Coaching terms

Who you're dealing with

Coaching is provided by Hido Coach ([legal name and status — sole trader or limited company, plus company number if registered]) of [registered or trading address], contactable at hello@hidocoach.com and 01482 533771.

Your coach is [coach's full name], who holds [qualifications and awarding bodies], is a member of [professional body and membership number, if any] and carries professional indemnity and public liability insurance with [insurer].

These terms apply from the moment you book a paid session. They form the agreement between us, alongside anything we agree in writing at the start of working together.

Coaching isn't therapy — and it isn't a crisis service

Coaching is a conversation that helps you think clearly, decide what you want and take steps towards it. It is not counselling, psychotherapy, psychiatry or medical treatment. I do not diagnose conditions, treat illness, or advise on medication.

If what you need is therapy or medical care, I will say so, and help you work out where to go — your GP, NHS Talking Therapies, or a therapist. It is not a rejection; it is the honest answer, and it is part of the job.

Who coaching is for

You need to be 18 or over. Coaching works best when you come to it voluntarily — if someone else has told you to be there, say so at the intro call and we'll talk about whether it's the right time.

I may decline to begin, or suggest we stop, if I think coaching isn't the right support for what you're carrying. I will always explain why and point you somewhere better.

Sessions

• The first conversation is a free 20-minute intro call, with no obligation on either side.
• A session lasts 50 minutes, one-to-one, in person around Hull or online.
• Online sessions run on [platform — e.g. Zoom, Google Meet]; I'll send a link before we start.
• If you arrive late, we finish at the time we were due to finish, so the next person isn't kept waiting.
• Sessions aren't recorded unless we both agree to it in advance, in writing.

Prices and paying

• A single session is £39, with no plan attached.
• Monthly plans are Bronze £49 (one session a month), Silver £89 (two) and Gold £159 (four). [Confirm these prices and what each plan includes before publishing.]
• If you move onto a monthly plan, your most recent £39 session comes off your first month.
• Monthly plans are paid in advance; single sessions are paid [before the session / at the time of booking].
• Payment is by [bank transfer / card / direct debit — name the provider].
• [VAT position: "Prices include VAT, VAT number …" or "We are not VAT registered, so no VAT is charged."]

Prices can change, but never for a month you have already paid for. I will give you at least [30 days'] notice of any change to a monthly plan, and you are free to stop at that point.

Moving or cancelling a session

Give me 48 hours' notice and we'll simply move it. Life happens — vans break down, shifts change, kids get ill.

• Less than 48 hours' notice, or not turning up, means the session is treated as used. [Confirm: charged in full, or one "life happens" pass a year?]
• Repeated no-shows we'd talk about, kindly, before anything else happens.
• If I have to move a session, you get the choice of another time or your money back for it.

Stopping a plan

Cancel any time, no notice period, no exit conversation. Just tell me by email or message before your next payment date and no further payments are taken. Sessions you have already paid for stay yours and can be used within [3 months].

Your right to change your mind

If you book online, by phone or by message — in other words, without us meeting face to face — you have a legal right under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 to cancel within 14 days of booking and get your money back.

If you want coaching to start inside those 14 days, just ask and we will. You can still cancel within the 14 days; you would pay only for the sessions you have had by then, charged at the single-session rate. To cancel, email hello@hidocoach.com — a sentence is enough. Refunds go back the way you paid, within 14 days.

What's said stays between us

What you tell me is confidential. I will not repeat it to your partner, your employer, your mates or anyone else. Notes are kept securely and are covered by our privacy notice.

There are four situations where I might have to break that, and you should know them up front:

• if I believe you are at serious risk of harming yourself, and you are not able to keep yourself safe;
• if I believe someone else is at risk of serious harm — particularly a child or an adult at risk;
• if the law requires it, such as a court order, or where terrorism or money-laundering legislation applies;
• [if you use professional supervision: "when discussing my work with my supervisor, anonymously, which is a normal part of coaching practice."]

Wherever I can, I will tell you first and involve you in what happens next. Breaking confidence is a last resort, not a first move.

What I ask of you

• Be honest with me, including about anything that affects whether coaching is safe or suitable for you.
• Tell me if you're under the care of a GP, therapist or psychiatrist, so I can work alongside them rather than across them.
• Come to sessions sober and not under the influence of anything that stops you taking part.
• Treat me with the same respect I give you. Abuse or threats end the session and the arrangement.

Results

I will do my job with reasonable care and skill, as the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires. What I cannot do is guarantee an outcome — coaching depends on what you bring to it and on plenty of things neither of us controls. The decisions you make remain yours, and you stay responsible for them.

Nothing here limits my liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else the law says cannot be limited. Otherwise my liability to you is limited to the fees you have paid me in the [12] months before the problem arose, and I am not liable for loss of profit or other indirect losses.

Ending things

You can stop at any time, and you don't owe me an explanation. I may end the arrangement if coaching isn't the right support, if these terms are broken, or if fees go unpaid — and if I do, you get back anything you have paid for sessions not yet had.

If you're unhappy

Tell me first: hello@hidocoach.com. I will acknowledge it within [number] working days and give you a full reply within [number]. If that doesn't settle it, you can take it to [professional body complaints procedure, if a member], and you can get free advice from Citizens Advice.

Odds and ends

If any part of these terms turns out to be unenforceable, the rest still stands. Not enforcing something on one occasion doesn't mean I have given up the right to. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, whose courts have jurisdiction — though if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland you may also use your own courts.