Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing and using DiscoverTutor (“the Service”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use the Service.

Depending on how you use the Service, additional terms also apply: the Student Terms & Conditions, the Tutor Terms & Conditions, and the Personal Training Terms & Conditions. If one of those terms conflicts with these Terms on a specific topic, that term governs the topic.

2. Description of Service

DiscoverTutor is a platform that connects students with independent tutors and personal trainers. We provide tools for search, scheduling, communication, payment processing, session recaps and homework, practice questions, and student community features. All prices and charges on the platform are in Canadian dollars (CAD).

3. User Accounts

3.1 Account Creation

To use certain features of the Service, you must create an account. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during the registration process.

3.2 Account Security

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities that occur under your account.

3.3 Account Types

Users may register as students or tutors. A student account may belong to an independent student or to a parent or guardian who manages one or more student profiles. Tutors may also offer Personal Training. Each account type has different rights and responsibilities as outlined in these terms.

3.4 Parent and Family Accounts

A parent or guardian may add a student profile for each child and book sessions for them. A parent may also give a child their own login. A child login can only do what the parent allows in that child's permissions, such as booking previous tutors, booking new tutors, or finding and booking with other students. These permissions are off until the parent turns them on, and unless the parent changes it, a booking requested by a child login needs the parent's approval before it is sent to the tutor.

The parent or guardian who owns the account is responsible for every booking, payment, and action made through the child logins and student profiles on that account.

3.5 Student and Tutor Roles on One Login

One login may hold both a student role and a tutor role. Each role has its own first name, photo, notification settings, and payment settings, and the rest of your account information is shared by both roles. You cannot book a session or a consultation with yourself. Child logins cannot add a second role.

3.6 Account Deletion

You can delete your account, or one role of a login that holds both roles, from your settings. Deletion is unavailable until your pending and upcoming bookings are resolved, your past sessions are fully paid, pending tutor payouts are complete, open no-show claims are closed, and at least 24 hours have passed since your most recent session. Records we must keep by law, such as payment and tax records, may be kept after deletion.

4. User Conduct

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You agree not to:

• Violate any applicable laws or regulations
• Impersonate any person or entity
• Harass, abuse, or harm other users
• Upload malicious code or interfere with the Service
• Scrape or copy content without permission
• Use the Service for any unauthorized commercial purpose
• Post false or misleading ratings or reviews, or pressure anyone to leave a particular rating
• Create another account to get around a block, a suspension, a consultation limit, or a rating limit
• Collect personal information about other users, such as contact details or a student's last name, beyond what the Service shows you
• Use the Service to complete graded work for a student in breach of their school's academic integrity rules

5. Tutor Services

5.1 Independent Contractors

Tutors are independent contractors, not employees of DiscoverTutor. We do not control the quality, timing, or delivery of tutoring services. However, we will monitor tutor performance and response time to ensure a high standard of service.

5.2 Tutor Verification

While we may verify certain tutor credentials, we do not guarantee the accuracy of tutor profiles or the quality of tutoring services provided.

Tutors verify their email address and phone number, and complete identity and banking verification with Stripe before they can be paid. A tutor may also upload a Police Information Check, which our team reviews before a badge appears on the tutor's profile. The badge reflects the document the tutor submitted, as of the date shown. It is not a guarantee of a tutor's background or conduct, and parents and guardians remain responsible for deciding whether a tutor is suitable for their child.

5.3 Tutor Responsibilities

Tutors are responsible for maintaining accurate profiles, honoring booking commitments, and providing services in a professional manner.

5.4 Search Results and Compatibility

Search results may show a compatibility score that compares a student's tutoring needs and preferences with a tutor's teaching approach. Ratings and popularity are not part of that score. Compatibility scores, badges, and the order of search results help you choose, and they are not a recommendation or endorsement of any tutor.

6. Bookings and Payments

6.1 Booking Requests and Approval

Students may request tutoring sessions through the platform. A booking is not confirmed until the tutor approves it. Booking requests expire if not approved within 72 hours or before the scheduled start time, whichever comes first.

Tutors may offer a consultation, online or at their office, for one student. Each student account can book one consultation with each tutor.

6.2 Payment Processing and Timing

Payments are processed through Stripe. At checkout you save a payment method, and your card is not charged at that time. About 47 hours before a confirmed session (or right away, if the session is sooner), we place a temporary hold on your payment method for the session amount. If the hold fails, we notify you and try again about 24 hours before the session. If no hold can be placed within 24 hours of the start time, the session is cancelled and both parties are notified. The held amount is charged about 20 minutes after the scheduled start, once the no-show reporting window has closed. If a tutor declines or a request expires, nothing is charged.

6.3 Platform Fees

For eligible paid tutoring sessions, the platform fee is 10% when the tutor's questionnaire, academic summary, and valid homework are completed on time; 13% when the questionnaire and summary are completed but homework is missing or late; and 15% when the summary is missing or late. An incomplete questionnaire adds 5 percentage points, producing tiers of 15%, 18%, or 20%. Homework counts toward this calculation only when the tutoring part of the session charge, not counting travel surcharges, is at least $20. For consultations, the fee depends only on the questionnaire. Free sessions have no platform fee, and the session's fee tier also applies to any paid extension of that session.

6.4 Meeting Modes and Pricing

Tutors may offer sessions in one or more meeting modes: online, office (at the tutor's location), or travel (tutor comes to student's desired location). Each mode has its own hourly rate set by the tutor. Travel-mode sessions may include a per-kilometre surcharge based on the distance between the tutor's base location and the student's address.

6.5 Multi-Student Sessions

Tutors may allow more than one student per session and set a maximum number of students for each meeting mode. If a tutor has set a per-extra-student fee, each additional student beyond the first is charged that fee per hour on top of the base session price. Each student in a session is matched to a course the tutor teaches, and consultations are for one student only. The total, including any extra-student charges, is shown at checkout.

6.6 Cancellations

Students can cancel confirmed bookings from their dashboard when the scheduled start time is at least 24 hours away, at no charge. Tutors may also cancel bookings before the session start time.

6.7 Late Cancellations (Within 24 Hours)

If a student requests to cancel a confirmed booking less than 24 hours before the scheduled session, the tutor may choose to apply a 50% late cancellation fee or waive the fee entirely. If the tutor does not respond within 12 hours of the cancellation request, the booking is automatically cancelled with no charge.

6.8 Tutor No-Show

If a tutor fails to appear for a confirmed session, the student may report a no-show within 15 minutes of the scheduled start time. A no-show claim opens a 1-hour window for the tutor to appeal. If no appeal is filed, the student is automatically refunded. Appealed claims are reviewed by our team.

6.9 Student No-Show

If a student fails to attend a confirmed session without cancelling, the session is charged in full. Students who repeatedly miss sessions may have their accounts reviewed.

6.10 Refunds

Full refunds are issued when a tutor cancels a booking or a confirmed no-show claim is resolved in the student's favour. Partial refunds (50%) are retained by the tutor when a late cancellation fee is applied. Refunds are processed to the original payment method and may take 5–10 business days to appear.

6.11 Recurring Sessions

Recurring sessions are charged per session on the same timing basis described above. Canceling a series stops future sessions, but past sessions remain charged.

6.12 Payment Failures

If a session charge fails (for example, due to insufficient funds or an expired card), DiscoverTutor will automatically try the charge again up to 4 more times over about 11 days, with increasing delays between attempts. Students are notified of failed attempts and should update their payment method promptly. If every attempt fails, the session remains unpaid and may be referred for further action.

6.13 Payout Timing

Tutor payouts are initiated after the feedback deadline for the session closes (generally 24 hours after session end), once the final platform fee tier is determined. Actual bank deposit timing depends on Stripe and your financial institution, typically 2-5 business days.

6.14 Group Sessions with Friends

Students who are friends on DiscoverTutor can book a one-time session together, even when they belong to different families. Each invited family must accept, and so must the inviting student's parent when that student's login needs approval, before the request reaches the tutor. An invitation expires 24 hours after it is sent or 2 hours before the session, whichever comes first, and if any family declines, the whole request stops. Time-change requests are not available for these sessions.

The session price is split evenly per student, so a family bringing two of three students pays two thirds. Each family's own discount applies only to its own share. Each paying family's hold is for the full session price, so if one family's payment fails, the other families cover the missing share and the tutor is still paid in full. If the family whose payment failed pays before the tutor is paid out, the families who covered for it are refunded the extra amount. Otherwise, the amount they covered is not refunded.

If one student leaves, the session goes ahead for the others, the price is recalculated for the students still coming, and the student who left is not charged. If the last remaining student cancels within 24 hours of the session, the tutor may charge 50% or 100% of the base session price, or nothing. Extra-student fees are never part of that charge.

6.15 Session Extensions

During a live session, the student or the tutor can ask to extend it in 15-minute blocks, and the other person must accept. How much time can be added depends on both people's next bookings, and a request expires 5 minutes after the session's scheduled end. Extra time is charged to the payment method on file at the same per-minute rate as the original session. In a group session with friends, the extension is split the same way as the session, with a minimum of $5 per paying family.

6.16 Discounts

Tutors may offer discounts, for example for booking in advance, for loyal students, for a first session, for leaving a rating or comment, or for a specific student. Only one discount applies to a booking, and when several are available the largest one is used. Discounts and loyalty progress are tracked for each student separately, so siblings do not share them. Except for the credits in section 6.17, a discount cannot bring the tutoring rate below $20 per hour.

6.17 Tutor Changes and Cancellations Within 48 Hours

If a tutor asks to move, or cancels, a confirmed session within 48 hours of its start, the notice period is fixed when the tutor acts. If less than 24 hours remain and the student accepts the new time, the student receives 10% off that session. If the session is cancelled instead, the student receives a credit on a future booking with that tutor: 15% off when less than 24 hours remained, or 10% off when 24 to 48 hours remained. Each credit applies to the next eligible booking that has no other discount, credits never stack on one session, and a credit is restored if the booking that used it is cancelled. These credits do not apply to group sessions with friends.

6.18 Saved Payment Methods

You need a valid, unexpired payment method to book a paid session. You cannot remove your payment method while you have upcoming paid sessions, an active hold, or unpaid charges, including unpaid extension charges.

6.19 Live Mode

Live Mode is tutoring that starts without a booking. A Live session is billed by the minute at the price shown before the student joins, which depends on how many students are paying the same tutor at that moment and never exceeds the tutor's one-student price. Before a student joins, a hold is placed on their saved card for one hour at the one-student price, and further holds may be placed if the session continues. Only the time used is charged, with a minimum charge of $5 once any time is billed, and the rest is released. The first 90 seconds of a student's first Online connection to a tutor's Live event are free. Time during which the tutor is not connected is not billed.

For Office and Travel, the student sends a request that the tutor may accept or decline. Office sessions are billed from the moment the tutor accepts. Travel sessions are billed from the moment the student confirms the tutor is with them, and the tutor's travel time is not paid. Each tutor sets a Travel minimum of 15 to 60 minutes. Once the tutor has set off, the requesting student owes at least that minimum, including if the student cancels or is not there after the tutor has waited 10 minutes, unless the tutor is more than 10 minutes past the arrival time they gave. A tutor who cancels is owed nothing. Sessions run until the student or the tutor ends them. A student login managed by a parent may use Live Mode Online only, with the parent's permission.

DiscoverTutor keeps 10% of the tutoring amount of a Live session and any top-up to the $5 minimum charge. The tutor is paid the rest about one day after the session. Live sessions have no recap, homework or Portfolio entry. A tutor going Live for Office or Travel must let their device share its location once, and agrees that their Live office address is shown to students while they offer Office. If a student reports that the tutor was not there, the session ends and its charge and payout wait while we review it. Location readings are evidence we may consider and do not decide the outcome by themselves.

7. Off-Platform Transactions

All tutoring bookings arranged through DiscoverTutor must be booked and paid for through the platform. Arranging sessions or payments outside the platform to circumvent fees is prohibited and may result in account suspension.

8. Minors and Parental/Guardian Consent

Users under the age of 18 must have a parent or legal guardian create and manage their account, either as a student profile on the parent's account or as a child login the parent controls. The parent or guardian is responsible for all obligations under these Terms, including payment authorisation, the child's conduct, and appropriate supervision of sessions.

9. Student Community Features

Find Students, in the Student Hub, lets students and families find other students who share a course. Families can become friends on DiscoverTutor, invite friends to group sessions with a tutor, and arrange free peer study sessions with “Study together”. A child login needs the parent's permission to use these features.

Study together sessions are arranged between families and are not tutoring sessions. DiscoverTutor does not supervise them, screen the participants, or take part in them. Families are responsible for deciding whether and where to meet, and parents are responsible for supervising their children.

Share only what you are comfortable with other families seeing on your student profile. Blocking another family hides both families from each other, ends any friendship between them, and cancels pending and upcoming study sessions between them.

10. Blocking

Tutors can block a student, or an email address or phone number, so that account cannot find them in search, view their profile, or book with them. Families can block other families in the Student Hub, as described in section 9.

11. Content and Intellectual Property

11.1 User Content

You retain ownership of content you submit to the Service. By submitting content, you grant DiscoverTutor a license to use, display, and distribute that content as necessary to provide the Service.

11.2 Platform Content

All content on the platform, including design, logos, and software, is owned by DiscoverTutor and protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws.

11.3 Session Recaps and Homework

After a session, the tutor may publish a recap for each student, which can include a summary, homework questions, and session photos. A recap is visible to the student and, for a student profile on a parent's account, to that family. A parent may move a recap to another of their students or delete it for their family. The tutor and DiscoverTutor keep their copy, and deleting a recap does not change any charge.

11.4 AI-Generated Content

Some features use artificial intelligence from third-party providers, including homework and practice questions, course topics, and exercise suggestions for Personal Training. AI output can be wrong. Tutors must review AI-generated content before publishing it, and students should check anything they are unsure about with their tutor or teacher. Content you submit to these features, such as session notes or photos, is sent to our AI provider to produce the result.

11.5 Practice Question Bank

AI-generated homework questions that a tutor keeps in a published recap may be added to DiscoverTutor's practice question bank, where students studying the same or related courses can practise with them. The bank stores the questions and answers, not the recap or the summary. A student's practice access for a course opens when a paid session in that course is paid out to the tutor and lasts 30 days from then. Questions that receive enough downvotes are removed from the bank.

11.6 Ratings and Reviews

Students can rate a tutor within 48 hours after a completed, paid session, other than a consultation. After the first rating, a student can rate the same tutor again only after at least 30 days and 5 more completed sessions, and no more than 12 times in a year. Written comments are available with ratings above 3.5 stars and are limited to 500 characters. Ratings and comments may be shown publicly on the tutor's profile, and we may remove any that break these Terms.

12. Privacy

Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy. Please review it to understand how we collect, use, and protect your information.

Tutors see a student's first name only, never their last name. A tutor's exact office location is shown to a student only after a booking is confirmed. Tutors can choose to hide their photos from visitors who are not signed in.

13. Notifications and Calendar Sync

We send notifications about your account, bookings, sessions, payments, and recaps by email and, if you turn them on, by push notification and text message. You choose which categories you receive in your notification settings, except for messages we must send about payments, safety, or changes to your account. Promotional messages are sent only if you opt in.

Connecting Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook is optional. When you connect one, confirmed sessions are added to your calendar, and tutors can use busy times from their calendar to block booking times. Calendar services are run by third parties, and DiscoverTutor is not responsible for errors or delays on their side.

14. SMS Program Terms

DiscoverTutor text notifications are optional. By enabling SMS in your notification settings, you agree to receive automated transactional messages related to your account, bookings, sessions, reminders, receipts, payouts, and review activity for the categories you select.

Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to unsubscribe or HELP for help. For support, contact info@discovertutor.ca.

Wireless carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. SMS consent is not required to use DiscoverTutor services.

15. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. DISCOVERTUTOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

We do not guarantee the quality of tutoring services, the accuracy of user profiles, or uninterrupted access to the platform.

16. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, DISCOVERTUTOR SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE.

Our total liability shall not exceed the amount you paid to DiscoverTutor in the twelve months preceding the claim.

17. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless DiscoverTutor from any claims, damages, or expenses arising from your use of the Service or violation of these Terms.

18. Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account at any time for violation of these Terms or for any other reason at our discretion.

Upon termination, your right to use the Service will immediately cease.

If an account is suspended before a session starts, that session is cancelled. Accounts with repeated missed sessions, late cancellations, or safety reports may be reviewed, paused, or suspended.

19. Changes to Terms

We may modify these Terms at any time. We will notify users of material changes by posting the updated Terms on the platform. Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms.

20. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which DiscoverTutor operates, without regard to conflict of law principles.

21. Dispute Resolution

Any disputes arising from these Terms or use of the Service shall be resolved through binding arbitration, except where prohibited by law.

22. Contact Information

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us through the platform or at the contact information provided on our website.

23. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

24. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any role-specific terms that apply to you (Student, Tutor, or Personal Training), constitute the entire agreement between you and DiscoverTutor regarding use of the Service.