This page explains the return and refund rights you have when you buy from Herbs at Work, and how to use them. It is written to be consistent with the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, and it does not take away any right the law gives you.
Three things can happen with a return: you change your mind; the item is defective, damaged, or not what you ordered; or we have made a packing mistake. The route that applies to your situation sets what you get back, who pays the return shipping, and how long the refund takes. Each route is set out below.
Changed your mind (online orders, within 7 days of delivery). Under section 44 of ECTA, you may cancel most online purchases within seven days of receiving them, without giving a reason and without penalty. To use this right, email us within the 7-day window with your order reference and tell us you are cancelling. Send the goods back to us in the condition you received them, with all original packaging, accessories, and any promotional items included. We will refund the full purchase price plus the original delivery fee, within 30 days of your cancellation. The only cost you carry is the direct cost of returning the goods to us — please use a trackable service and keep the tracking number.
Defective, damaged, or not as described (within 6 months of delivery). Under section 56 of the Consumer Protection Act, you may return goods that are defective, damaged, unsafe, or not what they were described as within six months of delivery, at our risk and expense. Once we have agreed the return, you may choose between a repair, a replacement, or a full refund. We will cover the return shipping and arrange collection where possible. Please keep the product and its original packaging, take photos if the damage is visible, and tell us within 7 days of delivery so we can act quickly.
Wrong item or our packing mistake (within 7 days of delivery). If we sent the wrong item or the parcel was packed incorrectly, tell us within 7 days of delivery. We will arrange collection at our cost and replace the item or refund you in full, including the original delivery fee and the return shipping.
Items that are excluded from the 7-day cooling-off right. Section 42(2) of ECTA excludes certain goods from the cooling-off right, and we apply the same exclusions here. In particular: goods made or personalised to your specification (this includes most of our magnet and tensor pieces that are prepared to your measurements, side selection, or other order notes); sealed goods that have been opened after delivery, where the seal was what made them suitable for return (consumable items such as herbal tinctures and creams fall into this category once the seal is broken); and goods that by their nature cannot be returned for hygiene reasons. Defective-goods rights still apply to those items.
Made-to-order items in particular. A large share of what we sell is made or prepared to your specification. That work usually begins as soon as we have accepted your order details, and the finished piece cannot be resold to another customer. For that reason, once preparation has started, a made-to-order item cannot be cancelled under the 7-day cooling-off right. We will, however, fix or replace any made-to-order item that arrives defective or not as you specified it, and you keep your full CPA section 56 rights.
How to start a return. The fastest way is to reply to your order confirmation email with your order number and a short description of what happened (change of mind, defective item, wrong item, damaged in transit). If you do not have the order confirmation, write to info@herbsatwork.co.za and include the order number from your account. We will reply within 2 business days with the return address, and — where the route covers it — a way to send the parcel back at our cost.
Inspections and refund timelines. Once we have received the parcel, we inspect it within 5 business days and let you know the outcome. Approved refunds are processed within 7 business days of approval and, in any event, within the 30 days that ECTA allows for a cooling-off cancellation. Refunds go back to the original payment method: PayFast (instant EFT and card) refunds are sent through PayFast to the same card or account; manual EFT refunds are sent by EFT to the bank account the payment came from.
If a parcel cannot be delivered or is returned to us because of an incorrect address or because no one was at the address to receive it, that is not a return under this policy. In that case we can hold the parcel or arrange redelivery at your cost, but the original shipping fee is not refundable. If you would prefer a refund of an order that cannot be delivered, we will treat it as a cancellation and the original shipping fee is not refundable in that case either.