Terms and Conditions - VIRTUAL CONSULTATIONS

 The Client: Legal guardian of the infant for whom the consultation has been booked

The Consultant: Suzy Lane – The Baby Expert

1. The BOOKING

The virtual consultation date and time are guaranteed on receipt of full payment and a completed booking form.

Virtual consultation packages are valid for three months from the date of payment.

By booking a consultation package, the Client, confirms that their infant has no known medical condition that prevents his/her infant from following the sleep and/or feed plan.

Any existing medical conditions must be brought to the Consultant’s attention prior to the start of the first consultation.

All communication regarding consultation calls requires the Client to confirm by email only ie call dates and times.

The Consultant makes every effort to be reactive to all Clients’ e-mails, voicemail messages and infant-related texts. The Consultant politely requests the Clients patience in this matter as she is often in an in-home consultation and will, therefore, choose to attend to the Clients email at an appropriate time.

The booking form requires the Client to state preferred dates. Prior to a fully confirmed booking, the Client is aware that availability quoted by The Consultant remains open to all prospective clients. Dates are guaranteed on receipt of full payment.

2. PAYMENT DETAILS

Full payment is required at the time of booking.

Payments are paid by bank transfer using the bank details and reference number specified on the invoice.

All virtual consultation packages have a strict no-refund policy.

On transferring funds, the Client is kindly requested to advise the Consultant by email of the transfer so that The Consultant can reply with:
i.  Confirmation that funds have been received
ii. A choice of an available date and time for the virtual consultation
iii. Login details for access to the relevant Infant History form to be completed and submitted 24 hours prior to the first virtual call.
iv. Login details to the Sleep and Feed diaries to be completed in one session and submitted 24 hours prior to the second virtual call.

3. ARRANGING A PRE-BOOKED CALL

All consultation calls are pre-booked (excluding 15-minute follow-up calls and complimentary calls).

To provide an efficient service, the Consultant responds to all booking-related requests by email only. This includes availability, postponement, consultation package suitability, etc. Due to a high volume of infant-related texts received, administrative requests by text may not receive responses.

4. THE VIRTUAL CONSULTATION

The Client is responsible for calling the Consultant at the agreed date and time (WhatsApp or Facetime). All calls are video calls with the exception of the Members Club ‘Loyals Call’.

The first virtual consultation takes place provided that the Client has completed and submitted the relevant baby-related information forms at least 48 hours prior to the agreed consultation call time. The Consultant requires time to analyze these documents prior to the consultation. Punctual submission of the forms is important for the efficiency of The Baby Expert services.

Call times for virtual consultations are a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 1.5 hours (excluding Newborn Therapy and Sleep Therapy  where call time and duration are unlimited for the full 20 hour period).

Each consultation period that has been started is considered as used in full regardless of whether the client chooses to use all pre-booked minutes. The only exception is if, for any reason, the call connection continually fails. In this case, the meeting will be rescheduled to a mutually agreed time and the remaining minutes will be used within the re-scheduled call.

Late call (Sleep Healing and Prompt Response): If for any reason, the Client places the call later than the agreed time, The Consultant will remain available for the original pre-booked time period.  With a high number of pre-booked calls in any one day, the Consultant will use her discretion as to whether she can extend the call.

No show of a pre-booked call: If the Client has not requested a postponement of the call,  the consultation time will be considered as used in full and the no refund policy applies. The Consultant maintains her availability for the full period booked. She will, at least once, remind the Client by email or text of the pre-booked call.

Despite all knowledge and experience, the Consultant can not guarantee a strictly ‘no cry’ sleep or feeding plan.

The Consultant will not offer medical advice to the Client.

The  Consultant follows the recommendations and advises the Client regarding safe sleep practices as laid out by the Lullaby Trust: https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/

The Consultant’s role is fundamentally and solely to advise and offer support to the Client. It is ultimately the Clients choice as to whether or not they put the advice into practice.

Each consultation is unique to the infant(s) named both on the booking form and on the Infant History form and cannot be transferred to another infant or household.

Before and during the online consultation, many essential checks will have been carried out to ensure the advice offered is suitable. This attention to detail is important to determine that the infant has a behavioural concern and not a medical disorder.

Written advice provided by the Consultant is unique to the Client’s infant. All written information (sleep or feeding history questionnaires, consultation summaries, text support, email responses) supplied by the Consultant are subject to Suzy Lane – The Baby Expert copywrite.

5. FOLLOW UP TEXT SUPPORT

The Consultant uses WhatsApp for texting and calls due to its encrypted privacy feature.
Where a virtual consultation package states that text support is included, the Client will receive responses to WhatsApp text requests between 08:30-20.30 (GMT) every day of the week including weekends.

It is not always possible for the Consultant to respond immediately to a Clients WhatsApp text. However, she will make every effort to respond within 24 hours.

When included in the virtual sleep consultation package, text support starts immediately after the end of the second call of a sleep plan consultation.

Any texts or questions sent before 1 pm on the last date of the text support service will receive a response within 24 hours. Thereafter the text group will be closed and removed from Suzy Lane’s mobile phone.

The What’s App consultation support group is used for the sole purpose of communicating between the Client(s) and the Consultant regarding the infant.  It must not be used for administrative requests.

To avoid confusion between a Client simply giving an update and a question that requires a response, the Consultant respectfully requests that the Client types “QUE:” prior to asking for advice. Failure to do so may result in confusion for which the Consultant cannot be held responsible.

6. POSTPONEMENT and ABSENCE

Prompt Response, Sleep Healing and Bottle Feeding Therapy: A one-off postponement is subject to the Consultant’s discretion and availability and provided the Client clearly advises the Consultant by email and/or text at least 2 hours prior to the call time.

Special offers and Loyal Calls: Postponement is not possible and the call will be treated as a cancellation.

Newborn Therapy and Sleep Therapy: A one-off postponement is subject to the Consultant’s discretion and provided The Client:
– Advises The Consultant by email of their desire to postpone the virtual consultation at least 48 hours prior to start date and time.
– States the revised, mutually agreed consultation dates.
– Pays a postponement fee of £115 received on, or before, the agreed date and time of the original consultation.

The booking will be treated as a cancellation if the above conditions are not met.

Following the first confirmed postponement of any pre-booked consultation, no further postponement can be considered. The consultation will be treated as a cancellation, and the no-refund policy applies.

The Consultant is sympathetic that, excluding teething, an infants’ illness is a valid reason to postpone a consultation. This is a delicate financial situation for both parties. When the booking is confirmed both parties have made a commitment; the Consultant has guaranteed exclusive expertise to the Client for the full 20 consecutive working hours.  The Consultant does not take on any other clients during that period and the Client has paid to retain her services for a specific date. A postponement fee (25% of full cost) subsequently reflects these commitments.

Should the Consultant be taken ill or experience serious unforeseen circumstances and is unable to attend the consultation, the Consultant will postpone without any further cost to the Client and offer the next possible available date in replacement.

7. RESCHEDULED CONSULTATION

If the Client requests to change a confirmed consultation package in favour of a less substantial consultation package, an administration fee of 25% of full cost applies. If the Client requests to change a consultation package for a more substantial one, no additional administrative fees will be charged.

8. CANCELLATION POLICY

Should the Client choose to cancel the consultation the no refund policy will apply.

9. FORCE MAJEURE or ‘out of our control’

No Liability
The Consultant will not be liable for delays due to causes beyond her reasonable control such as, but notwithstanding, internet connection failure.

Best efforts to communicate
In the event of non-attendance, as a result of any cause beyond the Consultant’s reasonable control, the Consultant shall nonetheless exercise her best efforts to communicate with the Client.

10. WEBSITE

The website is owned by Suzy Lane and no other party. You may not republish, re-transmit, redistribute, make use of the material, consultation packages included, or otherwise, make available to any party or make the same available on any website, online service or bulletin board of your own or of any other party or make the same available in hard copy or in any other media without the express prior written consent from the Consultant, Suzy Lane. Copywrite remains on all material taken from this website.

11. PRIVACY and DISCLOSURE

All information and personal details provided by the Client during the consultation period is treated as strictly confidential. The information the Consultant collects from the Client is not shared with others or sold to companies for marketing or any other purposes.

Suzy Lane warrants that to the extent she processes any Personal Data on behalf of the Client, she shall act only on instructions from the Client according to the General Data Protection Regulation.

For initial inquiries (email, telephone, text message), the Consultant will store personal records for a period of 6 months from the date of the first contact.

For initial inquiries that are converted to a confirmed booking, the Consultant will store personal records for a period of 7 years from the date of the first contact.

Following the consultation validity period, the Client can exercise their right to prevent their information from being stored by us by requesting by email that their personal information be removed from our system: contact@suzylanebabyexpert.com

The Consultant, Suzy Lane, may disclose the Client’s personal information if she is required to do so by law.

12. LIMITATION of LIABILITY

If the Client deliberately chooses not to follow safe sleeping recommendations as laid out by The Lullaby Trust, the Client acknowledges the risks involved in ignoring any or all of these recommendations. The Consultant is released from all liability that may occur.

The Client understands that any attempt on the Client’s part to discredit www.suzylanebabyexpert.com and the Consultant, Suzy Lane, on social media and any other media source will be deemed as defamatory.

In no event will the Consultant be liable for any problems, arising from any claim or action, incidental or directly or indirectly relating to advice, injury, medical or other consequences of any kind, to baby, child or adult, relating to any care or help or advice given by verbal, text or other digital communication, or by any other method of communication. It is the responsibility of the person receiving such advice to decide whether to act upon it or not and to do so at their own risk.

Suzy Lane reserves the right to modify these Terms and Conditions, or any part of them, at any time, and the Client is advised to review them frequently. Changes and clarifications will take effect immediately once posted on the website.

The Client is also deemed to have accepted the Terms and Conditions when the Client accepts an invoice and these Terms and Conditions are the entire agreement between the Client and the Consultant.

Once the invoice has been paid in full, the Client is not entitled to a refund.

These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and the client hereto agrees to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts in relation to the resolution of any dispute that may arise out of, or in connection with, any of these Terms and Conditions.