Refunds and returns

The window

You have 14 days from delivery. The clock starts the day the box reaches you, not the day you placed the order. For anything damaged or wrong in transit, sooner is better, because photographs taken the day the box arrives settle it quickly.

Food: Hard Red Wheat Flour, White Wheat Flour, Pure Vanilla Extract, Fresh Wheat Germ and EmberLeaf^™ Oregano Infused Olive Oil

Food that has left our kitchen cannot come back into it. Sealed or opened makes no difference: none of these five can be returned. That is a safety line and we do not cross it.

Hard Red Wheat Flour, White Wheat Flour, Pure Vanilla Extract and Fresh Wheat Germ also ship to Michigan addresses only. That is a different rule for a different reason. Michigan cottage food law sets where food can go. Safety sets whether it can come back.

EmberLeaf Oregano Infused Olive Oil ships to Michigan addresses only as well, and that one is our own decision rather than a law: it is not made under the cottage food exemption. Everything above about food coming back still applies to it, because it is still something you eat.

So we handle food problems without a return:

• If a bag or bottle arrives damaged, leaking, opened, or looking wrong in any way, send us a photograph and we will replace it or refund it.
• If we sent the wrong thing, keep it and we will send the right one.
• If something is wrong with the contents, tell us what you found and give us the lot number from the label. That is exactly what lot numbers are for, and it lets us check the rest of the batch rather than only your bag.

Please do not post food back to us. Taste is not a defect. If you simply did not care for it we would still like to hear so, but it is not a refund.

Skin products: TaloVera^™ Skin Cream, TaloVera^™ Lip Balm, Gilded Parrot^™ Beard Oil and Gilded Parrot^™ Beard Balm

Unopened, within 14 days of delivery, TaloVera Skin Cream, TaloVera Lip Balm, Gilded Parrot Beard Oil and Gilded Parrot Beard Balm can come back for a full refund. Unopened is the whole test: seal intact, nothing used.

Once a jar or a tube has been opened, we cannot take it back. We will not put a used pot back on the shelf for the next customer, and we would not want one sent to us.

Damaged or wrong on arrival is a different thing. Opening the box to find that out does not count against you. Send a photograph and we will replace it or refund it.

If a product is not right for you, stop using it and tell us. We do not make health or medical claims about anything we sell, and we want to hear when something has not suited somebody.

Damaged, wrong, or lost in transit

Photograph the parcel and its contents before you unpack any further, and email them to us. A crushed box is our problem to sort out with the carrier, not yours to chase.

If the tracking stops moving, do not wait it out on your own. Email us, and we will chase the carrier while you decide whether you would rather have a replacement or your money back.

How to start

Email customer.support@four-waters.com or use the contact page, and include:

• your order number, or the email address you ordered with;
• the lot number printed on the label. You can also look it up here;
• what went wrong, and a photograph if there is anything to see.

We answer every message within 1 business day.

Return postage

If the fault is ours, we pay and we replace. Damaged in transit, the wrong item in the box, or anything we got wrong at our end: we cover the postage and send a replacement, or refund you if you would rather have the money back. There is no postage charge to you.

If you have changed your mind, the return postage is yours to pay. Write to us before you send anything, so we can confirm the item is one that can come back and tell you where to post it.

When the money goes back

Refunds go back to whatever paid for the order. Once we send a refund, how quickly it appears is up to your bank rather than up to us.

Changing or cancelling an order

Email us as soon as you can. If the box has not been packed we can change it or cancel it outright. Once it has shipped, the rest of this page applies.

A note on Michigan-only orders

Hard Red Wheat Flour, White Wheat Flour, Pure Vanilla Extract and Fresh Wheat Germ can only be sent to Michigan addresses. That is Michigan cottage food law, and it is a shipping limit rather than a returns rule. It means a replacement for one of them goes to a Michigan address too. If that is a problem, tell us and we will refund instead. EmberLeaf Oregano Infused Olive Oil ships to Michigan addresses only as well, for now, and a replacement for it goes the same way. The reason is explained on the FAQ.

If we cannot agree

Write to us first and give us a real chance to fix it. We are one small business and we would much rather resolve something directly than have it escalate.

If writing to us does not settle it, tell us plainly that you are not satisfied and we will put the whole thing in front of somebody who can look at it fresh. We are not going to hide behind a form.