Refunds & Returns
At Holytown Antiques, we want you to be happy with your purchase.
As many of the items we sell are antique, vintage, pre-owned or individually sourced, they may show signs of age, previous use, repairs, marks or other characteristics consistent with their age and history.
We make every reasonable effort to describe and photograph our items accurately and to highlight significant damage or defects that we are aware of.
This policy explains your rights when purchasing from Holytown Antiques and how to arrange a return.
Online Purchases – Change of Mind
If you purchase an item through our website, you will normally have the right to cancel your order without giving a reason.
You must let us know that you wish to cancel within 14 days of receiving your order.
Once you have notified us, you normally have a further 14 days to return the item to us.
To request a return, please contact us at:
Please include your:
- Name
- Order number
- Item purchased
- Date the item was received
We will then provide the appropriate return information.
Returning an Item
Unless the item is faulty, damaged in transit or not as described, the buyer is responsible for arranging and paying the cost of returning the item.
The item should be returned safely and appropriately packaged.
You are responsible for taking reasonable care of the item while it is in your possession.
Customers may examine an item in much the same way as they would be able to in a shop. However, we may be entitled to reduce a refund where an item has been handled beyond what is reasonably necessary to establish its nature, characteristics and condition and its value has consequently been reduced.
We strongly recommend using an insured and trackable delivery service for returned items.
Returning Furniture & Larger Items
Furniture and other large or heavy items may require a specialist courier.
Unless the item is faulty, damaged in transit or not as described, the cost of returning a large item following a change of mind is normally the buyer’s responsibility.
Please contact us before arranging the return of furniture or another large item so that suitable collection or delivery arrangements can be discussed.
Where possible, we may be able to assist you in arranging a courier, but any applicable return transport cost will remain payable by the customer where the return is simply due to a change of mind.
Because courier charges vary depending on the size of the item, location and access requirements, please contact us if you would like information about likely return transport costs before purchasing.
Refunds
Once a returned item has been received, we will inspect it and process the appropriate refund.
For a valid online cancellation, refunds will normally be made within 14 days of receiving the returned goods, or receiving satisfactory evidence that the goods have been returned where applicable.
Refunds will normally be made using the original payment method.
Where an online order is cancelled under your statutory cancellation rights, we will also refund the cost of our standard delivery option where applicable.
If you selected a more expensive or enhanced delivery service, we are not normally required to refund the additional cost above our standard delivery charge.
Faulty, Damaged or Misdescribed Items
Your statutory rights are separate from the change-of-mind cancellation rights described above.
If an item is:
- Faulty
- Not as described
- Damaged during delivery arranged by us
- Otherwise not of the standard required by consumer law
please contact us as soon as possible.
Where appropriate, please provide photographs showing the issue and any packaging.
UK consumer law provides additional remedies for faulty or misdescribed goods, including a short-term right to reject qualifying faulty goods during the first 30 days in appropriate circumstances, followed by repair, replacement or other remedies depending on the situation.
Nothing in this policy limits your statutory consumer rights.
Antique, Vintage & Pre-Owned Condition
Many of the items sold by Holytown Antiques are not new.
Antique and vintage pieces may naturally display:
- Age-related wear
- Surface marks
- Scratches
- Fading or colour variation
- Old repairs
- Patina
- Signs of previous use
- Minor imperfections
- Wear to finishes, fabrics or fittings
These characteristics can form part of the history and appeal of an older item.
We aim to describe and photograph condition accurately and will highlight significant defects where known.
An age-related characteristic, mark or defect that was clearly described or shown before purchase should not be treated as an undisclosed fault simply because the item is antique, vintage or pre-owned.
However, describing an item as antique or vintage does not remove your statutory rights if the item has an undisclosed fault, has been materially misdescribed or otherwise fails to meet the requirements of consumer law.
If condition is particularly important to you, please contact us before purchasing and we will be happy to provide additional photographs, measurements or further information where possible.
Items Damaged in Transit
If an item arrives damaged following delivery arranged by Holytown Antiques, please contact us as soon as reasonably possible.
Please retain:
- The item
- All packaging materials
- Boxes or protective wrapping
- Any courier documentation
and send us photographs of both the damage and packaging.
This will help us investigate the issue with the courier and arrange the appropriate remedy.
If you have arranged your own independent courier rather than using a delivery option offered by Holytown Antiques, different rules regarding responsibility for the item during transport may apply. Government guidance notes that where a consumer independently chooses a courier not offered by the trader, risk can pass when the goods are handed to that courier.
Collection Purchases Made Online
If an order was placed and paid for online, collecting the item personally from our shop does not necessarily turn it into an in-store purchase.
Where the contract was concluded online, applicable distance-selling cancellation rights may therefore still apply.
Purchases Made In Store
If you purchase an item directly from our physical shop after having the opportunity to inspect it, there is generally no automatic legal right to return it simply because you have changed your mind.
This does not affect your rights if an item is faulty, materially misdescribed or otherwise does not meet your statutory rights.
Any discretionary return agreed by Holytown Antiques for a non-faulty in-store purchase will be considered individually and does not affect your statutory rights.
Items Viewed Before an Online Purchase
Viewing an item in our shop before later purchasing it online does not automatically remove any statutory rights that may apply to the subsequent contract.
The circumstances in which the sale was actually concluded will determine which rights apply.
Sale & Reduced Items
Items purchased during a sale or at a reduced price have the same statutory rights as items purchased at full price.
Where an item has been reduced specifically because of a defect that was clearly brought to your attention before purchase, that particular disclosed defect will not normally provide grounds for claiming that the item was not as described.
Electrical Items
Some antique and vintage electrical items may be sold primarily for decorative or collectible purposes.
Where an item has not been PAT tested, or where rewiring or inspection is recommended, this will be stated where appropriate.
We recommend that untested vintage electrical items are inspected by a suitably qualified person before being connected to the electricity supply.
Any known condition information provided in the listing should be read before purchase.
Exceptions
Certain types of goods can be legally excluded from normal online cancellation rights, including some personalised or custom-made goods and certain other categories specified by consumer legislation.
Where an exception applies to a product sold by us, we will make this clear where reasonably possible before purchase.
Proof of Purchase
We may ask you to provide reasonable proof that an item was purchased from Holytown Antiques when processing a return or refund.
This may include an order confirmation, receipt or other evidence of purchase.
How to Contact Us About a Return
Before returning an item, please contact us so that we can provide the appropriate return instructions.
Holytown Antiques
42 Main Street
Holytown
Motherwell
ML1 4TA
Email: info@holytownantiques.com
Please include your order number wherever possible.
Your Statutory Rights
Nothing in this Refunds & Returns Policy is intended to exclude, restrict or replace any rights you have under applicable UK consumer law