Delivery & Returns

Xmas Delivery Information 

All orders placed before 12:00 noon on December 23rd will be shipped that day, any orders sent via courier should arrive on Xmas Eve.  DPD are deliverying on Xmas eve but please understand due to the time of year we cannot help any delays in the network which are beyond our control.  This is down to all courier networks being over ran at this time of year.  DPD are not delivering on Xmas Day or Boxing Day. 

Any orders placed after 12:00 noon on December 23rd and until Friday 27th before 12:00 noon, will be shipped on Friday 27th December.  DPD and Royal Mail are delivering most days apart from New Years Day.  

We will be shipping on Monday 30th December but not on December 31st or January 1st.  Normal schedule resumes on January 2nd 2025. 

Complete Aquatics – Delivery

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 £50. For orders under the value of £50, 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 Complete Aquatics 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 day 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 Complete 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 insides 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 customers 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 insides 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.

Complete Aquatics – Returns

You can return or exchange any goods bought from Complete Aquatics within 14 days from when you receive them. 

Upon arrival do not sign and accept delivery if there is any indication of damage caused to your goods.

Please take your time when choosing any goods from Complete Aquatics.  The return of any unwanted goods will be at your, the customers, expense and must be in an unused, undamaged condition together with such documentation necessary to enable us to identify you as the purchaser of the goods.  All returned goods must be received within 14 days after confirmation has been given to return them.  Any non-faulty or undamaged goods which arrive in either a damaged or non-resale condition will not be considered for a full refund, full exchange or credit.

Until we receive the goods, you are responsible for the condition and any damage which occurs to the goods.  You should obtain a proof of postage for the goods so that in the event of the goods becoming lost you have a proof you returned it.  Once we have received the goods, we will refund the purchase price (less any original carriage charges) immediately, or in any case within 30 days.

For your convenience, you can bring any returned or damaged / faulty goods to our retail store Aquahome Aquatic Centre in Leyland.  Our staff will try our best to help and assist you although please understand Aquahome is running separately to Complete Aquatics and therefore any prices on our website cannot be matched in store and visa versa.

Damaged  / Faulty Goods

Damaged / Faulty goods must be returned within 14 days after confirmation is given. Complete Aquatics will arrange all collections from UK mainland (other regions we may require the customer to send at own cost) for damaged or faulty goods free of charge which may be either a DPD collection or we may supply a free post address. We require all returns to be returned together with such documentation necessary to enable us to identify you as the purchaser, We also need written instructions or emailed instructions on the nature of the damage or fault. 

We will inspect the goods, and in the event that they are in fact damaged / faulty, we will repair or replace them at our absolute discretion. Due to the large range of goods we supply, it may be necessary to send the goods back to the manufacturer for an expert assessment on the alleged damage/faulty.

If the manufacturer tests the goods and deems them NOT faulty or damaged, they will be returned to you at an additional cost to cover postage and packaging. Some high-end products may not be replaced if found faulty/damaged but repaired, this is done at the manufactures absolute discretion. 

Complete Aquatics does not accept liability for any consequential loss caused by damaged or faulty items, delay in dispatch or delays by couriers.