Aniche Scholar: Terms and Conditions

About
Aniche Scholar is a private research consulting service offering specialised research coaching and mentorship services for professionals undertaking full-time and part-time Master’s or Doctoral research in Business and Management programmes. This includes those pursuing PhDs, MBAs, and DBAs, and Master’s students (full-time or part-time). Our services are designed to provide structured support while strictly adhering to university ethical guidelines. By engaging with Aniche Scholar and making a payment(s) for our services, clients acknowledge and agree to the following terms and conditions.

Terms and Conditions
1. Introduction
These Terms and Conditions (together with any quotes accepted by the Client) shall constitute a valid agreement between you (the “Client”) and Aniche Scholar (Pty) Ltd, a company registered in South Africa with registration number 2023/216029/07 (hereinafter “Aniche Scholar”, “we”, “us”, “our”) (the “Agreement”) . By receiving the Services, the Client agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions, which may be updated from time to time without notice.Updates will be posted on the website (meaning www.anichescholar.com), and continued use of the Services constitutes acceptance of any changes.

2. Service Description
Definitions:
“Booking” means a confirmed appointment or session scheduled between the Client and Aniche Scholar for the provision of Services, including but not limited to consultations, reviews, or Feedback sessions, whether virtual or otherwise.
“Feedback” means written comments, suggestions, or guidance provided by Aniche Scholar in response to documents, materials, or queries submitted by the Client, and shall not constitute academic supervision or formal assessment.

2.1 Aniche Scholar Services

Aniche Scholar provides the following services (collectively “the Services”):

First-time free consultations: limited to 20 (twenty) minutes and provided at no cost to the Client. A Client shall be entitled to a single First-time consultation. Such consultation shall not create an obligation for either party to proceed with the provision or receipt of the services, and shall not be interpreted as forming a binding agreement between the parties.
Proposal, Dissertation & Thesis Reviews: Comprehensive feedback to improve clarity, coherence, argumentation, and scholarly tone within a 48-hour turnaround (depending on coach availability, document length and complexity).
One-on-One Feedback Virtual Sessions: After a draft review, clients can book an optional 1:1 session to discuss the feedback given, plan the next steps, and address any additional research challenges. These virtual sessions offer calm, expert guidance to help clients prepare your work for submission

2.2 Service Availability
Aniche Scholar operates from Tuesday to Friday, except on South African public holidays. All Bookings are scheduled based on availability. Aniche Scholar reserves the right to limit or adjust availability from time to time, including during office closures or for other operational reasons.

Applications for First-time free consultations are reviewed between Tuesday and Friday, and you can expect a response within three business days, with variations during public holidays. To ensure availability of slots for all potential clients, kindly note that we only allow one rescheduling opportunity for free consultations once an initial booking is missed.

2.3 Feedback Timeframe
Our standard timeframe to provide Feedback is 48 (forty-eight) hours from the scheduled Booking time. This may vary depending on the coach’s availability, the document’s length and complexity. Turnaround times do not include weekends, Mondays or South African public holidays.

2.4 Delays
Aniche Scholar may, at its sole discretion, adjust the Feedback timeframe set out in clause 2.3 due to:
Unforeseen delays (including any force majeure events), which will be notified to the Client promptly;
Delayed payment or proof that the fees have been paid;
Document provided in the incorrect format, password locked, or are corrupt
Receipt of documents at a time later than initially agreed upon.
In all circumstances, Aniche Scholar shall not be held responsible for any such delays to the extent they arise from the Client’s fault. However, we will implement any reasonable measures to reduce the impact of any delays, where feasible and practicable.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, Aniche Scholar shall be entitled to reschedule Bookings, extend the turnaround time, or cancel any Bookings.

2.5 Service Restrictions:
We do not provide ghostwriting, custom paper writing, or content creation.
We do not provide statistical analysis or subject-specific expertise outside Business and Management disciplines.
We do not provide language editing services.
We do not replace the role of a university-appointed supervisor or advisor. While we offer high-quality feedback, any Feedback that we provide shall be provided without any guarantee or assurance of specific outcomes. The Client remains at all times solely responsible for complying with all academic requirements, institutional guidelines, and supervisor instructions.
While we identify minor referencing errors, Clients are responsible for ensuring compliance with their institution’s referencing guidelines.

3. Eligibility
The Services provided by Aniche Scholar are limited to Business and Management research candidates, in specific fields and programmes, including:
Master’s (MCom, MBA, MSc, etc.)
Doctoral (DBA, PhD, etc.)
Full-time and part-time research candidates

We only support Business and Management programmes that are within our scope of expertise. This excludes numerical fields such as Accounting, Economics, Statistics, Data Science, Actuarial Science, and Mathematics.

4. Payment and Refunds

4.1 Payment
All service fees must be paid at least 48 hours before a document review and 24 hours before a virtual consultation, prior to the scheduled booking.
Payments are accepted through the payment options provided to the Client in the Quotation.
Clients will be quoted for Services in USD, due to the diversity of locations we service. Aniche Scholar shall not be liable for any fluctuations in exchange rates.
Aniche Scholar reserves the right to cancel any Bookings for which payment is not received within the timeframe mentioned above. This ensures that Aniche Scholar can manage its schedule effectively and that other clients are not adversely affected by unpaid or unconfirmed Bookings.

4.2 Refunds
All fees paid for the Services are non-refundable for services provided, but may be considered for bookings cancelled no less than 24 (twenty-four) hours before the scheduled booking. Any request for a refund of undelivered services, within these circumstances will be considered at Aniche Scholar’s sole discretion. Requests for refunds must be submitted in writing to helloaniche@gmail.com for review on a case-by-case basis.

4.3 Cancellation Policy
Cancellations made less than 24 (twenty-four) hours before a scheduled Booking will incur a 50% penalty.
Missed Bookings are non-refundable.

5. Expectations and Responsibilities

5.1 Client Responsibilities
Clients must submit documents in the correct format and sent through the correct channel, at least two hours, before their scheduled review.
Clients must ensure that their work is accurate, complies with academic integrity policies, including proper citations and original research.

Clients are responsible for ensuring that all background information provided to the coach is accurate and complete. The coach shall not be held liable for any outcomes arising from missing, incomplete, or incorrect information supplied by the client.

5.2 Confidentiality and Information Security
All Client documents and personal information are handled with strict confidentiality, and are used solely for the purpose of providing services to the Client.
We do not share Client work with third parties, unless required by law or with the Client’s express written consent.
Aniche Scholar uses reputable third-party service providers to host its services, store data, and process payments. While these providers are carefully selected for their reliability and security standards, Aniche Scholar does not accept responsibility for any unauthorised access, loss, or breach of data that occurs as a result of a failure by such third-party providers, except to the extent that Aniche Scholar was directly responsible.

Aniche Scholar will take reasonable steps to inform the Client as soon as it becomes aware of any breach that affects the Client’s personal or confidential information.

5.3 Academic Integrity
Clients are responsible for ensuring that their submissions meet university ethical standards.
We do not condone or support plagiarism, data fabrication, or any form of academic misconduct.

5.4 Intellectual Property

Each party shall retain all right, title, and interest in and to its own pre-existing intellectual property, including any materials, tools, methodologies, or know-how used or developed independently of this Agreement.
Subject to full payment by the Client, Aniche Scholar hereby assigns to the Client all intellectual property rights, title, and interest in any work product, limited solely to Feedback, specifically created by Aniche Scholar for the Client under this Agreement.

Notwithstanding the above, Aniche Scholar retains a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use the work product for internal business purposes, provided that such use does not disclose any confidential or proprietary information of the Client.

6. Disclaimer

ANICHE SCHOLAR PROVIDES GENERAL GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT AND DOES NOT OFFER ACADEMIC ADVICE, SUPERVISION, OR ANY SERVICES THAT MAY BE CONSTRUED AS FULFILLING THE ROLE OF A UNIVERSITY-APPOINTED SUPERVISOR, EXAMINER, OR ADVISOR. ANY INPUT PROVIDED BY ANICHE SCHOLAR IS INTENDED TO COMPLEMENT, NOT REPLACE, ACADEMIC OVERSIGHT. ANICHE SCHOLAR MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR GUARANTEES REGARDING ACADEMIC RESULTS, INSTITUTIONAL APPROVAL, OR SIMILAR OUTCOMES.

7. Indemnification

The Client agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Aniche Scholar, its directors, employees and representatives from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to:
a. the Client’s use of the Services in breach of this Agreement;
b. any false, misleading, or incomplete information provided by the Client; or
c. any claim that the Client’s academic institution has relied on or misconstrued Aniche Scholar's guidance as academic or institutional advice.

This indemnity shall survive termination or expiry of this agreement.

8. Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither party shall be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential losses or damages (including loss of profits, loss of data, or business interruption), whether in contract, delict/tort (including negligence), or otherwise, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
Except for the exclusions set out below, each party’s total liability to the other under or in connection with this agreement shall not exceed the total fees paid by the Client to Aniche Scholar for the Services giving rise to the claim.

Nothing in this agreement limits or excludes a party’s liability for:
a. gross negligence, wilful misconduct, or fraud,
b. any amounts due and payable by the Client, or
c. any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

9. Dispute
In the event of any dispute arising out of or in connection with this Agreement, the parties shall first attempt to resolve the matter through good-faith discussions. If the dispute is not resolved within 14 (fourteen) days of written notice by one party to the other, either party may refer the matter to mediation, to be held in Cape Town and conducted in English, before a mutually agreed mediator. If mediation fails, either party may pursue legal remedies in accordance with the Governing Law clause below.

10. Governing Law
This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa. The parties consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of South Africa in respect of any dispute arising under or in connection with this Agreement.

11. Entire Agreement
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to its subject matter and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous understandings or agreements, whether written or oral.

12. No Partnership or Employment
Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as creating a partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship between the parties.

13. Severability
If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be severed from the Agreement and the remainder shall continue in full force and effect.

14. No Waiver
A failure or delay by either party to exercise any right or remedy under this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of that right or remedy.

15. Contact Us
For questions, concerns, or further clarification, please contact us at helloaniche@gmail.com.
By engaging with Aniche Scholar, clients confirm that they have read, understood, and agreed to these terms and conditions.