiness

Tutors must ensure stable power and internet. If a session is cancelled due to tutor-side technical failure (including Load Shedding), the student must be refunded 100% at the tutor's expense.

4. Marketplace Fees

  • Service Fee: TutBuddy retains a 15% platform service fee on all bookings.
  • Processing Costs: Standard transaction fees are non-refundable by the bank and are deducted from refunds except in cases of confirmed Tutor No-Show.
  • Payouts: Earnings are settled directly to your bank account via Paystack according to standard settlement cycles (T+2 business days).

Data Protection (POPIA)

In accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), TutBuddy is committed to safeguarding your privacy:

  • Data Collection: We collect only necessary information (name, email, and academic details) to facilitate the connection between students and tutors.
  • Third-Party Sharing: To process payments, your transaction data is shared securely with Paystack South Africa (Pty) Ltd. You acknowledge that data may be processed on servers located outside of South Africa as part of our payment partner's standard infrastructure.
  • Purpose: Data is used strictly for service fulfillment, fraud prevention, and dispute resolution. We do not sell user data to third parties.

Legal Disclaimer

TutBuddy is a marketplace connecting students with independent tutors. We do not employ tutors directly and are not responsible for individual lesson content. We do not provide financial advice. All platform-mediated disputes regarding lesson fulfillment must be raised within 24 hours of the scheduled session end time. This does not affect statutory rights regarding unauthorized card transactions or bank chargebacks.

TutBuddy strictly prohibits the use of its platform for academic dishonesty, including but not limited to contract cheating, essay writing services, or assistance with live examinations.