Terms and Conditions

Welcome to Wine Smarties!

These terms and conditions outline the rules and regulations for the use of Wine Smarties's Website, located at winesmarties.com.

By accessing this website we assume you accept these terms and conditions. Do not continue to use Wine Smarties if you do not agree to take all of the terms and conditions stated on this page.

The following terminology applies to these Terms and Conditions, Privacy Statement and Disclaimer Notice and all Agreements: "Client", "You" and "Your" refers to you, the person log on this website and compliant to the Company’s terms and conditions. "The Company", "Ourselves", "We", "Our" and "Us", refers to our Company. "Party", "Parties", or "Us", refers to both the Client and ourselves. All terms refer to the offer, acceptance and consideration of payment necessary to undertake the process of our assistance to the Client in the most appropriate manner for the express purpose of meeting the Client’s needs in respect of provision of the Company’s stated services, in accordance with and subject to, prevailing law of Netherlands. Any use of the above terminology or other words in the singular, plural, capitalization and/or he/she or they, are taken as interchangeable and therefore as referring to same.

Returns Conditions:

I understand and am electronically signing that I agree to Wine Smarties and WSET enrollment policies.

I attest to being 21 years or older by the beginning of the first class and/or exam date.

Cancellation and Refunds

* The student has the right to a full refund in the following situations:
1-It is more than 2 weeks before the course start date
2-The instructor changes the dates and it no longer works for you.
3-Case-by-case basis

*The student has the right to a partial refund in the following situations:
1-It is less than 2 weeks before the start date and before the course begins and no fees have been paid to the WSET, a partial refund can be given and varies case-by-case.
Alternatively the student can 100% roll their admission to the next course date.

* No refunds are given if the course has started. However, whatever class(es) of the course the student did not attend can be rolled over and attended in the next course offered. For example, if a student began a course and stopped halfway due to extraneous circumstances, that student can finish those classes they missed the next time the course begins to honor their tuition.

*If a student has enrolled in any course and cannot attend their exam, unfortunately that exam fee cannot be refunded as Wine Smarties does not get it refunded to pass it on to the student. In this case, the exam retake fee is $120 for Level 1, $175 for Level 2, and $270 for Level 3. This fee applies to either part or both parts alike (theory or practical retakes).

The goal is to make this fair and equitable. All refunds and cancellations are addressed case by case. Please contact lindsay@winesmarties.com or call 858-247-1103 if there are concerns you need addressing.

Special Consideration Policy

Special consideration is any adjustment given to a student who has temporarily experienced an illness or injury, or other event outside of their control at the time of the exam that significantly affects their ability to take the exam or their ability to show their knowledge and understanding in the assessment. Special consideration is only for things that happen immediately before or during an exam that have a material impact on your, the student’s, ability to take the exam or on your performance. To be eligible for special consideration, you must have completed the whole course and would have been fully prepared if not for the temporary illness, injury or other uncontrollable event. A special consideration may be for an individual (e.g. a student becomes ill the day of the exam) or a group of students (e.g. an exam is interrupted by a natural disaster).

You may be eligible for special consideration if:
• Your performance on the exam is adversely affected by an event outside of your control. This may include temporary illness, temporary injury, bereavement or exam room conditions;
• Reasonable adjustments which were agreed in advance of the exam proved inappropriate or inadequate;
• The application of special consideration would not make a passing result and certificate misleading about the student’s ability to satisfy the qualification’s assessment criteria.

Applying for special consideration
If you have taken an exam, or your exam is immediately approaching, and you feel that you have a temporary injury or illness, or other uncontrollable event that has interfered with your ability to complete your exam, please contact Wine Smarties, 858-247-1103 as soon as possible.Wine Smarties will provide you with a Special Consideration Application Form, which must be completed and returned with supporting documentation within 3 days after the effected exam. The information you submit will be shared with WSET and will be handled under WSET’s Privacy and Data Protection Policy.
If there has been serious disruption during an exam affecting a group of students, Wine Smarties will submit a detailed report of the circumstances and candidates affected to WSET to request a special consideration. Wine Smarties will keep records of all applications for special consideration.

Complaints & Appeals Policy

We expect to deliver consistently effective and efficient levels of service to you. However, there may be occasions where the service does not meet your expectations.

Process to file a complaint

•Please email in writing your complaint to lindsay@winesmarties.com including your phone number. Once Wine Smarties has responded via email to the complaint (within 7 business days), a follow up call will be scheduled to mediate the problem directly. We guarantee that the complaint will be held confidential and that the complaint will not prejudice the student. In the complaint email, please include:
•Name, address and contact information of student complaining
•Full details of the complaint (with any supporting documents)
•Details of any previous attempts made to resolve the problem

Appeals
•If the complainant receives a response and is still not satisified, a full refund and apology will be given. We aim to handle all complaints very seriously and in a timely fashion. Thank you!

Referral to WSET

•If the above steps have all been completed, a full refund given, and the student is still dissatisfied, as the final step they may wish to file a complaint with WSET about the APP. Please direct the final email to the WSET's Quality Assurance Team (QA@wsetglobal.com).

Privacy And Data Protection

In addition to my policies as outlined below,  the following policies exist in relation to WSET courses. When you enroll, your name(s), date of birth, gender, email address, and signature will be shared with the WSET. All data that data passed to WSET will be handled in accordance with WSET's Privacy Policy which can be found here. Wine Smarties is required to keep on record all of this information for 3 years.
Furthermore, if you sit in a class live with Wine Smarties, we reserve the right to photograph, video, use quotes that you say in class to be used for promotional purposes (email added to Wine Smarties newsletter, testimonials, social media, etc). It is implied consent you agree and comply UNLESS you communicate you do not give permission for these promotional purposes, in which we are happy to honor your wishes and exclude your images and quotes from any public promotional efforts. Wine Smarties operates, in compliance with the relevant data protection laws, an ‘opt-out’ policy. This means that we will continue to contact such businesses with news and information of our goods and services until we are informed that this communication is no longer required. If you (whether an individual or a legal entity) wish to be removed from our direct marketing list and do not wish to receive any further information from us (opt-out) you can inform us of this by clicking on the link at the bottom of each email communication you receive from us, or by our Contact Us page. Once this information is received, we will remove you from our direct marketing database.

Finally, your information will never be sold to third parties.

Candidate Name and Name Change Policy

To sit a WSET exam, candidates must present an official photographic ID (e.g., passport, driver’s license, or national ID card) to the Wine Smarties exam invigilator. Please register for their WSET course/exam using the legal name that appears on your official photographic ID. The name shown on the official photographic ID will be the name printed on your certificates and the name registered for the exam. Once a certificate has been issued, a candidate can request a name change on the grounds of marriage, divorce, deed poll and/or gender realignment. To request a name change, you must submit relevant supporting documentation such as official certificates. WSET Exams will consider these on a case-by-case basis.

Transfer Students
Wine Smarties may at our discretion accept candidates who have transferred from another APP due to relocation or challenges with existing examination dates. Please email lindsay@winesmarties.com to discuss whether we might be able to facilitate. 

Conflict of Interest Policy

As an APP, Wine Smarties is required to identify to WSET and assist in managing or monitoring actual, potential and perceived conflicts of interest (‘Conflicts of Interest’) involving both APP staff and students. This policy complements WSET’s conflicts of interest policy and works to safeguard the integrity of WSET qualifications and promote confidence in WSET and Wine Smarties] processes and procedures. This policy applies to all Wine Smarties staff and students and to any individual acting on behalf of Wine Smarties. A Conflict of Interest exists where an individual has interests or loyalties that could adversely influence their judgement, objectivity or loyalty to WSET or Wine Smarties when conducting activities associated with WSET qualifications.
Examples of Conflicts of Interest include:
• The assessment of candidates by an individual who has a personal interest in the result of the assessment for any or all individuals concerned;
• The moderation of assessment of candidates by an individual who has a personal interest in the result of the assessment for any or all individuals concerned;
• The undertaking of a WSET qualification by any individual employed by an APP;
• The invigilation of a WSET assessment by any individual involved in the delivery of training leading to the assessment; • The coaching of candidates by any individual involved in the assessment of candidate scripts; • The employment by an APP of individuals engaged in the delivery of taught programmes or in the role of Internal Assessor in another APP;
• The investigation of a non-compliance incident by someone who is unable to act impartially.

Some of these Conflicts of Interest are manageable and therefore acceptable. For example, if family member of one of Wine Smarties educators or APP staff takes a qualification and exam through Wine Smarties, or when an employee of Wine Smarties, or of the WSET, takes a WSET qualification through Wine Smarties, we can notify WSET in advance and work with them to put in place measures to maintain the integrity of the exam.
Some Conflicts of Interest are not manageable and are not acceptable. For example, no mitigation efforts overcome the conflict created when an individual when a single individual serves as the educator and exam officer of an exam for a family member where an external invigilator is not available.
Any staff member or student of Wine Smarties who becomes aware of a Conflict of Interest must inform Wine Smarties, Lindsay Pomeroy, lindsay@winesmarties.com as soon as possible. Lindsay Pomeroy will inform the WSET of the possible conflict of interest and will work with WSET to put any protective or mitigating measures in place to manage the conflict on a case-by-case basis. If WSET and Wine Smarties determine the conflict is not manageable, Lindsay Pomeroy will inform any impacted APP staff or students.

Reasonable Adjustments Policy

Both WSET and Wine Smarties want to make WSET assessments accessible for all students, so none are at an advantage or disadvantage based on a disability or differing ability. This policy and the reasonable adjustment process allows Wine Smarties to work with you, our student, before an assessment to gather the information we need to submit a request to WSET and work with them to make arrangements that give students access to WSET qualifications. A reasonable adjustment is any accommodation or arrangement that helps to reduce the effect of a known disability or difficulty that substantially disadvantages a student’s assessment. Using a reasonable adjustment does not impact how WSET grades your exam, or your result, but WSET cannot agree to reasonable adjustments where your particular difficulty directly affects performance necessary to complete the assessment outcomes (e.g. inability to smell or taste for a Level 3 Exam). The goal of a reasonable adjustment is to give you equal access to a WSET qualification, not to give unfair advantages over other students who take an assessment without the same adjustment, or to affect the overall reliability of the assessment outcomes that are explained in the course Specification.
Examples of reasonable adjustments may be:
• Changing standard assessment arrangements, for example allowing candidates extra time to complete the assessment activity;
• Adapting assessment materials, such as providing materials in large text format;
• Providing access facilitators during assessment, such as a sign language interpreter or reader; • Re-organising the assessment room, such as removal of visual stimuli for an autistic candidate.
Wine Smarties will gather the information we need from you to submit a Reasonable Adjustment Application form to WSET. WSET must approve and arrange reasonable adjustments before the assessment activity takes place. Before completing enrolment with Wine Smarties we will give all students access to this policy and the chance to identify any special needs that could require a reasonable adjustment. If a student identifies a special need, Wine Smarties will give the student the Reasonable Adjustment Application form as soon as possible and work with the student to gather the necessary information.
For any student seeking a reasonable adjustment, please contact Wine Smarties, Lindsay Pomeroy, lindsay@winesmarties.com with:
• Your full name;
• contact information;
• description of the special need, disability or differing ability that requires an adjustment; and
• supporting documentation.
You must submit this information at least 30 days before the exam date for Levels 1-3 qualifications. The information you submit will be shared with WSET and will be handled under WSET’s Privacy and Data Protection Policy.

Malpractice and Maladministration Policy

Both Wine Smarties and WSET have policies and procedures in place to protect WSET students and safeguard the integrity of WSET qualifications. Wine Smarties ensures compliance with Wine Smarties and WSET’s policies through this Malpractice and Maladministration Policy, which gives a framework for both us and you to identify, report and manage potential malpractice or maladministration. Non-compliance with Wine Smarties or WSET Policies and Procedures can fall into two distinct, but related, categories:
1. Maladministration, where the non-compliance is generally unintentional, or the result of mistakes, carelessness, inexperience or poor processes; and
2. Malpractice where the non-compliance is intentional or the result of a negligent or reckless action without consideration of the consequences of the action.
Context is important and the line between maladministration or malpractice is not always clear: for example, maladministration incidents may become malpractice (e.g. if you fail to implement corrective measures, repeat the same or similar incident, or attempt to misrepresent or hide information during an investigation); or there may be mitigating factors that turn potential malpractice into maladministration. Though malpractice and maladministration are distinct concepts, they can shade into one another. Malpractice and maladministration are always case, context and fact specific. Both APPs and students can commit malpractice and maladministration.
There are many ways that malpractice or maladministration could occur, including new ways we have not seen yet. But some examples of malpractice or maladministration include:
For APPs:
• Failure to adhere to WSET Policies and Procedures;
• Failure to follow WSET requirements for course delivery or exam regulations;
• Failure to follow WSET’s candidate registration and certification procedures;
• Late student registrations;
• Fraudulent claim for certificates/fraudulent use of certificates/reproduction or forgery of certificates; • Withholding critical information from WSET quality assurance;
• Insecure storage of exam materials;
• Revealing or sharing confidential exam materials with candidates ahead of an exam;
• Intentional attempts to manipulate exam results so that they do not reflect the candidate’s actual exam performance;
• Failure to disclose a Conflict of Interest;
• Issue of incorrect exam results/failure to issue results to students in a timely manner;
• Failure to timely respond to WSET;
• Unathorised reading/amendment/copying/distribution of exam papers;
• Failure to report changes in APP ownership/personnel/location/facilities;
• Denying WSET access to information, documentation, workforce, facilities;
• Failure to return exam papers within the specified timeframe or to follow delivery and tracking regulations;
• Infringements of WSET copyright, trademarks, intellectual property rights and brand identity; • Use of unqualified and/or unregistered educators or internal assessors;
• Breach of confidentiality
• Misleading advertising/publicity;
• Any action likely to lead to an adverse effect.

For students:
• Cheating, or facilitating cheating, including the use of unauthorised devices or materials;
• Disruptive behaviour in an exam;
• Plagiarism of any nature by students;
• Impersonation (including forgery of signatures);
• Unauthorised reading/amendment/copying/distribution of exam papers;
• Any action likely to lead to an adverse effect;
• Breach of confidentiality.

In general, we also expect that both Wine Smarties staff and our students should treat others and be treated professionally and respectfully at all times. We will treat inappropriate behaviour including verbal or physical abuse, persistent or unrealistic demands, or threats that cause stress to staff as misconduct and may report student misconduct to WSET as necessary.

Reporting and Investigation of Malpractice or Maladministration
As an APP, we aim to ensure compliance with WSET Policies and Wine Smarties policies and will keep records of potential or actual malpractice or maladministration by you, our students, or our staff. We are required to notify WSET immediately of any non-compliance issues that could be malpractice or maladministration, so that WSET can investigate the non-compliance under their own Malpractice and Maladministration Policy.

Managing Non-compliance:

We ask that you also raise any concerns or non-compliance issues that may be malpractice or maladministration with Wine Smarties as soon as possible by following the process outlined in our Complaints policy.  During WSET’s investigation, they may reach out to Wine Smarties or to you directly to request further information or conduct an interview. Please respond to any requests promptly and honestly.

Diversity, inequality and inclusion

It is important to Wine Smarties that our instructor base reflects the diversity of the communities in which we live and work and the course providers and students we serve. We are striving to create a working environment that is enriched by inclusion and which recognizes, values and encourages diversity. We want everyone to feel welcome at WSET by valuing individuality, and creating a sense of belonging. 

As part of Wine Smarties Code of Conduct, it is important to have a diversity and equality policy in place offering all students open access to WSET qualifications whilst treating them fairly and without bias or prejudice.

• As part of this policy, we require them to allow candidates with special educational needs, disabilities or temporary injuries access to our qualifications.
• We offer a range of online options, making our qualifications accessible to students with disabilities or who live in remote areas.
• We ensure that students who do not consume alcohol for personal reasons (e.g. religious belief or health requirements) are not disadvantaged and are able to take our Level 1 and 2 qualifications.

Wine Smarties’ recognize the role that WSET must play in helping to make our industry a more accessible, inclusive and diverse place in which to work, in particular for individuals from ethnically diverse backgrounds and other underrepresented communities. 

Cookies

We employ the use of cookies. By accessing Wine Smarties, you agreed to use cookies in agreement with the Wine Smarties's Privacy Policy.

Most interactive websites use cookies to let us retrieve the user’s details for each visit. Cookies are used by our website to enable the functionality of certain areas to make it easier for people visiting our website. Some of our affiliate/advertising partners may also use cookies.

License

Unless otherwise stated, Wine Smarties and/or its licensors own the intellectual property rights for all material on Wine Smarties. All intellectual property rights are reserved. You may access this from Wine Smarties for your own personal use subjected to restrictions set in these terms and conditions.

You must not:

• Republish material from Wine Smarties
• Sell, rent or sub-license material from Wine Smarties
• Reproduce, duplicate or copy material from Wine Smarties
• Redistribute content from Wine Smarties

This Agreement shall begin on the date hereof. Our Terms and Conditions were created with the help of the Terms And Conditions Generator and the Privacy Policy Generator.

Parts of this website offer an opportunity for users to post and exchange opinions and information in certain areas of the website. Wine Smarties does not filter, edit, publish or review Comments prior to their presence on the website. Comments do not reflect the views and opinions of Wine Smarties,its agents and/or affiliates. Comments reflect the views and opinions of the person who post their views and opinions. To the extent permitted by applicable laws, Wine Smarties shall not be liable for the Comments or for any liability, damages or expenses caused and/or suffered as a result of any use of and/or posting of and/or appearance of the Comments on this website.

Wine Smarties reserves the right to monitor all Comments and to remove any Comments which can be considered inappropriate, offensive or causes breach of these Terms and Conditions.

You warrant and represent that:

• You are entitled to post the Comments on our website and have all necessary licenses and consents to do so;
• The Comments do not invade any intellectual property right, including without limitation copyright, patent or trademark of any third party;
• The Comments do not contain any defamatory, libelous, offensive, indecent or otherwise unlawful material which is an invasion of privacy
• The Comments will not be used to solicit or promote business or custom or present commercial activities or unlawful activity.

You hereby grant Wine Smarties a non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, edit and authorize others to use, reproduce and edit any of your Comments in any and all forms, formats or media.

Hyperlinking to our Content

The following organizations may link to our Website without prior written approval:

• Government agencies;
• Search engines;
• News organizations;
• Online directory distributors may link to our Website in the same manner as they hyperlink to the Websites of other listed businesses; and
• System wide Accredited Businesses except soliciting non-profit organizations, charity shopping malls, and charity fundraising groups which may not hyperlink to our Web site.

These organizations may link to our home page, to publications or to other Website information so long as the link: (a) is not in any way deceptive; (b) does not falsely imply sponsorship, endorsement or approval of the linking party and its products and/or services; and (c) fits within the context of the linking party’s site.

We may consider and approve other link requests from the following types of organizations:

• commonly-known consumer and/or business information sources;
• dot.com community sites;
• associations or other groups representing charities;
• online directory distributors;
• internet portals;
• accounting, law and consulting firms; and
• educational institutions and trade associations.

We will approve link requests from these organizations if we decide that: (a) the link would not make us look unfavorably to ourselves or to our accredited businesses; (b) the organization does not have any negative records with us; (c) the benefit to us from the visibility of the hyperlink compensates the absence of Wine Smarties; and (d) the link is in the context of general resource information.

These organizations may link to our home page so long as the link: (a) is not in any way deceptive; (b) does not falsely imply sponsorship, endorsement or approval of the linking party and its products or services; and (c) fits within the context of the linking party’s site.

If you are one of the organizations listed in paragraph 2 above and are interested in linking to our website, you must inform us by sending an e-mail to Wine Smarties. Please include your name, your organization name, contact information as well as the URL of your site, a list of any URLs from which you intend to link to our Website, and a list of the URLs on our site to which you would like to link. Wait 2-3 weeks for a response.

Approved organizations may hyperlink to our Website as follows:

• By use of our corporate name; or
• By use of the uniform resource locator being linked to; or
• By use of any other description of our Website being linked to that makes sense within the context and format of content on the linking party’s site.

No use of Wine Smarties's logo or other artwork will be allowed for linking absent a trademark license agreement.

iFrames

Without prior approval and written permission, you may not create frames around our Webpages that alter in any way the visual presentation or appearance of our Website.

Content Liability

We shall not be hold responsible for any content that appears on your Website. You agree to protect and defend us against all claims that is rising on your Website. No link(s) should appear on any Website that may be interpreted as libelous, obscene or criminal, or which infringes, otherwise violates, or advocates the infringement or other violation of, any third party rights.

Your Privacy

Please read Privacy Policy

Reservation of Rights

We reserve the right to request that you remove all links or any particular link to our Website. You approve to immediately remove all links to our Website upon request. We also reserve the right to amen these terms and conditions and it’s linking policy at any time. By continuously linking to our Website, you agree to be bound to and follow these linking terms and conditions.

Removal of links from our website

If you find any link on our Website that is offensive for any reason, you are free to contact and inform us any moment. We will consider requests to remove links but we are not obligated to or so or to respond to you directly.

We do not ensure that the information on this website is correct, we do not warrant its completeness or accuracy; nor do we promise to ensure that the website remains available or that the material on the website is kept up to date.

Disclaimer

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we exclude all representations, warranties and conditions relating to our website and the use of this website. Nothing in this disclaimer will:

• limit or exclude our or your liability for death or personal injury;
• limit or exclude our or your liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
• limit any of our or your liabilities in any way that is not permitted under applicable law; or
• exclude any of our or your liabilities that may not be excluded under applicable law.

The limitations and prohibitions of liability set in this Section and elsewhere in this disclaimer: (a) are subject to the preceding paragraph; and (b) govern all liabilities arising under the disclaimer, including liabilities arising in contract, in tort and for breach of statutory duty.

As long as the website and the information and services on the website are provided free of charge, we will not be liable for any loss or damage of any nature.