ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LOGISTICS, RETURNS, REFUNDS & CANCELLATIONS
Shipping and Pickup Terms & Conditions
These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your order and use of Auster Foods's products, and services ("Products"). Please read these Terms carefully, and contact us if you have any questions. By ordering our Products, you agree to be bound by these Terms. The following clauses are part of the Terms and Conditions available here.
1) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CUSTOMER AND/OR CONSIGNEE REGARDING THE DELIVERY OF THE GOODS (SHIPPING BY AUSTER FOODS LLC)
A 3rd party vendor has been contracted to perform your delivery service. In order to ensure that your delivery is successful, your participation is needed. The below statements apply to all orders within the United States. Please read carefully.
1.1) Consignee information
Together with your order, you need to provide us with all the information needed to complete the delivery. Delivery charges are based on your location relative to ours, plus other variables such as weight, dimensions, fragility, and speed of shipping. The following information will be needed from you:
- Business name
- Full address for the delivery including: Street name and number, City, ZIP Code
- Phone
- Name of the responsible for the reception of the goods
- Cell phone of the responsible for the reception of the goods
- Email address
- Indication whether the delivery will be performed at a Residence (includes home-operated business and business located in residential areas) or Business.
- Whether a liftgate delivery truck is needed
- Business days and hours
- Preferred delivery date and time window
- Please remember we will not be able to schedule a delivery if the information above is not provided.
If such information is not provided accurately or is incorrect, Auster Foods reserves the right to add a surcharge according to point 2.4 of these Terms.
1.2) Delivery date
Whenever you place an order you will receive an Estimated Delivery Date along with your confirmation of the order. Please note that this is not a guaranteed delivery date. Some areas may take longer due to the frequency of deliveries to the delivery ZIP code. This estimated date is calculated considering the total amount of time to process your order including: packaging, pick up by the delivery provider, and transit time to the delivery address.
When placing your order, the following factors when calculating the Estimated Delivery Date:
a) Order Processing (Lead Time): The amount of time it takes for us to prepare your order for shipping. Items in stock will typically be shipped within 2 – 4 days however, some orders may ship within as few as 1 day, while others may take up to 7 days.
b) Transit Time: The amount of time it takes for your order to leave our warehouse and arrive at your designated delivery location. The transit time varies depending on the type of logistic service required:
- Standard delivery: For a standard LTL shipment the estimated delivery date seen on the documents such as the quote or the Bill of Lading, is NOT guaranteed. The standard transit time is only an estimate. Even the scheduled pickup date is not guaranteed, taking up to 2 or 3 days from the freight booking. This could mean a Standard delivery with an estimated 4 Transit Time days could potentially deliver in a period twice as long.
- Guaranteed delivery: In order to be sure a shipment will deliver within the standard transit time period you should request a Guaranteed Delivery. A Guaranteed Delivery means the carrier will guarantee the freight will deliver on its due date. It is always more expensive than a Standard delivery. This is a pertinent service for our customers that need shipments delivered for trade shows or production purposes. The Guaranteed delivery, however, does not guarantee the pickup date, which in most cases could take up to 2 or 3 days from the booking day.
When the delivery provider picks up your order from our warehouse and is ready to schedule a delivery date, they will attempt to contact you at the telephone number that you provided. At that time, they will let you know what days of the week they are able to deliver to your area. Deliveries will be made between the hours of 8 AM and 7 PM on the delivery day you select. The delivery company will call you prior to the scheduled delivery and will provide you with an approximate time window. The delivery company will make every effort to deliver within the time window provided. In case the delivery is not completed, it will be automatically programmed for the next business day.
1.3) Reception of the goods
Either you or your representative, that is 18 years of age or older, must be present to receive the merchandise at the agreed-upon day and time window. If no one is available to receive the delivery, a re-delivery fee may be applied to your order. This agreement is with you and Auster Foods. Neither Auster Foods, nor the 3rd party delivery company that has been contracted by Auster Foods will be held responsible if you decide to hire a 3rd party contractor to accept, receive, and sign the handover of items without the notations of visible defects of packaging, damaged items, or missing merchandise.
2.4) Additional fees
There may be circumstances that require additional payment by you if the conditions mentioned have not been met or you require special services outside of our standard delivery. The following are a few of the circumstances in which this may apply:
- If you need a specified, narrower time window (a 4-hour time window would be considered the standard)
- Your address is not tractor-trailer accessible
- You were not available for your scheduled delivery
- You do not have delivery not made due to unsafe conditions.
- The business does not have a loading dock or forklift
- If a liftgate delivery truck is needed, and/or if the address is residential
- If you ask for the item to be moved to a location inside a structure, there will be an additional "inside delivery" charge
- Etc.
A business address must include a legitimate business name and be located in a commercial area, not a residential area.
Keep in mind we reserve the right to assess a Residential Delivery surcharge on any shipment delivered to a home or private residence, including locations where a business is operated from a home, or on any shipment in which the Delivery Company has designated the delivery address as a residence, including shipments where the delivery location has been designated as Residential Delivery in error.
All extra costs are determined by the delivery company and vary from case to case. In the event, extra costs apply we will let you know immediately.
1.4) Changes to the delivery address:
Once your order has been picked up from the warehouse by the Delivery Company, a change in the delivery address will be considered a "Reroute". “Reroute” means to deliver a shipment to an address different from that specified on the Bill of Lading, and includes a change from one street address to another in the same city and state. Extra charges may apply in case of rerouting despite the proximity of the new address.
1.5) Number of delivery attempts
We will make two delivery attempts. After the 2nd failed attempt at delivery re-delivered, you will be responsible for the re-delivery fee.
1.6) Responsibilities upon delivery of the goods
A) RECEPTION OF THE ORDER: Please remind your staff or warehouse team to examine your order upon delivery to ensure that there are no visible signs of damaged, missing, or incorrect packages.
In the event that there are missing, damaged, or incorrect packages, please complete ALL the following steps:
- Describe the problem on the Proof of Delivery (POD) and/or Bill of Lading (BOL), including the number of bags or cartons that were damaged, or missing. Please make sure the same remarks or comments show on both the driver's copy, as well as your copy of the documents. IMPORTANT: A signed delivery receipt, without notations of missing, damaged, or incorrect item(s) represents your acceptance of the complete order in perfect condition.
- Sign the BOL and add the date of the signature right beside it
- Snap a clear picture of the Proof of Delivery and/or BOL with remarks about the damage
- Snap clear pictures of the whole pallet
- Snap close up picture/s of the actual damage
- Send me an email to contact@austerfoods.com, within 24 hours of the delivery date reporting the damages, and enclosing the files.
Please note that this cargo is insured, but without ALL the above-described documents we WILL NOT be able to process the claim against the insurance provider. The issuance of a Credit Memo to your company for the lost or damaged goods is subject to the outcome of such a claim, this is
why all the information needs to be accurate, and pictures as clear as possible.
B) QUALITY CONTROL OF THE ORDER: Quality issues are often times visible, but in other circumstances are harder to detect with a naked eye. There are cases in which the problem visibly came of origin (foreign material, rawness, etc), and other cases require careful investigation to determine when and where the issue originated (pests, contamination, etc).
This is why we strongly recommend controlling the quality of the goods immediately after you receive them. Time is key, and the collaboration of both parties is crucial.. You will always have our full cooperation to arrive at a satisfactory outcome.
When facing a quality problem, please remember the following rules apply:
- Period to send quality claim: You will have 10 business days, counting from the day after the effective arrival date of the order to your warehouse to inspect the good against pests, foreign material, pesticide levels, contamination, as well as any other quality-related issue. All claims must be reported via email to: contact@austerfoods.com. After such a period Auster Foods will have the right to dismiss the claim.
- Sampling: The Consignee has the right to open and inspect up to 10% of the bags/cartons included, per shipped item. All open bags/cartons exceeding such a limit will be on the customer's charge, regardless of the outcome of the quality claim.
- Information request: In order to initiate the proper investigation and assess the case, Auster Foods with have the right to:
- Request information about the exact location of the goods, storage conditions, warehouse protocols, as well as any other information pertaining to the handling of the product from the moment of the reception.
- Require photographs of the condition of the product, warehouse and products stored close to the product subject to the claim.
- Send a third-party inspector or staff member to verify the condition of the goods
- Request samples
- Claim results: after assessing the information internally, together with the supporting information provided by the Customer, Auster Foods will send a proposal, subject to the Customer's consideration, namely: replacement of the lot, credit memo, refund, etc. Auster Foods reserves the right to deny the claim in the following cases:
- The claim was received via email after 10 business days from the arrival of the goods, as expressed above.
- Lack or insufficient information by the Customer in order to conduct the investigation
- The quality issue subject to the claim originated after the delivery of the goods, for circumstances external to us.
2) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CUSTOMER AND/OR CONSIGNEE REGARDING THE PICKUP AT THE WAREHOUSE
2.2) Information to schedule the pickup
You can schedule a warehouse pickup by selecting the "Warehouse pickup" option during checkout. After your order has been received, you will receive an email with the following information:
- Delivery Order (Release number)
- Warehouse address
- Pickup instructions
- Dimensions and Gross Weight of the pallets
2.2) Steps to complete the pickup at the warehouse
- You would need to schedule an appointment with us at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled date.
- An email will be sent to you confirming the pickup appointment,
- Once the pickup is confirmed, you may proceed to send us a copy of the Bill of Lading (BOL). Make sure the Delivery Order (Release number) shows in the body of the BOL, otherwise, the warehouse will not release the goods to the transport.
- Lastly, 5 business days after the pickup, you should receive an email with a copy of the signed BOL, including the PRO Number (Tracking #) for your shipment.
2.3) Warehouse Rush Fees
While the warehouse pickup is free, extra fees may be charged in the following cases:
- Same-day pickup request: USD 250
- Next-day pickup request: USD 125
2.4) Responsibilities upon pickup of the goods
A) PICKUP OF THE ORDER: Our warehouses have the instruction to only deliver goods in perfect condition. However, it is important that you remind your transport provider or truck driver to examine your order upon pickup to ensure that there are no visible signs of damaged, missing, or incorrect packages.
In the event that there are missing, damaged, or incorrect packages, the truck driver should describe the problem on the warehouse's Proof of Delivery (POD) and/or Bill of Lading (BOL), including the number of bags or cartons that were damaged, or missing (the same remarks or comments show on both the driver's copy, as well as your copy of the documents).
IMPORTANT: Legally, a signed Proof of Delivery, without notations of missing, damaged, or incorrect item(s) represents your acceptance of the complete order in perfect condition.
We understand that the increasing demand for urgency in logistics could result in transport providers overlooking such details, particularly when it comes to third-party providers. Therefore, if you receive an order with missing, damaged, or incorrect packages, please follow these steps:
- Snap clear pictures of the whole pallet
- Snap close up picture/s of the actual damage
- Send an email to contact@austerfoods.com, within 24 hs of the delivery date reporting the problem with the order, enclosing the files.
B) QUALITY CONTROL OF THE ORDER: Quality issues are often times visible, but in other circumstances are harder to detect with the naked eye. There are cases in which the problem visibly came of origin (foreign material, rawness, etc), and other cases require careful investigation to determine when and where the issue originated (pests, contamination, etc).
This is why we strongly recommend controlling the quality of the goods immediately after you receive them. Time is key, and the collaboration of both parties is crucial.. You will always have our full cooperation to arrive at a satisfactory outcome.
When facing a quality problem, please remember the following rules apply:
- Period to send quality claim: You will have 10 business days, counting from the day after the effective arrival date of the order to your warehouse to inspect the good against pests, foreign material, pesticide levels, contamination, as well as any other quality-related issue. All claims must be reported via email to: contact@austerfoods.com. After such a period Auster Foods will have the right to dismiss the claim.
- Sampling: The Consignee has the right to open and inspect up to 10% of the bags/cartons included, per shipped item. All open bags/cartons exceeding such a limit will be on the customer's charge, regardless of the outcome of the quality claim.
- Information request: In order to initiate the proper investigation and assess the case, Auster Foods with have the right to:
- Request information about the exact location of the goods, storage conditions, warehouse protocols, as well as any other information pertaining to the handling of the product from the moment of the reception.
- Require photographs of the condition of the product, warehouse and products stored close to the product subject to the claim.
- Send a third-party inspector or staff member to verify the condition of the goods
- Request samples
- Claim results: after assessing the information internally, together with the supporting information provided by the Customer, Auster Foods will send a proposal, subject to the Customer's consideration, namely: replacement of the lot, credit memo, refund, etc. Auster Foods reserves the right to deny the claim in the following cases:
- The claim was received via email after 10 business days from the arrival of the goods, as expressed above.
- Lack or insufficient information by the Customer in order to conduct the investigation
- The quality issue subject to the claim originated after the delivery of the goods, for circumstances external to us.
3) RETURNS AND REFUNDS
Due to the size and nature of bulk products, they are non-refundable and we are unable to accept returns unless the goods present damages or quality problems as described in the sections 1.6 and 2.4 of this agreement.
Once the causes of refund referred to in the above paragraph are verified, the goods must be made available for pickup within 5 business days from the acceptance Auster Foods of the return and refund, by writing.
The items must be in the same condition as they were delivered, with all tags intact and all products unopened. Pallets must be conditioned properly for road transport.
Once your returned item(s) have been received & examined in our warehouse, we will process the refund and make the payment back to the original account the money came from. We are not able to process any refund until the goods have been received.
Please allow up to 10 days from the day we received the item, for this payment to be received into your account. This refund can also depend on the length of time it takes your bank to process the payment.
4) CANCELLATION POLICY
If you would like to cancel or change your order, please contact us as soon as possible. We will do everything we can to accommodate your request. However, if our team notes the order is already prepared (palletized and/or labeled), at the warehouse, they will be unable to cancel, revise or recall it.
If the cancellation is possible, we will issue a refund minus processing fees, handling and packaging costs (if any) within 10 business after our cancellation confirmation by email. Refunds will be issued in the same method of payment as the original payment.
DELIVERIES
These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your order and use of Auster Foods's products, and services ("Products"). Please read these Terms carefully, and contact us if you have any questions. By ordering our Products, you agree to be bound by these Terms. The following clauses are part of the Terms and Conditions available here.
1) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CUSTOMER AND/OR CONSIGNEE REGARDING THE DELIVERY OF THE GOODS (SHIPPING BY AUSTER FOODS LLC)
A 3rd party vendor has been contracted to perform your delivery service. In order to ensure that your delivery is successful, your participation is needed. The below statements apply to all orders within the United States. Please read carefully.
1.1) Consignee information
Together with your order, you need to provide us with all the information needed to complete the delivery. Delivery charges are based on your location relative to ours, plus other variables such as weight, dimensions, fragility, and speed of shipping. The following information will be needed from you:
- Business name
- Full address for the delivery including: Street name and number, City, ZIP Code
- Phone
- Name of the responsible for the reception of the goods
- Cell phone of the responsible for the reception of the goods
- Email address
- Indication whether the delivery will be performed at a Residence (includes home-operated business and business located in residential areas) or Business.
- Whether a liftgate delivery truck is needed
- Business days and hours
- Preferred delivery date and time window
- Please remember we will not be able to schedule a delivery if the information above is not provided.
If such information is not provided accurately or is incorrect, Auster Foods reserves the right to add a surcharge according to point 2.4 of these Terms.
1.2) Delivery date
Whenever you place an order you will receive an Estimated Delivery Date along with your confirmation of the order. Please note that this is not a guaranteed delivery date. Some areas may take longer due to the frequency of deliveries to the delivery ZIP code. This estimated date is calculated considering the total amount of time to process your order including: packaging, pick up by the delivery provider, and transit time to the delivery address.
When placing your order, the following factors when calculating the Estimated Delivery Date:
a) Order Processing (Lead Time): The amount of time it takes for us to prepare your order for shipping. Items in stock will typically be shipped within 2 – 4 days however, some orders may ship within as few as 1 day, while others may take up to 7 days.
b) Transit Time: The amount of time it takes for your order to leave our warehouse and arrive at your designated delivery location. The transit time varies depending on the type of logistic service required:
- Standard delivery: For a standard LTL shipment the estimated delivery date seen on the documents such as the quote or the Bill of Lading, is NOT guaranteed. The standard transit time is only an estimate. Even the scheduled pickup date is not guaranteed, taking up to 2 or 3 days from the freight booking. This could mean a Standard delivery with an estimated 4 Transit Time days could potentially deliver in a period twice as long.
- Guaranteed delivery: In order to be sure a shipment will deliver within the standard transit time period you should request a Guaranteed Delivery. A Guaranteed Delivery means the carrier will guarantee the freight will deliver on its due date. It is always more expensive than a Standard delivery. This is a pertinent service for our customers that need shipments delivered for trade shows or production purposes. The Guaranteed delivery, however, does not guarantee the pickup date, which in most cases could take up to 2 or 3 days from the booking day.
When the delivery provider picks up your order from our warehouse and is ready to schedule a delivery date, they will attempt to contact you at the telephone number that you provided. At that time, they will let you know what days of the week they are able to deliver to your area. Deliveries will be made between the hours of 8 AM and 7 PM on the delivery day you select. The delivery company will call you prior to the scheduled delivery and will provide you with an approximate time window. The delivery company will make every effort to deliver within the time window provided. In case the delivery is not completed, it will be automatically programmed for the next business day.
1.3) Reception of the goods
Either you or your representative, that is 18 years of age or older, must be present to receive the merchandise at the agreed-upon day and time window. If no one is available to receive the delivery, a re-delivery fee may be applied to your order. This agreement is with you and Auster Foods. Neither Auster Foods, nor the 3rd party delivery company that has been contracted by Auster Foods will be held responsible if you decide to hire a 3rd party contractor to accept, receive, and sign the handover of items without the notations of visible defects of packaging, damaged items, or missing merchandise.
2.4) Additional fees
There may be circumstances that require additional payment by you if the conditions mentioned have not been met or you require special services outside of our standard delivery. The following are a few of the circumstances in which this may apply:
- If you need a specified, narrower time window (a 4-hour time window would be considered the standard)
- Your address is not tractor-trailer accessible
- You were not available for your scheduled delivery
- You do not have delivery not made due to unsafe conditions.
- The business does not have a loading dock or forklift
- If a liftgate delivery truck is needed, and/or if the address is residential
- If you ask for the item to be moved to a location inside a structure, there will be an additional "inside delivery" charge
- Etc.
A business address must include a legitimate business name and be located in a commercial area, not a residential area.
Keep in mind we reserve the right to assess a Residential Delivery surcharge on any shipment delivered to a home or private residence, including locations where a business is operated from a home, or on any shipment in which the Delivery Company has designated the delivery address as a residence, including shipments where the delivery location has been designated as Residential Delivery in error.
All extra costs are determined by the delivery company and vary from case to case. In the event, extra costs apply we will let you know immediately.
1.4) Changes to the delivery address:
Once your order has been picked up from the warehouse by the Delivery Company, a change in the delivery address will be considered a "Reroute". “Reroute” means to deliver a shipment to an address different from that specified on the Bill of Lading, and includes a change from one street address to another in the same city and state. Extra charges may apply in case of rerouting despite the proximity of the new address.
1.5) Number of delivery attempts
We will make two delivery attempts. After the 2nd failed attempt at delivery re-delivered, you will be responsible for the re-delivery fee.
1.6) Responsibilities upon delivery of the goods
A) RECEPTION OF THE ORDER: Please remind your staff or warehouse team to examine your order upon delivery to ensure that there are no visible signs of damaged, missing, or incorrect packages.
In the event that there are missing, damaged, or incorrect packages, please complete ALL the following steps:
- Describe the problem on the Proof of Delivery (POD) and/or Bill of Lading (BOL), including the number of bags or cartons that were damaged, or missing. Please make sure the same remarks or comments show on both the driver's copy, as well as your copy of the documents. IMPORTANT: A signed delivery receipt, without notations of missing, damaged, or incorrect item(s) represents your acceptance of the complete order in perfect condition.
- Sign the BOL and add the date of the signature right beside it
- Snap a clear picture of the Proof of Delivery and/or BOL with remarks about the damage
- Snap clear pictures of the whole pallet
- Snap close up picture/s of the actual damage
- Send me an email to contact@austerfoods.com, within 24 hours of the delivery date reporting the damages, and enclosing the files.
Please note that this cargo is insured, but without ALL the above-described documents we WILL NOT be able to process the claim against the insurance provider. The issuance of a Credit Memo to your company for the lost or damaged goods is subject to the outcome of such a claim, this is
why all the information needs to be accurate, and pictures as clear as possible.
B) QUALITY CONTROL OF THE ORDER: Quality issues are often times visible, but in other circumstances are harder to detect with a naked eye. There are cases in which the problem visibly came of origin (foreign material, rawness, etc), and other cases require careful investigation to determine when and where the issue originated (pests, contamination, etc).
This is why we strongly recommend controlling the quality of the goods immediately after you receive them. Time is key, and the collaboration of both parties is crucial.. You will always have our full cooperation to arrive at a satisfactory outcome.
When facing a quality problem, please remember the following rules apply:
- Period to send quality claim: You will have 10 business days, counting from the day after the effective arrival date of the order to your warehouse to inspect the good against pests, foreign material, pesticide levels, contamination, as well as any other quality-related issue. All claims must be reported via email to: contact@austerfoods.com. After such a period Auster Foods will have the right to dismiss the claim.
- Sampling: The Consignee has the right to open and inspect up to 10% of the bags/cartons included, per shipped item. All open bags/cartons exceeding such a limit will be on the customer's charge, regardless of the outcome of the quality claim.
- Information request: In order to initiate the proper investigation and assess the case, Auster Foods with have the right to:
- Request information about the exact location of the goods, storage conditions, warehouse protocols, as well as any other information pertaining to the handling of the product from the moment of the reception.
- Require photographs of the condition of the product, warehouse and products stored close to the product subject to the claim.
- Send a third-party inspector or staff member to verify the condition of the goods
- Request samples
- Claim results: after assessing the information internally, together with the supporting information provided by the Customer, Auster Foods will send a proposal, subject to the Customer's consideration, namely: replacement of the lot, credit memo, refund, etc. Auster Foods reserves the right to deny the claim in the following cases:
- The claim was received via email after 10 business days from the arrival of the goods, as expressed above.
- Lack or insufficient information by the Customer in order to conduct the investigation
- The quality issue subject to the claim originated after the delivery of the goods, for circumstances external to us.
PICKUPS
2) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CUSTOMER AND/OR CONSIGNEE REGARDING THE PICKUP AT THE WAREHOUSE
2.2) Information to schedule the pickup
You can schedule a warehouse pickup by selecting the "Warehouse pickup" option during checkout. After your order has been received, you will receive an email with the following information:
- Delivery Order (Release number)
- Warehouse address
- Pickup instructions
- Dimensions and Gross Weight of the pallets
2.2) Steps to complete the pickup at the warehouse
- You would need to schedule an appointment with us at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled date.
- An email will be sent to you confirming the pickup appointment,
- Once the pickup is confirmed, you may proceed to send us a copy of the Bill of Lading (BOL). Make sure the Delivery Order (Release number) shows in the body of the BOL, otherwise, the warehouse will not release the goods to the transport.
- Lastly, 5 business days after the pickup, you should receive an email with a copy of the signed BOL, including the PRO Number (Tracking #) for your shipment.
2.3) Warehouse Rush Fees
While the warehouse pickup is free, extra fees may be charged in the following cases:
- Same-day pickup request: USD 250
- Next-day pickup request: USD 125
2.4) Responsibilities upon pickup of the goods
A) PICKUP OF THE ORDER: Our warehouses have the instruction to only deliver goods in perfect condition. However, it is important that you remind your transport provider or truck driver to examine your order upon pickup to ensure that there are no visible signs of damaged, missing, or incorrect packages.
In the event that there are missing, damaged, or incorrect packages, the truck driver should describe the problem on the warehouse's Proof of Delivery (POD) and/or Bill of Lading (BOL), including the number of bags or cartons that were damaged, or missing (the same remarks or comments show on both the driver's copy, as well as your copy of the documents).
IMPORTANT: Legally, a signed Proof of Delivery, without notations of missing, damaged, or incorrect item(s) represents your acceptance of the complete order in perfect condition.
We understand that the increasing demand for urgency in logistics could result in transport providers overlooking such details, particularly when it comes to third-party providers. Therefore, if you receive an order with missing, damaged, or incorrect packages, please follow these steps:
- Snap clear pictures of the whole pallet
- Snap close up picture/s of the actual damage
- Send an email to contact@austerfoods.com, within 24 hs of the delivery date reporting the problem with the order, enclosing the files.
B) QUALITY CONTROL OF THE ORDER: Quality issues are often times visible, but in other circumstances are harder to detect with the naked eye. There are cases in which the problem visibly came of origin (foreign material, rawness, etc), and other cases require careful investigation to determine when and where the issue originated (pests, contamination, etc).
This is why we strongly recommend controlling the quality of the goods immediately after you receive them. Time is key, and the collaboration of both parties is crucial.. You will always have our full cooperation to arrive at a satisfactory outcome.
When facing a quality problem, please remember the following rules apply:
- Period to send quality claim: You will have 10 business days, counting from the day after the effective arrival date of the order to your warehouse to inspect the good against pests, foreign material, pesticide levels, contamination, as well as any other quality-related issue. All claims must be reported via email to: contact@austerfoods.com. After such a period Auster Foods will have the right to dismiss the claim.
- Sampling: The Consignee has the right to open and inspect up to 10% of the bags/cartons included, per shipped item. All open bags/cartons exceeding such a limit will be on the customer's charge, regardless of the outcome of the quality claim.
- Information request: In order to initiate the proper investigation and assess the case, Auster Foods with have the right to:
- Request information about the exact location of the goods, storage conditions, warehouse protocols, as well as any other information pertaining to the handling of the product from the moment of the reception.
- Require photographs of the condition of the product, warehouse and products stored close to the product subject to the claim.
- Send a third-party inspector or staff member to verify the condition of the goods
- Request samples
- Claim results: after assessing the information internally, together with the supporting information provided by the Customer, Auster Foods will send a proposal, subject to the Customer's consideration, namely: replacement of the lot, credit memo, refund, etc. Auster Foods reserves the right to deny the claim in the following cases:
- The claim was received via email after 10 business days from the arrival of the goods, as expressed above.
- Lack or insufficient information by the Customer in order to conduct the investigation
- The quality issue subject to the claim originated after the delivery of the goods, for circumstances external to us.
RETURNS
3) RETURNS AND REFUNDS
Due to the size and nature of bulk products, they are non-refundable and we are unable to accept returns unless the goods present damages or quality problems as described in the sections 1.6 and 2.4 of this agreement.
Once the causes of refund referred to in the above paragraph are verified, the goods must be made available for pickup within 5 business days from the acceptance Auster Foods of the return and refund, by writing.
The items must be in the same condition as they were delivered, with all tags intact and all products unopened. Pallets must be conditioned properly for road transport.
Once your returned item(s) have been received & examined in our warehouse, we will process the refund and make the payment back to the original account the money came from. We are not able to process any refund until the goods have been received.
Please allow up to 10 days from the day we received the item, for this payment to be received into your account. This refund can also depend on the length of time it takes your bank to process the payment.
CANCELLATIONS
4) CANCELLATION POLICY
If you would like to cancel or change your order, please contact us as soon as possible. We will do everything we can to accommodate your request. However, if our team notes the order is already prepared (palletized and/or labeled), at the warehouse, they will be unable to cancel, revise or recall it.
If the cancellation is possible, we will issue a refund minus processing fees, handling and packaging costs (if any) within 10 business after our cancellation confirmation by email. Refunds will be issued in the same method of payment as the original payment.
