Terms of service

1. About Us

This website is operated by Imperial Teas of Lincoln Ltd (“Imperial Teas”, “we”, “us” or “our”), a company registered in England and Wales under company number 04780764.

Our registered office and trading address is:

Imperial Teas of Lincoln Ltd
47 Steep Hill
Lincoln
Lincolnshire
LN2 1LU
United Kingdom

Email: shop@imperialteas.co.uk
Telephone: 01522 560008

These terms apply when a consumer buys goods from us through our website. If you are buying wholly or mainly for business purposes, please contact us because different terms may apply.

2. These Terms and Your Statutory Rights

Please read these terms before ordering. They work together with our:

  • Delivery Policy;
  • Returns, Refunds & Cancellations Policy;
  • Privacy Policy; and
  • Cookie Policy.

Nothing in these terms limits or excludes any rights you have under consumer law.

If there is a conflict between these terms and a right that the law does not allow us to exclude, your legal rights take priority.

3. Products and Food Information

We take reasonable care to describe and photograph our products accurately. Colours and appearance can vary slightly between screens, natural products and production batches. Packaging may occasionally change without affecting the product itself.

For tea and coffee sold by weight, the selected pack size is the net quantity supplied. Natural settling can make two packs of the same weight appear different in volume.

Ingredients, allergens, storage instructions and other mandatory food information are provided on the relevant product page where required.

Please read this information before ordering. You should also check the packaging and label when the product arrives, particularly if you or the intended recipient has an allergy or intolerance.

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that the product information displayed on our website reflects the product supplied. If a supplier makes a material change that affects an order, we will update the information or contact you where appropriate.

Allergens are emphasised within the ingredients information.

If you or the intended recipient has an allergy or intolerance and anything is unclear, please contact us before ordering.

Statements about flavour, tradition, customary use or possible wellbeing qualities are descriptive and are not medical advice.

4. Prices and Delivery Charges

Prices shown to consumers include VAT where VAT is applicable.

Delivery charges and any other unavoidable charges will be shown before you place your order.

We try to ensure that prices, product descriptions and promotional information are correct. If an obvious pricing or description error affects your order, we will contact you before dispatch.

You may confirm the order at the correct price or cancel the affected item for a full refund.

We will not substitute a materially different product without your agreement.

5. Placing an Order and Forming the Contract

You can review and correct your order before submitting it. Please check the products, quantities, delivery address and contact details carefully.

After you place an order, we will send an acknowledgement. This confirms that we have received your order but does not necessarily mean that we have accepted it.

The contract between you and us is formed when we send a dispatch confirmation, unless we tell you earlier that we have accepted the order.

If we cannot accept all or part of an order—for example, because an item is unavailable, payment cannot be authorised, a delivery restriction applies or there is an obvious error—we will tell you and refund any amount taken for the affected goods.

We may refuse or cancel orders that appear fraudulent, are placed for unlawful resale, abuse a promotion or cannot reasonably be fulfilled.

We will not refuse or cancel an order on a discriminatory basis or in a way that removes your statutory rights.

6. Payment

Available payment methods are shown at checkout.

Online payments are processed securely through Shopify Payments and any associated payment method selected at checkout.

We receive limited transaction information but do not normally receive or retain your complete payment-card number, security code or full card details.

You confirm that you are authorised to use the selected payment method.

If payment is refused, reversed or cannot be authorised, we may suspend or cancel dispatch while the matter is resolved.

7. Relationship With Shopify

For this section, “Services” means this website, online store and the related ecommerce services made available through Shopify.

Imperial Teas is powered by Shopify, which enables us to provide the Services to you. However, any sales and purchases you make in our Store are made directly with Imperial Teas. By using the Services, you acknowledge and agree that Shopify is not responsible for any aspect of any sales between you and Imperial Teas, including any injury, damage, or loss resulting from purchased products and services. You hereby expressly release Shopify and its affiliates from all claims, damages, and liabilities arising from or related to your purchases and transactions with Imperial Teas.

8. Product Availability

Some teas and coffees are prepared, blended or roasted in small batches. Website availability can occasionally change before an order is processed.

If an item cannot be supplied within the stated or agreed time, we will contact you and offer:

  • an appropriate alternative, but only with your agreement;
  • a revised delivery date; or
  • a refund for the unavailable item.

We will not replace an unavailable product with a different product without your agreement.

9. Delivery

Delivery options, charges, destinations and dispatch aims are set out in our Delivery Policy and shown at checkout.

Unless a different time has been agreed, goods will be delivered without undue delay and no later than 30 days after the contract is made.

Goods remain at our risk until they are delivered to you or to a person you identified to receive them.

If you independently appoint a carrier that we did not offer, risk may pass to you when we hand the goods to that carrier.

Ownership of the goods passes to you when we have received payment in full and the goods have been delivered.

10. Cancellation and Change-of-Mind Returns

Most consumers buying online have a legal right to cancel without giving a reason.

The usual cancellation period is 14 days beginning the day after the goods are received. After telling us that you wish to cancel, the goods normally need to be returned within a further 14 days.

The cancellation right has certain legal exceptions. It may not apply to:

  • goods made to your specification or clearly personalised;
  • goods liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly; or
  • sealed goods that are not suitable for return for health-protection or hygiene reasons once unsealed.

Where tea, coffee, chocolate or another food product has been supplied in sealed packaging and is not suitable for return for health-protection or hygiene reasons, the change-of-mind cancellation right may be lost once the packaging or seal has been opened.

Full cancellation instructions, refund times, return costs and the cancellation form are provided in our Returns, Refunds & Cancellations Policy.

These exceptions do not affect your rights if goods are faulty, damaged, incorrectly supplied or not as described.

11. Faulty, Damaged or Misdescribed Goods

Goods must be:

  • as described;
  • of satisfactory quality; and
  • fit for any purpose made known to us.

If goods do not meet these requirements, you may have the right to reject them or obtain a refund, repair or replacement, depending on the circumstances and timing.

Please contact us as soon as reasonably possible so that we can investigate and put matters right.

We may ask for photographs or other reasonable information, particularly where a product or parcel has been damaged. However, we do not impose an immediate reporting deadline that removes your statutory rights.

We will bear reasonable return costs where goods are faulty, damaged, incorrectly supplied or not as described.

12. Promotions and Discount Codes

Promotions are subject to any specific conditions stated with them.

Unless we say otherwise:

  • only one discount code may be used per order;
  • discount codes cannot be exchanged for cash;
  • a code must be applied before checkout is completed; and
  • a promotion may be withdrawn or changed for future orders.

A promotion does not affect your statutory rights.

If a refund reduces an order below a promotional or free-delivery threshold, the refund will reflect the amount actually paid for the returned goods. We will not make a deduction that is inconsistent with your statutory cancellation rights.

13. Gift Orders

If you ask us to deliver an order to another person, you are responsible for:

  • providing an accurate delivery address; and
  • ensuring that it is reasonable and lawful for you to provide the recipient’s personal information for that purpose.

We will use the recipient’s information to fulfil the order, manage delivery and deal with any delivery problem.

Please ensure that the recipient is able to accept the goods, particularly where the order contains food or products affected by allergies.

14. Our Responsibility to Consumers

We are responsible for loss or damage that is a foreseeable result of our breach of these terms or our failure to use reasonable care and skill.

We are not responsible for loss or damage that was not foreseeable.

These terms apply to consumer purchases. We are not responsible for business losses, including loss of profit, revenue, business opportunity or business interruption, arising from a consumer purchase.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so, including liability for:

  • death or personal injury caused by negligence;
  • fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
  • rights and remedies under consumer law that cannot legally be excluded.

15. Events Outside Our Reasonable Control

We are not responsible for delay caused by events outside our reasonable control.

If such an event affects your order, we will take reasonable steps to reduce its effect and keep you informed.

If a substantial delay occurs, you may contact us to end the contract and receive a refund for goods you have paid for but not received, subject to your legal rights.

16. Website Use and Intellectual Property

The website and its text, photographs, illustrations, product descriptions, branding and other content are owned by us or used with permission.

You may view and print website pages for personal, non-commercial use.

You must not reproduce, scrape, republish, sell, distribute or commercially exploit our website content without permission, except where the law allows.

You must not:

  • misuse the website;
  • introduce viruses, malicious code or other harmful material;
  • attempt to gain unauthorised access to the website or its systems;
  • interfere with the website’s operation or security; or
  • use the website for an unlawful purpose.

Links to third-party websites are provided for convenience. We do not control those websites and are not responsible for their content, availability or privacy practices.

17. Personal Information

We collect and use personal information as described in our Privacy Policy.

Our use of cookies and similar technologies is explained in our Cookie Policy and through the website’s cookie-preference controls.

Shopify may also process personal information to provide, secure and improve its services. Further information is available in our Privacy Policy and the Shopify Consumer Privacy Policy.

18. Changes to These Terms

The terms applying to an order are those available when the order is placed.

We may update these terms for future orders, including to reflect changes in:

  • the law or regulatory guidance;
  • our products or services;
  • payment or delivery arrangements;
  • Shopify or other providers; or
  • the operation of our website.

We will not retrospectively change an existing contract without a lawful reason.

19. If Part of These Terms Is Unenforceable

If a court or relevant authority finds that part of these terms is unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply.

If we delay enforcing a right under these terms, this does not mean that we have waived that right.

20. Governing Law and Courts

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.

If you live elsewhere in the United Kingdom, you retain any mandatory protections provided by the law where you live and may bring proceedings in the courts available to you as a consumer.

21. Complaints and Contact

Please contact us first so that we can try to resolve any concern or complaint.

Imperial Teas of Lincoln Ltd
47 Steep Hill
Lincoln
Lincolnshire
LN2 1LU
United Kingdom

Email: shop@imperialteas.co.uk
Telephone: 01522 560008

Nothing in this complaints process affects your statutory rights.