Returns Policy
1. Our goods
We supply physical goods.
2. Read instructions
Please carefully read and follow any instructions that come with our goods.
3. Cooling-off period for electronic transactions
Section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act may apply to your electronic transactions. If you qualify as a consumer under the ECT Act, you may be entitled to cancel some electronic transactions within seven days, without reason or penalty. Section 44 is only applicable if you are a natural person – in other words, a human being. You must also be the end user of the goods or service. The transaction must be an electronic transaction – a transaction concluded via (in whole or in part) the website, email, or SMS.
This cooling off period does not apply to goods made or altered to your specifications, or goods specially ordered from a foreign country.
3.1.Return of goods in terms of cooling-off period
You must return any goods in new condition with all original packaging and materials (including any accessories or parts). We will refund the purchase price of the goods (minus the direct costs that we incur relating to the return of the goods) within 30 days of the date of cancellation.
4. Incorrect item delivered
We do our best to ensure the product information, availability, purchase price and associated delivery times and fees are accurately reflected on our site. Please notify us within 7 days (the sooner the better) by contacting our customer services department.
However, should we accidentally deliver the wrong product to you or if the product is not as described on the website, or is missing any parts:
- Please do not remove the product from its original packaging or any of the stickers or labels.
- Notify us as immediately and we will collect the product from you at no charge.
We will at your choosing:
- deliver the correct item to you as soon as possible (if available); or
- issue a refund (using the same method of payment you originally used for the purchase). Please not that a refund is not available if the item was received as a gift.
5. Goods arrived damaged
If your goods arrive damaged, then we will do our best to resolve the issue. Please notify us within 7 days (the sooner the better) by contacting our customer services department.
We will require the following information to assess where in the delivery process the damage may have occurred:
- photograph of the outer box (including whether it has a Fragile sticker or not);
- photograph of the inside of the box, including the inner packaging; and
- photograph of the damaged item.
Once we have inspected the product or photographs and validated your return (if needed), we will, according to your preference:
- replace the product (if available); or
- issue a refund (using the same method of payment you originally used for the purchase.
5.1. Damaged goods
Refunds are handled within 8 to 10 working days of logging the return (refunds can take up to 3 working days to reflect in your account once processed due to banking timelines). Replacements may take longer as these are dependent on availability.
6. Our goods warranty
We warrant that all our goods are new and of good quality unless we clearly describe them as used or reconditioned or as having specific defects.
7. Statutory warranty against defects
We warrant all our new goods against any defects for six months of normal household or business use, from the time we supplied the goods. This is the statutory warranty in terms of the Consumer Protection Act of 2008 (the CPA).
7.1. Defective goods
Defective goods are those that had a defect or were unsafe when we supplied them. We highly recommend testing out your purchase as soon as you have received it to make sure that everything is in working order A defect usually means that the goods were manufactured using materials, components or workmanship below an acceptable standard. You must prove that goods are defective.
7.2.Statutory compensation
We will repair, replace, or refund the price of any defective goods that you return to us during the six month statutory warranty. Returns must follow our returns procedure below.
7.3. Choice of compensation
Any customer that is also a consumer under the CPA may decide whether we should either repair or replace the defective goods, or make a refund. We will decide how to compensate any of our other customers.
8. Statutory warranty on repairs
We do not personally carry out the repair, but we will send the goods to the supplier to be repaired. We warrant all our repairs and repaired goods against the failure of a repair and any further defect for the remaining portion of the statutory warranty plus a further three months from the time we returned the repaired goods.
8.1. Compensation under repair warranty
If you are also a consumer under the CPA, then we may choose to replace or refund the price of any repaired goods that you return to us during the three month repair warranty period.
9. Inspection of defective goods
9.1. Our examination duties
We train our staff to recognise any defects in our goods. They can usually tell if the goods have been misused, for example if they have been neglected, damaged, altered or not used according to instructions. Our staff will give reasons if they refuse to accept that we supplied defective goods, but will only do this if they honestly believe the goods have been misused.
10. Statutory right to return unsuitable goods
Our customer that is also a consumer under the CPA may return goods within ten days of delivery if they could not examine them before delivery and then discover that the goods are not what they ordered or expected, or are not suitable for a specific purpose that they communicated to us in writing.
10.1. Returns of unsuitable goods
A consumer must return unsuitable goods within ten days of delivery according to our returns and refunds procedure below.
10.2. Refund of price of unsuitable goods
We will refund the full price of any unsuitable goods in their original unopened packaging. For opened goods, we may deduct or charge a reasonable amount for any use of the goods plus certain costs necessary for repackaging and restocking, subject to the CPA. These costs are usually up to 25% of the cost of the goods.
11. Postage costs
We will refund the reasonable postal and insurance costs of returning defective or unsuitable goods. We may inspect the goods to confirm that they are defective before we do so.
12. Invalidation of warranties and right to return unsuitable goods
Warranties on any of our goods will be invalid if any person who is not suitably qualified has opened, tampered with or altered the goods contrary to the instructions or removed the warranty label. This also applies to goods found to be unsuitable. It may be fraud to damage goods deliberately to claim a refund.
13. Exclusion of industrial use
We only warrant goods for any industrial or unusual commercial use if we clearly state this in writing, for example on the packaging.
14. Our returns and refunds procedure
You must use our returns and refunds procedure for returning defective or unsuitable goods, or else we may refuse to accept them. Our returns and refunds procedure is as follows:
- Contact our customer services department and lodge a claim with them.
- Our customer services department may tell you that they do not believe you have a claim, for example because the warranty period of the goods has expired. In this case we may refuse to repair or replace goods, or refuse to pay a refund
- Any return of physical goods must include proof of purchase plus all accessories and instructions, and all original packaging that is still available. If original delivery packaging is not available, please make sure the goods are in protective packaging as we are not responsible for any damage in transit. If the returning product item has not been packaged properly and is damaged, then we simply cannot give you a refund. It is your responsibility to package the item correctly
- Please write the return claim number clearly on the package. We may refuse to accept a package that does not have this return claim number on it.
- Deliver the defective physical goods under warranty or unsuitable physical goods to us or post them by normal prepaid registered post, insured against loss, damage and theft. The street and postal addresses for all returns are the same as for our customer services department, details of which are below.
- If you choose to post the physical goods, please notify us that you have done so by sending us an email. In this email, please provide us with the post office tracking number for the envelope or package.
- Once we have received the package, we will notify you that we have received the physical goods. Please allow 10 working days from the date on which you sent the envelope or package for it to reach us. If we have not notified you within 10 working days, please contact the postal service that you sent the package through and try and establish whether it has been delivered to the correct address.
- We will also notify you in the same email if we have not received the return or refund claim form associated with your claim. If we have not received it, we will send you a blank return or refund claim form attached to the email. Please complete it and return it to us in terms of our returns and refunds procedure above. We will not be able to continue processing your claim until we have received this document.
- If you claim that our goods are defective, our staff will examine the goods for defects. They will report to us whether the goods were defective, were misused, or are of good quality. We do not regard the following as defective:
- faults resulting from normal wear and tear;
- damage arising from negligence, user abuse or incorrect usage of the product;
- damage arising from electrical surges or sea air corrosion;
- damage arising from a failure to adequately care for the product;
- damage arising from unauthorized alterations to the product; or
- where the specifications of a product, although accurately described on the website and generally fit for its intended purpose, do not suit you.
- If you claim that our goods are unsuitable for your purposes, we will first investigate whether you communicated the purpose to us. If you did, we will then provide you with a written report indicating whether we believe the goods were unsuitable for your specific purpose or not.
- If the goods were returned outside the seven day cooling-off period, or our staff report that the goods were misused, were of good quality, were not provided to you for a specific purpose or were suitable for that purpose, then we will not repair, replace, or refund the goods.
- If you returned the goods within the seven day cooling-off period and our staff report that the goods were defective, were provided to you for your specific purpose and were unsuitable for that purpose, then we will either contact you and ask you whether you would like us to repair, replace, or refund the price of the goods (if you are also a consumer under the CPA) or advise you how we have decided to compensate you (if you are not a consumer under the CPA).
- If you choose for us to repair or replace the goods or we decide to do so ourselves, we will contact you as soon as reasonably possible to organise the necessary steps to repair or replace the goods.
- If you choose for us to make a refund or we decide to do so ourselves, we will contact you and arrange payment of the refunded amount into a bank account of your choice within 30 days of cancellation.
15. Our customer services department contact details
Email: shop@wwf.org.za
16. Customer queries and complaints
We aim for complete customer satisfaction. We respect our customers’ rights and always try to comply with best practice and all relevant laws. If you are not satisfied with any of our goods, or have any questions, please contact our customer services department and have your invoice ready. We will try our best to solve your problem. We are proud of the reputation of our goods.
17. Dispute resolution
If we do not accept that we supplied defective or unsuitable goods, and our customer services department has not been able to help, any customer may still take the matter up with a suitable ombud or other dispute resolution body, or take legal action. The dispute resolution procedures under the CPA do not necessarily apply to all transactions with us. This policy does not exclude any other rights customers may have.