Booking Problems

Timezone Mismatch

The most common booking confusion. If lesson times seem wrong, your timezone setting is probably off.

Check Your Timezone

1. Go to Settings > Profile
2. Find the Timezone dropdown
3. Make sure it matches your actual location
4. Save changes

TutorLingua auto-detects your timezone when you sign up, but it can get it wrong — especially if you're travelling or using a VPN.

How Timezone Conversion Works

All times on TutorLingua are displayed in your timezone. If a tutor in London sets availability at 3pm GMT and you're in New York, you'll see it as 10am EST.

If you and your tutor are seeing different times for the same booking, one of you likely has the wrong timezone set.

Availability Not Showing

If a tutor's calendar shows no available slots, here's what might be happening:

For Students

• Tutor is fully booked — All available slots have been taken. Try checking a different week
• Timezone issue — Your timezone might be set incorrectly, hiding available slots
• Advance booking limit — Some tutors only allow bookings up to a certain number of days ahead
• Service inactive — The specific service you're looking at may be temporarily disabled

For Tutors

If students say they can't see your availability:

1. Go to Dashboard > Availability and confirm your hours are set
2. Check that your services are Active (not toggled off)
3. Verify your timezone is correct
4. Make sure your connected calendar isn't blocking all your available times
5. Check your advance booking window in Settings > Booking Preferences

Double Bookings

Double bookings shouldn't happen if your calendar is properly synced, but here's how to handle them if they do.

Prevention

• Connect your calendar — Sync Google Calendar or Outlook so external events block your TutorLingua availability
• Keep calendars updated — Add events promptly so they sync in time
• Don't use "Free" status — Calendar events marked as "Free" won't block your availability

If It Happens

1. Contact both students immediately
2. Offer to reschedule one of them
3. Prioritise the student who booked first
4. Consider offering a small discount or bonus to the rescheduled student

Check for Sync Issues

If double bookings keep occurring:

1. Go to Settings > Calendar
2. Disconnect and reconnect your calendar
3. Wait 15 minutes for the sync to complete
4. Verify events are appearing correctly

Cancellation Policy

For Students

• Check the tutor's cancellation policy before booking — it's shown on their profile
• Most tutors require 24 hours' notice for free cancellation
• Late cancellations may be charged at the full lesson rate
• To cancel, go to your booking and click Cancel

For Tutors

Set your cancellation policy in Settings > Booking Preferences:

• Flexible — Free cancellation up to 2 hours before
• Moderate — Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
• Strict — Free cancellation up to 48 hours before

Choose a policy that protects your time while remaining fair to students.

Booking Errors

If you see an error when trying to book:

1. Refresh the page and try again
2. Check your internet connection
3. Try a different browser
4. Clear your cache (see how)
5. If the error persists, take a screenshot and contact support

Next Steps

• Set up calendar sync to prevent scheduling conflicts
• Learn about payment issues if your booking problem is payment-related
• Manage your bookings more effectively

Still need help? Contact us at support@tutorlingua.co