Despatch and Delivery within the UK

NEWS May 2011 Fuel prices have recently risen dramatically and all carriers (including Royal Mail) have raised their delivery prices significantly. We have therefore reluctantly had to revise our postage prices in line with this trend. Please note that our herb and spice prices remain unchanged this year.

Orders placed before midnight will be despatched the following day. In common with most online retailers funds are `settled' each night and we despatch once this clearing has happened.

Please read all the information below.

Parcels under 2kg to UK
These are sent Royal Mail by First Class delivery. If you place an order, say Monday then your parcel will be despatched First Class on Tuesday and you should recieve it on Wednesday or Thursday.

If you order on Friday your parcel will be despatched on Saturday.

If you order on Saturday or Sunday despatch will be on Monday.

We are not able to despatch on Bank or Public Holidays.

Parcels over 2kg to UK mainland
We generally send parcels over 2kg by courier. They provide faster delivery than Royal Mail standard parcels and allow us to track the parcel.

If you place an order say Monday, we book your order with the courier on Tuesday and it will be picked up from us on Wednesday. Parcel delivery takes 48-72 hours so your goods should be with you Friday or the following Monday (couriers do not deliver on Saturdays)

If you order on Friday or Saturday we book your order with the courier to pick up from us on Monday. Your goods should be with you Wednesday or Thursday.

If you order on Sunday the courier will pick up from us on Tuesday. Your goods should be with you Thursday or Friday.

We cannot be held responsible for delays in the courier system. From 1st November until Christmas we recommend you allow longer for your parcel delivery. As well as peak seasonal pressures parcels may, for example, be delayed by Bank Holidays, severe weather, industrial action and road problems.

In order to use a courier we have to disclose your name, address and telephone contact details to them. Some couriers will phone you to check you are available to receive your parcel.

Parcels over 2kg to Scottish Highlands and Islands

If you live in the Highlands and Islands you should allow extra time for your delivery, but there is no extra charge. We send parcels over 2kg by Royal Mail standard parcels.

Paying by cheque - UK residents
We encourage you to pay online through the secure server because we can then despatch your order more quickly. If you pay by cheque you have to allow time for this arrive with us, and then we have to clear the cheque before despatch, so it could be a week before we despatch your goods.
However we do have a form that you can use to pay by cheque. Click Pay by cheque to find the form.

Standard Postage prices to UK*
Our postage and packing charge per order placed is a flat rate of £4.12.

Small order delivery charge refund - UK only If a customer orders 6 items or less, they will receive 50p cashback with their delivery (applies to individual packets of herbs and spices/ recipe kits only).

Next Day Delivery
We no longer offer Next Day Delivery. Post Office and courier charging structures, with surcharges for Saturdays, make this difficult to administer. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Receiving your package
All of our packages are too big to fit through a standard size letterbox so you need to be at home to receive the package, or to have made other arrangements locally.

In our experience, Royal Mail reliably deliver 99.9% of our packages. Even parcels that have been thought lost often turn up eventually, finding their way back to us via our return label. Well done Royal Mail! If your package has not arrived, please take the following action:

1. Check that you have allowed long enough for your delivery, (see above).
2. Check to see if the postman has helpfully placed the package out of direct sight, or with a neighbour.
3. Telephone your local Parcels Collection Office to see if it is waiting for you there.
4. Notify us that your parcel has not arrived.

We usually tell you on the despatch email how and when your parcel was despatched. If it has been sent by courier and it is late arriving please contact us and we can view the tracking system to find out where it is.

Delays beyond our control
We cannot be held responsible for delays to delivery caused by industrial action, bad weather conditions or other factors outside of our control.

Delivery within EU
­We have 3 charging bands for delivery to EU:
For 7 standard size boxes or recipe kits, or less, the charge is £4.12 (same as UK postage). For 8-15 standard size boxes or recipe kits, or up to 2 gift collections the charge is £8.24. For a total of over 16 of anyitems the charge is £12.36, limited to a maximum weight of 2kg.

Parcels are not accepted if they exceed a total of 2kg packed weight. Please contact us for advice on splitting your order if you think your parcel may exceed that weight. If your order accidentally exceeds a packed weight of 2kg we will contact you and agree with you what should be left out to bring it below this weight. We will of course refund the cost of any items removed.

Delivery is by Airmail. Country of destination is reached within 3-4 working days, but onward postage within the country will depend on local postal services.

Delivery outside of EU
We do not ship to countries outside of the EU. There are widely differing regulations relating to the import of food, and a higher likelihood of customs clearance difficulties in a number of countries. We apologise for any disappointment. any orders received form countries outside of EU will be cancelled and monies refunded.

Variation of prices and delivery We reserve the right to vary our postage prices and delivery methods.