Returns and refunds

Everything on this page is between you and Joseph Schembri, trading as Dickens, of Bisazza Street, Sliema SLM 1640, Malta (info@dickens.com.mt). "We" and "us" mean him.

There are two separate rights here and they are easy to confuse, so this page keeps them apart.

You can always use both; the two-year guarantee does not stop when the 14 days end.

Part one: you changed your mind

1. The 14 days

You can cancel your order for any reason, or none, within 14 days. You do not have to explain, and there is no penalty.

The 14 days start:

• on the day you receive the goods, not the day you ordered;
• if your order came in more than one delivery, on the day the last item arrived;
• if somebody else took delivery for you, on the day they received it.

2. How to tell us

Any clear statement is enough. Email info@dickens.com.mt with your order reference, or a letter to our shop address works too. You can also use our cancellation form (it is on our cancellation form page and comes with your order confirmation) but send it to us by email, since we do not accept that particular form by post. Or use the "Cancel my order" button on your order page: go to the link in your confirmation email, or to dickens.com.mt/order/ followed by your order reference, and it is there without needing to sign in.

You only have to send the message within the 14 days. It does not matter if it reaches us on day 15.

We will confirm we received your cancellation, by email, so you have a record of the date and time.

3. Sending the goods back

Send them back within 14 days of telling us you have changed your mind, to the address in these terms. Bring them to the shop if that is easier.

Who pays to send them back: you do.

For a bulky item that cannot go by ordinary post (a large drone case, a tripod, a monitor), you bring it back to the shop yourself. We do not collect it and we do not arrange or pay for a courier. That means there is no separate return cost for you to budget for on a bulky item: the only "cost" is bringing it to Bisazza Street, Sliema, the same as any other return.

Look at it as you would in a shop. Unpack it, switch it on, see what it does. That is exactly what the 14 days are for and it does not affect your refund. If you go beyond that and the item comes back worth less as a result (used outside, scratched, the drone flown), we can reduce your refund by the amount of the drop in value. We will tell you the figure and why. We will not refuse a refund because a box has been opened.

4. Your refund

• We refund everything you paid, including the delivery charge we added to your order.
• We do it within 14 days of being told you have changed your mind.
• It goes back the same way you paid, unless you ask us for something else in writing. Either way it costs you nothing.
• We may wait until the goods are back with us, or until you show us you have sent them, whichever happens first.

We do not deduct anything. No restocking fee, no admin fee, no share of what the card processor charged us, and never a credit note instead of money.

How the refund reaches you depends on how you paid, and cash and cryptocurrency need a paragraph each; see the payment terms.

Our management and service department handle every refund.

5. Returns must be unopened

Returns must be unopened.

We can accept a return only while the item is still sealed in its shrink wrap or original packaging, and has not been activated. Once that packaging has been opened, damaged or thrown away, or the item has been activated, we are not able to refund it under this policy.

The one exception is a manufacturing fault. If something is faulty, the packaging makes no difference at all: bring it back opened, unwrapped or in pieces, and we will put it right. Nothing in this paragraph affects your two-year guarantee, which is set out in Part two.

Where we accept a return, we will either refund you or issue a credit note.

Faulty goods are unaffected: a manufacturing fault is a return whatever the state of the packaging, and is dealt with in Part two.

This is our own shop policy, not your statutory 14-day right. It does not reduce or replace anything in Part one; see the note about it on Cancelling an order.

Part two: something is wrong with it

6. The two-year legal guarantee

Everything we sell you carries a two-year legal guarantee from the day it is delivered. If the item is faulty, damaged when it arrives, or not what was described, you have rights against us for two years. This is the law, not a policy of ours, and we cannot shorten it.

It has nothing to do with the manufacturer's warranty. If a product page says "1 year warranty", that is the manufacturer's separate promise. Your two-year right against us still runs. A manufacturer's warranty can only give you more than the law gives you, never less.

For the first 12 months you do not have to prove anything. If a fault shows up in the first year it is assumed to have been there when we delivered the item, unless we can show otherwise. After twelve months the two-year guarantee still runs, but it is then for you to show the fault was there from the start.

If your device is dead on arrival (DOA)

This is a faster path than the general repair-or-replace process below, for one specific situation.

If a device has a manufacturer defect that shows up within the first 15 days of use from your purchase, tell us. We inspect it, and once we confirm the fault is a manufacturer defect, we replace the unit; we do not attempt a repair first.

This is on top of, not instead of, your two-year legal guarantee above and your 14-day right to cancel in Part one. Use whichever route suits your situation.

7. What you can ask for

First, a repair or a replacement: your choice, unless the one you pick is impossible or costs us wildly more than the other. Either way it is free: no charge for parts, labour, postage or carriage. We do it within a reasonable time and without causing you significant inconvenience.

Then, a price reduction or your money back, if:

• we do not manage the repair or replacement, or we refuse it; or
• the fault comes back after we have tried; or
• the fault is serious enough that it is unreasonable to make you wait; or
• it is clear we will not fix it within a reasonable time.

If you end the contract, you send the goods back at our expense and we refund what you paid for them. You are never asked to pay for the use you had of an item we then replace.

8. Telling us about a fault

Tell us within two months of noticing it. That is the deadline the law sets, and we do not shorten it. A fault reported in month 23 of the two years is still a claim we have to deal with, as long as you tell us within two months of spotting it.

Email info@dickens.com.mt or bring the item to the shop with your order reference or receipt.

9. Repairs, and spare parts

For goods that need servicing or parts, spare parts and a repair service are available for a reasonable time after delivery.

How long a repair takes is case by case: we do not promise a fixed turnaround, and we do not offer a loan or courtesy unit while your item is being repaired.

Part three: when we cancel

If we cannot supply what you ordered (the shelf was empty when we went to pack it), we cancel that item and refund you in full, including the delivery charge, to the way you paid. You do not have to ask. There is no fee, and we will not offer a credit note instead.

If you would like us to order it in, say so and we will tell you honestly how long it would take. That is an offer, not a substitute for your refund.

Model cancellation form

You do not have to use this form; an email saying you want to cancel is enough. It is here because the law requires us to make it available, with the order confirmation as well as on the site.

The form itself is drafted, in the prescribed wording, in our cancellation form page. It is kept in one place on purpose: the wording comes from the Schedule to the regulations and is not ours to paraphrase. This page carries a link to it, and a copy is attached to the order confirmation.