FAQ

I am asked lots of questions and I do hope that I manage to answer them all in good time - it's not unusual for me to reply to an email at midnight but as a rule, I do try to keep strict working hours. You may be able to place your order at any time and on any day but unfortunately I can not work that many hours. So, to answer just a few questions:

Q: What time is the best time to phone Summer Naturals?
A: You are welcome to phone any time but you are only likely to speak to me between the hours of 11 am and 2 pm Monday to Friday. This service may not apply during school holidays. You are always welcome to leave a message on the answer machine and we will always reply as soon as we can. Like any other family run business, we take holidays and occasionally this may include weekdays.

Q: Why was my email response so impersonal?

A: At one time we were able to give email responses a lot of time and thought, I love to chat to customers and offer a personal reply, but as the business has expanded and more time is needed for packing orders and making sure that they are dispatched in good time, I have less time to answer each email in the depth that i would like. My customers are very important but i hope that you understand the position and accept emails with links to pages like this or other information pages on the website.

Q: Why am i being asked to pay more because I live in a Parcel Force zone 2 or 3 area?

A: We consider the postal service that we offer as a service, we use external companies and Parcel Force and Royal Mail are not part of the Summer Naturals company. We have to abide by their policies. There are a few policies that we may not agree with but in order to get your parcel delivered we have to accept them. If you do not agree with the postage options that we have selected you are more than welcome to email me and arrange your own delivery method. We may or may not wish to add a packaging fee, the majority of Summer Naturals parcels charge for postage only and nothing is charged for packaging. We are currently offering to pay over 50% of Parcel Forces zone surcharges on orders above £20, this amount then incurs a cost to cover accepting the extra payment as well as the original postage payment.

Q: What percentage acetic acid is Summer Naturals's Vinegar?
A: Our vinegar is 5% acetic acid. It is white spirit vinegar which smells less pungent than white distilled malt vinegar.

Q: I have a problem with my order, will it be sorted out?
A: Worry not. If you have phoned or emailed because there is a problem with your order, I will always contact you myself to sort the problem out. If you have problems contacting me or there is no fast reply please check on the home page to see if we are closed for a few days. (We all like a little break). Please be assured that I will contact you as soon as possible to sort out any problems - I want happy customers.

Q: I think that I may have paid twice.
A: It's not happened yet but quite a few customers have been worried that they may have paid twice. In the unlikely event that this may happen, not a problem, I can see exactly what has been paid for and what hasn't, who paid it and how it was paid. Any double payments will always be refunded in full even if it incurs a charge to us.

Q: Where is my order?
A: Missing or undelivered orders happen occasionally. The most common reason for a missing order is because the confirm order button after the payment page wasn't hit, this means that we didn't get your order or any payment, it is easy done, I have done it myself on other websites. If you log into your account and your items are still in your basket then this is certainly what has happened. The next most probably reason for your order not arriving is a problem with delivery, this could be because you were not in to accept the parcel; The parcel has been left with a neighbour or the local post office. Please check to see if you have had a red card delivered advising where your parcel has been left. Rarely a parcel may be lost or damaged, you will be sent an email with a tracking code if you have opted for your parcel to be sent using a courier, you will be able to see where your parcel is. Please contact us with any problems so that we can help. And finally, cyber space blips can occur at the exact moment you press the confirm button and order and payment fail or order fails but payment goes through. It is important that you save the payment email that is sent to you after you have placed an order although we can see who has paid what, you would need this in case of a dispute. 99.9% of the time there are no blips and orders run smoothly but please be assured that we will always do what we can to sort out a problem.

Q: I can't place an order over the Internet what can I do?
A: I am happy to set up an account on your behalf, however, I may need to take a phone number and contact you at a time when we are less busy. I will always work hard at meeting the needs of a customer.

Q: Can I pay over the phone?
A: We have recently stopped taking over the phone payments due to fraud issues, we apologise for any inconvenience. We do have several other methods of accepting payment; these include cheque; postal order; direct bank payment (bank details only offered after an order has been placed); Paypal and credit card at the time of order online.

Q: Why has my order been sent in a funny box?
A: Your order will always be sent in a re-used box, this may be a wine box or a vegetable box, some boxes come from Tesco, some from the local grocer. Recycling is an important part of saving our environment!