Here is all the small print.  Sorry it’s so long.

Terms and Conditions of sale

Our commitment to comply with the Regulations
We comply fully with the Consumer Protection (distance selling) regulations 2000 and the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002.

Where to find the Regulations
The complete text of both Regulations is available on the Stationery Office Website (Consumer Protection and Electronic Commerce).

Our general obligations to you under the Consumer Protection (distance selling) Regulations
Generally you have the right to cancel the contract by giving us notice in writing, including fax or email at any time during the 'cooling off period' which finishes 7 working days after the day of receipt of the goods. If you do cancel the contract after the goods have been sent and received you must return the goods to us at your own cost or pay us to collect them and in the meantime take reasonable care of them so that we can offer them for re-sale. If you do not take reasonable care of them and they are not received by us or not received by us in a saleable condition you may not receive a full refund.

Our special case
However, due to the personal service we offer we at our own discretion offer a full refund for any reason whatsoever of goods are returned to us within seven days of receipt by you.  This is in order to make it easier for you to evaluate goods in your home.  We always try to give our customers the level of service which we would like if we were buying goods; it is very important to us that you are delighted with any purchase, that you are certain you have chosen well and that you will recommend us to others.  If however you do not wish to keep goods we do ask that  any item for return must be returned to us at your own cost or you must pay us to collect them and in the meantime take reasonable care of them so that we can offer them for re-sale. If you do not take reasonable care of them and if any part of the goods are not received by us or not received by us in a saleable condition you may not receive a full refund.  This restriction is for the protection of all our clients to ensure that they do not receive goods that have been used by others.

Refunds
If the contract is cancelled we will refund the purchase price paid including normal but not special delivery charges as soon as we receive the returned goods and within 30 days.

Data Protection
By agreeing to these terms and conditions you acknowledge and accept our Data Protection Act Policy and agree to opt in. You may, of course opt out at any time by following the directions in our Data Protection Act Policy.

Law
No contract exists until we dispatch the goods notwithstanding that we will recorded your verbal or written order. We reserve the right to decline or rescind any order and refund your payment rather than deliver the goods. Non-acceptance of an order may be a result of one of the following:

•The product you ordered being unavailable from stock

•Our inability to obtain authorisation for your payment

•The identification of a pricing or product description error.

You are free to cancel the order any time up to the time of dispatch. You will then receive a full refund. The concluded contract will be filed by us but will not be accessible to you unless specifically requested and any reasonable costs incurred by us in supplying the information paid by you.

The language offered for the conclusion of the contract will be English. The laws of England apply to all contracts.

Your other rights
None of these Terms and Conditions affects your other Statutory Rights.

Contact Trading Standards Department
If you are concerned at all about these Terms and Conditions, or the way in which we administer them please contact your nearest Trading Standards Department by visiting http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk and entering your postcode.

Repair scheme
Our customers benefit from free repairs and spare parts.  This is a goodwill service and it is discretionary.

Instruments sent for repair must include a copy of the service form which can be obtained by clicking here. 

If the instrument need to be returned for repair you can either send it to us via an appropriate method, or we can arrange collection for you using our couriers.  If you would like us to collect we ask you to cover the cost which is presently £14.50 in the UK. 

Our workshop will asses the damage and repair the instrument free of charge.  This service is intended to cover all the things that may 'go wrong' with an instrument in usual day to day use, for example:

•Bent keys - often caused by rough handling or improper assembly - bent keys are very common especially amongst beginners. 

•Springs knocked off or broken - sometimes occurs when cleaning if care is not taken to avoid the spring wires.

These and other things are commonplace repairs that almost all players will need to do or have done at some time or other.  It is quite usual to receive a repair bill from your local shop of anything form £20 upwards for minor repairs.  Your local repairman is being quite reasonable in charging for these repairs - they all take time - however we will undertake them free of charge as goodwill - just call us and send in your broken instrument. 

What does it cost?

Repairs are free.  Parts are free. Labour is free.  If your instrument has a genuine manufacture fault then we collect and deliver for free too.  If your instrument has been damaged or has 'wear and tear' all we ask you to cover is collection and delivery.

The present cost of collection within the UK is £14.50 and delivery £9.50.  So if you wanted us to collect, repair and return your instrument the cost would be £24.00.  If you send it to us and ask us to arrange return only this costs £9.50.  If you send it in and pick it up of course there is no charge.  To make this absolutely clear (for the benefit of any sceptics who think that this all sounds too good to be true and think that we must be making some money out of this somewhere....) we only ask you to cover delivery costs.  We do not make a profit or inflate the cost of delivery.  We use City Link, UPS and Royal Mail  next day services which we get at a discounted rate as we are a 'volume' customer,  we even pass on this discount to our customers.  

How long does it take?

We endeavour to complete and return all customer repairs as quickly as possible.  If you need your instrument returned by a specific date please tell when you call to book then repair in - before sending it!  We will do our best to accommodate your request.

I don't live in the UK - what will it cost and how long will it take.

This will be different of course for each country and it is best to e-mail or phone us for advice if you ever have a problem.  Customers from outside the UK may of course make use of our free repair service but for minor repairs the cost of postage may outweigh the savings of taking the instrument to your local repairer just as you would with any other make of instrument.  There is however some good news for overseas customers;  we do still have the longest warranty of any major brand, and we do still commit to supply free brand specific spare parts (i.e. keys or special parts, but not tiny tiny stuff like a piece of cork or a pad!) for your instrument should you need them even for a repair.  So if you take you instrument to the local repairer and it needs a new key or a new screw for example you can obtain them free of charge from ourselves.

What is meant by; 'This is a goodwill service and it is discretionary' ?

Our repairs are offered free of charge as goodwill to our customers.  Some high street shops that have an 'in house' repairer will also offer such a service in order to look after customers.  However, by offering this service we do not enter in to a contract and if we have any reason to believe that damage has been deliberate or malicious for example then we reserve the right to refuse the service free of charge.

Is there anything that you won't repair free?

Yes.  We don't offer free repairs for cosmetic damage.  So if you scratch or dent your instrument we won't offer to fix it for free.  If you accidentally run over it with the car for example we won't be able to fix it for free!  This would be a job for your insurance company, not the repair shop!   We're not being mean spirited by this, just realistic.  Our free repair service is intended to help keep your instrument in good playing order, to help you with common problems that might otherwise cost a lot and take a long time.

Is there anything else I should know?

We do our best to help customers and keep everyone happy.  To make sure that there is no misunderstanding here are some things we need to make clear:  We do not agree to cover the cost of repairs undertaken by any other repairers.   If you have a problem with your instrument, what ever it may be, we suggest that you speak to us about it first.  If you decide to take it somewhere else and arrange your own repairs we will not cover the bill.   If your teacher decides to 'repair' it we can not be held responsible.  Any work, alteration or repair carried out by third parties may invalidate your guarantee. We can not be held responsible for any 'missed lesson' or 'missed concert' which is caused by a broken instrument.

 Lastly, if we had a £ for every time we've heard "we just opened the case and it was like that" we would probably be retiring to the Bahamas by now.  The fact is that musical instruments do get knocked and bent even by the most careful people.  We understand this and it's one of the reasons that we offer this service as goodwill.  Our intention is to look after our customers in order that you will remain our customers.  To this end we will do all that is reasonably possible to help you and provide the best possible service at all times.