Refund policy

1. Who you are contracting with

Saunakontor is a trading brand of LDACO Automotive GmbH. LDACO Automotive GmbH is a German company and is the seller of the goods and the party responsible for handling your cancellation, return, refund or complaint. We are not registered as a company in the United Kingdom.

Goods are dispatched from Germany. Delivery to the United Kingdom is by DHL, is free of charge and has no minimum order value. Orders normally arrive within 3-6 business days in total: 1-2 business days handling, then 2-4 business days transit. Full delivery details, including import charges, are in our shipping policy.

This policy applies to orders delivered to the United Kingdom. The statutory rights described here apply if you buy as a consumer, that is, for purposes outside your trade, business, craft or profession.

2. Your right to cancel (14-day cancellation right)

You have the right to cancel your order within 14 days without giving any reason. This is a right to change your mind. It does not depend on anything being wrong with the goods.

2.1 When the cancellation period runs

The cancellation period is 14 days from the day on which you, or a person nominated by you other than the carrier, receive the goods. Where you ordered several items in one order that are delivered separately, the period runs from the day you receive the last item. You may cancel at any time from the moment your order is placed, including before the goods are dispatched.

2.2 How to cancel

To exercise the right to cancel you must inform us of your decision by a clear statement. An email is enough. Please write to:

Kontakt@ldacoautomotive.de
or by post to: LDACO Automotive GmbH, An der Kirche 28, 96197 Wonsees, Germany

Please include your order number and, if you are not cancelling the whole order, the items you are cancelling. You may use the model cancellation form set out in section 8, but you do not have to. A clear statement from you is what cancels the contract: sending the goods back without any message is not by itself a valid cancellation notice, so please tell us first. If you do return goods without contacting us, enclose a note with your name and order number so that we can identify the parcel and treat it as a cancellation.

To meet the cancellation deadline it is enough that you send your message before the 14-day period expires. We will confirm your cancellation by email.

2.3 Sending the goods back

If you have already received the goods, you must send them back to us without undue delay and in any event no later than 14 days after the day on which you tell us you are cancelling. The deadline is met if you dispatch the goods before that period expires.

2.4 What a return costs you

Nothing. We bear the direct cost of returning the goods. A prepaid return label is included in every parcel we send. If the label is missing, damaged or out of date, email us and we will send you a new one free of charge.

2.5 Condition of the goods and deductions for diminished value

You may handle and inspect the goods as you would be able to in a shop, that is, as far as is necessary to establish their nature, characteristics and functioning. You are liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from handling beyond that, and we may deduct an amount reflecting that loss in value from your refund. Assembling, installing, connecting or using a sauna cabin, infrared cabin or whirlpool goes beyond what is necessary to establish its nature, characteristics and functioning, so please do not assemble or use the goods if you may wish to cancel. Wherever possible, keep the original packaging and any protective materials, as this reduces the risk of transport damage on the way back to us. Returning goods without their original packaging does not remove your right to cancel.

2.6 Your refund

If you cancel, we will refund all payments received from you for the cancelled goods, including the original standard delivery charge. Delivery to the United Kingdom is free of charge and has no minimum order value, so in practice there is no delivery charge to refund. Where a delivery charge does apply to an order, we refund the cost of our standard delivery option; if you chose a more expensive delivery option, we do not refund the extra cost of that upgrade.

We make the refund to the same payment method you used for the original transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise. We charge no fee for making the refund. There is no restocking fee and no handling or administration fee.

We issue the refund within 5 business days of the returned goods arriving with us and being checked. In any event, we will refund you no later than 14 days after the day we receive the goods back, or 14 days after the day you supply evidence that you have sent them back, whichever is the earlier. If you cancelled before the goods were dispatched, we refund within 14 days of being told you are cancelling. How long the money then takes to appear on your statement depends on your bank or payment provider.

Prices are shown and charged in pounds sterling (GBP), and refunds are issued in pounds sterling to the payment method you originally used. If your card or payment account is held in another currency, your bank or payment provider carries out the conversion at its own rate and may add its own charges. Those charges are outside our control.

2.7 Late or missing refunds

If we have confirmed your refund but it has not reached you, please work through these steps first:

1. Check your bank account again.
2. Contact your card issuer, as it can take time for a refund to be posted.
3. Contact your bank, as it may also have its own processing time before the money appears.

If you have done all of this and your refund still has not arrived, email Kontakt@ldacoautomotive.de or call +4939203990 and we will chase it up for you.

2.8 When the cancellation right does not apply

The statutory cancellation right does not apply to goods that are made to your specifications or are clearly personalised, or to sealed goods that are not suitable for return for reasons of health protection or hygiene if they have been unsealed after delivery. Our catalogue consists of standard stocked items, so these exclusions do not normally apply. If an item is made to order or personalised, we will say so before you buy.

3. Our voluntary extra 14-day return right

In addition to the statutory 14-day cancellation right described above, we voluntarily grant you a further 14 days in which to return goods, giving you 28 days in total from the day you receive them. This voluntary right is granted on the same terms as a cancellation: returns are free, a prepaid label is provided, there is no restocking fee, and the refund goes to your original payment method. The goods must be complete, unassembled and in a condition that allows us to resell them, and the deduction for diminished value described in section 2.5 applies in the same way.

This is a contractual concession granted by us. It does not restrict, replace or affect your statutory cancellation right or your statutory rights in respect of faulty goods, which continue to apply in full and take precedence in the event of any conflict.

4. Exchanges

If you would prefer a different item rather than your money back, tell us when you contact us and we will organise an exchange instead of a refund. Any price difference is settled either by an additional payment from you or by a partial refund to your original payment method. Choosing an exchange is voluntary and does not remove your right to a refund instead.

5. Import VAT and customs duty on returns

Your goods are dispatched from Germany. The United Kingdom is outside the EU customs union, and consignments are delivered on a delivery-duty-unpaid basis. UK import VAT, and any customs duty, are payable by you to the carrier before or on delivery. They are not included in the product price and not included in our free shipping.

Those charges are paid to the carrier and to HM Revenue and Customs, not to us. We therefore cannot refund them, and they do not form part of the refund we issue for cancelled or returned goods. Where goods are returned to us, you may be able to reclaim import VAT and duty directly from HM Revenue and Customs or from the carrier that collected the charges; the carrier's paperwork and the import documents that came with your parcel will tell you which route applies. We will supply proof of the return if you need it for such a claim.

6. Faulty, damaged or misdescribed goods (Consumer Rights Act 2015)

This section is separate from the cancellation right in section 2. It applies where something is wrong with the goods, and it is not limited to 14 or 28 days.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods we supply to you as a consumer must be of satisfactory quality, fit for any particular purpose you made known to us before buying, and as described. If they are not, you have the remedies set out below.

When	What you can ask for
Within 30 days of delivery	Short-term right to reject. You may reject the goods and receive a full refund. If you prefer, you may instead ask for a repair or a replacement.
At any time (in practice the main remedy once the first 30 days have passed)	Repair or replacement. We must carry this out within a reasonable time, at our cost and without significant inconvenience to you.
If repair or replacement fails, is impossible, or is not provided within a reasonable time or without significant inconvenience	Price reduction, or the final right to reject the goods for a refund.

6.1 The 30-day short-term right to reject

If the goods are faulty, damaged, not as described or not fit for a purpose you told us about, you may reject them within 30 days of delivery and receive a full refund. Tell us by email, describing the fault. We will arrange the return at our cost. Refunds under this right are made to your original payment method, without undue delay and in any event within 14 days of us agreeing that you are entitled to a refund; in practice we refund within 5 business days of the goods reaching us and being checked.

6.2 Repair or replacement

You may require us to repair or replace faulty goods. This remedy is available from delivery onwards, alongside the short-term right to reject, and it is normally the remedy you will use once the first 30 days have passed. You choose between repair and replacement, unless the option you choose is impossible or disproportionately costly compared with the other. We will carry it out within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to you, and we bear all necessary costs, including the cost of returning the goods to us.

6.3 Price reduction and the final right to reject

If a repair or replacement is impossible, is not carried out within a reasonable time or without significant inconvenience, or if the goods are still faulty after one repair or replacement, you may keep the goods and ask for an appropriate price reduction, or exercise the final right to reject them for a refund. If you exercise the final right to reject within the first six months after delivery, we will not make any deduction from your refund to reflect your use of the goods. After six months, we may make a reasonable deduction for the use you have had.

6.4 Proving the fault

If a fault appears within six months of delivery, it is presumed to have been present at the time of delivery unless we can show otherwise, or unless the presumption is incompatible with the nature of the goods or of the fault. After six months, you may be asked to show that the fault was present at delivery. Depending on the circumstances you may be able to bring a claim for up to six years from delivery (five years in Scotland).

6.5 Damage in transit

Please check your delivery on arrival. If goods arrive damaged or faulty, report it to us within 14 days, with photographs of the damage and of the outer packaging where possible, so that we can take the matter up with the carrier and arrange a replacement or a refund. This 14-day reporting request is there to help us resolve transport damage; it does not limit your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which continue to apply after those 14 days.

6.6 What a faulty-goods return costs you

Nothing. Where goods are faulty, damaged or not as described, we bear the cost of returning them and of any repair, replacement or redelivery. Do not return faulty goods at your own expense without contacting us first.

7. Complaints

If you are not satisfied with how a return, refund or repair has been handled, write to Kontakt@ldacoautomotive.de with your order number and a description of the problem. We reply within 24 hours during our support hours, Monday to Friday, 9:00-17:00 (CET). We are not a member of an alternative dispute resolution or ombudsman scheme. Nothing in this policy affects your right to take a matter to court.

8. Model cancellation form

You may use this form if you wish to cancel, but you are not obliged to. Complete it and return it to us by email or post.

9. Your statutory rights

Nothing in this policy reduces or replaces your legal rights as a consumer. Where this policy gives you more than the law requires, such as free returns or the voluntary extra 14-day return right, that is a voluntary concession by us and is granted in addition to, not instead of, your statutory rights.