Terms of Service

1. Agreement

By creating an account on Read My Lips, you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the platform. We may update these Terms as the platform changes; continued use after an update means you accept the new version.

2. Who can use this

You must be able to form a binding contract in your jurisdiction to create an account. You're responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential and for anything that happens under your account.

3. Students and teachers

• Students can browse teachers, request lessons, and leave reviews after a completed lesson.
• Every lesson request is exactly that — a request. A booking is not confirmed until the teacher accepts it; either side can cancel a request or a confirmed lesson before it takes place.
• Teachers can offer to teach a language, but a language only appears as "verified" on their profile after we've checked their proficiency (for example by call or proof of qualification). We can decline to verify a language, or revoke a verification, at our discretion.
• We don't guarantee lesson quality, teacher availability, or that any particular match will go ahead — the platform connects people; the lesson itself is between student and teacher.

4. Credits and payment

Lessons are paid for with credits, which you buy in advance (1 credit = £1) via our payment processor, Stripe. Booking a lesson deducts the lesson's price in credits from your balance; if the lesson is cancelled by either side before it takes place, those credits are returned to your balance in full. Credits are not refundable to your original payment method once purchased, except at our discretion — they don't expire, and stay on your account until you use them.

5. Teacher payouts

Teachers earn 85% of the price of every lesson marked completed, added to their payout balance — we keep the remaining 15% as a platform fee. Teachers can request a payout of some or all of that balance at any time. While the platform is early-stage, payouts are reviewed by an admin and sent manually by bank transfer (or another method you provide) rather than automatically — this means payouts aren't instant, and we may decline or delay one if a lesson connected to it is under review (for example, following a report).

6. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Harass, abuse, or discriminate against another user.
• Misrepresent your identity, qualifications, or the languages you're able to teach.
• Use the platform to solicit or arrange anything unrelated to language tuition.
• Attempt to bypass the booking or verification systems, or interfere with the platform's normal operation.

You can report another user's behaviour through the platform. We review reports and may warn, suspend, or permanently ban an account that breaches these Terms — see Section 8.

7. Content you submit

You're responsible for anything you post — your profile bio, messages, reviews, and booking notes. Don't post anything illegal, defamatory, or infringing on someone else's rights. We can remove content that breaches these Terms.

8. Suspension and termination

We can suspend or ban an account that breaches these Terms, engages in fraud, or puts other users at risk, without prior notice where the situation warrants it. You can stop using the platform, or ask us to delete your account, at any time. A suspension or ban doesn't forfeit a teacher's already-earned payout balance, but we may decline to process a pending payout request while an account is under review.

9. Disclaimers

The platform is provided "as is." We do our best to review teacher applications but can't guarantee the accuracy of any user's claims about themselves, the outcome of any lesson, or that the service will be uninterrupted or error-free.

10. Limitation of liability

To the extent permitted by law, Read My Lips isn't liable for indirect or consequential losses arising from your use of the platform, or for the conduct of other users. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that can't legally be limited (for example, for fraud or death/personal injury caused by our negligence).

11. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be raised through the platform or with an admin.