Terms and conditions of sale

Please note:

• Special Terms and Conditions may apply to the Contract in the location in which you are normally resident. If so they will be set out in Part 4 and any General Terms and Conditions or Terms and Conditions of Use of Digital Content which conflict with the Special Terms and Conditions will not apply to the extent they are limited by the Special Terms and Conditions.
• Additional Terms and Conditions may apply to certain Products and these are set out in Part 5 and will take precedence over the rest of the Terms.

1.1 The pages of the Online Shop will guide you through the steps you need to take to place an order. The order process allows you to check and amend any errors before submitting your order. 

1.2 By submitting an order you confirm that you are at least 18 years of age. Under 18s who would like to order any Products should ask their parent or guardian to submit an order on their behalf.  

1.3 (a) Once you have submitted your order you will receive an Order Acknowledgement stating that the British Council has received your order and is processing it.

      (b) Once the Payment Processor receives a legitimate payment for the Products into its designated bank account, your Order Confirmation will be emailed to you.

1.4 The Order Confirmation confirms the British Council’s acceptance of your order and the Contract will only be formed, and become legally binding, when the Order Confirmation is provided to you.

2.1 Unless cancelled earlier in accordance with these Terms, the Contract will terminate once all Products in your order have been delivered in full, at which point the obligations set out in the Terms shall cease (except for the restrictions on use of Materials set out in clause 12 or the Terms of Use of Digital Content, or your consent for the British Council to use your image or other recordings of you as set out below, which will continue forever).

3.1 All prices for Products offered through the Online Shop will be displayed on the Online Shop. All prices quoted include applicable taxes and charges incurred by the British Council for use of debit or credit cards unless otherwise stated. You may incur additional charges for the use of debit or credit cards from your provider and such charges are in addition to the advertised price. Prices may change from time to time, but this will not affect any order which has been confirmed by an Order Confirmation.

3.1.1 Please note, the British Council cannot accept payments made from banks sanctioned by the UK or any other relevant jurisdiction.

3.2 Payment can be made by credit or debit card (or any other payment method permitted by the Online Shop such as gift vouchers) as explained in the order process. In all cases the British Council treats payment as confirmation that you are the person authorised to use such credit card or debit card and that you are over the age of 18 years.

3.3 Payments by credit or debit card are processed immediately via the Payment Processor over a secure link. No card details are held by the British Council.

3.4 For the avoidance of doubt, until you have paid for the Product in full, you shall have no right to access the relevant Product (by attending in person or online, or otherwise) and the British Council may prevent you from accessing all or any part of the relevant Product without liability to you.

3.5 In certain jurisdictions the British Council will permit you to order or reserve Products online but allow you to pay for them through another method which may not be the online payment method affiliated to the Shop. If this option is available to you it will be made clear during the order process. In this case the Products that you have ordered or reserved will be held by the British Council for you for a period of five days from the date of the Order Acknowledgement. If we have not received full payment from you by midnight GMT on the 5th day we will no longer have those Products reserved for you. No contract will have been formed between you and the British Council until the British Council has sent you the Order Confirmation. 

3.6 Any discount (by discount code or otherwise) is personal to you and cannot be transferred.  You will only be permitted to use one discount per purchase and any refund made to you will not include the value of the discount.  Discounts will expire three months from the date of issue unless otherwise stated by the British Council.

4.1 The British Council may cancel the Contract by giving you notice in writing (whether by email or otherwise) for any reason at any time prior to the Start Date. If the British Council cancels the Contract pursuant to this clause 4.1 it will refund the price paid by you for the relevant Product.

4.2 The British Council may also cancel the Contract at any time, without liability to you if:

(a) you breach these Terms (but not if it’s a trivial breach); or

(b) the British Council is unable to provide the relevant Product in full due to a reason beyond its reasonable control.

4.3 If the British Council cancels the Contract under clause 4.2(a) the British Council will be entitled to retain (or be paid the balance of, as the case may be) the price paid by you in full. 

4.4 If the British Council cancels the Contract under clause 4.2(b) you will be entitled to choose either: (i) to receive a full refund of the price paid (please note that The British Council cannot make payments to banks sanctioned by the UK or any other relevant jurisdiction. If you request a refund to be sent to an account at a sanctioned bank, you will be asked to nominate an alternative method of payment that does not breach sanctions); or (ii) (subject to availability) to access an alternative equivalent Product.  If you choose option (ii) and the price of the alternative equivalent Product is greater than the price paid for the cancelled Product, you will be required to pay the difference in accordance with those payment terms set out in clause 3 or otherwise agreed with the British Council.  If you choose option (ii) and the price of the alternative equivalent Product is lower than the price paid for the cancelled Product, the British Council will refund the difference. You must notify the British Council in writing (see the Contact Us Page for the relevant contact details), of your preferred option within fourteen (14) calendar days from you being notified by the British Council that the relevant Product has been cancelled. If we do not hear from you in the specified time period we will refund the sum due to you. 

Cancellation within the 14 day cancellation period

Please see the product pages in the Online Shop for further details about whether the Products you have ordered are goods, services, digital content or deemed to be leisure activities (i.e. tickets for conferences or other events) and what cancellation rights apply to particular Products.

Please note, as the British Council incurs expense in making an exam available to you, you will not be permitted to cancel a Contract for an exam less than 24 hours before the Start Date.

5.1 You have a legal right to cancel the Contract for any reason (including if you change your mind) during the Cancellation Period except that this right to cancel will not apply if:

(a) the Product consists of admission (by ticket or otherwise) to a conference, seminar or other cultural event on a specific date or dates;

(b) the Product includes an exam and you try to cancel less than 24 hours prior to the Start Date of the exam;

(c) the Products are goods that been made to your specification or personalised or if you have opened the packaging of goods that are sealed audio, video or computer software; or

(d) the Products are services or digital content and the services are fully performed or you have activated the link to access or download digital content (see clause 5.9 below).

5.2 If your order is for digital content or services, the Cancellation Period will end 14 days after the day on which you receive your Order Confirmation.

5.3 If your order is for goods, the Cancellation Period will end 14 days after the day on which you receive the goods except that:

(a) if you have ordered multiple goods (other than a regular delivery for goods), the Cancellation Period will end 14 days after the day on which you receive the last of the goods; and

(b) if you have ordered a subscription for goods, the Cancellation Period ends 14 days after the day on which you receive the first delivery of the Products.

5.4 To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform the British Council of your decision to cancel the Contract by a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post or an email - see the Contact Us Page for the relevant contact details).  You may use the model cancellation form (see Annex A), but this is not compulsory.

5.5 To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your cancellation statement before the Cancellation Period has ended.

Effect of cancellation

5.6 If you have a right to cancel, and do cancel, the Contract within the 14 day Cancellation Period, the British Council will reimburse to you all payments received from you in respect of the relevant Products subject to the following:

(a) if you cancel an order for goods, you must return the goods to the British Council (see the Contact Us Page for the relevant contact details). The cost of returning the goods must be paid by you (except if the goods are faulty – see clause 5.11). You must send the British Council the goods without undue delay and, in any event, within 14 days of telling the British Council you wish to end the Contract. otherwise the British Council may refuse to reimburse you;

(b) if any goods returned to the British Council have been used or damaged, the British Council may deduct an amount equal to the loss in value of the goods.  In some cases, the amount deducted may be equal to the full price of the goods; and

(c) the British Council will not be required to reimburse any additional sum charged to you for a more expensive method of delivery than the standard delivery method offered by the British Council.

5.7 *The British Council will make the repayment without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after it is informed about your decision to cancel the Contract or, if your order is for goods, 14 days after the day on which it receives the goods from you (or, if earlier, the day on which you provide the British Council with evidence that you have sent the goods back to it).

5.8 *The British Council will make the repayment using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of the repayment.  

*Please note that The British Council cannot make payments to banks sanctioned by the UK or any other relevant jurisdiction. If you request a refund to be sent to an account at a sanctioned bank, you will be asked to nominate an alternative method of payment that does not breach sanctions.

5.9 During the order process, you will be asked to consent to the British Council cancellation policy and acknowledge the following:

(a) in the case of a Product that consists of services, if you access that Product during the cancellation period,  you acknowledge that you are expressly requesting a place on or access to the Product to begin during the cancellation period and if you subsequently cancel the Contract, you will be required to pay the British Council an amount which is proportionate to the services that the British Council has performed in providing the relevant Product up until you have informed the British Council of your wish to cancel the Contract. You have no right to cancel after accessing the Product in full; and

(b) in the case of a Product that is digital content, you will lose your right to cancellation at the point you activate the link to access or start downloading the digital content.

CANCELLATION AFTER THE 14 DAY CANCELLATION PERIOD

5.10 After the Cancellation Period has expired, you have no automatic right to cancel the Contract.  Any cancellation of the Contract after this period will need the British Council’s approval – please contact the British Council (see the Contact Us Page for the relevant contact details) to explain why you would like to cancel the Contract and to see if the British Council will accept the cancellation. 

YOUR RIGHTS IN RESPECT OF FAULTY PRODUCTS

5.11 The British Council is under a legal duty to supply Products that are in conformity with this Contract. As a consumer, you have legal rights in relation to Products that are faulty or not as described - you may have a legal right to end the Contract (or to get the Product repaired or replaced or a service re-performed or to get some or all of your money back). These legal rights are not affected by anything in these Terms. Advice about your legal rights is available from your local Citizens' Advice Bureau or Trading Standards office or local equivalent.

6.1 Details of how you can access your Products will be provided in the Product descriptions as part of the order process and sent to you either as part of the Order Confirmation or separately by email or other electronic notification.

6.2 The Products are supplied for your personal domestic and private use only. You agree not to use the Products for any commercial, business or resale purposes.

6.3 Any key code or other access code is personal to you, cannot be transferred and will expire 6 months from issue unless the product description during the order process states otherwise.

7.1 The British Council will ensure that each Product is delivered in all material respects as described in the Online Shop or otherwise. However, the British Council will be entitled to make variations to the content and delivery of a Product where those variations do not alter the Product materially. The British Council may update, or require you to, update digital content to implement such changes. Please note with regard to certain exams the British Council will not be in a position to confirm the Start Date of those exams to you in advance due to scheduling reasons of third party exam boards. If this is the case this will be made clear to you during the order process and the British Council will communicate the Start Dates of those exams to you as soon as possible. By pressing the “I Accept” button you confirm and acknowledge that the provision of these Start Dates to you is not a material change to the contract between you and the British Council. 

7.2 The British Council expects you to take reasonable care to satisfy yourself that the Products will meet your needs. The British Council does not guarantee that you will obtain any particular result from your use of the Products. 

Transferring to another course 

7.3 In relation to face to face courses only, if you wish to transfer to a different course after you have begun the course ordered because you believe that the level of the course you have begun is not appropriate for you, please contact the British Council and explain this. Where the British Council agrees that the level of the course you have begun is not appropriate for you, the British Council will use its reasonable efforts to transfer you to a different course (subject to availability) at no additional charge.

7.4 If the course you have purchased is delivered online you may be able to transfer the dates you have agreed for the course. Please contact the British Council to discuss this.

8.1 All British Council Entities protect personal information in accordance with UK Data Protection Legislation and any local equivalent law if this is stronger.

8.2 The UK Data Protection Act works in two main ways. It gives individuals rights over how their personal information is used and sets out rules for organisations that handle personal information.

8.3 The British Council Entities:

(a) may use the personal information that you provide:

     (i) to organise and administer the specific Product you have selected including but not limited to facilitating your payment for the relevant Product through the Payment Processor;

     (ii) to send you information regarding activities, courses, seminars and events organised by the British Council Entities electronically or in any other form, provided that you have not opted out of this;

     (iii) to request your opinion of the British Council Entities’ products and services, provided you have not opted out of this; and

     (iv) for research purposes provided you have not opted out of this;

(b) will protect the personal information it is given and make sure that only those who need access to the personal information are able to access it; and

(c) will only share the information with the British Council Entities, with the Payment Processor or with other organisations where such sharing is necessary for a fair and lawful purpose or where the individual’s consent has been obtained.

8.4 You should be aware that the British Council Entities will only hold data (including any data about you or any person under 18 on whose behalf you order any Products) where it is strictly necessary for the purposes in clause 8.3 above.

Accessing your personal information

8.5 Under the UK Data Protection Act any individual has the general right to ask for a copy of the personal information held about them.  This means that you can ask for the information that the UK Charity holds about you; this is known as ‘the right of access’.  When making a request you will need to give us: 

(a) a request in writing, 

(b) proof of your identity and your address; and 

(c) any information that the UK Charity reasonably needs to process the request (for example details of offices or staff of any British Council Entities that you have had contact with and when) or any specific criteria which will help us provide a swift response. 

8.6 The UK Charity will not start looking for your information until it has received all of the above.  In order to submit your request, or for help making a request, please contact the British Council (see the Contact Us Page for the relevant contact details). Although you should submit a request in writing, the British Council will be happy to speak to you about your request.

9.1 The British Council seeks to ensure equal opportunities are provided to all individuals.

9.2 If you have a disability or special need, the British Council will make reasonable adjustments to make sure that you have, as far as is reasonable, the same access to everything that is involved in participating on the relevant Product as a person without a disability or special need.

9.3 Please provide the British Council with details of your disability and special needs as soon as possible (ideally at least 8 weeks before the relevant Start Date).

10.1 The British Council believes that all children have potential and that every child matters – everywhere in the world. The British Council affirms the position that all children have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse as set out in article 19, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

11.1 You must: 

(a) at all times behave with honesty, integrity and show courtesy, consideration and respect to others when accessing the Products (in person or online); 

(b) prepare for the Product as reasonably required by the British Council; 

(c) attend or otherwise access all sessions and other activities which form part of the Product (subject to absence for medical or other agreed reasons) and participate fully in group work when required; and 

(d) respect the confidentiality of all information that you acquire in connection with the Product.

11.2 The British Council reserves the right to refuse admission or deny you access to, any Product (including requiring you to leave any venue where Face to Face Content is delivered) if your behaviour is considered disruptive, likely to cause damage, nuisance, offence or injury, is in breach of venue rules and regulations, the Terms or, if applicable, the Terms of Use of Digital Content or the Privacy Policy, or is otherwise unacceptable. The British Council may on occasion have to conduct security searches to ensure the safety of delegates, and/or the venue where Face to Face Content is delivered, (and you hereby consent to this). The unauthorised use of photographic and recording equipment and any form of online duplication of any Product is prohibited (except for any copying permitted by the Terms and Conditions of Use of Digital Content).

12.1 The copyright and all other intellectual property rights in all Materials shall remain the sole and exclusive property of the British Council and its licensors. You undertake that you will not copy or permit the copying of Materials (except for any copying permitted by the Terms and Conditions of Use of Digital Content) or distribute any of these Materials via internet or intranet, or disclose or permit the disclosure or sell or hire the same to third parties.

12.2 The British Council agrees to grant to you a non-exclusive royalty free licence to use the relevant Materials for the purposes of your study and research in relation to the Product but not for commercial purposes

13.1 Nothing in the Terms shall limit or exclude the British Council’s liability (or the UK Charity’s liability) for death and/or personal injury caused by the negligence of the British Council or the UK Charity or any of their employees, agents or subcontractors, for fraudulent misrepresentation and any other liabilities which cannot as a matter of law be limited and/or excluded.

13.2 Subject to clause 13.1, the British Council and the UK Charity do not accept responsibility and expressly exclude liability for any loss or damage to your property that occurs where the British Council is delivering the Product in person or online. When accessing any Face to Face Content, you should take particular care not to leave any valuables (including mobile devices, tablets or laptops) unattended at any time.

13.3 Subject to clause 13.1, the British Council and the UK Charity shall not under any circumstances whatsoever be liable to you (whether for breach of contract, negligence, breach of statutory duty or otherwise) for any:

(a) losses that were not foreseeable to both you and the British Council and/or the UK Charity when the Contract was formed;

(b) losses that were not caused by any breach on the part of the British Council; or

(c) loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption or loss of business opportunity arising under or in connection with the Contract.

13.4 If defective digital content which the British Council has supplied damages a device or digital content belonging to you and this is caused by the British Council’s failure to use reasonable care and skill the British Council will either repair the damage or pay you compensation for the damage caused. However, the British Council will not be liable for damage which you could have avoided by following the British Council’s advice to apply an update offered to you free of charge or for damage which was caused by you failing to correctly follow installation instructions or to have in place the minimum system requirements advised by the British Council.

13.5 Subject to clauses 13.1, 13.2, 13.3 and 13.4, the British Council's liability in connection with the Contract will be limited to the price paid by you for the Product(s) purchased under that Contract.

14.1 The British Council may transfer the Contract (in whole or in part), or subcontract or delegate the delivery of Product in any manner at its sole discretion to: (i) any separate entity controlled by the British Council or otherwise forms a part of the British Council group of entities; or (ii) any provider of outsourcing or third party services that is engaged under a service contract to provide services to the British Council.

14.2 The Contract is personal to you and so you cannot transfer any or all of your rights or obligations under these Terms to another person without the prior written consent of the British Council.

14.3 The British Council intends to rely upon these Terms as being the entire Contract between you and the British Council in relation to the relevant Product. To avoid any misunderstandings about the content of the Contract, please make sure that you ask for any changes, or additions, to the terms of the Contract be put in writing by a British Council representative.

14.4 If the British Council does not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these Terms, or if the British Council delays in taking steps against you in respect of you breaching this Contract, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent the British Council taking steps against you at a later date.

14.5 Each of the clauses of these Terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining clauses will remain in full force and effect.

14.6 Subject to the Special Terms and Conditions (Part 4) the laws of England apply to the Contract and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with the Contract or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims). For the avoidance of doubt, this Contract is deemed to have been formed in England unless the Special Terms and Conditions state otherwise.

14.7 The British Council hopes to make your experience of dealing with the British Council an excellent one and welcomes your comments, suggestions and details of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. If you have any comments or complaints in relation to the Contract, please refer to the Complaints Page (see the definition of “Complaints Page” for further details) and follow the procedure set out there.

14.8 If a complaint, dispute or claim is not successfully resolved through discussions between you and the British Council, the courts of England will have non-exclusive jurisdiction over any claim arising from, or related to, the Contract. This means that all claims relating to the Contract can be settled by a judge (or a number of judges) in an English court but you or the British Council may, alternatively, bring proceedings in your country of residence or any other relevant country.

14.9 The British Council may contact you or provide a notice referred to in this Contract through the Online Shop or by sending you an email to the nominated email address provided by you during the order process.

15.1 If you have any questions, comments or enquiries about the Contract or a Product, please contact the British Council by using the contact details on the Contact Us Page (see the definition of “Contact Us Page” for further details).

The following terms apply to you if you have purchased any Digital Content.

1.1 As the Digital Content will be provided through a third party web browser (such as Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox), you should also read the terms of use and privacy policy that apply to your use of that web browser.

1.2 The British Council is the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in the Digital Content and in the design, structure, ‘look and feel’ and the arrangement of the Digital Content.

1.3 On payment of the price for the Digital Content, the British Council hereby grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to access and use the DigitalContent in accordance with these Terms and Conditions of Use of Digital Content only.

1.4 You agree not to:

(a) provide access to the Digital Content to any other individual or legal entity;

(b) disrupt, interfere with or restrict the use of the services provided by the British Council;

(c) upload or display any comments or materials through your participation in the Digital Content which are false, offensive, sexually explicit, defamatory, threatening, obscene or unlawful or which infringe intellectual property rights;

(d) probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the Digital Content or attempt to circumvent or hack any user authentication or security controls in respect of the Digital Content;

(e) reverse compile, disassemble, reverse engineer, decompile, copy, duplicate, modify or adapt any software or other code or scripts forming part of the Digital Content (except to the extent permitted by law) or attempt to transmit to or via the Digital Content any information that contains a virus, worm, Trojan horse or other harmful or disruptive component;

(f) change, modify, delete, interfere with or misuse any files or other data created, owned or provided by the British Council or any third party provided as part of the Digital Content (except as expressly permitted under these Terms and Conditions of Use of Digital Content); or

(g) use the Digital Content in contravention of any applicable law.

1.5 We will use reasonable endeavours to make the Digital Content available at the date and time agreed on your Order Confirmation. However, owing to the nature of the internet, the British Council does not and cannot guarantee that your use of the Digital Content will be uninterrupted or error-free. The British Council is not responsible for any delays, delivery failures, or any other loss or damage resulting from the transfer of data over communications networks and facilities, including the internet, and you acknowledge that the Digital Content may be subject to limitations, delays and other problems inherent in the use of such communications facilities.

1.6 You are responsible for ensuring you have in place all hardware, software and telecommunications necessary to use the Digital Content and will be responsible for all related charges, including the fees of internet service providers.

1.7 The British Council encourages freedom of expression, but the views expressed by individuals through the Digital Content may not represent the views of the British Council.

The following Special Terms and Conditions apply to the Contract and form a legally binding part of the Terms

The following Additional Terms and Conditions apply to the Contract and form a legally binding part of the Terms.

The following terms apply as the Product that you are purchasing consists of either:

• the transfer/change/ postponement of an exam
• remarking of a section and/or sections of your IELTS exams or
• the service to send an additional copy of your results via a courier service and the sale and shipment of an IELTS study pack.

1. Payment and pricing.

1.1 Full payment for this service (and for any candidates registered by you) must be received in cleared funds by the British Council or the Payment Processor before the exam or service requested commences. The British Council reserves the right to refuse the service to anyone who has not paid the full amount for the selected service(s)

1.2 If you wish to pay via an invoice:

(a) payments may only be made in Naira (NGN) by online payment card: and

(e) the contract will only be formed between you and the British Council when the British Council sends you the Order Confirmation. See clause 3.5 of the General Terms and Conditions for further information.

1.3 Please note that no tax receipt will be issued for credit card payments – you will receive an email transaction confirmation only.

1.4 The British Council reserves the right to request relevant paperwork, and take other measures, to ensure that the service purchased are appropriate for the relevant candidates. In the instance that incorrect information has been entered by you, the British Council reserves the right to cancel your order or registration (as appropriate) and request that the appropriate information/service is entered/purchased.