1. The platform and these terms
OpenTutor is managed by the OpenTutor operating team and helps students and parents discover independent tutors, communicate and arrange lessons. These terms cover the website and services expressly made available through it. Tutors are responsible for the teaching services they agree to deliver. The platform remains responsible for its own features, commitments and obligations imposed by law.
Important conditions should be clearly shown and confirmed when an account, booking or payment is made. This page does not replace operator, supplier, contact, price, tax, delivery and refund information required for a particular order. Legally required pre-contract disclosures cannot be satisfied only by burying text in a footer.
2. Accounts, eligibility and minors
Provide accurate information you are entitled to submit and protect your account. Google sign-in does not remove teaching-profile requirements or initial listing review. Existing users should use Link Google sign-in to retain their account records; matching names or email addresses do not automatically merge accounts.
Minors should have a parent or guardian involved in accounts, contracts and payments. Tutors must also be legally eligible to provide the services, enter transactions and use payout services. Stripe may require separate identity, age, business or bank verification. Do not impersonate others or bypass eligibility restrictions.
3. Tutor profiles and credential review
Tutors are responsible for accurate biographies, credentials, prices, availability and teaching format, and must keep them current. Initial public listing requires administrator review of submitted material. Editable profile and scheduling changes may take effect without a new review; this does not mean each edit was reverified. We may request supporting material or restrict misleading or risky listings.
Review is limited to the material received, scope reviewed and time of review. It is not continuous background screening, professional licensing, institutional endorsement or a guarantee of teaching outcomes. Students and parents may ask for further information about fit and lesson arrangements before booking.
4. Bookings and lesson agreements
New bookings within tutor availability are accepted automatically. Pay directly after choosing a time. Payment confirms the lesson. The time is held for 30 minutes. Platform credit is used first. An eligible prepaid package may be selected before checkout. Check the tutor, subject, date, timezone, duration, price and format.
Tutors and students should deliver and attend as agreed and record reasonable changes through the agreed channels. Group-class orders must identify the tutors, lessons, price allocation and how changes of tutor will be handled.
5. Lesson prices
Students pay no additional platform service fee. The lesson price, currency and applicable taxes are clearly shown before payment. The confirmed total is the amount payable for the lesson; undisclosed platform surcharges are not added afterwards.
6. Secure payments with Stripe
Lesson payments are processed through Stripe, a payment platform focused on security. Stripe uses encryption and security measures to protect payment information. Use the official payment flow supplied by the website. Do not send full card numbers, bank passwords or verification codes in messages or email.
Package purchases show the tutor, course, lesson count, duration, total and per-lesson allocation. A purchase does not guarantee a time or renew automatically. Each delivered lesson requires independent verification before release. New packages follow the 12-hour cancellation policy above. Refund to platform credit by default, or choose an original-card refund with the disclosed fee. Unused lessons have the same refund choices. Cancel reserved lessons first. Older packages keep their purchase policy.
For new-policy lessons, students may confirm completion or report a lesson issue within 48 hours after the lesson ends. After 48 hours, lessons with no confirmation or complaint are confirmed automatically when an administrator next runs checks. A complaint blocks automatic confirmation and goes to an administrator. Confirmation does not release earnings. Release still requires manual administrator review. Older orders keep their original policy.
Stripe processes online payments, which are available only when the tutor has completed payout setup and the booking supports checkout. Rely on the order’s explicit payment confirmation; a booking request or message alone is not proof of payment.
7. Cancellation, rescheduling and tutor withdrawal
Cancel at least 12 hours ahead with no lesson penalty. Within 12 hours, 10% goes to the tutor with no platform share. Refund to platform credit by default with no refund fee. Original-card refunds cost 3.5% of the lesson price plus CAD $0.30, rounded to cents. Reschedule with the same tutor at least 12 hours ahead, at most twice. After the lesson starts, contact support. Tutor cancellations receive a full refund with no student fee. Within 48 hours after the lesson ends, confirm completion or report a lesson issue. After 48 hours, lessons with no confirmation or complaint are confirmed automatically by a platform check. Complaints block automatic confirmation and go to an administrator.
The 10% rule applies only to new orders that accept this policy before payment. Earlier paid orders are not charged retroactively.
You can cancel from Booking history before the lesson starts. After it starts, submit cancellation or refund requests through Help or the official email for administrator review. This review process does not limit refunds or other remedies required by law. An accepted booking normally has a 30-minute payment hold. Once checkout opens, use the deadline shown in checkout and Booking history. Expired unpaid reservations release their time; asynchronous or uncertain payment results must be reconciled first.
If a tutor cannot deliver a confirmed lesson, or leaves a single-tutor booking, package or group class and affects future teaching, the student may request the paid lesson fees attributable to the affected, undelivered portion. The amount follows the lesson, duration or price allocation disclosed in the order. A replacement tutor, postponement or alternative lesson requires the student’s or parent’s agreement and must not replace a refund required by law or these terms without consent.
OpenTutor receives refund requests and coordinates with the tutor and payment provider. Arrangements between the platform and tutors do not reduce refunds owed to students under law or these terms. Request a refund through the official email or Help and include your booking or order details.
Conditions for student cancellations, lateness, non-attendance and rescheduling must be clearly shown before confirmation. Penalties or blanket “no refunds” rules cannot be added afterwards without a valid prior basis. A tutor’s later withdrawal does not automatically refund lessons already delivered, but remedies for non-conforming service, fraud or applicable law remain available.
Refunds are handled promptly within applicable legal requirements, with the decision, amount and processing status communicated. Payment processing and bank posting are separate stages and may depend on the bank or provider. Internal settlement disputes must not delay a statutory refund.
8. Acceptable use
Do not submit false credentials, harassment, discrimination, fraud, privacy or intellectual-property violations, bypass safeguards, unlawfully access others’ data, upload malicious files or misuse refunds and payment disputes.
Tutors and students are responsible for reasonable safety arrangements for in-person meetings. Do not record, distribute lessons or publish conversations without appropriate consent from all required parties.
9. Content and intellectual property
You retain rights you lawfully hold in your profile and teaching content and grant the platform a limited licence needed to display, store, format, translate public profiles and provide the service. You must have permission to upload the content. This licence does not turn private credential files into public marketing material. The platform name, interface and original content remain protected by applicable intellectual-property rights.
10. Restrictions and account termination
We may appropriately remove listings, limit features or suspend accounts for misleading information, safety risks, serious breaches or legal requirements. Where reasonably possible and lawful, we explain the reason and provide a way to ask for review. Termination does not erase valid payment, refund, privacy or dispute obligations or turn undelivered lessons into tutor earnings.
11. Responsibility, law and disputes
Learning outcomes depend on many factors. The platform does not guarantee scores, admission or exam results. Interruptions, third-party systems and translations may also contain errors. We remain responsible for our commitments and liability that law does not allow us to exclude, including fraud, intentional misconduct or other non-excludable liability.
For a dispute, contact Help with the relevant order, timing and issue so it can be reviewed. The laws and procedures that lawfully govern the transaction and parties apply. These terms do not require waiver of statutory consumer, privacy or refund rights, complaints to regulators or access to a court with jurisdiction.
12. Changes and contact
We clearly notify material terms or fee changes before they apply and obtain agreement where needed. Confirmed orders’ allocation and refund terms are not silently changed retroactively. Contact the OpenTutor operating team at opentutor.ca@gmail.com or through Help / Contact admin on the website.