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Purchase Policy

DELIVERIES & POSTAGE

 
Maidstone Distillery utilises several different postage and courier services. Whilst we are unable to guarantee delivery times we will always dispatch your order promptly, ordinarily on the same day if the order is placed before midday or the next “working day” if received after midday. Our Normal working days for dispatch are Monday to Friday.
Royal Mail Track 48 Service – This is a Royal Mail service which aims to deliver your parcel within 2 working days. The service also offers real time tracking via your email or telephone number that you have provided. This service has a close to perfect success rate but is not guaranteed.
Royal Mail Tracked 24 Service – This is a Royal Mail service which aims to deliver your parcel the next working day for orders placed before midday. The service also offers real time tracking via your email or telephone number that you have provided. This service has a close to perfect success rate but is not guaranteed.
We reserve the right to utilise different postage services and couriers depending on the needs of the business.
 
RETURNS AND REFUNDS
 
If items are damaged in transit to you we kindly request you report them to the distillery as soon as possible (or no later than 3 working days) of receipt of the parcel. Please provide a photograph of the parcel and its contents together with an explanation to [email protected]. We will aim to respond to your query within 5 working days.
If goods are to be returned to Maidstone Distillery, they must be returned in their original packaging. You will be refunded for the goods once received back into our warehouse, minus applicable shipping costs, unless the return concerns faulty or damaged goods. Contact us at [email protected] if you would like to return your goods back to us and we will help you to do this. Return shipping will be paid by the customer except in cases where goods are faulty, in which case they will be reimbursed to the customer.
If there is a problem with your order or items are faulty, please contact the us at [email protected].
If an attempted delivery is obviously damaged, you are within your rights to refuse the order, at which point it will be returned to us. If you choose to do this, please contact us at [email protected] and we will either resend the order, or issue a full refund, whichever is preferable.
Refunds will not be issued in the instance of an order being placed outside the conditions of the delivery parameters stated on the checkout page.
We cannot accept responsibility for delivery failure if you provide an incorrect address and postal code or incorrect contact telephone number. Please check this information when placing your order.
If you are returning an item to us, you will be liable to pay for the return postage.
 
CHANGES TO PRICING
 
Maidstone Distillery reserves the right to change pricing of goods and services without prior notification.
 
Where vouchers for distillery experiences have been purchased and a change in the distillery experience price occurs during the period within which the vouchers are valid, then the Maidstone Distillery will honour the value of the experience at the time of the voucher purchase. In this instance, the recipient of the voucher should contact the distillery via telephone to redeem the voucher against the chosen experience. If the voucher is outside of its redeemable date, and the price of the experience has changed, then the person redeeming the voucher will be requested to pay the difference in the voucher value and the experience value, together with any administrative charges.
CANCELLATION OF ORDERS
 
You may cancel an Order, within 14 days from the day on which your order is confirmed by the receipt of cleared funds for the Order by the Supplier by notifying the Supplier in writing, by emailing [email protected].  We will confirm your cancellation in writing;
If you cancel an Order under the above clause and you have paid for the order we will refund the order value to you, minus expenses for shipping costs already incurred. 
This does not affect your statutory rights.
CANCELLATION/RESCHEDULE OF TOURS AND EXPERIENCES
* Please note, this policy does not apply to any Private Hire, Group Bookings or any other Bespoke Events. In these instances, please refer to the cancellation policy titled “CANCELLATION / RESCHEDULE OF PRIVATE HIRE, GROUP BOOKINGS & BESPOKE EVENTS” below.
As stated on the booking pages for our tours and experiences, you may reschedule your experience as long as you give at least ten working days notice to us before the date of the booking. This is to allow us enough time to try and refill your places.
Within the 10 working day notice period you are able to move your booking to an alternative date but will be subject to a 30% re-booking fee. The re-booking fee will be charged at a fee of 30% of the standard booking price for the particular experience that is booked, regardless of whether the experience was purchased at full price or not.
You will not be able to get a refund for your tickets for any of the following reasons:
  • The fear of attending an Event due to any perceived fear of contracting the Coronavirus
  • Self-isolation which has not been ordered by a government department (we will require to see proof)
  • Any Industrial Action (Including Rail Strikes)
  • The Ticket Holder(s) lack of care, diligence or prudent behaviour.
  • The Ticket Holder(s) failing to observe and comply with the requirements of any law, ordinance, court or regulatory body of whatever jurisdiction.
  • Inability to gain or maintain a Visa in the country the event is scheduled to take place, howsoever caused.
  • Any fraud, misrepresentation or concealment by the Ticket Holder(s).
  • Any financial failure of or financial default by anyone.
  • Lack of or inadequate receipts or sales for the Event.
  • Variations in the rate of exchange, rate of interest or stability of any currency.
  • Non-Appearance of any Participant.
  • Failure of the Ticket Holder in the event of Bodily Injury or Sickness to consult a duly qualified medical practitioner and comply with the medical advice given thus causing a loss in whole or part under this policy.

BOOKING / CANCELLATION / RESCHEDULE OF PRIVATE HIRE, GROUP BOOKINGS & BESPOKE EVENTS

All Private Hire, Group Bookings and Bespoke Events will be given a proposal / quotation. We require written confirmation (in writing or by email) in order to accept the quotation. Bookings will only be secured within the following terms:

 A paid Deposit of 15% of event/hire fee and / or balance paid in full 6 weeks prior to the event.

The Hirer may cancel the booking by giving Maidstone Distillery notice in writing. In such circumstances, the Hirer shall compensate Maidstone Distillery for any Loss suffered by it as a result of the cancellation. 

In the event of a cancellation, the Hirer will forfeit their deposit in all circumstances. 
There is no obligation on Maidstone Distillery to find a replacement booking. 
Maidstone Distillery will retain or charge the Hirer the following amounts in the event of cancellation by the Hirer: (less the non-refundable deposit): 
Between 6 – 3 weeks (inclusive) prior to the commencement of the Period of Hire 50% of the total Hire/Event Charge plus any additional costs incurred by Maidstone Distillery.
 
Less than 3 weeks prior to the commencement of the Period of Hire 100% of the total Hire Charge plus any additional costs incurred by Maidstone Distillery.
Any cancellation charges detailed above will be invoiced to the Hirer and must be paid within 7 calendar days. The Hirer is advised to seek cancellation insurance from a third party. 
The Hirer may postpone the Event with over 90 days written notice to Maidstone Distillery before the Event without penalty and the deposit payment duly transferred if the Hirer reschedules the Event for a future date no more than 90 days from the date of the original commencement of the Period of Hire. Any date beyond this will be considered a cancellation and charges as set out above will apply in full as applicable. Any further postponement of any rescheduled Event will result in full cancellation charges.
In the case of national or local coronavirus rules meaning the event cannot go ahead as planned (such as a lockdown) the Hirer is eligible to reschedule the event to a new date whereby restrictions will allow it to take place. The Hirer may be offered an alternative form of event, such as a virtual private event in which case this will be agreed between the Hirer and Maidstone Distillery.
 

CORONOVIRUS

Whilst it is no longer mandatory to isolate or to test for coronavirus we do understand that some guests will be monitoring their health through Covid 19 testing. If you do test positive for Covid 19 and are unable to attend a pre-booked experience we will be pleased to allow the you to re-book your experience. If this is the case we will require proof of a positive covid test. This should include the following information:

Either an NHS or testing authority letter addressed to the individual and dated.
A photo of a personal test with a form of identification (passport or driving license) that is date/time stamped.

A separate test will be required for each person looking to re-book. All other members of the group that have not tested positive will be subject to our Cancellation and Re-booking policy described above.

Legacy

We are reinstating the tradition of Maidstone pioneer and master distiller, George Bishop, who created quality and world-renowned spirits from our county town back in 1785. We are reclaiming our forgotten heritage to produce spirits of depth, meaning and character that we can all be proud of. He was a champion of the people and it’s time for his legacy to be tasted again.

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