Returns & Cancellations

Returns and cancellations

This page sets out your rights and how to use them. Nothing here removes any right you have under Irish or EU law.

Your 14-day right to cancel

Because you are buying at a distance, the European Union (Consumer Information, Cancellation and Other Rights) Regulations 2013 give you 14 days to cancel without giving any reason. The 14 days run from the day you, or someone you name, take physical possession of the goods. Where an order arrives in several parcels, they run from the last one.

To cancel, tell us clearly before the 14 days are up — email info@thescents.co.za, or write to Oldtown Demesne, Naas, Co. Kildare. You may use the model cancellation form set out in the Regulations, but you do not have to.

You then have a further 14 days to send the goods back.

The sealed-goods exception — read this before you open anything

Fragrance is a sealed cosmetic product. Under Regulation 13(1)(e) of S.I. 484/2013, the right to cancel does not apply to sealed goods which are not suitable for return for health protection or hygiene reasons, once they have been unsealed after delivery.

In practice: while the cellophane and the manufacturer’s seal are intact, you can cancel and return for a full refund. Once you break the seal, the 14-day cancellation right is lost. This does not affect your rights if the item turns out to be faulty, damaged or not what was described — those rights are unaffected either way.

Refunds after cancellation

We refund everything you paid, including the standard delivery charge, within 14 days of receiving the goods back or of you proving you have sent them, whichever is sooner. Refunds go to the method you paid with.

If you chose a more expensive delivery option than our standard one, we refund the standard cost, not the premium.

Under Regulation 20(3) you bear the direct cost of returning the goods unless they were faulty or misdescribed. You are liable for any reduction in value caused by handling the goods beyond what is needed to establish their nature and characteristics.

Faulty, damaged or misdescribed goods

The Consumer Rights Act 2022 requires goods to be of the quality, quantity and description agreed, fit for purpose and free from defects. If they are not, you may ask us to repair or replace them; if that is not possible or not done within a reasonable time, you may have the price reduced or end the contract for a refund.

For the first 30 days you have a short-term right to reject faulty goods and get your money back. For the first year, a fault is presumed to have been there at delivery unless we can show otherwise. These rights last up to six years.

Where goods are faulty, we pay the cost of returning them. You never pay to send back something that was wrong.

How to return something

1. Email info@thescents.co.za with your order number and whether you are cancelling or reporting a fault.
2. We reply with a return reference and the address.
3. Pack the item so it survives the journey. Fragrance is glass and flammable; it must go by road, not air.
4. Keep proof of postage. We process the refund once the goods arrive or you show they are on the way.

Complaints and dispute resolution

Write to info@thescents.co.za; we aim to acknowledge within two working days. If we cannot resolve it, you can seek advice from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (ccpc.ie) or, for a cross-border purchase, the European Consumer Centre Ireland (eccireland.ie).