Please pay extra attention to Clause 4, our new cancellation policy, as this will affect your financial agreement between yourself and the College. Please note that each booking constitutes a legally binding contract whereby you make a commitment to the College which must be honoured by you.

These are the terms and conditions that apply when you reserve a course at the Arthur Findlay College.

You will be asked to confirm your acceptance of these terms and conditions when you make a reservation.

We reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions at any time and you should therefore check them each time you make a reservation. The terms and conditions applying to your reservation will be those in place at the date that you make your reservation.

COVID-19 (also referred to as Coronavirus):

If you feel unwell and you are found positive to covid, the college will invite you to stay in your room and we will provide food and refreshment.

1 DEPOSITS (*)

a) A non-refundable deposit of £150.00 per person is needed to secure each booking. (This amount may change periodically.)

b) Deposits may be transferred (**) to other courses available at the College or to another individual for a £25.00 administration fee.

c) Deposit transfers (**) can be made only once; any further transfers will not be allowed and the deposit will become non-refundable.

d) All deposit transfers (**) must be completed at least 40 days before the balance is due for the original course. Otherwise, they become non-refundable.

e) Deposit transfers (**) can only be made within a 12-month timeframe from the date of the transfer request.

(*) Please ensure you have adequate travel insurance to cover any losses, should you need to cancel or amend your booking.
(**) for bookings made on or after the 1^st April 2025.

2 COURSE CHARGES

a) Course charges MUST be paid IN FULL at least 40 DAYS before the date each Course begins (or upon booking if within 40 days of commencement of a Course). If full payment has not been received at the expiration of 14 days from the commencement of this 40-day period (i.e., within 40 days of the Course start date), the booking will be deemed cancelled by you. We will therefore cancel your booking without further reference to you. It is your responsibility to ensure that your balance is paid on time, it’s not the College responsibility to chase you.

If you have not paid in accordance with these terms, please check with Reception before commencing your journey in order to verify whether or not accommodation and Course place(s) may still be available for you. It is your obligation to ensure that you comply with this requirement, not the duty of the College to issue reminders.

b) Students may pay directly into the College bank account QUOTING THEIR INITIAL DEPOSIT RECEIPT BOOKING NUMBER OR NAME AND COURSE NUMBER and separately advising us that payment has thus been made by providing proof of transaction. Bank Transfer Payments may incur additional bank charges, which will be payable by you to the College on arrival.

The Bank Account details are:

Bank: National Westminster Bank
Branch: Bishop’s Stortford
Address: 7 North Street, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM23 2LE
Account Name: THE ARTHUR FINDLAY COLLEGE / THE SPIRITUALISTS NATIONAL UNION
Account No: 67699618
Sort Code: 60-02-36
BIC: NWBK GB 2L
IBAN: GB62 NWBK 600236 67699618

Overseas Students – If you require further information, please contact reception.

c) Payments may be made by credit, debit, or charge card (VISA, MASTERCARD OR DEBIT CARD). If paying by credit, debit, or charge card, please quote the card type, card number, expiry date and security code (last 3 digits on back of card). The college does not charge any transaction fees for credit or debit card payments.

Please note, the college does not accept American Express as a payment method. We also do not accept foreign currencies.

d) Where a deposit has been paid by credit, debit or charge card, the balance due will be debited to that same card 40 days before the Course commencement date without further reference to the cardholder, provided the card is still valid.

e) Course charges at the time of printing are incorporated in the printed College Prospectus. These charges (and any promotional offers) are subject to change and at the discretion of the College; bookings are accepted on the understanding that the Tariff will be that ruling at the time of booking.

f) VAT will be charged where appropriate at the current rate.

g) Rooms are allocated at the discretion of the College.

h) If you depart the College a day early or arrive a day late, you will not be entitled to any discount or refund.

3 CANCELLATION (*)

a) In the event of cancellation (other than by the College) of any booking, the following cancellation charges apply:

- In the event of a full course payment made initially, a £150.00 charge will be retained in all cancellation circumstances.
- 31 days or more before the course begins – refund/transfer of the full balance (less £150.00 deposit)
- 30 – 21 days before the course begins – refund/transfer of 75% of your balance paid (less £150.00 deposit)
- 20 – 11 days before the course begins – refund/transfer of 50% of your balance paid (less £150.00 deposit)
- 10 – 0 days before the course begins – no refund/transfer

b) For any refunds, the college will transfer back the amount in British Pounds (GBP). We are not responsible for changes in the currency exchange rate or receiver’s bank fees.

c) The College reserves the right to cancel a course with less than 10 students.

4 BALANCE TRANSFERS (*)

a) Balance transfers can be made within a 12-month timeframe from the date of the transfer request. This will be subject to programme availability.

b) The College reserves the right to refuse or cancel a booking without explanation and to refund any deposit or other payment made. If you have already arrived at the College and have to leave the College for any reason, it will be the Manager’s discretion as to whether you will be reimbursed unused funds. This will depend greatly on the circumstances.

(*) Please ensure you have adequate travel insurance to cover any losses, should you need to cancel or amend your booking.

5 DIETARY ARRANGEMENTS

a) The accommodation charges include the provision of a standard meal in accordance with the scheduled daily menu (for more information on the standard allergies, please see the following link: https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/food-allergy-and-intolerance) . The College does not provide à la carte meals but does promote a good balanced diet. Please check with the College management if advice is required.

b) Normal diets, pescatarians, vegetarians, Vegans, lactose free, gluten free, will all be able to select freely from the buffet choices available. There will always be a meal suitable for your dietary needs for you to choose from the main buffet. We require you to declare your dietary needs to us at booking stage to ensure we have the correct volumes of foodstuff in stock. There is no extra charge for any of the dietary requirements mentioned above.

c) The college will provide meals that promote a balanced diet suitable for all dietary tolerances but will not provide any special variation.

- - Normal – a person that eats anything
  - Pescatarian – a person that eats fish and vegetarian foods – they do also eat eggs and dairy foods. Does not eat meat.
  - Vegetarian – a person that eats vegetarian foods only, including eggs and dairy foods. Does not eat meat or fish.
  - Vegan – a person who does not eat any food derived from an animal and who typically does not use other animal products
  - Gluten and/or Dairy Free – a person that cannot eat food containing gluten, dairy or both (for more information, please see the following link: https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/food-allergy-and-intolerance)

Food allergies and intolerances

Anyone that has an allergy to any food type or ingredient must also declare this before you confirm your booking so that we have the opportunity to discuss this if we feel it is appropriate. The college reserves the right to charge a supplement if necessary, to cover the costs of purchasing special ingredients or extra kitchen staffing costs if appropriate, please check with our reception before to confirm your reservation.

6 SMOKING

Please note that all parts of the College, including the garden, are strictly ‘no smoking or vaping’ areas. Smoking and vaping are only allowed in our designated smoking area.

If a student is found to smoke or vape in the college, or anywhere outside the designated smoking area, they will be fined £100.00 and can be banned from the college indefinitely.

7 DISCLAIMERS

a) The College accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for visitors’ money, clothing, documents, valuables or other items or belongings. Cars parked in the car park are at the owner’s own risk.

b) Subject to errors and omissions, the Tutors and Course Organisers listed are correct at the time of printing. However, these may be subject to change if necessary, without notice, for which the College cannot be held responsible or liable.

c) The opinions expressed by individual Tutors, at the College are not necessarily representative of College policy nor of views held by the College itself.

d) Certificates issued by outside bodies are not recognised by the Arthur Findlay College. If requested, a certificate of attendance signed by the General Manager can be provided at the cost of £15.00. This certificate is an acknowledgement for attendance only, not a credential, proof of learning or knowledge assessment.

8 PRIVATE SITTINGS

a) Please note that if you are dissatisfied with your sitting, you must tell the Medium within 10 minutes into the sitting. The Medium will then escort you to Reception for a refund. Later complaints cannot be accepted.

b) Recording the sitting is your responsibility. The college does have recording equipment that you can use, but we cannot be held responsible for failed recordings.

9 OTHER TERMS, CONDITIONS AND NOTICES

a) Unless otherwise specified, rooms become available from 3pm on the day of arrival. Courses will commence at the time stated in the prospectus. Rooms must be vacated by 9:30 am on the day of departure irrespective of the Course finishing time and the College by 11am or shortly after termination of the Course if later.

b) The Arthur Findlay College operates a zero-tolerance policy in respect of physical or verbal abuse towards students, staff, tutors and the building.

c) No private sittings, circles, seances, demonstrations, groups, workshops, talks, lectures, healing, complementary therapies or similar activities are allowed to take place within the College or its precincts unless under the direct control and supervision of one or more of the Tutors working on the Course.

d) No cameras or other filming or video/audio recording equipment are to be used in the College or its precincts, without prior permission in writing from the General Manager. The content of all audio and visual recordings remains the copyright of the College and may not be used for public or commercial purposes. Any public use, whether or not for gain, will constitute a breach of the Copyright Laws.

e) No person is allowed to promote, advertise, offer or sell goods or services in the College or its precincts.

f) We regret that visitors’ pets cannot be permitted.

g) We regret that caravans and tents used for sleeping purposes cannot be permitted in the College grounds

h) The Duty Manager and or Course Organiser has the right to refuse admission to the College or any part of it, at any time, or to require any person to leave any part of the College or the College grounds, at any time, without having to give a reason why. Students exhibiting unacceptable behaviour will be asked to vacate the college premises by the Duty Manager, General Manager and/or the Course Organiser. Visitors to the College must always report to reception.

i) Allocation of the student to the group is the responsibility of the Course Organiser.

j) Damages to college property including soiled linen and towels will have to be paid for by you and will be debited from your account. The minimum charge will be £30.00. In the event that you do not report any damages or accidents, this will lead to you being banned from attending the college in the future.

k) Theft of College Property is a criminal offence, students suspected of theft will be immediately banned and we may involve the police. We reserve the right to recover the cost of missing items by debiting your credit/debit card.

l) Requesting room moves will incur a fee of £30.00 per person to cover the linen change.

m) No students are allowed in the workrooms after 21:00 unless accompanied by a Tutor or Course Organiser.

n) Whilst at the college, students must keep an appropriate dress code. This means that students are not allowed to walk barefoot. Transparent clothing is not appropriate.

o) Access to the college for friends and family is not allowed unless authorised by the General or Duty Manager. If approved, access for the visitor will be limited to only the area specified.

If a student violates any of the rules above, they will be requested to leave the college and will not be entitled to any refund.

10 CUSTOMER SERVICE GUARANTEE

Providing a high level of customer service satisfaction is the main ethos at The Arthur Findlay College and we endeavour to provide a quality service to all our clients. However, we do recognise that from time-to-time issues can arise which may leave you feeling dissatisfied with the level of service you have received. Under these circumstances, we ask that you put your complaint in writing and send it to the Arthur Findlay College Committee Secretary, Stansted Hall, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex. CM24 8UD. Your complaint will then be dealt with either by the AFC committee or the SNU Arbitration Committee, whichever is appropriate. Rest assured that all complaints will be acknowledged and dealt with at our earliest opportunity. Please be assured that any concerns will be treated with due consideration and confidentiality as swiftly as possible.

11 INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP

For information on how to apply for Individual Membership of the Spiritualists’ National Union, please write to the following address (enclosing a stamped, addressed envelope):

The General Secretary
The Spiritualists’ National Union
Redwoods
Stansted Hall
Stansted, Essex
CM24 8UD

Tel No 0845 4580768

Visits to the Spiritualists’ National Union Offices (at Redwoods as above) may only be made between the hours of 9.30am & 12.30pm and 2.00pm & 4.30pm, Monday to Friday. Access during these times is for general enquiries or to purchase items from the office.

More information is available on the SNU website: https://www.snu.org.uk/

12 DISABLED ACCESS

Due to the historic nature of the building wheelchair/disabled access and other facilities are regrettably limited. If you require disabled access or other disabled facilities, please check with us before making the booking. We accept your reservation enquiry on the basis that you have informed us in writing about any disability you have, as well as other conditions such as allergies, epilepsy, asthma and diabetes, or any reason that could make it unwise for you to stay at the College. Whilst mediumship is a positive experience, working with mediumship takes you into a heightened emotional state which is not conducive to people with certain medical health conditions.

It is essential that you provide full information on these aspects at the time of making your reservation. The College does not provide a carer service. You will be required to complete a PEEP form (Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan) at check in, to facilitate your evacuation in case of an emergency.

13 YOUNG PERSONS

Young Persons under 18 years of age are not permitted on any residential Course.

14 ACCREDITATION

The College does not provide any form of Accreditation in respect of students attending any of its Courses.

15 INSURANCE

a) If you wish to cancel you course you will incur cancellation fees. (see clause 4) These will not be waivered under any circumstances. Please ensure you take out separate insurance to cover any event that you may cancel so you can recover any losses that you will incur.
b) If WE cancel your course, you will be entitled to a full refund, including your deposit. We cannot pay for any travel costs that you may have incurred such as flight tickets or hotel charges. We therefore highly recommend that you take out travel insurance to cover yourself.

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Content last updated January 2025

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