Terms and Conditions

We're not big on small print, so we'll keep this short and simple. A few points you really need to know first, then we'll get on with the details:

If you change your mind about your order, or decide what you've bought isn't suitable, you can return it to us within 30 days for a full refund (unless it’s a personalised or special order item). You are responsible for the cost of postage to send it back to us. We do ask that all items are still in as-new condition, in their original packaging, and that fountain pens (and similar items) have not been inked. If your goods are not in this state, please contact us to discuss if we can help - we'll do our best!
Please note we are unable to offer refunds on any personalised Products due to the personalisation element of the Product, unless the Product is defective, so please take extra care with your personalisation options at the time of ordering.
Some companies don't really want to hear from you, and would really rather not help if there's a problem. That's not us. We want you to be happy with what you buy from us, and we're very happy to talk to you. If there's a problem with anything, please do let us know. We can usually sort out problems you might have thought were too small to bring up, and even things that are just a matter of taste, or suitability for an unusual purpose, are often really useful for us to know about.
If you do have a problem, we will:
- Respond to your query within one working day.
- Keep you informed.
- Work with you to reach an amicable resolution.
If your item arrives and is faulty, we will refund the cost of your return postage as well as offering a repair, exchange or refund.

These terms do not affect your statutory rights.

We are The SQL Workshop Ltd, trading as Cult Pens. We're registered in Swindon, company number 2676287, and our VAT number is 238 5548 36. We're actually based in Tiverton, in Devon, in the South West of England. Full contact details are available here.

Still with us? Good - that's the most important stuff done, so things may go on a bit from here, but it's still important stuff if you want to know the details. We'll do our best to keep it readable.

Regulations and The Law

We are bound by the Consumer Contracts Regulations in the UK, and by the EU Consumer Rights Directive across the European Union. We generally go a bit further than the rules say in trying to keep you happy, but they're always there to fall back on. You can find out more about these laws and regulations here:

Returns Policy

As covered above, you can return anything for any reason (apart from personalised products), within 30 days of receiving it, as long as it's in 'as-new' condition, with all packaging intact. Fountain pens and other similar items shouldn't be inked. If you have something you'd like to return that doesn't fit into that, do contact us to ask, and we'll help if we can. We have to be fair to other customers, though - if something is too old, or has been out of our hands for too long, it wouldn't be fair for us to sell it as new. Inked fountain pens normally incur a cleaning charge to return them to new condition, and in cases where we decide we can accept returns of items over 30 days old, we may need to charge a restocking fee.

If an item is faulty, the above time frames don't apply and we would also refund the cost of returning the item to us.

If you're outside the EU, and return something for exchange that isn't faulty, you will need to pay the delivery charge again for us to send the replacement item.

Personalised products and items ordered in specially for you can't usually be returned unless there's a problem with them, but again, contact us in case we can arrange something for you.

Cult Pens ‘Pre Loved’ products are listed with a clear description of any minor imperfections to the pen or packaging. Pre loved products can be returned in line with our standard returns policy however we cannot offer exchanges or nib swaps.

If you received something free for buying the items you're returning, you should also return the free item. For example, if you took advantage of an offer to spend £20 on certain products, and got a free widget; if you return those products, you should also return the widget.

These terms do not affect your statutory rights.

Promotions and Discounts

We regularly offer product discounts, multi buy offers and gift with purchase offers on the website and these are applied at product level. These offers will be stated on the website and detailed on the relevant product page.

If products are included in more than one product promotion (we’ll try to avoid this!) only one offer will apply and the best saving will be applied at the checkout. We also occasionally offer order discounts which apply to full price items only. Products discounts and order discounts do not combine and the best saving will be applied at checkout.

Pre-ordering Items

For items pre-ordered before they become available, your order will be shipped once the pre-ordered item is available.

If an item is available for pre-order, you will be able to purchase online. We will take the payment at the time of the order and dispatch to you as soon as the order is complete. Expected date of dispatch will be stated on the website, and if this changes you will be advised.

While every effort will be made to complete your order, we can't guarantee availability until the pre-ordered product is received, but we will keep you informed.

Unless clearly stated otherwise in the product description, you can cancel or return any pre-order the same way as any other item bought from us.

Description and Image Errors

We do our best to make sure images on the site accurately represent the items we're selling, because we think it's important. It's worth keeping a few things in mind, though:

Colours show up differently on different screens. What looked right on our screen when we set it up might look a little different on yours.
Manufacturers make minor changes to products occasionally, and we don't always know about them in time to keep up. If you know a design has changed, and the version is important to you, it's best to check with us so we can check the actual stock we have, rather than assuming it's exactly as shown.
We often show a photo of the gift box supplied with a pen or other product. Occasionally, these can change too. Manufacturers change box designs, and may sometimes have to substitute a different gift box. Again, it's best to double-check with us if the specific box is important to you.
While we're very careful with our descriptions, errors are possible here too.
Pricing errors can happen - we've all heard stories of retailers who accidentally list an item at a fraction of the price it should be. Some people say the store has to sell it at that price, but they don't. We're a small company, so we're unlikely to be able to afford to cover the cost of a simple typo. If an error like this happens, and you place an order, we'll let you know about the error, and give you the option to cancel the order or pay the correct price. It's very unlikely, though, as we're very careful people. A contract is not agreed until we confirm shipment of your order.

All in all, we try very hard not to make mistakes, but we are human (and one spaniel), and humans do sometimes make mistakes. So do spaniels, very occasionally, but they are a bit closer to perfection.

Shipping and Delivery

Within the UK, we ship most orders by Royal Mail, using Tracked 48 service. While this is usually delivered within 48 hours, delivery time isn't guaranteed, and delays can happen. Royal Mail won't consider a package lost until 15 business days from posting, but we'll usually assume it's gone missing after 14 actual days - two weeks. This sort of delay is very unusual, but happens occasionally. We'll always sort out any delivery problems, but please be patient when things go wrong. If you have a deadline, we'd always recommend upgraded delivery, and contacting us so we can be really sure of stock levels before we make any promises.

We can't guarantee delivery to PO Boxes, but we don't usually see any problems with them. Delivery via forwarding companies is also something we can't guarantee, and it removes some of the protection of the signature on delivery.

If your order doesn't arrive, you need to let us know within 30 days of ordering. For international orders, delivery can take longer, but please let us know within 60 days if it hasn't arrived.

Guarantees and Warranties

We only stock items from good, reputable brands, all normally supplied to us directly from the manufacturer or their official UK distributor (with a few exceptions for rare specially-imported items). As such, you have the full backing of the manufacturer's guarantee as well as your consumer rights from us. Just let us know if you have any problems, and we'll always be happy to help you out if you need assistance with a fault.

And for those few rare special import items? Don't worry - we'll cover any problems with those ourselves, or make sure you can easily deal with the manufacturer directly. We won't leave you stuck if we can help it.

Privacy

We respect your privacy, and we hate spam too. The very short version is that we try not to do anything that would be annoying to us, because we don't want to annoy you. We don't sell your details or pass them on, except in these specific ways:

If you pay by card, our payment processor (Pay360, part of Capita) will need your address and card data, but only to process your payment.
Shortly after your order, we ask Trustpilot to contact you to see if you're interested in reviewing our service. We send them only your name, email address and order number. If you don't wish to review us just ignore this email and they won't contact you again. You will also be given the option to ask Trustpilot to never contact you again. Trustpilot respects your privacy and their GDPR legal obligations so this information will not be used for any other purpose and will be discarded as soon as it's of no use. Obtaining customer reviews helps us improve our service and gives new customers confidence in dealing with us.
We send a newsletter, but only if you choose to receive it in the checkout process. If you later decide that you don't want it, you can, of course, unsubscribe at any time with the links given in every newsletter we send.

Gift Cards

Once activated eGift Card can be used as full or part payment for items on Cult Pens website, including delivery charges but excluding other Gift Cards.
eGift Cards are non-refundable and no change will be given, but any balance remaining on the eGift Card may be applied to future purchases. Where goods purchased with the eGift Card are subsequently exchanged for goods of a lower price or returned for a refund, monies owing will be added to the balance on the eGift Card.
You can cancel your Gift Card before use, your payment will be refunded and your Gift Card will show as ‘disabled’.
Your new balance will be shown on your gift card link, every time you make a purchase.
The minimum amount required to activate this eGift Card is £10, the maximum amount is £100 in one transaction.
Please treat this eGift Card as if it were cash, as it cannot be reissued and the balance cannot be returned to you if the activation code is lost or stolen.
This eGift card is not redeemable for cash, neither is it a credit, charge or cheque guarantee card.
Gift Card purchase does not count towards free shipping on orders.
This eGift Card will expire after 24 months and the balance will be deducted.
Cult Pens Reserves the right to amend or waive these terms and conditions or terminate this scheme on reasonable notice. Such amendments will be notified in advance via cultpens.com
If you have any queries about this eGift Card please call 01884 259856 or contact customer service
eGift Card issued by Cult Pens EX16 6SB

Talk to Us

You've probably spotted a theme in all this if you're still reading - we are not bad people, and you can talk to us if there's a problem.

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