NRTO (Dutch Council for Training and Education)
General Terms and Conditions for Consumers

General Terms and Conditions for Consumers forPrivate Education and Training
These General Terms and Conditions for Consumers of the Dutch Council for Training and
Education (NRTO) came into effect following consultation with the Dutch Consumers’
Association in November 2020 and will enter into force no later than 1 September 2021.

Contents

Article 1 - Definitions ............................................................................................................................... 2
Article 2 - Applicability............................................................................................................................. 3
Article 3 - Offer ........................................................................................................................................ 4
Article 4 - Agreement .............................................................................................................................. 4
Article 5 - Cancellation and (early) termination of the agreement ......................................................... 5
Article 6 - Copyright................................................................................................................................. 9
Article 7 - Price changes .......................................................................................................................... 9
Article 8 - Delivery ................................................................................................................................... 9
Article 9 - Conformity and failure to comply with the agreement ........................................................ 10
Article 10 - Payment .............................................................................................................................. 10
Article 11 - Payment not made in a timely manner .............................................................................. 10
Article 12 - Suspension .......................................................................................................................... 11
Article 13 - Liability on the part of the entrepreneur............................................................................ 11
Article 14 - Confidentiality..................................................................................................................... 11
Article 15 - Questions and complaints .................................................................................................. 11
Article 16 - Dispute settlement rules .................................................................................................... 12
Article 17 - Performance bond .............................................................................................................. 12
Article 18 - Amendment ........................................................................................................................ 13

1

NRTO (Dutch Council for Training and Education)
General Terms and Conditions for Consumers

Article 1 - Definitions
Subscription

Education
Distance educationFace-to-face instruction
APL

Formal education

Informal education
Educational service

Agreement
Distance contract

Entrepreneur
Start-up costs

An arrangement whereby a one-off or periodic payment gives
right to unrestricted use of a study offer for a certain periodof time.
Education, study programme, course and/or training,
distance education as well as face-to-face instruction.
A form of education whereby the teacher and you will not be
simultaneously present in person.
Form of education with direct interaction between theteacher and the student or the course participant.
Acquired competences, obtained during earlier work
experience or courses attended. APLs are determined bymeans of assessments and can result in shortened(expedited) training courses.
Education that is regulated by specific educational legislationand that is concluded with a formal diploma, being a diploma
recognised by law.
Education that is not regulated by specific educational
legislation.
Providing education, study programmes and/or training
and/or the provision of teaching materials and/or offering(modular) examinations and/or an APL course and/or anotherform of assessment.
An agreement as referred to in article 2 subclause 1.
An agreement that is concluded between the entrepreneur
and you in the context of an organised system for the
distance-selling of products, digital content and/or services,whereby up to and including the concluding of the agreement
exclusive use is made of one or more means of distancecommunication.
A natural person or legal entity who/which is a member of
the NRTO and provides an educational service.
The costs a trainer has incurred in advance for the
performance of the study agreement. A trainer always incurs
start-up costs for you. These costs include: administration
costs, IT costs, marketing costs, personnel costs; hiring a
training location; sending and following up on the documents
to be sent or to be submitted by the student, including the
education agreement; if applicable, taking an intake test
and/or conducting an intake interview; planning andcompiling the groups, timetables and recruiting andscheduling the instructors; specific information/information
provision; distribution of information material; administrative

2

NRTO (Dutch Council for Training and Education)
General Terms and Conditions for Consumers

You

processing of registration; creating the student file; creating
and configuring the student account in the online learning
environment; preparations for and implementation of any
introduction; related expenses such as postage, online
licence fees, costs for intake tests, information material, etc.)
Or other costs to the extent that a trainer can demonstratethese.
The natural person who does not act in the exercise of an
occupation or company and who purchases an educational
service from the entrepreneur.

Article 2 - Applicability
1.
These General Terms and Conditions apply to all agreements concluded between
the entrepreneur and you with regard to an educational service concerning formal
education as well as informal education.
2.
If the entrepreneur also uses other (sector-related) general terms and conditions
and these terms and conditions have not come into effect in consultation with
consumer organisations, these terms and conditions will not apply to theagreement.
This will not be the case if provisions are included regarding which nothing has
been arranged in these general terms and conditions. All documents form part of
the agreement, but there may not be any inconsistency. For example, theprovisions of the Education and Examination Regulations (EER), the educationagreement or the registration form. In the event of inconsistency, the provisionthat is most favourable for you will apply. However, the entrepreneur is always
permitted to derogate, including from the general terms and conditions, to youradvantage. If exclusively (modular) examinations, APL courses, or other forms ofassessment are offered, the provisions of articles 3 subclause 3 under b, 5
subclause 1, 8 subclause 1, 8 subclause 2 under b, and 9 subclause 1 will not
apply. If exclusively (modular) examinations are offered, the provisions of article 5
subclause 1 and subclauses 3 up to and including 7 will not apply.
3.
The entrepreneur can also use other general terms and conditions that have comeinto effect in consultation with one or more consumer organisations. In that case,the disputes committee referred to in article 16 will determine which terms andconditions apply to the agreement on the basis of that which parties have agreed toregarding this at the coming into effect the agreement.

3

NRTO (Dutch Council for Training and Education)
General Terms and Conditions for Consumers

Article 3 - Offer
1.
The entrepreneur will issue the offer (preferably) in writing, or as the case may beby electronic means.
2.
The offer will contain a complete and precise description of the educational service
and/or of the teaching materials that form part of the educational service. The offer
will also set out whether the use of these teaching materials is mandatory.
3.
Every offer must contain such information, that it is clear to you what the rights
and obligations are which are attached to the acceptance of the offer. The offer willin any event set out the following details in a clear and comprehensible manner;a. in the event of an agreement related to an educational service;
the manner of performance of the agreement;
when the educational service starts;
the terms and conditions under which the educational service might becancelled;
insofar as applicable: the admission requirements to be permitted toparticipate in the education;
the price, including all additional costs and taxes;
the payment method;
the duration of the agreement,b. or in the event of an agreement related to the purchase of teaching materials:
the price, including all additional costs and taxes;
the payment method, the manner of delivery of the teaching materials
and/or the performance of the agreement;
the delivery period of the teaching materials.
4.
You will be expressly informed of these general terms and conditions prior toentering into the agreement, and these will form an integral part of the general
information provided by the entrepreneur.
5.
The entrepreneur is permitted to attach the condition to issuing an offer and/or theacceptance of an assignment that you provide your personal data and, insofar as
the regulations of authorities necessitate this and/or permit this, that you submit a
copy of a valid passport or a valid identity card.
6.
Without prejudice to the provisions of subclause 1 up to and including 5, the offer
of a distance agreement will furthermore contain the following details:
a. the identity and the address of the entrepreneur, including the address of thebusiness location of the entrepreneur;
b. your right to terminate the agreement within fourteen days in accordance witharticle 5 subclauses 5 and 6;
c. if additional costs will be charged for contact with the entrepreneur by
telephone or via the internet: the amount of the applicable rate;d. the validity period of the offer.

Article 4 - Agreement
1.
The agreement comes into effect by means of your acceptance of the offer. Afterthe coming into effect of the agreement you will receive confirmation of this in
writing or by electronic means.

4NRTO (Dutch Council for Training and Education)
General Terms and Conditions for Consumers

2.

3.

In the event of your providing an assignment by electronic means, theentrepreneur will send a confirmation by electronic means to you; as long as thereceipt of an electronically accepted assignment has not been confirmed by theentrepreneur, you can cancel the assignment.
After a distance agreement has come into effect, the details referred to in article 3
subclause 3 and subclause 6 will be provided to you in writing, or in another datacarrier available to you and permanently accessible for you.

Article 5 - Cancellation and (early) termination of the agreement
1. You can at any time cancel and terminate an agreement concluded for a specificduration. The entrepreneur will provide you with confirmation of this. If there isan agreement concerning face-to-face instruction with a recorded starting date,
the following cancellation provisions and early termination arrangement will apply
after the end of any cooling-off period. In that case, you pay: a reasonable fee forthe work already performed, including the Start-up costs. For the sake of clarity,
below you will find a summary of these costs as a percentage of the agreed price.
These percentages relate to the maximum fee to be paid. If the reasonable fee tobe paid is lower, you will be charged a lower fee. Upon request, the amount of thefee will be substantiated by the entrepreneur.

A course of less than 1
academic year

The course is 1 academic year or morethan 1 academic year

5

NRTO (Dutch Council for Training and Education)
General Terms and Conditions for Consumers

Cancellation until
2 months prior tocommencement

10% of the agreed price

10% of the agreed price for only the firstafter deduction of the study

academic year and after deduction of thematerial not yet received*

study material not yet received*

Cancellation
between 2 months
and 1 month prior
to commencement

20% of the agreed price

20% of the agreed price for only the firstafter deduction of the study

academic year and after deduction of thematerial not yet received*

study material not yet received*

Cancellation

30% of the agreed price

30% of the agreed price for only the first

between 1 monthafter deduction of the study

academic year and after deduction of theand 2 weeks priormaterial not yet received*

study material not yet received*

Cancellation less

50% of the agreed price

40% of the agreed price for only the firstthan 2 weeks priorafter deduction of the study

academic year and after deduction of theto commencement

material not yet received*

study material not yet received*

to commencement

6

NRTO (Dutch Council for Training and Education)
General Terms and Conditions for Consumers

Early termination

In the event of earlytermination, 50% (asstart-up costs) of theagreed price, after
deduction of study
materials not yet
received, plus the costsof the academic year
already expired,regardless of whether
you attended themeeting(s). The total
costs shall never exceed
the agreed price. In
principle, the costs of thecourse you have alreadyfollowed will be
determined as follows:• In the case of a course
for an entire academic
year: the costs inproportion to the numberof months/days during
which the course wasfollowed, including thecurrent month.

In the event of early termination,
40% (as start-up costs) of the agreed
price for the ongoing academic year
only, after deduction of study
materials not yet received, plus thecosts of the course already followed,
irrespective of whether you attended
this/these meeting(s). The total costs
will never exceed the agreed price. In
principle, the costs of the education
you have already attended will be
determined as follows:• In the case of a course for an entire
academic year: the costs inproportion to the number of months
during which the course was followed,
including the current month.

• In the case of a course divided into
blocks: the costs of the completed
blocks/modules plus the costs of themodule(s)/block(s) followed at thetime of early termination.*• In the case of a course
divided into blocks: thecosts of the completed
blocks/modules plus thecosts of themodule(s)/block(s)followed at the time ofearly termination.
* As standard or in individual cases, NRTO members are permitted to derogate from the percentage inthe table above to your advantage. A lower percentage, which is indeed reasonable in the given
circumstances, will only be agreed if you can prove that the application of the aforesaid percentage inyour specific case does not meet the standards of reasonableness and fairness.

2. Cancellation prior to the commencement of the face-to-face instruction, or earlytermination, will take place in writing, or as the case may be by electronic means;
3. If there is only an agreement concerning a (modular) examination or an APL
course, the following cancellation provisions will apply after the expiry of any
cooling-off period:

7

NRTO (Dutch Council for Training and Education)
General Terms and Conditions for Consumers

4.

5.

6.

7.
8.

9.

a) cancellation prior to commencement will take place in writing, or as thecase may be by electronic means;b) in the event of cancellation until six weeks prior to commencement you will
owe the administrative costs with a maximum of € 50. In the event of'computer-based examinations' this period will be two weeks prior tocommencement;c) in the event of later cancellation you will owe the full agreed price. Unlessthe reasonable fee for the work already performed is lower, in which case
you will be charged this lower fee. Upon request, the amount of the fee will
be substantiated by the entrepreneur.
In the event of distance education, cancellation after the agreement has comeinto effect and after the cooling-off period will be possible, but you will still beobliged to pay the agreed price in full. Unless the reasonable fee for the work
already performed is lower, in which case you will be charged this lower fee. Upon
request, the amount of the fee will be substantiated by the entrepreneur.
Subscription courses may be cancelled free of charge after the agreed
subscription period in the case of automatic renewal, with due observance of a
maximum notice period of one month.
You have the right to terminate the agreement without stating reasons forfourteen days after the concluding of a distance agreement with regard to an
educational service. If the entrepreneur has not provided all details required bylaw, including the details referred to in article 3 subclause 6, this period will be
fourteen days after the later provision thereof up to a maximum of twelve months
after the concluding of the agreement.
In the event of a distance agreement that mainly relates to the purchase ofteaching materials, you will have a period of fourteen days during which you canterminate the agreement without stating reasons. This period commences on the
day following the day of receipt of the teaching materials. However, if theteaching materials are delivered periodically, such as in the case of regularsupplements of Syllabuses or book packages supplied per year or semester, thecooling-off period will end after fourteen days, to be calculated from the first day
after receipt of the first teaching materials. If the entrepreneur has not provided
all details required by law, including the details referred to in article 3 subclause
6, these periods will be fourteen days after the later provision thereof up to a
maximum of twelve months after the receipt of the teaching materials.
The entrepreneur will make a form available to you for the termination of theagreement referred to. You will not be obliged to use this form for this purpose.
With due observance of the provisions of subclause 9, you have the right, in theevent of termination in accordance with subclauses 5 and 6, to a repayment
without charge of that which you have already paid. The entrepreneur will makethe repayment as soon as possible and in any event within fourteen days after thetermination.
In the event of termination in accordance with subclauses 5 and 6, you must
return any teaching materials received from the entrepreneur as soon as possible.
The entrepreneur will be entitled to charge the direct costs of the return to you.
The return will take place at your risk. The teaching materials that are offered onan electronic data carrier and of which the seal of the packaging has been broken

8

NRTO (Dutch Council for Training and Education)
General Terms and Conditions for Consumers

cannot be returned, and you must pay the price thereof in full to theentrepreneur.
10. If you invoke the termination option under subclauses 5 and 6, any additional loan
agreement offered as a payment arrangement by the entrepreneur to you will beterminated by operation of law, without you owing any financial penalty.
11. The educational service can only commence during the cooling-off period on yourexpress request. In such cases you will retain the right to terminate theagreement in conformity with subclause 2. If you terminate the agreement in sucha case within the cooling-off period, you will owe a pro rata part of the price of theeducational service to the entrepreneur.
12. If the educational service is for the most part offered by means of an electronic(learning) environment, the right to terminate will end in that case at thecommencement of the educational service, provided that:a. you have expressly agreed in advance that the execution can commence prior
to the end of the termination period and you declare that you waive your rightto terminate, andb. the entrepreneur has confirmed the statement referred to under a to you.

Article 6 - Copyright
The offered course materials are exclusively intended for personal use. All the items
provided by the entrepreneur, such as books, mock examinations, readers andsoftware are protected by copyright vested in the entrepreneur or third parties.
Without the express permission from the entrepreneur, the items referred to in thisarticle may not be reproduced, disclosed and/or otherwise brought to theknowledge of third parties or provided to third parties, during the term of thecourse as well as thereafter, nor is it permitted to disclose the materials in analtered form, or to use these in one's own name without permission in writing fromthe entrepreneur. The copyright/ownership rights to the course are fully vested in
the entrepreneur.

Article 7 - Price changes
1.
If, within three months after the concluding of the agreement but still prior to thecommencement of the educational service, a price change occurs, this will not have
any impact on the agreed price.
2.
You will have the right to terminate the agreement if, after three months from theconcluding of the agreement but prior to the commencement of the educational
service, the price is increased.
3.
Subclauses 1 and 2 do not apply to price changes ensuing from the law.

Article 8 - Delivery
1.
Teaching materials
a. The entrepreneur will deliver the teaching materials to you in a timely manner.
Delivery in a timely manner is also taken to mean providing access to theteaching materials that are offered by electronic means in a timely manner.

9

NRTO (Dutch Council for Training and Education)
General Terms and Conditions for Consumersb.

2.

For the purchase of teaching materials without education, the maximum
delivery period is 30 days, unless agreed otherwise. If this delivery period is
exceeded, you can terminate the agreement without further notice of default.
c. The entrepreneur will immediately replace incorrect or damaged teachingmaterials without any costs for you.
Correction worka. You will be informed of the period within which the assignments or tests sent inwill be corrected.
b. The time of receiving the corrections back must be in a reasonable proportion
to the time of the commencement of the continuation of the education, or as
the case may be of any resits.

Article 9 - Conformity and failure to comply with the agreement
1. The educational service and the teaching materials provided must meet yourreasonable expectations. If you do not fulfil your obligations, the entrepreneur will
be entitled to suspend his obligations. If the entrepreneur does not fulfil his
obligations, you will be permitted to suspend your obligations. In the event ofpartial or improper fulfilment, suspension will only be permitted insofar as thefailure justifies this.
2. The entrepreneur has the right of retention if you fail to pay an obligation which
has become due, unless the failure does not justify this retention.
3. If one of the parties is in default of the performance of the agreement, the otherparty will be entitled to terminate the agreement, unless the shortcoming does
not justify termination due to its minor significance.

Article 10 - Payment
1.
Payment will take place by means of transfer of the amount owed to a bankaccount stated by the entrepreneur at the time of the purchase or delivery, or
payment by means of an electronic form of payment recognised by banks. Payment
in cash is also possible by agreement.
2.
If payment in instalments has been agreed, you must - with due observance of theprovisions of subclause 3 - make the payments in accordance with the instalments
and the percentages, as these have been recorded in the agreement.
3.
The payment for the educational service will take place prior to the time when thecourse starts. The entrepreneur may require that you have paid the full amount nolater than 10 working days prior to the day of the commencement of theeducational service, as referred to in article 3 subclause 3 under a.
4.
For the purchase of teaching materials without education, the payment must takeplace no later than at the time and at the location of the delivery. The entrepreneur
may require that you to make an advance payment in the amount of half thepurchase price.

Article 11 - Payment not made in a timely manner
You will be in default from the expiry of the payment date. After the expiry of thisdate the entrepreneur will send a payment reminder without charge and provide

10NRTO (Dutch Council for Training and Education)
General Terms and Conditions for Consumers

you with the opportunity to still make the payment within 14 days after receipt of
this payment reminder.
a) If you do not fulfil your payment obligation(s) in a timely manner, theentrepreneur will send a reminder to you. You will be given 14 days to makethe payment.
b) If, after the expiry of this period, you have not paid, the entrepreneur will beentitled to charge the statutory interest over the amount still owed as wellas the extrajudicial collection costs.
c) These collection costs will amount to a maximum of: 15% over outstanding
amounts up to € 2,500; 10% over the following € 2,500; and 5% over thefollowing € 5,000 with a minimum of € 40.
d) The entrepreneur may derogate from the aforesaid amounts andpercentages to your advantage.

Article 12 - Suspension
The entrepreneur will suspend the charging of interest and collection costs during
the period in which a complaint or a dispute is being dealt with in conformity withthe provisions of articles 15 and 16.

Article 13 - Liability on the part of the entrepreneur
Insofar as the entrepreneur fails attributably and you suffer damage as a result, theliability on the part of the entrepreneur for damage, which is not the result of
injury, death, or property damage, will be limited to the payment of direct damage.
The liability on the part of the entrepreneur for injury, death, or property damage is
not excluded or limited. The liability applies to persons employed by theentrepreneur, or as the case may be to persons who are engaged by theentrepreneur for the performance of the agreement.

Article 14 - Confidentiality
The information provided by you to the entrepreneur, his personnel and/or persons
who work for him, will be treated with confidentiality. The entrepreneur complies
with the applicable privacy legislation.

Article 15 - Questions and complaints
1. The entrepreneur has the intention to answer the question or complaint as soon
as possible and to your full satisfaction. The entrepreneur can be reached by
telephone and by email for dealing with questions or complaints of an
administrative nature, or regarding the contents of the course. These questions orcomplaints will be answered by the entrepreneur within ten working days, to be
calculated from the date of receipt. Questions or complaints that require a longer
processing time will be answered by the entrepreneur by return of post withacknowledgement of receipt and an indication of when you can expect an answer.
2. The entrepreneur does of course everything possible to prevent errors in yourstudy package and to prevent the dispatch thereof. If something is nevertheless not

11

NRTO (Dutch Council for Training and Education)
General Terms and Conditions for Consumers

in order, you can report this within ten days after receipt of the package. Anycomplaint must be submitted to the entrepreneur in a timely manner and fully andclearly described. Complaints that are not submitted within 2 months will not be
dealt with. If the complaint cannot be resolved in mutual consultation, a dispute will
have arisen that will be eligible for the dispute settlement rules of article 16.

Article 16 - Dispute settlement rules
1. The agreement is governed by the law of the Netherlands, unless on the basis ofmandatory legal provisions the law of another country applies.
2. Disputes between you and the entrepreneur regarding the coming into effect or the
performance of agreements with regard to the services and items delivered or to bedelivered by the entrepreneur, can be submitted by you as well as by theentrepreneur to the Disputes Committee for Private Educational Institutions; further
information can be found at: www.degeschillencommissie.nl.
3. The Disputes Committee will only accept a dispute if you have submitted acomplaint in accordance with the provisions of article 15 to the entrepreneur andthis has not resulted in a solution that is satisfactory for both parties.
4. A dispute must be submitted to the Disputes Committee within twelve months after
submitting the complaint in accordance with the provisions of article 15.
5. A payment will be owed for dealing with a dispute.
6. If you submit a dispute to the Disputes Committee, the entrepreneur will be boundby this choice.
7. If the entrepreneur wants to submit a dispute to the Disputes Committee, theentrepreneur must first request in writing that you state within 5 weeks whether
you agree to this. The entrepreneur must thereby announce that he will consider
himself to be free after the expiry of the aforesaid period to submit the dispute to
the regular court.
8. The Disputes Committee will make a decision with due observance of the provisionsof the regulations applicable to it. The decision of the Disputes Committee will takeplace by means of binding advice.
9. Exclusively in those cases of formal education for which binding legal disputesettlement rules have been provided, such as those for examination of the student,
the provisions of subclauses 2 up to and including 8 of this article will not apply.

Article 17 - Performance bond
1.
The NRTO guarantees compliance by its members with the binding decision of the
Disputes Committee for Private Educational Institutions, unless the member
submits the binding decision within two months after the sending thereof to thecourt for annulment.
2.
The NRTO does not provide any performance bond if before you have met theacceptance requirements (payment of the complaint-filing fee, the receipt of thefilled in and signed questionnaire and any deposit) for the purpose of dealing withthe dispute, one of the following situations occurs:a moratorium is granted to the member, or
the member is declared bankrupt, or

12

NRTO (Dutch Council for Training and Education)
General Terms and Conditions for Consumers

3.

the business activities have actually been terminated.
The determining factor for the latter situation is the date on which the businessdiscontinuation was registered in the Commercial Register, or an earlier date,regarding which the NRTO can make it plausible that the business activities haveactually been terminated.
The guarantee provided by the NRTO is limited to € 5,000 per binding decision. The
NRTO provides this guarantee under the condition that you invoke this guarantee
and that you transfer (assign) the claim on the basis of the binding decision to the
NRTO up to a maximum of the paid amount simultaneously with the honouring ofyour reliance on the performance bond.
For the part exceeding this amount, the NRTO has an obligation to use best
endeavours to ensure that the member complies with the binding advice.

Article 18 - Amendment
The NRTO will only amend these General terms and Conditions in consultation with
the Dutch Consumers’ Association.

13