Refund policy

Return and refund policy

All goods collected or received should be checked promptly upon receipt. Any damage, faults, shortages or discrepancies should be advised to John Cowell Ltd as soon as possible and within 12 hours of receipt of the goods, together with photographs where appropriate.

Prompt reporting allows us to investigate the circumstances and, where applicable, raise the matter with the delivery carrier.

Whether or not a carrier's delivery note is signed, or where it is signed "unchecked", this does not remove the requirement for the person receiving the goods to check them promptly upon receipt.

Where an item is supplied in separate pieces or requires assembly, all parts must be checked and inspected before assembly. Any damage, fault, shortage or discrepancy should be reported to John Cowell Ltd before assembly begins.

Please note that where we offer free delivery, this covers the outward delivery of your order only. We do not cover the return delivery costs of unwanted or change-of-mind items where those return costs are the customer's responsibility

Nothing in this policy affects the customer's applicable statutory rights.

Agreed Returns

Where John Cowell Ltd agrees to a return in writing with the customer, the item must be returned in accordance with the return arrangements agreed and confirmed in writing.

Before sending any goods back to John Cowell Ltd, customers should contact gem@john-cowell.com, quoting their name, order number, item concerned and reason for the proposed return. Where damage, a fault or an incorrect item is being reported, photographs of the item and, where appropriate, its packaging should also be provided.

Goods should not be sent back without first contacting us, as the appropriate return address and transportation arrangements may vary according to the size, weight and nature of the item.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the item should be securely returned in its original packaging where available and suitable for reuse, and appropriately protected for the return journey.

The item must be adequately packaged and protected for transportation.

Where the customer is responsible for arranging and paying for the return of an unwanted or change-of-mind item, the customer is responsible for choosing a suitable return carrier and ensuring that the goods are safely returned to John Cowell Ltd.

If a return arranged independently by the customer is lost or damaged while in the possession of the customer's chosen carrier, John Cowell Ltd cannot accept responsibility for the carrier's loss of or damage to the goods. Any claim against the customer's chosen carrier will need to be made by the customer directly with that carrier.

We therefore strongly recommend using a suitable, tracked and adequately insured return service, particularly for valuable, fragile, heavy or oversized items.

Collections Arranged by John Cowell Ltd

Where John Cowell Ltd has been provided with the requested evidence of a reported problem and agrees to arrange collection of an item, for example following an agreed product error or reported damage, the customer must ensure that someone is available at the collection address to hand the item to the appointed carrier.

The item must be securely packaged and ready for collection in accordance with the return arrangements agreed with John Cowell Ltd.

Where Parcelforce is used, the customer will usually receive a notification regarding the planned collection. If the collection date is unsuitable, the customer should use any options provided directly by Parcelforce to change or rearrange the collection.

Once John Cowell Ltd has requested the collection from Parcelforce, we may not be able to access or alter the customer's collection preferences within Parcelforce's system. Any options made available directly to the customer by Parcelforce should therefore be managed by the customer.

Where another carrier is used, the customer should follow any collection instructions provided by John Cowell Ltd or the appointed carrier.

Inspection Before Refund

Once the returned item has been received by John Cowell Ltd, it will be inspected as part of processing any refund due. This is to confirm that the correct item has been returned and to establish its condition on return.

Where a refund is due, it will be processed in accordance with our Terms & Conditions and applicable statutory requirements.

If an item is returned with damage beyond that originally stated or reported, incomplete, inadequately packaged, used or handled beyond what is reasonably necessary, or otherwise in a materially different condition, this may affect the amount of any refund where permitted by law.

Where the condition of the returned item does not correspond with the condition reported to us or the return arrangements agreed with the customer, John Cowell Ltd will assess the circumstances.

Where permitted by law, if the condition of the returned goods affects the amount of the refund, we will contact the customer and explain the reason for any adjustment.