Returns & Cancellations

Returns and cancellations

This page sets out your rights and how to use them. Nothing here removes any right you have under UK law.

Your 14-day right to cancel

Because you are buying at a distance, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give you 14 days to cancel without giving any reason. The 14 days run from the day you, or someone you name, take physical possession of the goods. Where an order arrives in several parcels, they run from the last one.

To cancel, tell us clearly before the 14 days are up — email info@thescents.co.za, or write to St. Edmund Terrace, London. You may use the model cancellation form in Schedule 3 of the Regulations, but you do not have to.

You then have a further 14 days to send the goods back.

The sealed-goods exception — read this before you open anything

Fragrance is a sealed cosmetic product. Under Regulation 28(3)(b) of the 2013 Regulations, the right to cancel does not apply to sealed goods which are not suitable for return for health protection or hygiene reasons, once they have been unsealed after delivery.

In practice: while the cellophane and the manufacturer’s seal are intact, you can cancel and return for a full refund. Once you break the seal, the 14-day cancellation right is lost. This does not affect your rights if the item is faulty, damaged or not as described — those are unaffected either way.

Refunds after cancellation

We refund everything you paid, including the standard delivery charge, within 14 days of receiving the goods back or of you supplying evidence that you have sent them, whichever is sooner. Refunds go to the method you paid with.

If you chose a more expensive delivery option than our standard one, we refund the standard cost, not the premium.

You bear the direct cost of returning the goods unless they were faulty or misdescribed. Under Regulation 34(9) you are liable for any reduction in value caused by handling the goods beyond what would be allowed in a shop.

Faulty, damaged or misdescribed goods

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires goods to be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described.

• Within 30 days — you have the short-term right to reject and get a full refund.
• Within 6 months — you can ask for a repair or replacement. If that fails, you can claim a refund, and a fault found in this period is presumed to have been present at delivery unless we can show otherwise.
• Up to 6 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 5 years in Scotland — you may still have a claim, though after six months the burden of proof is yours.

Where goods are faulty, we pay the cost of returning them. You never pay to send back something that was wrong.

How to return something

1. Email info@thescents.co.za with your order number and whether you are cancelling or reporting a fault.
2. We reply with a return reference and the address.
3. Pack the item so it survives the journey. Fragrance is glass and flammable; it must go by road, not air.
4. Keep proof of postage. We process the refund once the goods arrive or you show they are on the way.

Complaints and dispute resolution

Write to info@thescents.co.za; we aim to acknowledge within two working days. If we cannot resolve it, you can get free advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or at citizensadvice.org.uk, which will refer the matter to Trading Standards where appropriate.