Refund policy

Returns & Refund Policy

Last updated: September 2026

This policy sets out your right to cancel, how to return pallets, and how refunds work. Nothing here affects your statutory rights. The 14-day cancellation rights described here apply to consumers purchasing online. Business or trade orders may have different contractual terms. Contact us before ordering if you are purchasing for a business. Change-of-mind returns are not free: you pay the cost of returning the goods unless they are faulty, damaged in transit or incorrectly supplied.

Your right to cancel — 14 days

Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, if you are a consumer buying online you may cancel for any reason:

  • You have 14 days from the day you receive the goods to tell us you are cancelling.
  • You then have a further 14 days from telling us to return them.

You do not need to give a reason.

To cancel, email support@lakesidepallets.co.uk with your order number and what you are returning. A clear statement that you wish to cancel is enough, and we will acknowledge it in writing.

Custom-made pallets are excluded

The right to cancel does not apply to goods made to your specification or clearly personalised. Pallets cut to a size you have specified are made only for you and cannot be resold, so once you have approved the specification in writing and we have begun production, the order cannot be cancelled or refunded — unless the pallets are faulty or do not match the specification you approved.

This exclusion is set by regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and applies to custom sizes only. Standard-size pallets are fully returnable under the 14-day right above.

Condition of returned pallets

Please return pallets unused, dry and undamaged, in the condition they arrived. You are entitled to handle goods as you would in a shop — but pallets that have been loaded, weathered outdoors, cut, drilled, sanded, painted, dismantled or otherwise worked cannot be resold, and we may deduct a reasonable amount from your refund, or decline the return, to reflect that loss.

If you are planning to build something from them, please check the size and condition on arrival before you start cutting.

Return carriage

  • If you change your mind: you pay the cost of returning the goods. Pallets are heavy freight and return carriage is expensive — often a significant share of the order value — so please check your measurements and access before ordering. You are welcome to return them to our Portsmouth yard yourself, free of charge. Collection is available Monday to Friday, 8:00am–5:00pm, and Saturday, 8:00am–12:00pm, by prior appointment only. Please contact us and receive confirmation before travelling to the premises.
  • If the pallets are faulty, damaged in transit, or not what you ordered: we pay all return costs and arrange collection.

Please do not send anything back before contacting us — we will confirm the return address and, where we are collecting, book the vehicle.

How to return

  1. Email support@lakesidepallets.co.uk with your order number, the quantity, and whether you are cancelling or reporting a fault.
  2. We reply within 1 working day with return instructions and, for faults or damage, a collection booking.
  3. Stack and strap the pallets securely for transport.
  4. For change-of-mind returns, use an insured freight service and keep your proof of collection or postage. Until the goods reach us they remain your responsibility.

Refunds

  • We refund within 14 days of receiving the goods back, or of receiving proof you have sent them, whichever is earlier.
  • Refunds go to the original payment method. We cannot refund to a different card or account.
  • We refund the price of the goods plus the standard outbound delivery charge. If you chose a more expensive delivery option than our standard one, we refund the standard cost only.
  • Your bank may take a further 3–10 working days to show the money in your account.

Faulty, damaged or misdescribed goods

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods must be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose. If they are not:

  • Within 30 days of delivery — you may reject them for a full refund.
  • Within 6 months — we will repair or replace; if that is not possible or fails, you are entitled to a refund.
  • Up to 6 years — you may still have a claim.

Please report visible transit damage within 48 hours where possible and provide photographs so that we can deal with the haulier quickly. This request does not affect your statutory rights.

What counts as a fault, and what does not

A fault: a broken or split deck board, a cracked bearer, missing or proud nails, a pallet built to the wrong dimensions, or an unstable, unsafe pallet.

Not a fault: natural variation in the timber. Softwood differs in colour, grain and knot pattern from board to board, and may show resin spots, small surface checks or slight movement as it dries and acclimatises. This is normal in new timber and is described on our product pages. It does not affect the strength or the dimensions of the pallet, and it does not affect your separate right to change your mind within 14 days.

Also not a fault: a pallet used outside its stated load rating, or one that has been dismantled, cut or modified.

Export use

Our pallets are not ISPM 15 heat-treated and are not suitable for international export. We are not responsible for export rejection resulting from using pallets that do not meet the destination country’s requirements. This does not affect your statutory rights.

Cancelling before dispatch

If you cancel a standard-size order before it is dispatched, we refund in full, normally within 3 working days, and there is nothing to return.

Complaints

Email support@lakesidepallets.co.uk or call 023 9380 0319. We aim to resolve complaints within 5 working days. You can also get free advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or at https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk.

Contact

Lakeside Pallets Limited · Unit 8–9 Claybank Road, Portsmouth, PO3 5NQ support@lakesidepallets.co.uk · 023 9380 0319 Company number 11071322 (England & Wales)