Delivery Information

EASTER DELIVERY INFO:

Please note, due to Easter bank holiday and courier closures, orders will not be dispatched or delivered on Friday 29th March or Monday 1st April. Normal service will resume on Tuesday 2nd April.

To receive your order before Easter, orders must be placed on a next day service before 4.30pm on Wednesday 27th March (for delivery on Thursday 28th March*). Orders placed after 4.30pm Wednesday 27th March will be delivered Tuesday 2nd April*.

*Please note that due to increased volume over the Easter Bank holiday, there may be some delays with deliveries as couriers deal with an increase in workload. 

DELIVERY TIMESCALE SUMMARY

The Cake Stuff website automatically calculates the best way to ship your order depending on a number of factors, including order weight and size, the date and time of dispatch, your delivery address and the speed of delivery required.  This table isn't exhaustive, but shows a brief summary . . .

UK Mainland Delivery Estimates

 

Order Weight

Standard Shipping 

(approx 3-5 working days)

Priority Upgrade

(approx 2 working days)

Express Upgrade

(next working day) 

Lighter orders up to approx 2kg

from £3.49

FREE over £70

from £5.99

from £5.99

FREE over £100

 Heavier orders over 2kg

 from £3.49

FREE over £70

 from £5.99

from £5.99

FREE over £100

Next-Day Delivery Cut-off Times

DPD - Order by 4.30pm (Monday - Friday)

Yodel - Order by 4.30pm (Monday - Friday)

We aim to ship all Standard Shipping orders within 48 hours at most, and to ship Express Shipping orders the same working day (if placed before the above delivery cut-off times).

We may charge more for delivery to Scottish Highlands, Northern Ireland, Scottish Islands, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Channel Islands, other UK offshore islands or mainland addresses that couriers class as 'remote'. Please allow an extra couple of days for delivery

A range of delivery options will be shown when you reach checkout, based on your particular order's size, weight and delivery address

Please note: Click and collect is now available - details can be found further down this page.

 

STANDARD SHIPPING - SUMMARY

The website will estimate a delivery timescale for your particular order at checkout, based on your delivery address.  We do our very best to ensure these estimates are always maximum timescales.

 

Please supply a mobile number if at all possible - this means that as soon as your order has been shipped, you'll receive an automated text confirming it's on its way.  You'll also receive the same confirmation by email.

For larger orders being delivered by DPD or Yodel couriers, you'll also receive a text and/or email with the tracking information. These emails / texts will offer various 'In-Flight' options for you to manage your delivery . . . you can change delivery date, upgrade to a Saturday or Sunday delivery (if you didn't already select this option at checkout), ask that the parcel is left in a specified safe place, with a neighbour or delivered to a local Pick-Up Shop etc.  Please watch for you confirmation email

On the day of delivery you'll receive another text and/or email from DPD or Yodel, confirming a delivery time slot and offering you the 'In-Flight' options again. This update is normally only available to mainland deliveries.

When your order arrives, check that you are signing for the correct number of boxes - the email/text will have confirmed how many to expect and each box's label should be numbered 1 of 3, 2 of 3 etc . . . please remember that once you've signed to say you've received 3 boxes, we can't go back to the couriers and say that you only received 2 so please check before signing.

Please always allow for the delivery timescale advertised and trust us to do everything we can to deliver your order sooner - plan for delivery within the week and that way it's always a nice surprise when your order arrives early.

 

EXPRESS SHIPPING - SUMMARY

If you need something really urgently, we can help!  Express orders placed by 8:00pm for Yodel or 4pm for DPD (4pm for all couriers on Fridays) on a working day are shipped the same day. For most* UK mainland customers this means Express orders are delivered the next working day.

Although over 98% of all orders arrive on time, we must point out that DPD and Yodel do not actually guarantee a next day service.  This is because, although rare, there can be unforeseen circumstances that delay deliveries . . . adverse weather, motorway or local road issues, even the break down of the delivery van (we've seen it all).  We cannot claim against the couriers for 'late delivery' due to these circumstances but if anything happens which delays delivery of your Express order on the date shown.

* The couriers class some postcodes as 'remote' and these are included in their Highlands & Islands rate. Please note Cake Stuff don't decide what is or isn't a remote postcode area and even though we may have to charge these customers a little more for delivery, we actually subsidise these deliveries quite substantially. We do ask you to allow an extra day-or-so for delivery.  The main postcode areas in question include:  AB30-56, AB99, FK17-21, IV (all), KW1-14, PA21-40, PH19-26, PH30-41 and PH49-50

PLEASE NOTE Express orders can be processed almost immediately within a very busy warehouse environment dealing with hundreds of orders every day so we are unable to make any changes to Express orders.  Please don't think we don't want to help, but whenever changes are made to an order it means the packing and shipping process has to be paused, and this can result in delays to not only that particular order but to the hundreds of other orders in the queue behind it - we hope you'll understand.

 

PRIORITY SHIPPING - SUMMARY

The 'Priority Shipping' option sits between our Standard and Express Shipping options, so cuts delivery time by at least 1 working day.

Like the Express Shipping option, this is not a guaranteed service. Although rare, the same kind of unforeseen circumstances mentioned above are possible but we monitor the performance of our delivery partners and over 98% of orders arrive on time.

 

SATURDAY & SUNDAY EXPRESS DELIVERY OPTIONS

We also offer 'Saturday Express' and 'Sunday Express' delivery options at checkout.  These options are only available on orders placed between 7:00pm Thursday - 4:00pm Friday, so you won't see them at checkout if you place your order at any other time.

VERY IMPORTANT - Saturday / Sunday delivery are not guaranteed services so our best advice is don't put off ordering earlier in the week just so you can choose a weekend delivery, as that's a little bit of a gamble.  Although rare, the same kind of unforeseen circumstances mentioned above are possible but we monitor the performance of our delivery partners and over 98% of orders arrive on time.

We simply pass on the actual cost from DPD or Yodel for Saturday / Sunday Express deliveries - in other words, we do not make a single penny from this service.

If DPD or Yodel fail to attempt delivery on the agreed day then we're happy to claim against them and credit you for the Saturday / Sunday element of the delivery charge, but please remember our Customer Service team is not here at weekends to help with any delivery questions so please, please, pretty-please make sure you supply a mobile number for the courier and watch for your email / text alerts confirming your delivery time slot and ensure someone is in to accept the delivery.

If you place an order before 7:00pm on a Thursday, you can still 'upgrade' to a Saturday or Sunday delivery if you want as you will receive an email and/or text from the courier with various 'In-Flight' options.  These include upgrading to a Saturday or Sunday delivery for an extra charge, so if you've placed your order on a day where the Saturday Express / Sunday Express options were not available at checkout, you can still upgrade to a weekend delivery.  Please note this upgrade may only be available in certain areas of the UK mainland.

 

BFPO

We've always been happy to ship orders to customers with BFPO (British Forces Post Office) addresses but this is becoming much more complicated nowadays because of MoD requirements re correct BFPO address formats and a growing list of prohibited products.  All orders shipped to BFPO addresses must be sent by Yodel, so delivery costs for lighter, smaller orders are exactly the same as any other UK customer but delivery costs for larger, heavier orders are considerably higher compared to UK mainland courier rates.

If you can, please use a non-BFPO UK mainland delivery address as this will ensure you get the best delivery rate.  For BFPO overseas deliveries, we would advise you contact us first for delivery advice.

 

CLICK AND COLLECT

Based in the Nottingham area and want to pick up your parcel in person? You’re in luck! Click and Collect is available at the following address.

This, however, is not a shop! We are an online only retailer, so this location is solely for the collection of online orders – there is no option to browse and buy in person. 

To arrange collection, simply select "Click and Collect" as your delivery method at checkout. You will receive an email notification when your order is ready.

Address:

Private Road No. 8 
Colwick Industrial Estate 
Colwick 
Nottingham 
Nottinghamshire 
NG4 2JX 

Opening Hours:

Monday: 09:30 - 17:00 
Tuesday: 09:30 - 17:00 
Wednesday: 09:30 - 17:00 
Thursday: 09:30 - 17:00 
Friday: 09:30 - 17:00 
Saturday: CLOSED 
Sunday: CLOSED 

 

WHY CAKE STUFF DELIVERIES ARE DIFFERENT...

What really makes Cake Stuff deliveries different is that they're not charged for per box - we calculate delivery on the entire order, no matter how many boxes we have to send.

Several of our competitors advertise what appear to be competitive delivery rates but read the small print and you'll realise they charge per box, so even a 2-box delivery can cost a lot more than you may initially realise.

We fully understand that you need to know when to expect delivery and don't want to sit at home all day waiting on a van to arrive, so our delivery partners DPD and Yodel will keep in regular contact with you by email and/or text from the moment they collect your order from Cake Stuff right up to the point of delivery.

DPD or Yodel will confirm a delivery time slot and you can track your order's progress on a virtual map - you'll even know when the van driver is only 15 minutes away!

Be responding to DPD or Yodel's texts or emails you can manage your order in several ways using their 'In-Flight' options . . . you can change the delivery time slot, ask them to leave it with a neighbour, specify a safe place to leave the order, or even have it delivered to a choice of local Pick-Up stores

We urge our customers to watch for, and to respond to, all DPD or Yodel text and email alerts in order to enjoy the most convenient delivery experience possible

To ensure you get this excellent service we recommend you supply a mobile phone number as your main delivery contact number - that way you'll receive texts from DPD and Yodel in real time.

For bulk orders we occasionally use pallet delivery service.  We will always contact you in advance to make sure you can take delivery of a pallet before ever using this service.

 

HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS DELIVERIES

Cake Stuff use Evri for lightweight orders so our customers pay exactly the same for delivery, regardless where in the UK they live.

For larger, heavier orders we use DPD and Yodel couriers.  We do may charge customers living in the Scottish highlands & islands, on the Isle of Man, Channel Islands, other UK offshore islands or mainland areas classed by couriers as 'remote' extra for delivery, however these are heavily subsidised by ourselves to keep the cost to you as minimal as possible.

 

NORTHERN IRELAND

Delivery to Northern Ireland is £8.49, with free standard shipping offered on orders over £100.

 

EUROPEAN DELIVERIES

Cake Stuff are happy to ship to mainland Europe and Ireland using our delivery partner DHL. 

 Country  Delivery Time Price (Up to 30kg)  Price (30 to 60kg)  Price (Over 60kg)
 Belgium 3 days £49.95  £84.95 £114.95 
 Luxembourg 2 days £49.95   £84.95  £114.95
 Netherlands  2 days £49.95   £84.95 £114.95 
 Austria 3 days £55.00   £99.95 £129.95 
 Denmark 3 days £55.00  £99.95  £129.95
 Finland 4 days £55.00   £99.95  £129.95
 Italy 3 days £55.00   £99.95 £129.95 
 Portugal 4 days £55.00   £99.95  £129.95
 Spain 4 days £55.00   £99.95  £129.95
 Sweden 3 days £55.00   £99.95 £129.95 
 Bosnia 6 days £55.00   £99.95  £129.95
 Bulgaria 7 days  £55.00  £99.95  £129.95
 Croatia 6 days  £55.00  £99.95  £129.95
 Czech Republic 4 days   £55.00  £99.95  £129.95
 Estonia 5 days   £55.00  £99.95  £129.95
 Greece 8 days  £55.00   £99.95  £129.95
 Hungary 3 days  £55.00   £99.95  £129.95
 Latvia 5 days  £55.00   £99.95  £129.95
 Lithuania 6 days  £55.00   £99.95  £129.95
 Poland 4 days  £55.00   £99.95  £129.95
 Romania 4 days £55.00   £99.95  £129.95
 Slovakia 3 days  £55.00   £99.95  £129.95
 Slovenia 3 days  £55.00   £99.95 £129.95 
 Republic of Ireland 2 days £45.00 £79.95 £109.95 
 France 2 days  £49.95  £84.95 £114.95 
 Germany* 2 days £49.95  £84.95 £114.95 

*Please note: unfortunately shipping to Germany is currently unavailable.

We know . . . it's not as cheap as it used to be! Unfortunately, due to Brexit, these are the cheapest options available to us at the moment. We can guarantee you that Cake Stuff does not make any kind of profit from these options and we are consistently reviewing options and methods to make delivery to Europe more cost-effective. We will be installing a visible weight calculator at checkout to show you the weight of your basket so you can get the most out of your order within the weight brackets shown above.

There are no extra hidden charges associated with the prices above. We have handled all of the boring paperwork for you and included the applicable import duty costs within the prices shown in the table above. The only time we may contact you to ask for an additional payment is for orders over 90kg, however we are developing ways that all costs will be shown at checkout in the near future for those orders.

Please also note that due to an increasing number of fraudulent transactions, we cannot deliver to 'Parcel Motels' or similar type addresses - we also point out to customers wishing to use onwards freight companies (especially to customers in Eire) that our responsibility ends with safe delivery to the freight company's address and that we are not responsible for any loss or damage that occurs during subsequent delivery by your own couriers.  Please note that your order may arrive in more than one box.  We always advise that you choose a direct delivery option if possible from Cake Stuff to your own address and avoid involving third parties.

We ship all our orders very quickly so please understand why we cannot be responsible for delays caused by customs at the point of entry to your country.  Customs charges / import taxes are the customer's responsibility.

 

ENSURING SAFE, ON-TIME DELIVERIES

The best way to ensure safe delivery is to ensure both the delivery address, email address and phone number you supplied are correct and up-to-date - always supply a mobile number if possible.  Choose a delivery address where someone will be available to sign for the order - remembering you can choose delivery to your work address, a friend or neighbour etc.  Please understand that if the couriers try to deliver when you are not home then we have to take that as the point where delivery was attempted - for example, we cannot credit the Express charge if you feel the order is late.

A signature is required and most couriers will require the person signing for delivery to be an adult.

Evri, DPD and Yodel Couriers may - repeat may - try to leave with a neighbour if you are not home - this is a standard condition with virtually all UK couriers.  The delivery driver may at their sole discretion decide to try this but the decision can be based on many factors, including suitable neighbour address / access / weather / size of order / special instructions etc.

If paying by Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal,  please be aware that these payment methods may over-write your delivery details with those you have provided to those accounts.  Please ensure your address details for those payment methods are completely up-to-date (ie current address, no old email addresses or phone numbers) and avoid using anyone else's account - even your partner's - as their details will be supplied for delivery of your order.  Cake Stuff cannot be responsible for this in any way.

 

SPECIAL DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS

When you receive your email and/or text from DPD or Yodel couriers, this will contain a number of handy 'In-Flight' options.  By using these In-Flight options you can have your order delivered to a neighbour, left in a safe place or delivered to your local Pick-Up Shop or even re-arrange delivery for a different date and time.

Please remember that special instructions and any additional charges for extra services are made between you and the courier - not between you and Cake Stuff.  If you use a courier In-Flight options to give them special delivery instructions, please understand that Cake Stuff will not know about these instructions nor can we contact the courier on your behalf.

 

SHIPPING & COSTS

The Cake Stuff website calculates the shipping costs for each order automatically, based on weight, size, date & time, delivery address and the speed of delivery you require.

UK mainland and non-mainland small / light orders are shipped via Evri with delivery starting at only £3.49.  UK mainland heavier orders are shipped by DPD or Yodel couriers at a starting rate of only £4.49 and FREE on orders of £70 or more. UK non-mainland heavier orders are shipped at a subsidised rate which will be shown at checkout.

For non-UK customers, Cake Stuff use DHL for customers in some EU member countries placing heavier orders.

FREE DELIVERY

Free Standard delivery (3-5 working days) is available to all UK customers on orders over £70.

Free EXPRESS delivery (next working day) is available to most UK customers on orders over £100, depending on their postcode.

NON-RECEIPT
If your order does not arrive within the advised timescale it probably means delivery has been attempted when you were not in.  For the fastest solution we offer the following advice . . .

DPD & YODEL - non-delivery of DPD or Yodel deliveries is rare because of all the excellent range of 'In-Flight' options they offer which allow you to manage your delivery right down to 15 minutes before arrival.  If something unforeseen happens and you miss delivery, DPD/Yodel will leave you a card to advise they attempted delivery and they'll take a photo of the delivery location - you can view this and get real-time updates on your delivery via the DPD/Yodel website link included in the emails/texts you'll receive

If DPD, Yodel or Evri have left a card, it's important you phone them right away to re-arrange delivery because if they return the order to us, there is a return charge of £9.95 and, once returned to us, we cannot ship the order again free of charge

Please remember to watch out for the DPD or Yodel text and email as this includes contact details, your order’s consignment number, estimated delivery and all the 'In-Flight' options to manage your delivery

RETURNS POLICY

SUMMARY

Here's a summary of our Returns Policy.  More details are shown below in the form of FAQs.  We want you to be completely happy with your Cake Stuff order so if any product arrives incorrect, damaged or faulty then please contact us right away (within 14 days at most) and we’ll do everything we can to help.  The faster you contact us the faster we can help find a solution.

DAMAGED, FAULTY OR INCORRECT ITEMS

Under the Sale of Goods Act, Cake Stuff are happy to replace or refund any damaged, faulty or incorrectly supplied item right away. We may require a photo of any damages so that we can claim with the couriers.  On some occasions 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, Cake Stuff will reimburse your reasonable return postage costs up to correctly calculated 1st class post if arranged with us in advance. 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.  Where you opt for a refund instead of a replacement, we will happily refund the full amount you paid for the item(s) including any pro rata standard delivery costs.  Additional charges paid at the time of ordering (eg Express delivery charge or other services Cake Stuff may from time-to-time offer) are not refundable.

We understand that there will be times when a replacement is required urgently and we will do everything we can to help - often following an Amazon-like returns model, which you may already be familiar with.  Basically, we will send you a replacement free of charge on the understanding that you are returning the original (incorrect / damaged) item.  If we do not receive the return within 14 days the system will automatically charge your card with the value of the item being returned.

BULK ORDERS - SPECIAL NOTE

Many Cake Stuff customers place 'bulk' orders - for example, ordering several boxes of sugarpaste at the same time to stock up and to take advantage of our free delivery offer.  We fully appreciate this but please remember the same Terms & Conditions apply to returns.  You should try at least some of the product(s) ordered right away and, if unhappy in any way, contact us within 14 days of delivery.  We completely understand that you cannot try / test / check the entire bulk order but you are deemed to have accepted the product(s) as in acceptable condition after 14 days so please don't wait too long to tell us if you're not happy with something - use or check some of it as soon as you can after delivery.

CHANGING YOUR MIND

If an item 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, and Consumer Rights Act 2015, Cake Stuff are happy to credit your Cake Stuff account (e-wallet) you on return of the item, providing it is new (unused), complete in all original packaging and that doing so allows us to stay within our Food Safety Policy.

Please contact us right away (and within 14 days in any event) to check if the item can be accepted for return and for a Returns Code.  You will need this code when returning the item as our warehouse teams may not be able to identify you / your order from the returned item alone and this will delay any processing of a credit.

Retail customers can opt for the amount to be refunded using the original payment method under certain circumstances, but please note simply changing your mind does not automatically entitle you to a refund - that is why we are happy to credit your Cake Stuff account (aka 'store credit').  You must contact us within 14 days of receipt and return the item within 14 days.  In these circumstances, return postage costs are payable by the customer.  Edible, food-contact, customized or personalized items, cut ribbon and items specially ordered or made for the customer cannot be returned.

In all other circumstances (eg you've duplicated an order, ordered the wrong size, changed your mind about a product etc) we, at our sole discretion, may agree to allow you to return an item and we will credit your Cake Stuff account (e-wallet) on return of the item, providing it is new (unused), complete in all original packaging and that doing so allows us to stay within our Food Safety Policy

Please note that if you return an item for refund and this brings your order total below £75 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 always be worth returning an item.  Please remember this only applies to items being returned under the Distance Selling Regulations / the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

For further information please see the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations 2013Consumer Protection (Amendment) Regulations 2014, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015

Please note these Regulations do not cover business-to-business transactions (ie trade customers).


RETURNS FAQs

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 and Distance Selling Regulations / the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 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.

Cake Stuff 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.  Cake Stuff 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 or using an item or even removing most items from their retail packaging.  Cake Stuff 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 Cake Stuff 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 Cake Stuff, 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 calendar day 'cooling off' period, during which time you can examine and decide to return items from the order that are not as you expected them to be, 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 calendar days of contacting us. This is explained in more detail below.

WHAT IS CAKE STUFF 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.

Please remember 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. We have warehouse teams working early in the morning, late in the evening and at weekends - our Customer Service team can only deal with emails during office hours, so it's perfectly possible that your order may have been shipped before one of our Customer Service team is able to respond to your request.  Because of international time zones, simply sending an email stating that you wish to cancel is not enough - we must receive the email and have a reasonable chance to respond during business hours.  Include 'CANCEL MY ORDER' in the subject title of your email.

CAN I CANCEL AN ORDER AFTER IT HAS BEEN SHIPPED?

Yes, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and Distance Selling Regulations / the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give you the right to cancel the order at any point up until the 14th calendar 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.  Refusing a delivery from DPD means they will return the order to is us and a £9.95 returns charge automatically applies on top of the original delivery charge.

For larger orders being delivered by courier, return postage costs can often prove very expensive so we can often help arrange for the couriers to return the consignment to us for a fraction of the cost of Royal Mail.  If you need to cancel delivery, please email us as soon as possible so that we can contact the couriers and try to prevent delivery from being attempted.  We can also advise the cost of having the couriers return the order - this charge and the original outward delivery charge(s) will be deducted from your refund.

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 Cake Stuff for at the time of ordering; these could include an Express charge, a surcharge for Saturday delivery, a surcharge for UK non-mainland delivery or other services Cake Stuff may from time-to-time offer.

HOW DO I ARRANGE TO RETURN AN ORDER?

You must email us to inform us of your intention to cancel under the regulations, within 14 calendar 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. Please note that under the regulations, simply sending the message is not sufficient; you must actually 'make contact'. You then must return the order to us within 14 calendar days from the point of making contact.

If you return an order (or refuse delivery of an order) before first making contact with Cake Stuff, then please be aware that, under the Regulations, 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. Please think of it as you sending the order to us via the courier in question - should the order be subsequently damaged or lost then the responsibility is yours, not ours, so we cannot refund unless it is received by us in acceptable condition

CAN I RETURN ANY ITEM I'VE ORDERED FROM CAKE STUFF?

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: Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations 2013Consumer Protection (Amendment) Regulations 2014, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 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". Cake Stuff 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.

Cake Stuff 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 calendar 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?

Cake Stuff 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 – Cake Stuff 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 DPD for most parts of the UK - this costs £14.95 for up to 30kg. 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 CREDIT / 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 credit your Cake Stuff account or, in the specific circumstances allowed by the Regulations, 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, Cake Stuff 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 as a credit to your Cake Stuff account unless you specifically request a physical refund, in which case this will be made 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 Cake Stuff 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 is not 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 £60 and you received free shipping, and you then return an item which brings your order total to under £60, 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 original delivery charge (before any subsidy) 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 Cake Stuff's 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.

TRADE CUSTOMERS

Trade customers have the same protection against damaged, faulty or incorrect items so please do not let this be a concern.  Cake Stuff want to build long-term relations with our trade customers so we will always do whatever we can to help in any situation, but we feel that it is reasonable to assume that, as a trade customer, you will have a little more product knowledge and experience of products.  The Distance Selling Regulations /  the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations only cover retail transactions.  Business-to-business transactions are not covered so trade customers do not have any additional rights to return an item simply because they change their mind.

Where Cake Stuff need to make a small refund or adjustment to a trade customer’s order / payment, this will normally be done using the e-wallet feature on the website.  This removes the need to handle cash or to make small refunds to credit cards.  Trade customers can use money in their e-wallet as payment towards any future order.

Cake Stuff regard Trade Customers as customers who use the products we supply in the course of running their own business, to help bake, decorate and sell cakes.  Customers can also re-sell products if they wish but Cake Stuff do not supply goods with the specific intention that they are being re-sold - this subtle point is important in certain (rare) circumstances . . . eg if a box arrives damaged and inside you discover a pot of edible lace powder is cracked and has leaked on to Claire Bowman silicone mats, we're obviously happy to replace the edible lace powder - but not the mats, as these remain perfectly useable.

Cake Stuff do not offer, expressly or impliedly, any additional guarantee or warranty over and above that offered by the manufacturer of each product.  Trade customers should satisfy themselves fully - through product knowledge, experience and industry best practice - as to the suitability of any item and Cake Stuff will be happy to help in this regard to the best of our ability.  This is especially important for edible products, shade variation, BBE dates, ingredients, allergy, other intolerances and religious observance, where we respectfully point out that responsibility lies with the customer.