• UK Shipments (exc. N. Ireland, Highlands & Islands, etc)
• UK Shipments to N. Ireland, Highlands & Islands, etc
• International Stockists
• Delivery Tracking
• International Orders Outside the UK
• Insurance
• Other Destinations and Services
  

This page contains a lot of detail on our shipping policy, both for UK and for export shipments. Our general policy is to ship at our cost price using fully tracked services with reputable carriers.

Customers requesting parcels to be left without signing, or with a neighbour etc, or via Royal Mail Untracked do so at their own risk. Courier drivers are usually very reluctant to leave a parcel without a signature as they can be personally liable if anything goes missing. Delivering to a work address, a parent or partner, a specific neighbour, or to a Post Office (see below) are all much preferred/recommended if you will not be available to sign for the parcel at your normal address.

This page will hopefully answer any further questions, but a general recommendation is that you contact us if delivery timing, stock availability or insurance are of particular importance for you.

UK Shipments (exc. N. Ireland, Highlands & Islands, etc)

We generally use Parcelforce for shipments within the majority of the UK. Very light weight items can sometimes be sent by Royal Mail untracked post within the UK but be wary that posted items are not insured and not tracked. The shopping cart will show the shipping cost and alternative shipping options (where available) before you are prompted for payment details.

Orders valued over £250 are shipped free of charge within the UK, main zone only, using the Parcelforce Next Working Day service. You have the option of paying extra for the before noon and other timed services, and we can also offer Saturday options also at extra cost, but we would advise that you phone us to ensure your desired items are in stock and that you are within the time window for same-day despatch, if you really require delivery the following day.

Parcelforce charges within the UK are normally £8.00 inc VAT (at 20%) for the normal Express Courier service up to 10kg weight and increasing according to their scale with increasing weights. Shipping within the UK is free of charge above £250 order value. We can also offer before noon and Saturday delivery options at higher prices. All shipping costs are calculated according to the order weight and destination and displayed within the shopping cart during checkout.

Note that we often have a long list of orders, particularly on Mondays, or your order may include an item that is not in stock, either of which would result in you not receiving your order the next working day (but we will still despatch the order on the requested shipping service when all items are available, so it should arrive in the given time slot on a subsequent day). Order processing also stops before lunchtime on Fridays.

Note that we always try to keep all listed items available from stock but this is not guaranteed and we will not assure that we will contact you if your order may be delayed (we do usually try to make contact, but this is not always possible during busy periods or if you don't reply to your e-mail or answer your phone quickly enough!). For example, we have such a wide range of chain gauges and lengths, we may not have every length immediately available with a sleeve already fitted so there may be a delay in some circumstances.

Please contact us if delivery timing is important.

All delivery timings refer to working days: A next day shipment despatched on a Friday will normally be delivered the following Monday; a 48-hour shipment despatched on Thursday will normally be delivered the following Monday. These are not guaranteed delivery times and shipment to the Scottish highlands and islands and to Northern Ireland, for instance, will often take 1-2 days extra.

We are unable to despatch anything over the weekend. Orders placed on Saturday or up to 6pm on Sunday will often be despatched on the following Monday for delivery on Tuesday (UK Zone 1), but stock availability and order volume can cause delays against this pattern.

We can usually ship to your work address or to a partner's address, to a Post Office (see above), to a neighbour, etc. We reserve the right to refuse an order with an address that does not match the card billing address, especially when card details/3D-Secure checks are incomplete or when PayPal is used for payment. This is very rarely an issue and we will contact you if it is causing a problem, but certain transactions have been found to be fraudulent in the past. Being cautious protects us and it protects you from someone else trying to use your details. If you wish to use a different shipping address, please pay via Stripe (Credit/Debit Card) and be sure to give your billing address accurately, and please go through the 3D-Secure process (i.e. Verified-by-Visa or MasterCard SecureCode). We want to see billing address and post code matches and 'Cardholder Authenticated' when we process the transaction. Again, feel free to contact us if you wish.

No Signature Required Upon Request: UK deliveries can be left without the driver having to get a signature, by special request. We recommend delivery to a work address or neighbour. If these are all not practical, we can offer unsigned-for delivery as an option. Beware that this is at your own risk, so if you request that the driver leaves a parcel in your porch and it's not there when you get home, there is no comeback. Hence, please only request this when you really are confident this is the only realistic option and you are willing to take responsibility. If you want to take this option, please specify in the Additional Information field during shopping cart checkout. Note that this is only available within the UK.

We will not normally take any money from your credit card until an order is ready for despatch. Where an item is out of stock and you have been informed of the expected shipment date, or if it is a custom order (e.g. a keyed-alike lock or a special length chain), we reserve the right to charge your card in advance of items being ready for shipment.

You can always cancel a normal order for stock items at any time before they are booked for shipment. Cancellation due to a delay in stock availability is normally eligible for a 100% refund, but only if you contact us before any custom work has begun and in any case before the goods are despatched.

UK Shipments to N. Ireland, Highlands & Islands, etc

We use Parcelforce for shipping to more distant parts of the UK and usually use the 48-hour service. Note that selecting the Express Courier service in our shopping cart will be processed as a 48-hour shipment due to logistics and costs for the more remote destinations, and that 48-hour period refers to working days and only begins when the order is ready for despatch. Please contact us for more details or for alternative services, if required.

Note that we have a stockist in Strabane, N. Ireland, that can serve all of N. Ireland and the Republic. Please see our Stockists page for contact information.

International Stockists - USA/Canada and Ireland

If you are in the USA/Canada or N. Ireland or the Republic of Ireland, please note that we have stockists covering these regions that may be able to provide a faster and more cost-effective delivery service. Please see our Stockists page for contact information.

Delivery Tracking

We will usually advise shipment details if you provide an e-mail address when you place your order.

We normally use Parcelforce for international shipments.

Parcelforce shipments can be tracked using the reference number at http://www.parcelforce.com - this includes shipments sent via Parcelforce to the GLS/EMS/EPG network.

DHL shipments can be tracked at http://www.dhl.co.uk (follow the European Road or International Air Express links, and then Track by Ident Code - note that you must select the destination country and enter the full ident code without any spaces or dashes). UPS international services generally offer better tracking, but are also usually more expensive. UPS tracking can be performed with a tracking number via http://www.ups.com

International Orders outside the UK

Shipping to countries outside the UK is becoming available again. There are specific terms associated with these export shipments. Please see below.

VAT will be deducted from the product prices by the shopping cart when you select a non-UK country during checkout. UK VAT is 20%, so the price charged for the products will be decreased during the checkout process. Shipping outside the UK is charged at our cost price, including for orders above £250. The shopping cart will show an estimated shipping cost before you are prompted for payment details. Shipping costs for destinations outside the UK are shown without VAT.

*IMPORTANT* Local Import duty and Import VAT: Although customers outside the UK are entitled to the UK VAT-exclusive price from us, you should expect to pay all local import duty and import VAT as charged by your own country's customs authority. After Brexit, the UK now has a Free Trade Agreement with many EU countries, which means that products manufactured in the UK can be imported into those EU countries without import duty (your import VAT will still be payable). However, importing into EU countries will typically attract 3% import duty for items such as our RoundLocks, Torc Ground Anchors & DIB D-Locks, as they are all made for us in Taiwan.

There is sometimes a tax-free threshold before customs charges apply (please check your local country's authorities to be sure). You are liable for all customs charges - both VAT and Import Duty - and they are usually collected by the carrier prior to, or upon, delivery.

If you have your own EU VAT or EORI number, please enter that in the Additional Information field during the shpping cart checkout.

As mentioned above, we have a stockist covering all of the USA and Canada.

Insurance

As mentioned above, we often ship without full insurance cover as we have found that unnecessary. Note that most shipping services include £50-£150 of insurance cover, only. Royal Mail post has no insurance whatsoever. Shipping by post is at your risk. Sorry, we are not able to offer signed-for services through Royal Mail. Please contact us if you require more details.

Areas or Services Not Listed

Please contact us if you require delivery to a country or zone that is not offered in our shopping cart or if you require special arrangements (e.g. a pallet-load shipment, or international expedited delivery). We are happy to quote for other requirements and are happy to supply bulk quantities for resellers. We always endeavour to provide an excellent service.