Shipping, Returns & Warranty Policy

Effective Date: 16 June 2026

• 1. Statutory Cancellation & Change of Mind Returns

  If you change your mind about an order, it may be cancelled prior to dispatch or returned within the statutory cooling-off period. In accordance with the Consumer Contracts Regulations, consumers have a 14-day cooling-off period starting the day after delivery.

  Strict Return Requirements:

  • Condition: The item must be completely unused, sealed, and in pristine 'as new' condition.

  • Pre-Authorization: You must contact us for a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) and provide clear photographic evidence proving the original manufacturer packaging remains sealed and uncompromised. Uncertified or unauthorized returns sent to any of our facilities will be rejected and returned to the sender at their expense.

  • Return Carriage: The customer is strictly responsible for arranging and funding the return shipping via a fully trackable and insured delivery method.

  • Diminished Value & Restocking: A 14% diminished value/restocking fee applies to change-of-mind returns where the item has been handled beyond what is strictly necessary to establish its nature, characteristics, and functioning. Final sale items and B2B commercial orders are excluded from change-of-mind returns.

  2. Order Cancellation & Processing Fees

  • Pre-Dispatch Cancellations: If a cancellation is requested after payment capture but before the tracking number is generated, a 3% transaction fee will be deducted from the refund to cover non-recoverable merchant gateway processing costs.

  • Post-Dispatch Cancellations: Orders that have left our facility cannot be halted. The buyer must take delivery and initiate a standard authorized return.

  • Buyer Error / No Longer Required: For returns authorized due to buyer error or items no longer required, a 12% operational and bank processing fee will be deducted from the final payout.

  3. Short-Term Right to Reject (Dead on Arrival - DOA)

  If an item is inherently faulty out-of-the-box (DOA), you must inform us immediately to exercise your short-term right to reject.

  • Consumers (B2C): Must report the inherent fault within 30 days of receipt.

  • Commercial (B2B): Must report the inherent fault within 14 days of receipt. Items must be returned in their original packaging with all accessories. Upon technical verification of the inherent manufacturer fault, we will elect to issue a replacement or a full refund.

  4. Commercial Hardware Warranty & RMA Terms

  For faults developing after the initial 30-day DOA period, goods are covered under our Commercial Hardware Warranty, subject to the strict conditions below.

  Warranty Periods (From Date of Purchase):

  • Hard Drives (Brand New): 5-Year Commercial Warranty

  • Graphic Cards (All Conditions): 2-Year Commercial Warranty

  • Hard Drives (Refurbished / Recertified): 6-Month Commercial Warranty

  Mandatory Claim Pre-Requisites:

  1. Diagnostic Proof: Hard drives require an official Seagate SeaTools diagnostic test resulting in a valid Fault Code. Graphic cards require detailed logs and visual evidence of hardware failure.

  2. Cosmetic Verification: You must submit high-resolution photographs of all six sides of the hardware prior to dispatch. Replacement or refund is strictly contingent upon the hardware being free of user-induced physical damage.

  5. Strict RMA Shipping, Customs & Packaging Compliance

  To initiate an authorized RMA, the buyer must strictly adhere to the following legal and logistical protocols. Failure to comply will result in the immediate voiding of the warranty and rejection of the parcel.

  • Return Shipping Liability: Under this Commercial Warranty, the buyer is 100% responsible for all return shipping logistics, carriage costs, and transit insurance. Robert Electronics does not provide prepaid return labels and will not reimburse return postage costs for warranty claims. The buyer assumes all risk of loss or damage during transit to our designated UK facility.

  • Mandatory HMRC Customs Declaration: For all international or cross-border returns, the buyer must legally declare the parcel value as exactly £10.00 and explicitly state the description as: "RMA Faulty Product Return - No Commercial Value".

  • Customs Fee Exemption & Liability: Robert Electronics assumes zero liability for any import duties, clearance delays, or taxes incurred due to a buyer's incorrect customs declaration. If a parcel incurs customs fees because the buyer declared commercial/retail value, the parcel will be outright rejected at the border, or the entirety of the tax levied will be deducted from any potential refund.

  • Statutory Duty of Care (Minimum Packaging Standard): The buyer holds a legal Duty of Care to ensure goods survive transit. Every individual hardware component must be entirely suspended in a minimum of 2 inches (5 cm) of high-density, shock-absorbing foam or heavy-duty bubble wrap on all six sides, housed within a rigid corrugated box.

  • Physical Damage / G-Sensor Void: If units arrive with any physical damage (dents, compression marks, broken ports) OR if the manufacturer's internal G-sensor telemetry registers a severe drop or impact, the warranty is irrevocably voided. Robert Electronics accepts no liability for courier damage resulting from a breach of packaging standards.

  6. RMA Timelines, Delays & Force Majeure

  • Variable Turnaround Times: The global enterprise hardware supply chain is subject to severe fluctuations. As such, RMA processing and replacement sourcing timelines are strictly estimates and are not fixed.

  • Extended Lead Times: Depending on component scarcity, supplier batch grading, and international freight constraints, RMA replacements may legally take anywhere from 30 days to 6 months.

  • No Compensation for Delays: By utilizing the RMA service, the buyer acknowledges that extended wait times are a standard industry reality. The buyer has no legal right to claim financial compensation, damages for system downtime, or demand immediate refunds due to standard supply chain delays.

  7. Merchant’s Right of Remedy Election & Prorated Refunds

  • Absolute Discretion of Remedy: In the event of a verified hardware failure under warranty, Robert Electronics reserves the absolute legal right to elect the remedy. We may choose to repair the item, provide a direct replacement, provide an equivalent model, or issue a refund.

  • Statutory Deduction for Use (CRA 2015 Section 24(8)): If Robert Electronics elects to issue a refund for a warranty claim made more than 6 months after delivery, the refund will absolutely not be for the full original purchase price. Under Section 24(8) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, we will apply a strict Statutory Deduction for Use to account for the operational hours, lifespan depreciation, and utility the buyer has already extracted from the hardware.

  • No Price Matching or Fluctuation Compensation: Refunds are calculated based strictly on the original transaction value minus the usage deduction. The buyer is not entitled to market price difference compensation, nor can they claim the cost of purchasing a "new" replacement at current inflated market rates.

  Appendix: Mandatory SeaTools Diagnostics (Hard Drives)

  Returning a hard drive that is not inherently defective incurs unnecessary logistical costs and risks your data. Many perceived disk failures stem from file system corruption, OS conflicts, or incorrect RAID configurations. An official SeaTools code is a mandatory legal prerequisite for any HDD warranty claim.

  Testing Protocol:

  1. Connect the drive to a stable Windows environment (direct SATA/SAS or USB enclosure).

  2. Configure Windows Power Options to "Turn off Hard Disk: Never" to prevent the system from sleeping during the 2-4 hour sector scan.

  3. Run the Short Drive Self Test (DST). If this passes but errors persist, run the Long Generic Test.

  4. If the hardware has failed, the test will halt and generate a unique alphanumeric SeaTools Fault Code. You must screenshot this code alongside the drive's Serial Number and submit it to sales@robertelectronics.co.uk to trigger the RMA review process. Dead/Unrecognizable drives must be proven via a screenshot of Windows Disk Management or the BIOS showing the drive failing to initialize