Shipping Policy

South East Aquatics – Delivery Policy

Delivery Charges and Information-

For Pallet Deliveries, please read our ‘Delivery of Aquariums…’ information lower down.

UK Mainland:-

Free delivery is available on all orders above £39. For orders under the value of £39, our delivery charges for most items start at £2.99 or £3.95 for Royal Mail items. This is via Royal Mail 2nd class tracked service. We also do offer the option of a courier upgrade, this is usually £6.50 instead of £2.99 or £3.95, so you can then receive a text notification and email to let you know a 1-hour delivery slot, meaning you do not need to wait in all day for the delivery. Please note this 1-hour slot is issued by the couriers on the morning of the delivery. You are also able to track your package through the couriers link they will send you so you can track the parcel to your door. In addition to the standard courier upgrade, we also offer other courier options such as AM weekday deliveries and Saturday deliveries. All of these options and prices can be seen either in the cart window or at checkout so you can choose the shipping method that is best for you. When your order is above £50, this automatically qualifies for our Courier service with the courier notifications. On rare occasions, Complete Aquatics may need to contact the customer if quantity number of items ordered are too heavy and may need to be upgraded to a pallet delivery, this is done at South East Aquatics s cost.

For the delivery of larger glass aquariums or vivariums, it is not possible to use any courier option and these are delivered on a pallet service. Please see our information section below on the delivery of these products.

Areas outside UK Mainland - Scottish Highlands, Islands, Northern Ireland, Ireland etc:-

Where we can send parcels through Royal Mail we will do so, in order to keep delivery costs to a minimum. However, when the items ordered are not able to be sent through Royal Mail then the available delivery options will be presented to you at checkout or in the cart window along with any additional charges. By entering your address in the Cart or Checkout page, the different charges and options will be presented. Although we have tried our best to cover most postcode and Ireland areas with our shipping methods and charges, there may be instances where we need to contact you for additional shipping charges, but this is very rare. Most areas are now covered with our extensive shipping options.

Channel Islands - When placing orders for any goods being shipped through Couriers going to the channel islands we advise calling our customer service team prior to placing the order for a shipping quote. As a rule, our standard charge is £12.50 for goods weighing up to 10kg. Each 1kg after 10kg is £0.80 on top of the £12.50 charge.

Delivery Dispatch and Delivery Time Information - For UK Mainland, we aim to deliver most orders within 1-2 working days from the date of ordering. For most orders placed before 12.00 noon, we try to dispatch the same day. For orders placed after this time, the following day will count as the order date. There is no weekend dispatch, so all orders placed on Friday after 12.00 noon, will count as Monday being the order date. These orders will, therefore, be dispatched Monday. Most orders are delivered within 1 day, however, there are times when Royal Mail are running slow, so please allow an extra few days for these rare occasions. Despite our best efforts and systems we have in place, there are rare occasions when orders are delayed due to stock issues or other reasons. We always do try our best to keep in touch with our customers and let you know if there are any delays. Please get in touch at any time if you would like an update on your order progress. For urgent orders we always request you get in touch before placing any orders.

For areas outside UK mainland, delivery times can take 2 - 5 days depending on your location so please allow extra time for delivery.

We do use a number of different delivery methods due to the different types of products we sell and therefore South East Aquatics  offer these delivery times as a guideline only. Actual delivery times after dispatch will depend on the carrier used, and your delivery address as well as other circumstances beyond our control. The chosen delivery method is totally at our discretion as your actual checkout basket can sometimes alter the shipping method normally used, so if you would prefer a specific service to be used, you must notify us before placing your order with us. For faster delivery services, additional costs are likely to be charged.

We understand it is not always possible to thoroughly check the goods inside the packaging, before signing for them, although we do ask you to report any damages within an hour of receiving the goods which we feel is adequate time for inspecting the goods.

Delivery of Aquariums, Stands and Cabinets and other large/fragile items - Large Aquariums unmanageable through the courier system are sent via a pallet network and are usually delivered free of charge to mainland UK. Customers outside mainland UK will be contacted prior to processing your order should further charges apply, although our website should work out additional charges for most areas outside UK mainland. Please Note, we do not operate as standard with next-day delivery on Pallets as these need to be booked in for the customer's convenience and safety.

For large glass aquariums, we always try to contact the customer to arrange a suitable delivery day as carriers are not insured to carry any item into the house so please be sure to have help available if required. Carriers will also charge between £5 and £20 for a second delivery so you must ensure you have a responsible person available to receive the delivery as arranged. We offer a number of optional pallet delivery options such as AM, timed, or Saturday deliveries as an optional extra, which can be seen in the cart or checkout pages.

Due to the fragile nature of aquariums, you must check all the packaging for signs of damage such as rips or tears in the packaging before signing for the goods. We understand it is not always possible to thoroughly check the goods inside the packaging, before signing for them, although we do ask you to report any damages within an hour of receiving the goods which we feel is adequate time for inspecting the goods. We cannot accept any responsibility for damaged goods reported after this timescale. Large glass aquariums are sent via a palletized delivery service. Whilst we do our utmost to ensure that all goods are securely packaged and protected, there are occasions where fragile products may become damaged during transit and if this happens, please follow the above steps.

Please understand these guidelines are put in place to protect ourselves and our customers. Please ensure these are followed accurately.