These Terms and Conditions were updated on 6 March 2024 by adding the section entitled ‘Force Majeure’
About these Terms & Conditions:
It is advisable that you read our standard terms and conditions. Please contact the Institute of Photography (IOP®) if you have any queries regarding these terms. Enrolment in an IOP® online course is regarded as acceptance of these terms and conditions.
We reserve the right to make any changes we deem necessary to any of these terms and conditions and our courses, including, but not limited to, course content, assignments, submission guidelines and grades required.
Consumer Rights
1. By logging into the IOP® Course Platform and viewing the content, you acknowledge receiving the Service from us. This invalidates your cancellation rights under current consumer regulations. However, Clause 6 covers our exceptions to this rule. This means that if you view the Course Content, you waive your right to cancel.
2. You can Terminate your Enrolment within 14 days from your first payment or Registration date, whichever is the earliest.
3. You may cancel your instalments at any time within 14 days of the date you made your first payment to us. However, if this is after 14 days, you are still liable for the outstanding balance and must find an alternative form of payment.
4. To cancel your Enrolment, as provided for in clause 2, you must inform us in writing: Email: admin@institute-of-photography.com
5. Subject to clause 7, if you cancel your course, you will receive a full refund of the Course Fees paid for the course. We shall make refunds within 30 days of receipt of your written notification.
6. Subject to clause 7, for the avoidance of doubt; even if you have logged on to the IOP® Course Platform, provided you have not downloaded any material, including any resource files, pdf’s or completed less than one hour of training, or watched any videos as indicated by our records, you will be able to cancel your course should it fall within the 14 days. This is to the maximum extent permitted by law, and we have no liability for providing you with a refund of the Course Fees paid – in whole or in part.
7. The provisions of this clause do not affect your statutory rights.
8. You must cancel in writing via email: admin@institute-of-photography.com. Your course and any instalment plans are not cancelled until you receive an acknowledgement email from IOP and notification of the refund. You are responsible for ensuring your email is delivered successfully and that your course has been cancelled. If you do not hear back from us within 24 hours, check your email sent and get back in touch with us. IOP are not responsible for email technical issues meaning your cancellation email was not sent.
9. You must provide your full name, address and email address to enrol. Your privacy is protected under our Privacy Policy.
Inactivity Clause:
You cannot request a refund on online courses if you have already viewed the course materials. You have unlimited time from purchase to complete the course however, after 12 months of inactivity, your course will be suspended, and you will not be able to access your grades or coursework. There may be a fee to reinstate your course. After two years of complete inactivity, your course enrolments will be deleted. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with admin@institute-of-photography.com with any queries. All our courses are non-transferable.
Course completion:
All of our courses are designed to help improve your photography. They do not have an average completion time because each student is different. We do not guarantee that you can complete this course in a particular timescale nor that a student will pass. You must meet the required grade for all tests and assignments before being awarded a pass.
All students must undertake all modules as set out in the course provision, in the order they are set out. Course content may be restricted to a set percentage on a module or test achieved. We are not obliged to adapt the course provision in any way or deviate from this format.
What is included:
A confirmation email is sent to you on registration, meaning you can start the course immediately after receiving it. Any original content is the copyright of IOP®, and any resource material which is downloaded is done so at the own risk of a course participant. This is an online course, and some materials may only be available online to be viewed on a PC, Mac or laptop. We are not obligated to provide printed materials or copies of any course materials to any course participant or another person. We do not provide any image editing software to complete our courses.
Prices:
IOP® reserves the right to change any of the prices, services or other particulars contained on the website at any time.
Acceptance of Terms and Conditions:
By signing the application form, verbally agreeing on the telephone, ticking the relevant box on the website or enrolling on the course through the website, you agree to accept all these conditions.
Enrolment:
Acceptance of all online courses is at the Course Director’s discretion and dependent on individual course eligibility requirements. Should an applicant be deemed unsuitable or not appropriately qualified, the prospective application will not be completed, and an explanation will be given as to the reasons for non-acceptance. In this instance, any course fees will be refunded. IOP® may remove a student from any of our courses without a refund if there is evidence to suggest that they have undertaken the course as a competitor to gain a competitive advantage in the industry. If a student is offensive or threatening to other site users, students or tutors, they will be removed from the course without a refund or explanation.
Pricing:
Where appropriate, all taxes are included in the prices displayed. IOP® reserves the right to change any of the prices, services or other particulars contained on the website at any time.
Payment:
Once you have paid for the course, you will be sent an email confirmation of your payment and details on how to start your online course. An email is normally sent out automatically at the time of registration, if you have not received this within 24 hours, please contact IOP®.
Certificates:
Certificates are downloadable from the course site. You may purchase a printed certificate for £30, subject to availability. The name on the printed certificate will be the same as the name on your pdf certificate. Please make sure you are happy with your name’s format before buying your printed certificate. If you purchase a printed certificate, we will send it to you within 14 days, although actual delivery time depends on the mail service. We only post certificates to UK postcodes. We may be able to post certificates internationally, but please contact us for postage costs before purchase. We keep proof of postage for every certificate, and therefore IOP® cannot take responsibility for certificates which are lost in the post. If your certificate is lost, you may purchase a replacement certificate for £5. If you are unhappy with your certificate, you may return it to us within seven days, and we will refund the amount paid, less any postage costs.
Liability:
IOP® does not accept liability for any loss or additional expense caused by delay or interruption to travel services, weather conditions, civil disturbance, industrial action, strikes, wars, floods, sickness or force majeure. Such losses or additional expenses are your responsibility. Force majeure represents unusual and unforeseeable circumstances such as war or the threat of war, riots, terrorist activity, civil strife, industrial disputes, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, flood or adverse weather conditions.
IOP does not accept responsibility or liability for death, bodily injury, or illness caused to the student or any other person included in the course in the pursuit of any activities related to any IOP courses including but not limited to photography or photography-related pursuits. Any claims shall be subject to English law regarding any question of liability or quantum, and all proceedings shall be within the sole domain of the English courts.
From time to time, maintenance and upgrading work needs to be carried out on the site servers and course software. We will endeavour to provide due notice of any scheduled downtime but will not take responsibility for any loss or additional expense caused by this.
IOP® provides forums for student discussion. IOP® will not be held responsible for these forums, which are not moderated. Forum guidelines are provided.
From time to time, IOP® may offer advice to students but will not be held liable for any action taken from any advice given. Any advice provided (on equipment purchasing as an example) are guidelines only, and any decision you make is your own.
Any third-party benefits (such as, but not limited to the NUS Extra card) are not provided by IOP® and we do not guarantee eligibility in the future. They may be withdrawn by third-party providers at any time. We do not guarantee their availability to students.
Course merit:
The certificate you receive is a ‘certificate of achievement’. It is not an educational qualification. By purchasing this course, you agree that you understand this and that the Institute of Photography has never alluded to any educational affiliation or made such a claim.
Complaints:
You must communicate any perceived failure in the performance of this contract at the time to us and give us the opportunity to arrive at a satisfactory solution. If you have a complaint, please follow our complaints procedure here.
Copyright:
You may not share or resell our content in any way. The courses we provide and any content therein contains our knowledge and skill, and in order to protect that knowledge, you agree not to create derivative works of, reproduce, republish, perform, modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, reverse engineer, compile, translate, or disassemble the content and/or code comprising our courses in whole or in part. Doing so, or showing intent to do so will result in an immediate ban and may result in legal action.
Student photographs:
We may use our student photographs for promotional purposes from time to time. If you do not wish your photographs to be used in this way, please opt-out by emailing admin@institute-of-photography.com. For the avoidance of any doubt, any copyright to student photographs remains with the student.
Mailing-list:
When you enrol on one of our courses, you agree to be part of our mailing list. If you do not wish to be part of the mailing list, please email admin@institute-of-photography.com or unsubscribe when you receive an email. We often send important course updates via this method and cannot be held responsible if you unsubscribe and miss important information which could help you complete the course.
The originality of images:
Any images you supply for assessment and IOP® competitions must be your work, and you must own the copyright for these images. Please supply images with full shot data and be aware that in supplying them, you are stating that you own the copyright to these images. Any student who supplies images that are not their work will be removed from the course forthwith and their certificate withdrawn. There will be no refund for any student removed from the course under these circumstances.
Discounts and sale prices:
From time to time, IOP® may offer a course at a discounted price. We may withdraw these offers at any time and are under no obligation to provide the discounted course at this price. Any discounts are entirely at our discretion. If you purchase a course and subsequently see it at a lower price, the discount cannot be applied retrospectively. Only discount codes applied at the checkout at the time of booking are valid.
Student responsibility:
We regularly communicate with our students via the course platform and through our email newsletter. It is your responsibility to keep up to date with announcements and course news. IOP® cannot be held responsible for any information you miss by not viewing the email newsletter, the ‘News Forum’ or any communication on the homepage of the course.
It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that your account does not lapse after 365 days of inactivity. IOP® can not inform every student before their course is due to expire for logistical reasons. As a student, you are responsible for ensuring that you log in at least once every 12 months and you accept that IOP® has no responsibility to inform you in advance of an account lapsing.
Voluntary Termination
You may terminate your course enrolment at any time after the 14-day cancellation period and this will be considered a ‘voluntary termination’. If you choose to terminate your course enrolment as a ‘voluntary termination’, you must do this in writing by emailing support@institute-of-photography.com. This will be taken as a cancellation of your Enrolment and you will not be due a refund of fees in this circumstance. We will confirm in writing by email that we have accepted your voluntary termination and you will be immediately removed from the course. Once you have terminated your course enrolment, this will be taken as final and you cannot re-enrol without being accepted by the Course Director. There may be a fee to reinstate your course to cover admin costs or you may be rejected for re-enrolment without refund depending on the circumstances of your voluntary termination.
Recess periods:
IOP® has two recesses per annum. Our summer recess takes place around June or July, and our winter recess takes place over the Christmas and New Year period. Each recess varies in date each year, but communication is sent out to students well in advance. There are restrictions on the forums, assignment marking and tutor chats during the recess, but all other parts of the courses continue as normal.
Marked assignments:
You have three attempts to pass any practical assignments set (not including multiple-choice tests, which can be taken as many times as you wish). After three failed attempts, you will be deemed to have failed the course, and you will not be able to proceed any further and will not receive a certificate.
On rare occasions, we may have to suspend marking for short periods due to high volumes of submissions.
If, for a medical reason, you cannot complete an assignment, IOP® will work with you to set an appropriate assignment for your ability. We may ask you to provide medical proof.
Technical ability:
Our course interface is simple to use and easy to interact with. You must have basic computing skills like cutting and pasting URLs, for example. Your browser must be an up-to-date version. By undertaking this course, you understand that you need basic computer skills. Basic IT support related to the course platform only is available by email at admin@institute-of-photography.com. However, we are not an IT support department and cannot be held responsible for our students’ IT equipment or software (or lack thereof).
Visual impairment or other disabilities:
IOP online courses may not be suitable for anyone with a visual or auditory impairment. There are videos you must watch and listen to, text which you must be able to read on-screen, and text materials that are downloadable. These require a reasonable level of eyesight and/ or hearing. Because of the nature of an online course, we cannot completely mitigate this, although we do try to provide mitigations where possible.
IOP field workshops may not be suitable for those with a physical, visual or auditory impairment.
IOP is fully committed to providing equal study opportunities for all our students and will do everything within our power to offer our learning to every sector of society, although in some cases, we reserve the right to refuse Enrolment if this is not possible. If you have any learning needs that you wish us to take into account, you must email the Course Manager (in confidence) with an outline of your needs and any extra help you may need to address these learning needs in advance of starting the course at jenny@institute-of-photography.com.
IT support and software versions:
IOP® does not offer technical support unless directly related to issues with the course platform. We cannot offer advice on PC/ Mac problems, backups or any other IT matter. We offer advice within the course remit and related to the course platform. If you purchase an image editing course based on a software program like Photoshop Elements, it is your responsibility to ensure you have the right software version for the course you purchase. We cannot offer any advice on the wrong version of the software. Any technical issues with third-party software should be raised with the software manufacturer. If you purchase a course with the wrong version of the software, we cannot offer a refund past the 14-day cooling-off period.
Pay by instalments:
If you choose to pay for one of our courses in instalments, you agree to pay the full contract amount over the agreed timeframe. You have 14 days from the initial booking date to cancel any ‘pay by instalments’ agreement, after which you must pay your instalments as agreed. If you access our content, you waive the right to any refund as per Distance Selling Regulations for Digital Content. If you do not have enough funds at the required time of debit or you cancel the debit agreement, we reserve the right to bill you for the full amount outstanding plus a 10% admin fee.
If you pay for a course with a certificate at the end, this certificate will be withdrawn on any non-payment. Your IOP account will be suspended for non-payment of any instalment plan, which means you cannot access any courses on your IOP account until the outstanding balance is paid, regardless of the payment method.
All payments are split into chunks, with an immediate payment due and clearly indicating how many further payments will be debited. Your second payment will be debited exactly 30 days after your first payment, and so on, until the end of the contract.
By using the IOP® Instalment Plan, you certify that you are the owner of the credit card or Paypal account and that you are authorised to create a payment plan for this account.
IOP® is a responsible lender – we do not conduct credit checks, so please ensure you can pay for your course by the agreed instalment dates before you book.
The IOP® Instalment plan is simply a way to break down the price of the course. All other terms and conditions, including the 12-month inactivity clause, remain the same.
If you miss a payment, your instalment plan could be cancelled, and the full outstanding balance will be due.
The full outstanding balance will be due if you cancel your instalment plan.
Your certificate and Final Assignment feedback will NOT be delivered until you have completed a full ten payments, whether you have completed the course or not.
You can only have one instalment plan running and not concurrent plans. If you have an active plan, you cannot sign up for another one until that active plan is complete (i.e., paid for in full).
IOP never discount instalment plans, and no instalment plan will ever appear in any sale offer.
If you default on an instalment plan payment, we will continue to attempt collection of the payment indefinitely until the amount owed is paid in full. This means that if your instalment is due on, for example, the 2nd day of the month and you default, we will continue to attempt collection and your payment could be debited on any date after that.
3rd party courses:
From time to time, IOP® acts as a third party to sell course provisions. IOP® are simply advertising the course provision, and all terms and conditions and contracts are with the third party, not IOP®. We take no responsibility for liability in any way. All liabilities lie with the course provider.
IOP® Workshops:
General Disclaimer:
By joining a photography workshop with IOP®, you agree to the following terms and conditions:
The Institute of Photography (IOP®), its’ owners and tutors offer guided workshops specifically tailored to photographers.
While we proudly do our best to provide the best possible workshop experience, we cannot be held legally responsible for disruption beyond our control, up to and including The weather and/or available light; natural or human-made disasters; public protests, demonstrations or gatherings; random crime of any type; personal or mental injury; equipment failure of ours or your own; any other situation reasonably beyond our control. We reserve the right to refuse admission or removal from the tour of any participant at our discretion without liability. We may change the tutor or course content at any time at our discretion.
Applications and payments are an acknowledgement of the terms and conditions as outlined on this site.
IOP® reserves the right to alter or delete the material from the Sites at any time and may, at any time and in its sole discretion, revise the terms of this Agreement by updating this posting.
Users are bound by any such revision and should, therefore, periodically visit this page to review the then-current terms of this Agreement.
Waiver of Liability:
IOP® shall take no responsibility or liability for personal or property damage during the duration of the Workshop.
In the event a workshop is cancelled for any reason, the extent of our liability is limited to the return of fees paid to us.
Health and Safety:
IOP® will take all reasonable care to ensure your safety and well-being throughout the tour. However, we cannot be held responsible for any unexpected situations as outlined in the “General Disclaimer” above.
We advise you to take all precautions in relation to your general health and safety. In the case of an emergency, we will assist as much as possible with emergency services.
IOP® will take no responsibility or liability for personal or property damage during the duration of the tour.
Group and Participant Photos
We will take group photos during any workshop and may occasionally post them on our social media channels (for example, but not limited to, Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter).
If you object to these photos being published, please advise us in writing via email at admin@institute-of-photography.com, and we will ensure your photos are not displayed.
Gift Vouchers:
Gift vouchers are non-refundable and non-transferable. All gift vouchers expire one year after purchase.
Course Forums & Groups
These are for positive peer support. We do not allow complaints, grade disputes, misleading information, advertising or the promotion of other related groups or blogs on our branded groups.
Unlimited Tutor Support
We operate a fair usage policy when it comes to unlimited Tutor support. While we try to answer all and any photography questions, this is subject to a fair usage policy. If your Tutor feels that you are over-using the unlimited support for questions outwith the course material, they may ask you to undertake certain assignments before they provide more unrelated Tutor support.
Student Suitability
There may be very rare occasions where we feel a student is not suitable for the course. If this should ever happen, IOP reserves the right to remove the student from the course and will provide a full refund in that case.
The Conclusion of a Contract:
This website and the prices shown constitute an invitation to treat and not an offer capable of acceptance. At all times, our acceptance of an order takes place after the Enrolment of a student on the relevant course has been reviewed and accepted or dispatch of a physical product, at which point the purchase contract will be made. IOP® reserves the right to cancel any order at its discretion and any time before the point of acceptance or dispatch, including for technical reasons.
Force Majeure (added 6 March 2024)
a. Force majeure is in any case (but not exclusively) understood to mean: malfunctions or failures of internet, data, network, electricity and telecommunication infrastructure and facilities, widespread cyber-attacks, cybercrime, network attacks, (D)DoS attacks, power failures, defectiveness of goods or software of which you have prescribed the use to the Supplier, any act of God, lightning or fire, domestic disturbances, government measures, mobilization, war, terrorist attacks, obstruction in transport, strike, lockout, business disruptions, stagnation in supplies, unavailability of one or more staff members (due to illness), epidemics, pandemics, import and export barriers.
b. The party suffering the event of force majeure shall not be deemed to be in breach of these terms and conditions or otherwise liable to the other party for any delay in performance or any non-performance of any obligations (and the time for performance shall be extended accordingly) if and to the extent that the delay or non-performance is due to an event of force majeure. This clause does not extend to the obligation to pay any amounts due and owing.
c. If the event of force majeure continues for a continuous period in excess of one (1) month after the date on which it began, the other party may give notice to the party suffering the event of force majeure terminating this agreement. The notice to terminate must specify the termination date, which must be not less than seven (7) clear days after the date on which the notice to terminate is given. Once a notice to terminate has been validly given, this agreement will terminate on the termination date set out in the notice.
Changes to Terms and Conditions
These Terms and Conditions (i.e. Terms of Use) may be modified occasionally. Any modifications to these Terms of Use will be effective upon posting. You should therefore read these Terms of Use before you place an order. Your continued use of the Site after any modifications to these Terms of Use indicates your acceptance of these modified Terms of Use.
This Site may be accessed from all countries around the world where the local technology permits. As each country has differing laws, by accessing this Site, both IOP and you agree that the laws of the United Kingdom, without regard to the conflict of laws principles thereof, will apply to all matters relating to these Terms of Use.
Contacting us:
You can contact IOP® regarding any of the points in these terms and conditions by emailing admin@institute-of-photography.com
