Payment and Delivery
Placing An Order
Delivery
Chilled Goods
Age Restrictions
Returns Policy
Placing An Order
The easiest way to place an order is through our fully secure website which you are currently browsing. We accept Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Solo, Maestro, Visa Electron and Visa Debit (Delta) and Mastercard Debit payments. If you do not wish to enter your credit card details online you will be given the option at check out to telephone us with your payment details. Alternatively we will also accept payment for online orders by personal cheque (from a UK bank account only), however please note that we will be unable to dispatch your order until we have received your cheque and the cheque has cleared.
Alternatively you can:
1. Post your order to:
Melbury & Appleton
271 Muswell Hill Broadway
London
N10 1DE
and we can telephone you when the order is ready for dispatch for card payment.
2. You are also welcome to phone us on 020 8442 0558 between the hours of 10am and 6pm Tuesday to Friday when we will be pleased to take your order personally.
3. Email your order: click HERE to email us. For security please DO NOT submit any payment details by email. We will telephone you when the order is ready for dispatch for card payment.
Our minimum order value is £5 before postage costs for deliveries within the UK (excluding the Channel Islands) for everywhere else it is £15 (£30 for USA due to time-consuming customs regulatations unfortunately). Minimum is also £15 for all BFPO addresses. Well we don't hide delivery charges in our prices, you are paying the same price as you would if you came in to our London shop. Profit margins on food are much lower than non-food particularly clothing and electrical goods, for products that have VAT then a sizeable chunk of the price goes to the government, then we have the packaging costs, credit card fees, and finally staff costs for the time it takes to package up your order.
Why do we have this minimum?
We aim to dispatch your goods within one week if a parcel is for the UK and all of the items are in stock, however please note if payment is made by cheque your order will not be dispatched until your cheque has cleared. Please note that we only dispatch parcels Tuesday - Friday and that our standard delivery service typically takes 2 working days. Also is you order a large number of items processing may take longer as we may need to order in more stock.
If a delivery is urgent, please place the order on the web site then log into your account on our website and send us a message as soon as possible to request faster order processing. We will do our best to get it to you quickly, but there will be a supplementary handling charge and please remember we do not dispatch parcels on Saturdays, Sundays or Mondays:
- Same day dispatch is not possible. If you would like to arrange for your own courier collection this is usually possible, subject to stock availability and a £5 handling charge.
- Next Day dispatch for orders placed before midday - £10 handing surcharge. N.B. Orders placed from Thursday afternoon until Monday midday will be sent out on the Tuesday.
- Two Day dispatch for orders placed before midday - £5 handling surcharge. Again please note we do not dispatch parcels on Saturdays, Sundays or Mondays.
For deliveries outside the UK it may take longer to process your order as it takes time to weigh and measure your parcel and then obtain quotes for delivery.
Your package will require a signature upon delivery so please inform us at the time of placing an order if there are any special delivery instructions.
If the delivery address can be difficult to find please provide us with explicit details of how to find you.
For deliveries within the UK we can arrange for parcels to be delivered to places of work, neighbours etc. at no extra charge, but unfortunately times can not be specified. You will be able to specify this altenative delivery address during checkout.
Why is there a delivery charge? We don't charge you for the packing materials we use & we try to recycle our cardboard boxes and other packaging materials as much as possible, but it's an unavoidable fact of life that transportation costs money. We will never try to profit from our delivery charges and we don't hide delivery costs in inflated products prices as websites who offer free delivery do. Please bear in mind if you were to go to the shops you would have to pay your fare or petrol and parking charges plus you would have to carry the parcel - so let us take the strain.
UK Delivery
Please be aware that these prices are our cost prices and we do not profit from the postage charges. These prices are those quoted to us by our couriers and we simply pass them on including VAT.
Whether your order weighs 100g or 29kg we are charged the same amount and so we charge you the same amount.
All UK orders are sent by courier, with delivery Monday to Friday:
- Standard UK delivery (Mainland UK) up to 29kg in weight: £6.75
- Northern Ireland, Off-shore Islands (includes both the Isle of Wight & Isle of Mann), Scottish Highlands up to 28kg in weight: £10.95
- Channels Islands, please place your order and then we will quote you for the delivery cost which is based on the weight and dimensions of your parcel (we will not take payment until we have your approval)
- BFPO Addresses, as with the Channel Islands, we will quote you for the delivery cost which is based on the weight and dimensions of your parcel and we will not take payment until we have your approval. Deliveries will be by mail not courier.
The following UK postcodes do not fall under "standard UK", so delivery will be £10.95:
Scottish Highlands & Offshore postcodes: AB30-56, KW1-3, KW5-17, HS1-9, IV1-28, IV30-37, IV40-56, IV63, PA20-49, PA60-78, PH30-50, ZE1-3
Northern Island postcodes: BT
Isle of Man postcodes: IM
Isle of Wight postcodes: PO30-41
If you need to have your item delivered on a Saturday please speak to us about it, so that we can determine if this service is available in your area and if it is feasible for your order to be shipped in time. The courier charge a large supplement for Saturday morning delivery so the charge is £15.95.
If your order contains chilled items such as cheese or products from our deli counter we need to be sure they are delivered to you overnight so you must select the chilled delivery option which costs £1 more, as the goods will be delivered on the day after we dispatch them, Wednesday to Friday. Please reply to the order confirmation email you will receive from us and let us know if you have a preferred delivery day and we will try our best to have it delivered on the day you require but remember it may take up five working days before your order is dispatched.
Delivery for chilled products: £7.75 (subject to availability in the area where you live)
For food safety reasons we reserve the right to automatically charge this chilled delivery rate, if not selected at checkout, for any order that contains items that must be kept chilled .
Rest of World Delivery
We are happy to send the majority of our products, except for alcohol and items that need to be kept chilled, outside the UK. Please either contact us for delivery charges outside the UK by clicking HERE to email us, or place your order and select the overseas delivery option. We will then email you with the delivery cost, but please allow us several days to do this as it takes time determine the weight and dimensions of your parcel and then obtain a quote for delivery.
Once you have received a quote for delivery from us, you will be able to cancel the order if the delivery cost is more than you had expected. WE WILL NOT TAKE PAYMENT FROM YOU UNTIL WE KNOW THAT YOU ARE HAPPY WITH THE DELIVERY COST and your order is ready to be dispatched. Please note that the delivery costs you will be quoted are simply what we are charged by the courier that we use, and are determined by the weight and dimensions of the parcel including packaging.
Please note that because the process of determining the weight and dimensions of your parcel and obtaining quotes for delivery is time-consuming we have a higher minimum order level than for parcels to UK destinations. For the majority of countries this minimum (before tax and postage costs) is £15, but for the United States this minimum is £30. This higher minimum for US orders is because the US FDA insists, for parcels containing food, that we obtain a prior approval notice from them which again is a time-consuming process.
Melbury & Appleton will not be held responsible if local Customs authorities wish to charge import duty, confiscate or delay the release of any item. We are not an exporter, we are simply sending your order to you, you are importing the items in your order.
Chilled Goods
If your order contains items that need to be kept chilled such as cheese or deli counter goods, you must select the overnight chilled delivery option (£7.75 including VAT no matter how large your order). Unfortunately this service is only available within the UK.
Please note that as with all orders we aim to dispatch your chilled order within five working days, this overnight delivery means that your parcel will arrive on the day after it is dispatched, it does not mean that you will receive it the day after the order is placed. As with all orders if you need your goods delivered in a hurry, please place the order on-line then telephone us to see if we can post it out more quickly.
Age Restrictions
Please note that alcohol is only available for UK delivery.
By placing an order for wines or spirits, you warrant that you are at least 18 years of age. If you are buying the alcohol as a gift, you are also confirming the recipient is over 18 years old. If you are a new customer, we may contact you to verify your age.
We regret we cannot deliver alcohol to persons who are or appear to be under the age of 18. All packages containing alcohol must be signed for on delivery by an adult aged 18 years or over.
Returns Policy
We hope that you will be delighted with your goods, but in the event that any goods supplied are faulty, they will be replaced free of charge or your money refunded in full.
Refunds for unwanted goods will be made if you notify us by email or in writing of your intent to return them within 7 days of dispatch of your order, except for food items, or goods that have been prepared or produced to order to your individual specifications. Please read our Terms & Conditions for full details of our cancellation & returns policies.
We comply with the requirements of Distance Selling Regulations 2000.
It is your responsibility to return the goods safely to us at your cost, this should be done via courier or Royal Mail Recorded Delivery so that you have evidence that they have been safely received by us. We cannot be held responsible for items that are "lost in the post" when being returned to us. Proof of post cannot be accepted as proof of delivery. Please note that without exception, refunds or cancellations will not be considered if the procedures outlined in our Terms & Conditions are not adhered to.
Please check the goods for damage & sign the delivery note accordingly, once goods have been moved from the delivery address damage claims cannot be considered. Damage claims cannot be made for damaged goods on delivery where the delivery notes do not indicate damage. "Not checked" or "unopened" signatures are not acceptable.
Please note that, without exception, we will not process any claims for damage if you dispose of any damaged items without our written permisssion to do so. All items, and their original packaging must be either returned to us or be available for us to inspect, even if the parcel was signed for as damaged on delivery.
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