Terms and Conditions

 

Thank you for Choosing Sofema Online for Your Training Provider!

Sofema Online's (SOL) products and services are provided by Sofema Aviation Services (SAS). These Terms of Use govern your use of SOL's website and services. Please read these Terms carefully, and contact us if you have any questions. By using our services, you agree to be bound by these Terms, including the policies referenced in these Terms.

Who are we?

Sofema Online (SOL) is a service provided by Sofema Aviation Services (SAS) and provides online Training, Consultancy, and Support Services within the Airline Maintenance and Operational Environment. We operate in a very specific market, and we know that effective communication and on-time delivery are important to our customers globally.

With more than 45 years of experience behind SAS, we are well placed to help you develop the most appropriate outcomes for you. With an expanding client base and supported by experienced and competent consultants and trainers possessing extensive industry knowledge and experience.

Our focus is to offer such support in exactly the most appropriate way, giving you the best return on investment. We work closely with our clients to Provide Advice, Guidance, Consulting, and Hi-Level Documentation and Procedures.

Please review A to Z Sofema Online - Full Training Portfolio to see how SAS can assist you or your business. Our goal is to support you efficiently and effectively, through our professional range of services.

These Terms and Conditions regulate the relationships between SAS and the USER (client), who use www.sofemaonline.com for purchasing training courses. By selecting an object, picture, link (different from those of the Terms and Conditions), or button, which are located on www.SofemaOnline.com, it is considered that you are familiar and agree to the Terms and Conditions described below. The current Terms and Conditions are consistent with the requirements of the Law on Consumer Protection as well as the other regulations acting in the Republic of Bulgaria.

Who May Use our Services?

Our training courses are available to everyone wishing to expand their knowledge and understanding of different topics in the field of aviation. Our training courses are fully compliant with the EASA, FAA, GCAA, and OTAR regulations.

When you create your SOL account, and subsequently when you use certain features, you must provide us with accurate and complete information, which you agree to update when changes arise.

Subject to these Terms and our policies we grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, and revocable license to use our services. You will have access to our materials only for your personal, non-commercial use unless you obtain SAS' written permission to otherwise use the content. You also agree that you will create, access, and/or use only one user account, unless expressly permitted by SAS, and you will not share with any third party access to or access information for your account. Using our services does not give you ownership of any intellectual property rights in our services or the content you access.

Definitions

“SAS” is a tradesman, who markets its goods and services through sassofia.com. SAS is the company, with whom the User concludes a contract for the sale of training courses from distance on the website.
"SOL" is a service provided by Sofema Aviation Services.
“USER” is the legally capable person, who agreed with the Terms and Conditions in connection with the request and purchase of the offered products by the website.
“Website” is the Internet web page sassofia.com, which serves as a virtual platform for supplying goods and services, marketing and reaching an agreement between the SAS and the USER for the sale and purchase of a certain item or service.
“SAS” is the company Sofema Aviation Services EOOD, based in Sofia, postcode 1497, Banat Str. No 3, which creates and maintains the website and defines the current Terms and Conditions, under which are the trainings sold. Sofema Aviation Services EOOD has the full right to unilaterally change the content of the web site as well as the ways to access it.
“ORDER” is the request made by the USER for the purchase of one or more trainings through the website. The order may have the status “APPROVED” when it is finally confirmed by e-mail or telephone by the USER. The order may have the status “UNAPPROVED” if it is received by SAS by e-mail but is not finally confirmed.
“CONTRACT FOR SALE” is the concluded contract between SAS and USER form distance through email between SAS administrator and USER for the sale and purchase of trainings.

Accessing the website

The USER is responsible for making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to the Website. We reserve the right to withdraw or amend the Website, and any service or material that we provide on the Website, in our sole discretion and without notice to you. We will not be liable if, for any reason, all or any part of the Website is unavailable at any time or for any period. For support please contact team@sassofia.com

Registration

Users are required to provide part or all of the following information below, depending on the features or services they wish to access:
First and last name
Email address
Company name, address, and country
VAT (If applicable). VAT may apply for EU registered companies or individuals. If you are  EU VAT registered, please make sure you include your company VAT number during the registration process to avoid additional charges. 
Work phone
SAS reserves the right to reject any registration request at its sole discretion.
Once the Website receives your registration application, it will create an Account for you on our Website and will e-mail you a link to activate your account. Once you access the link, you will complete activation and you will be able to access the Website content.
Each Account is personal and non-transferable. Your rights and obligations to SAS are also non-transferable. You are fully responsible for all activities that occur under this Account and any other actions taken in connection with this Account. You must immediately notify SAS at team@sassofia.com regarding any unauthorized uses of your Account or any other breaches of security. SAS will not be liable for any acts or omissions by you, including any damages of any kind incurred as a result of such acts or omissions.

Scope of Work

SAS will deliver courses through its online training platform SOL.

1) Delivery Prerequisites: SAS requires the following information to proceed with enrolments:

a) Details of the required course

b) Full Name of the Participant as required for the Certificate

c) Unique Email Address for use with the Online Platform Registration and Course Participation

2) Access: SAS will provide access to the courses on the online platform and enable the delivery of the courses according to the following requirement:

a) Courses are already available

b) The full amount is pre-paid in advance

3) Duration: SAS will provide access to the courses to all nominated participants.

a) effective from March 1st, 2022 courses will be available to the delegate for 9 months (12 months for packages,15 months for Diploma Programs), to complete the training, sit the exam and print the certificate

*In the case the delegate does not complete the training during the initially provided access period SOL will provide the training again with a 50% discount from the regular price.

*Once the exam is successfully passed the training material will no longer be available to the delegate.

*Once the the access period of the course expires it will no longer be available to the delegate.

b) Each delegate will have 3 attempts on the exam

c) In the case of failure SOL will provide the training again with a 50% discount from the regular price.

d) After a course starts, participants will be able to access it anytime from anywhere.

e) The course will expire when the candidate completes the training and prints the certificate.

4) SOL team will provide support for the participants from 08.00 to 17.00 EST Monday-Friday

5) All participants will be able to print their own certificate on course completion and exam passing. Certificates are electronically generated with the ability to be printed out directly or to be saved on the computer for later printing. The certificates are signed electronically.

Terms and Conditions for Online Payments

These Terms and Conditions regulate the relationships between SAS and the USER (client), who use sassofia.com for purchasing training courses. By selecting an object, picture, link (different from those of the Terms and Conditions), or button, which are located in sassofia.com it is considered that you are familiar and agree to the Terms and Conditions described below. The current Terms and Conditions are consistent with the requirements of the Law on Consumer Protection as well as the other regulations acting in the Republic of Bulgaria.

Conditions for Using the E-store

The browsing of SAS' website www.sofemaonline.com is completely free and accessible from any point of the world.
To be able to buy from www.sofemaonline.com a registration is required with an e-mail, name, and address of the USER.
Registration is completely free and is done by fulfilling the registration form. The registration needs to be done for each of the trainings which will be purchased by the USER.
The USER must state e-mail, personal name or company name, and an address.
SAS has the right to gather, process and use the personal data of its USER’s in view of the needs of the website, at the same time the company has the obligation to protect the personal data and to not use it for other purposes or to show it to third parties except the SAS.
On the website of every item, there is a price, main characteristics, and additional information aimed to help the USER make an informed choice for purchasing a certain product.
All of the prices are in Euro (EUR) without VAT.
On the page to the left, there is a button “Register”. By pressing this button you start the process of purchase of training. VAT may apply for EU registered companies or individuals. If you are an EU based company or individual please make sure you include your company VAT number during the registration process to avoid additional charges. 

Ordering the Training

To be able to make an order to the website the USER must state:

a) Valid e-mail address
b) Correctly completed billing address
c) Correctly completed Personal name or Company name with tax details
d) If an order has been made, the USER gets confirmation to his stated e-mail address
e) In case the requested item is not available the consultant informs the USER. If the USER does not agree with the order to refer to another training (analogous model), it can be annulled.
f) Orders in the sofemaonline.com e-store are accepted 24/7.
g) The USER can reject an already made offer without needing to state reasons for the rejection.
h) The rejection can be made by a phone call or e-mail to the stated e-mail: team@sassofia.com. For the rejection to be valid the USER must state again the names used for registration, his email, the cost of the order, and the number of that same order.

Changes

Changes of the participant may be made up to 1 month after purchase if the course has not been started.

Changes of a training with another may be made only for an equivalent or less the price of the initially paid course, with a penalty for the difference in the price, and only in cases, if the course has not been started.

Certificates

There is an exam at the end of each of the training presentations, after you successfully pass the exam you will be able to download and print out your certificate. The certificates will be issued by Sofema Aviation Services. Our Certificates also include the logo of our sister company AETS-Sofema an EASA Part 147 Consulting Regulatory Training Organisation.

SofemaOnline.com is recognized by Competent Authorities as an organisation that provides online Regulatory and Vocational Training.

Any errors which are found in the certificates must be reported within 30 days of issue, such certificates will be replaced without charge regardless of the reason for the error.

*Once the the access period of the course expires the certificate will no longer be available in the account.

Additional replacement of certificates and subsequent re-issues of previous certificates will be charged at a 25 EUR nominal fee to cover administration costs.

Hard Copies of Certificates are available on course completion individually at either 25 EUR each to cover administration plus airmail charges, or in batches at 15 EUR each plus “batch” Air Mail or courier at cost.

We keep all certificates in our archive for a period of 7 years. The certificate will be available in your profile for 9 months, after that, it can be requested from us for free for another 24 months. After the second year (24 months) an additional charge of 25 EUR is applicable to cover administration support.

Anti-Fraud Policy

Sofema Online (SOL) is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity in aviation safety training. We strictly prohibit any form of certificate cheating or forgery. Any attempt to copy, modify, or otherwise forge SOL certificates is illegal and will result in immediate reporting to authorities, potential legal action, and revocation of the fraudulent certificate. SOL employs robust verification measures to protect against fraud, ensuring the credibility and reliability of our certifications for the safety of the aviation industry. For certificate verification or reporting suspicious activities, contact team@sassofia.com.

Provided Materials

At Sofema Online we have listened to our clients and one of the consistent requests is to have a soft copy of the material available for Study Purposes. We are very pleased to be supporting our aviation industry  clients (excluding training organisations) by providing our material and look forward to furthering opportunities to provide ongoing support for Regulatory & Vocational Training.

If you have a minimum of 3 delegates enrolled in a single SOL online course, your nominated Course Leader / Administrator will be able to request a free copy of the training material. Please email team@sassofia.com with your request for soft copy material. (For Packages, Diploma & Freedom Pass please see the following purchase option)

o  For Training Equivalent to 1/2 day Training - 30 EUR
o  For Training Equivalent to 1 day Training - 30 EUR
o  For Training Equivalent to 2 days Training - 60 EUR
o  For Training Equivalent to 3 days Training- 90 EUR 

Effective 1st January 2023 Corporate Clients, Individual Students, and smaller groups may also have soft copy offline access (following enrollment) with the following cost: 30 Euro / Day or Part Day of Training Material.

If after consideration of the above you wish to purchase the course material, please contact team@sassofia.com.

Concerning the Provision of  Sofema Online Soft Copy Material in Support of Delivered Training

The creation of Sofema Training Material Takes many 100,s of hours and the invested cost of this process requires the fair use of clients.

It is the policy and practice of Sofema Online and Sofema Aviation Services to provide soft Copy Material to support Students who have enrolled in Sofema Classroom, Webinar and Online Training.

However please note It is not provided as a source material to clients for their own independent use or for training institutions to develop their own material.

Note - it is possible to purchase Sofema Training Material for non-commercial and Private use within a single organisation - Operator, Maintainer, CAMO etc, please email team@sassofia.com to discuss further

*No Commercial use can be made of Sofema Training Material by training organisations without the express permission of Sofema Aviation Services.

It is for this reason that where there is perceived a potential for misuse the material may be withheld pending clarification and assurance.

Should any violations be uncovered related to misuse of Sofema Training Material, a claim will be made for compensation in the sum of 10,000 Euros.

***Please provide a formal letter on your company letterhead with the following assurance:

The Material Received from Sofema Aviation Services / Sofema Online is in support of enrolled students only - No further use will be made of the material without reference to Sofema Aviation Services

We understand that a breach of this obligation will make “name of organisation” - liable for compensation in the sum of 10,000 Euros to Sofema Aviation Services for breach of agreement.

Signed Training Manager / Authorised Representative

Signed Accountable Manager

Date

Early Termination of a Package Program or Diploma Course Program

With a satisfaction rate of 99.8% we have a very small number of delegates who are considering "drop out". We invite you to read our Blog - I Failed my Online Exam with SofemaOnline What Shall I Do?In the exceptional circumstances you do still wish to quit the program, the following should be noted:

a) The cancellation of either a package program or diploma program will incur an admin charge of 10% of the full package/diploma course price 
b) The course costs which have been opened will be re costed and the appropriate discount applied 
c) the course will be closed and a final statement of costs will be provided for delegate reference

Changes related to Contents

SOL offers courses and content from different providers. While we seek to provide world-class content from our content providers, unexpected events do occur. SOL reserves the right to cancel, interrupt, reschedule, or modify any content, or change the point value or weight of any assignment, quiz, or other assessment.

No Academic Credit

Unless otherwise explicitly indicated by a credit-granting institution, participation in or completion of courses does not confer any academic credit. Even if credit is accepted by one institution, there is no presumption that other institutions will accept that credit. You agree not to accept credit for completing a course unless you have earned a Course Certificate or other equivalent documentation of your completion of the training. SOL, instructors, and the associated Content Providers have no obligation to have the courses recognized by any educational institution or accreditation organization.

Recovery Actions in Respect of Non-Payment for Provided Services

In the event that legal action is required in respect of legitimate recovery the following will apply: All “reasonable” legal charges necessary for recovery, will be accounted for and included in the final invoice – Reasonable is interpreted as meaning fair-minded, just, equitable.

Credit Management Policy

For outstanding Credit following Sofema Training – Immediately will be sent a credit note for the relevant amount (Credit Note No / Amount / Date Issued – Validity). SOL payments in advance will be managed as agreed - remains valid and rolls over to the next contract.

Where the client wishes to consolidate into a new contract a Credit Note for the carry-over amount should be raised.

If the client requests a refund a processing fee of 50 EURO (depends on the invoice currency) will be applicable.

If the refund impacts the original discounted amount the original invoice will be recalculated and adjustment made to the refunded amount together with the admin fee.

To update the proforma to identify the client's responsibility to pay the bank charges.

Refunds for overpayment and transfers in error take place every last Friday of the month.

Concerning Accountancy Queries and Retrospective Support to Clients
 
Sofema Aviation Services provides a Pro forma Invoice and on receipt of payment for Full VAT Invoice. The discharges our fiduciary responsibility in accordance with European Accounting Requirements.
When a client has a special request to provide a formal invoice to enable payment - SAS will endeavor to support the final invoice which should show the actual amount received to avoid accounting errors. 

Important Note: Any discrepancies regarding actual funds received will require SAS to re-issue the final invoice - which may require the client to update their accounts.

Should a Client require additional support to investigate anomalies please note the following:

·        Within 6 months of issuing an invoice we will re-issue as requested without charge 
·        From 6 months to 1 year, there is a service charge of 50 EUR for accountancy support per single event
·        After 1 year the fee for financial accountancy support is 100 EUR for a single event 
·        In the event that a detailed analysis is required we need to involve our external accountants and in this case the charge per event is 200 EUR (min) per request. The fee may increase where we are required to go back to review archived data.
·     References for issued invoices and statements of accounts are provided twice a year. If the customer requires an additional report а service charge of 50 EUR for accountancy support.
·        All fees to be agreed and paid before commencement of support activity.

Payment details

SOL offers paid Services (e.g., Course Certificates for certain courses) for a fee. Booking may be made automatically on the website with payment through PayPal.com* and with a Credit Card**. Upon request through email to team@sassofia.com booking can be paid either by PayPal, Credit Card, wire transfer or Revolut and an invoice will be provided with all relevant information.

*When you send money with PayPal there are no hidden costs or processing fees. Currency conversion fees may apply. In addition, your card issuer may charge you separately.
**Please note that the VPOS transaction will be processed through a Bulgarian bank and the currency will be Bulgarian Leva /BGN/. The official rate set by the Bulgarian National Bank is 1 EUR= 1.95583 BGN. Kindly note that we do not have control over the exchange rate the paying bank uses for the conversion our original invoices are issued based on the amount received in our bank account.
No refunds can be made to a credit card unless the original purchase was made with that card within 7 business days of the original charge date.

Unless otherwise stated, all fees are quoted in EURO. You are responsible for paying all fees charged by or for SOL, including all bank charges in a timely manner with a payment mechanism associated with the applicable paid Services. Fees may vary based on your location and other factors, and SOL reserves the right to change any fees at any time at its sole discretion. Any change, update, or modification will be effective immediately upon posting through the relevant services. Refunds may be available for paid Services as described in our Refund Policy.

1) When the transfer is made via bank transfer, all bank charges are at the client’s expense. If the payment is made via Credit Card, the transaction fees will be at SAS cost.

2) When the transfer is made via bank transfer, it is the client’s obligation to cover all the bank charges for all transmittals, in the event of underpayment or omission SAS retains the right to request payment of the shortfall or to add to future invoices. Client additional documentation requirements for example “company TAX status” will be recharged to the client at cost.

3) SAS encourages clients to pay proforma invoices in a timely manner and any additional discounts offered as an inducement are conditional on timely payment of outstanding invoices.

4) The balance of the course fee is normally required to be paid before the completion of the course.

5) SAS offers generous discounts to promote business and encourage early payment and to maintain business cash flow. Unless specifically agreed the discount offered within this contract is strictly conditional on the payment of the course fee and any other due amounts prior to commencement of the training. (Additional payment terms from those stated must be agreed between by both parties.)

6) Failure to make the payment within the period proscribed within the contract terms will result in the reissue of the invoice with standard fees, without discount.

7) Payments that remain outstanding after 30 days will incur a penalty of 5% / month, re-occurring.

8) If due to the specific requirements of the national or organisation accountancy requirements a “full” invoice is essential prior to payment, please identify immediately on receipt of the Pro-forma invoice to enable timely support.

9) In respect of SAS Training Services the “Withholding Tax” depends on the country in which the training is performed. Double Taxation agreements exist between Bulgaria (SAS is a Bulgaria registered entity registered for VAT in Bulgaria) and a number of Countries. The current business tax rate in Bulgaria is 10%. In accordance with this, any amount above a rate of 10% which may be withheld as additional tax by the customer (withholding tax) will not be recoverable by SAS. Such amounts therefore shall be at the cost and liability of the customer either through prepayment or additional invoice.

10) SAS a BG Registered Company provides through its associated website – SOL provides online training with both administration and servers located within the Republic of Bulgaria. Therefore for taxation purposes, SOL should not be treated as a business that is carried out in the client’s country.

11) For training below 750 Euro in value any additional requirements involving the Bulgarian Tax Authorities and Tax Residence Certificates will incur a charge of 50 Euro to cover additional administration services.

The current Terms and Conditions are consistent with the requirements of the Law on Consumer Protection as well as the other regulations acting in the Republic of Bulgaria.

12) As an online service provider, it is normal practice for SOL to provide email copies of relevant contracts, agreements, proforma & final invoices. In the event that the client requires physical processing and transmission the following is applicable:

a) Contract price less than 150 Euros will incur a 25 Euro Admin charge payable in advance to cover Admin & Postage services

b) Contract price in excess of 150 Euros the Admin charge will be Waived

13) Sofema issues registered invoices against all payments. Funds sent by Bank Transfer or Credit Card do not arrive instantly and can take up to 7 Days to arrive in Sofema Accounts. The invoice can only be issued when funds have been received into SAS. We, therefore, ask for your understanding and to expect your invoice up to 10 business days following your payment to allow time for processing.

14) We reserve the right to change the prices of our services at any time. These changes will be effective immediately after they are posted and your continued use of our services will signify your acceptance of these revised prices.

Delivery of Ordered Training

PayPal and Credit Card payments through SofemaOnline are processed automatically. Once the payment process is completed the USER will be enrolled automatically. If the USERS wished to pay by wire transfer or Revolut, should contact team@sassofia.com and the enrollment will be processed manually by SOL's support and administration staff.

Withdrawal of the Contract. Reclamation

For cancellations made within 14 days of the date of the training full payment remains due, substitutions may be made. Cancellation may be brought on the stated e-mail team@sassofia.com.
In the event that legal action is required in respect of legitimate recovery, the following will apply:
All “reasonable” legal charges necessary for recovery, will be accounted for and included in the final invoice.
Reasonable is interpreted as meaning fair-minded, just, equitable.

Terms of Copying Information

All the information on sassofia.com is a property of SAS (pictures, items, descriptions).
It is forbidden the copying of texts from sofemaonline.com and their placement in other websites without the written consent of SAS. Infringes copyrights or other rights of the intellectual property.

Newsletters

When a USER makes a registration on the website he agrees to receive on his or her e-mail Newsletters distributed by SAS.
The USER can refuse to receive brochures and notices on his e-mail any time: By opting out “SAS” on the stated e-mail team@sassofia.com with the explicit request to not receive Newsletters.
If the USER has made the request not to receive Newsletters and then makes a purchase of training it is considered that he agrees again to Newsletters.
SAS will immediately delete from the database the data of any USER, who agreed to not receive Newsletters.
SAS includes in the Newsletters only commercial information that refers to products and services of SAS and its agents and partners

Personal Data

SAS ensures its users/clients' confidentiality of provided information and personal data. The latter will be used, provided, or brought to the knowledge of third parties outside the cases and under the conditions set out in these Terms and Conditions.
SAS protects the personal data of the user/client this obligation shall cease if the customer has provided incorrect data. SAS may use the personal data of the Customer solely for the purposes specified in the contract. Any other cases for data use data will be in accordance with Bulgarian legislation, the applicable international instruments, internet ethics, morality, and decency.
SAS undertakes not to disclose any personal customer data to third parties – government bodies, companies, individuals, and others, unless it is received a written consent of the Client, the information is required by government bodies or officials, according to current legislation, to require to collect such information. SAS is obliged to provide the information under the law.

Feedback

Every USER is encouraged to provide feedback to SAS for questions, suggestions, and to get information. In addition to the stated or advised e-mails links can be made on this telephone number +359 2 821 0806.
SAS is the administrator of the website and can remove any uncensored and offending qualifications violating morality and good manners.

Other Conditions

Eventual invalidity of any provision of these Terms and Conditions shall not invalidate the whole contract.
The outstanding issues of these contract issues related to the implementation and interpretation of this agreement shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of Bulgaria.
All arguments between sides of this contract will be resolved by the competent court or Commission for Consumer Protection.
The current Terms and Conditions enter into force for all users from 23.12.2020.