SUMMARY
Here’s a summary of our Returns Policy. More details are shown below in the form of FAQ’s. We want you to be completely happy with your Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop order so if any product arrives incorrect, damaged or faulty then please contact us right away (within 7 days at most) and we’ll do everything we can to help.
DAMAGED, FAULTY OR INCORRECT ITEMS
Under the Sale of Goods Act, Cupcake Avenue – The cake decoration shop are happy to replace or refund any damaged, faulty or incorrectly supplied item right away. The item may need to be returned to us so that we can identify the root problem and return faulty items to the manufacturer. Where this is necessary, Cupcake Avenue – The cake decoration shop will reimburse your reasonable return postage costs up to correctly calculated 1st class post if arranged with us in advance. Where franked postage is incorrect (eg small parcel rate instead of large letter) we will reimburse the value of the correct postage costs. Items returned without first arranging with us are done so at your own risk and cost. In some cases it may not be safe or possible to send a replacement (eg outsized cake boards / boxes would almost certainly not arrive intact if posted on their own) so we would refund in full for the incorrect item.
CHANGING YOUR MIND
If you change your mind about an item (if it was not what you expected) then under the Distance Selling Regulations and, from 13th June 2014, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop are happy to refund you on return of the item, providing it is new (unused), complete in all original packaging and that doing so allows us to comply with our Food Safety Policy. You must contact us within 14 calendar days of receipt and return the item within 14 days of contacting us. In these circumstances, return postage costs are payable by the customer. Edible, food-contact, customized or personalized items, cut ribbon and items specially ordered for the customer are excluded from the regulations and cannot be returned.
Please note that if you return an item for refund and this brings your order total below £50 then where free or discounted delivery has been applied, the original delivery charge will be payable. The cost of delivery will be deducted from the value of any refund so in some cases this may mean that (when you include return postage costs) it may not seem worth returning an item so please speak to us first so that we can help. Please remember this only applies to items being returned under the Distance Selling Regulations / the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.
RETURNS FAQs
The Distance Selling Regulations / the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations provide additional protection for customers who are ordering goods at a distance and who do not have the opportunity to inspect these goods in person prior to ordering.
Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop sells well-known, brand-named goods from the sugarcraft industry’s biggest names and we assume that most customers will be familiar with these brands and products. Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop also recognise that not every customer will be familiar with goods in this way and we accept that customers have the right to EXAMINE goods on delivery and can decide to return them. However, we stress the word “examine” which excludes trying / using an item or even removing most items from their retail packaging. Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop does not supply goods “on approval”. Where a customer buys two or more items with the intention of choosing which to keep, we are happy to refund the price of the returned item only – any shipping costs will be understood to apply to the item(s) the customer has decided to keep and will not be refunded.
AM I COVERED?
All UK consumers are covered by the regulations except trade / business customers. Business-to-business distance selling is not covered by the regulations. So, if you are a UK resident and not ordering in connection with a business activity, including part-time and home-business, or if you have not registered with Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop as a trade customer, then you are protected by the regulations. Consumers in some other EU countries may be covered by similar legislation, providing they are not buying in connection with any business activity. In any contract with Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop, Scots Law applies. More information can be found at The Private International Law (Misc. Provisions) Act 1995.
WHAT ADDITIONAL RIGHTS DO I HAVE?
Once your order arrives, you have a 14 calender day “cooling off” period, during which time you can examine and decide to return items from the order, excluding edible, food-contact and some other items outlined above. You must contact us within this 14 day period to let us know you wish to exercise your rights under the regulations, and then return the order within 14 calender days of contacting us. This is explained in more detail below.
WHAT IS Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop REQUIRED TO DO?
We must give you certain information prior to conclusion of the contract – including who we are, where we are located, how you can contact us, accurate product information, prices (including all taxes), delivery timescales, your right to cancel, our VAT registration number and other information like that – basically, accurate and honest information to help you make an informed choice about your purchase. We believe we have done all this but please let us know where you feel we can improve information. The contract is formed when you place an order.
CAN I CANCEL AN ORDER BEFORE IT HAS BEEN SHIPPED?
Yes, you can cancel your order at any point prior to it being shipped and we will refund the full cost paid, including any shipping costs. The only exception is where the order includes a special order / customised / personalised item which is already being manufactured / supplied, in which case that item / those items cannot be cancelled. Your cancellation rights end as soon as we begin work on any personalised, customised, made-to-order or specially sourced / ordered / non-stock items as identified on the website. We would also point out that orders can be shipped almost immediately, so we cannot guarantee that you will be able to cancel an order before it has been shipped. As time is of the essence we would advise you phone us to try to cancel the order prior to shipping.
CAN I CANCEL AN ORDER AFTER IT HAS BEEN SHIPPED?
Yes, the Distance Selling Regulations / the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations give you the right to cancel the order at any point up until the 14th calender day after delivery. Refusing delivery is not the same thing as exercising your right to cancel an order so we strongly advise against refusing deliveries until you have contacted us when we can offer specific advice in more detail.
We strongly advise against refusing Royal Mail deliveries as non-delivered mail can take several weeks to be returned to us and we can only process your refund once the order has been returned. We advise posting orders back using a trackable service such as Royal Mail Signed For as the order remains your responsibility until it reaches us. We will refund the full amount of the order including standard outwards shipping costs, but will deduct any return shipping charge as made by the couriers / Royal Mail. By law, we can only charge the actual amount of return shipping, with no additional charges for re-stocking or administration, nor can we profit from this charge. The refund will not include any additional services which you paid Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop for at the time of ordering; these could include an Express charge, a surcharge for Saturday delivery, a surcharge for UK non-mainland delivery, gift wrapping or other services Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop we may from time-to-time offer.
HOW DO I ARRANGE TO RETURN AN ORDER?
Firstly, you must contact us to inform us of your intention to cancel under the regulations. We advise that you phone us in the first instance so that we can advise how best to proceed. The regulations state you must also contact us in writing – so really by fax, email or letter but contact must be made within 14 calender days of receipt and you will receive an acknowledgement as soon as we have received your message.
If you do not receive an acknowledgement within 24 hours this simply means we haven’t received your email or fax. Please note that under the regulations, simply “sending” the message is not sufficient; you must actually make contact. This is why we also advise phoning us to confirm your intentions. You then must return the order to us within 14 calender days from the point of making contact.
If you return an order (or refuse delivery of an order) before first making contact with Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop, then please be aware that this is not understood to be you exercising your rights to cancel and that the order remains your responsibility, and that any subsequent delivery and/or return costs cannot be refunded.
CAN I RETURN ANY ITEM I’VE ORDERED FROM Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop?
This is a very important area and we’d ask you note our explanation carefully. There isn’t just one piece of legislation at work here: the Distance Selling Regulations, Sale of Goods Act, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations and various pieces of food safety legislation are supposed to all dovetail together to protect consumers. The truth is they don’t do this particularly well and have left a few grey areas. We’re not out to exploit these grey areas – we’re simply making our position clear from the outset – before you order from us.
Some products are exempt from return under the Distance Selling Regulations / the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations; these include any items which are personalised or customised – which we interpret as including special order / made-to-order items ordered specifically for you. Perishable goods are also exempt from return. “Perishable goods” covers edible products. These exceptions are listed in section 13. (1) of the Regulations. Included in the list of exceptions are “goods that by reason of their nature cannot be returned”. Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop interpret this to include goods where food safety and hygiene is a consideration (in much the same way as items like ear-rings and underwear are exempt from the regulations), although some may disagree with our interpretation. To avoid any future disagreement we respectfully ask that you do not order from us unless you accept our position on food safety and hygiene.
Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop take food safety extremely seriously. We will never, ever, re-sell any edible item which has been returned by a customer, nor will we re-sell cake boards, boxes or other items designed to come in to contact with food. The reason is simple: in our own premises we can control hygiene, temperature and humidity but we have no idea how clean someone else’s house is. For all we know, a cake board could be stored next to the pet dog’s food bowl, or in the boot of a car, or handled by dirty fingers – there is just no way we would expect a customer to buy a product from us that had been previously returned by someone else.
The umbrella concept of this legislation is to allow a customer to examine the item in a way they would have been able to do before purchasing it from a physical shop. However, if a customer orders red Regalice and then asks to return it because she really wants black Regalice, our position is that the Distance Selling Regulations / the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations do not allow that type of return – because the customer does not have to “examine” an item to realise the difference between red and black, or to realise that he/she has made a mistake when ordering. In other words, the regulations are not (and were never intended to be) a “catch all” way of allowing anyone to return anything for any reason at any time.
WHAT ARE MY RESPONSIBILITIES?
The Distance Selling Regulations / the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations say that the consumer must contact the supplier within 14 calender days of delivery as explained above. The consumer is responsible for the safety of the item until it is returned to the supplier, including while in transit. Used, part-used and items which are no longer in a re-saleable condition cannot be returned. Care should be taken with packaging where this forms part of the item – ie retail packaging.
Please remember we’re talking about items where you’ve simply changed your mind, so there is no need for an item to have been removed from its packaging or used. The consumer is responsible for the safe delivery of the item to the supplier, just as the supplier was responsible for safe delivery to the customer. It must arrive with us safely and in perfect condition – simply posting it back is not enough to satisfy your responsibilities under the regulations.
HOW DO I ACTUALLY RETURN AN ORDER?
Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop can advise on how best to proceed when you contact us – remembering that it’s your responsibility to return the item(s) safely and in accordance with the regulations – Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop cannot arrange to return the item(s) for you automatically. This summary can be taken as our written notice that this is what we require to happen. We can help arrange a return courier service using APC OVERNIGHT for most parts of the UK – this costs £9.95 for up to 20kg. We are happy to offer suggestions based on item size and weight when you contact us but the act of returning and paying for the return of any item is the responsibility of the consumer.
WILL I GET A FULL REFUND?
Yes, absolutely – if everything has been done as outlined above. When we receive the item(s) back from you and have checked they are unused and in good condition, we will refund you in full including any standard shipping costs included in delivering that item to you.
Where the returned item(s) are part of a larger order which you decide to keep and where the shipping costs for the items you decide to keep is equal to those of the returned items, Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop cannot refund any shipping costs. Example: you order 5kg white sugarpaste and a small cutter. The shipping charge is £6.95 for the 5kg white sugarpaste; there is no additional shipping charged for the cutter – so we cannot refund any original shipping.
The refund is normally processed the same way you paid – eg via PayPal or a refund to your debit / credit card. Your refund will be processed within 48 hours of the item arriving with us and the regulations state that we are obliged in all cases to refund within 14 days of cancellation at most – “cancellation” being the date the returned item is received by us. There’s no reason why a refund would take anything like that long to arrange unless there is a problem with the actual item(s) being returned.
An area of exception is where the regulations consider that “work” has commenced on an order. In such circumstances the cancellation rights end at the point work commences. In relation to Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop orders this applies to special order items, customized or personalized items, cut ribbon and to Express orders where orders are packed for shipping very soon after the order has been placed and for which a small premium has been charged. We are happy to accept the cancellation / return of Express orders but reserve the right not to refund the part of the charge relating to the express nature of the service – in other words only the standard shipping charge would be refunded. For the avoidance of doubt we stress this isnot a re-stocking or administration charge (both of which are not permitted by the regulations) but is the charge for an additional service in picking, packing and shipping the order very quickly.
One other important point . . . if your original order was over £75 and you received free shipping, and you then return an item which brings your order total to under £75, the original shipping charge is payable and will be deducted from any refund due. So in a small number of cases it may not be worth returning an inexpensive item simply because you change your mind as the £6.95 shipping charge (for example) may have to be applied and this could be more than the value of the item you want to return. We only mention this to help customers decide on their best course of action and we have no desire to discourage you from exercising your rights under the Distance Selling Regulations / the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations.
WILL I GET A REFUND OF MY RETURN POSTAGE?
Sorry, but no. Some mail-order catalogue companies can build the costs of “free returns” into their prices but this is not possible for us and it’s not something we feel the regulations are trying to impose on businesses. Because Cupcake Avenue – The Cake Decoration Shop prices are extremely competitive, it is simply not possible to offer free returns. Please remember that this does not apply to damaged or incorrect items, (in which case we are happy to refund reasonable return postage costs) . . . in terms of the Distance Selling Regulations / the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations we are only talking about item(s) where you’ve changed your mind. We really hope that this sounds fair. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.