Delivery of your Paving Traders order

We use third-party pallet distribution carriers and delivery is normally kerbside only, this is termed as our standard delivery method and this is how it works. Your order is collected and taken to the collecting depot’s premises, it travels overnight to a central distribution hub, from there to your local delivering depot’s premises and finally delivered to you on your allotted day. A total of at least 4 different vehicles.

Home Deliveries (HD)

We will never despatch your order until we have spoken with you. Our items in the haulage industry are described as “ugly freight”, basically items are big, heavy and delivered to residential addresses which require a manual pallet truck offload. For that reason, it is important we speak to you first. We will call you during normally working hours, if you order during that time please expect a call soon after order. If you don’t hear from us the chances are you have missed a call. If your order is urgent, for example you need it in a few days please call us to say you have just placed an order, this saves losing valuable time.

When booking orders for Home Deliveries (HD) please carry out the following checks so that the pallet network can deliver your pallets quickly and with minimal issues.  We would strongly suggest giving as much clear and exact information as possible.

Before arranging your delivery – questions to consider

1. The smallest vehicle that is used to deliver standard pallets of paving is an 18 tonne curtain-sided large box vehicle, which is similar in size to a large refuse truck, so please check that the road leading to the address has access for a truck of this size. Please tell us of any low or weak bridges in your vicinity, check for low hanging trees, approaching events such as music festivals, carnivals, fetes or contractual projects such as road closures for gas, water, communication cable work etc.
2. If your home address can only accept smaller vehicles, then you must inform Paving Traders via email or telephone and check to see if the delivery depot can accommodate. Smaller vehicles are subject to availability, have a lower working weight on the tail lift so may not be suitable for a standard pack of paving, also a surcharge could apply.
3. Check you have entered a delivery address if different from the billing address. If it is a named house, please give points of interest for the driver to look out for.
4. Our standard delivery window is between 9am and 5pm (unless booked with a timed surcharge). Please make sure there is someone there to accept the goods during the booked time. Also, be ready to answer your phone. If there is a problem and they cannot contact you and take your order away, a re-delivery charge will apply.
5. All deliveries are kerbside only. The pump truck that the driver uses to manoeuvre the pallet can only operate on flat, hard surfaces – gravel, grass, slopes, natural paths, bark chippings etc are unsuitable.

Notes for delivery

1. Please supply a mobile number, a text informing you of an ETA for the delivery is often sent.
2. Addresses/locations are not checked before despatch so please check your address is entered correctly.
3. Some rural areas in the UK have poor mobile reception so calling is sometimes challenging.
4. Drivers are given 20 minutes to complete each delivery. Any issues need to be sorted out within this time frame, otherwise they may have to move on without delivering.
5. The driver is not obliged to handball the goods off the vehicle. It is your responsibility to ensure all criteria for delivery are met.  Most delivering depots are not covered by insurance to have members of the public on the back of their lorries to assist handball.

The prices advertised on this shop include the cost of delivery to most of mainland U.K. with exception of the following postcodes: AB / DD / IV / KA27 + 28 / PA 20 to 75 / PH / PO 30 to 41. Other postcodes may apply, please call to discuss. We can deliver to these postcodes but an excess charge will be made depending on the size of the order. This charge will not show at checkout, to obtain fair surcharge prices we will call the carrier company after receiving your order and give you the charge when we call you back. Please call 0151 357 2244 for a quotation.

Once full payment has been received, we aim to deliver all yard stock orders within 5 working days (working days are classed as Monday to Friday excluding Bank Holidays) and most yard stock orders will be delivered 3/4 working days after date of order. However, some deliveries direct from suppliers may take up to 10 working days.

We offer a choice of delivery options, as follows:

Please note that “Next Day” means next working day and orders must be placed before 10.00 am.

All specified times are dependent on products being in stock and available for release. To guarantee next day delivery, orders must be placed before 10.00 am. **Please note “Next day” excludes Saturday. Orders placed for “Next day” on a Friday will be delivered on the following Monday.

Orders with a value less than £200.00 excluding VAT will attract a delivery cost of £17.50 in addition to the above charges.

We will contact you to arrange a delivery day / date. Please be sure to leave a contact telephone number in the check out section. We can deliver to an address other than your billing address, please be sure to input the correct delivery address.

Delivery Day

If a special arrangement has not been organised, the carrier will deliver between the hours of 8.00 am and 5.00 pm (if you have not received your order by about 3.00 pm feel free to call us and we will check progress of your delivery). While every effort will be made by us and the courier to effect delivery in accordance with any pre-arranged day, neither the courier nor us will accept liability for any loss or damage occasioned by the delay in delivery however caused. **Any schedule given by us for delivery is given in good faith and we shall endeavour to comply with it. We will in no circumstances be liable for any costs or expenses incurred as a result of late or non-delivery.** We cannot be held responsible for any delay in delivery resulting from adverse weather, vehicle breakdown etc. Our delivery network only allows us to deliver within mainland U.K.

*** Once your order has been collected from us or our supplier it is then “en route”, and any cancellation may result in return haulage charges at your cost. If your order has left the collecting depot’s premises and is further in transit then return haulage charges will certainly apply, these are normally deducted from your refunded amount. If you order accessory items (for example patio sealers or the jointing compounds) these items will be put inside or on top of your delivery and well wrapped (if you think you order has been tampered with then please call us immediately). Before you sign for your delivery please check these items are included as we cannot entertain any claims for missing items once the delivery has been signed for as complete. Breakages; because of our full pack only policy most people when ordering paving end up with a little more than they need therefore the odd breakage is not normally a problem and most contractors would allow about 10% for cuts etc. However if you order a special feature/circle then please check all pieces as soon as possible and notify us within 5 working days, any later than this may cause problems.***

Delivery Drops

The carrier company who deliver on our behalf do, in most cases, deliver on a vehicle that has a tail lift and a pallet pump truck, this is standard delivery method. Please bear in mind that large rigid sized wagons will deliver the goods. Suitable access will need to be available and in all cases it is the customer’s responsibility to provide a suitable area for offload. You must advise us of any restrictions that will impede the delivery vehicle from dropping the goods; it is imperative the area is hard and level (no hills or slopes). Delivery is kerbside drop only which means the carrier is only obliged to offload the goods from the tail lift via pump truck. If assistance is available and offered then the goods may be wheeled closer to your property if surfaces allow. Our couriers are not insured to take goods onto your premises without permission. If you require the driver to come off the public highway onto your property with the vehicle, the goods, or both, this is entirely at your own risk and if the driver or vehicle damages anything (Manhole Covers, tarmac driveways, block paved drives, flagged driveways, gravelled or stoned driveways, public footpaths, grassed areas, walls, pillars, gate posts, gates, trees, hedges, telephone wires, lights etc) the cost of repair will be your responsibility. The carrier company we use are very competent and you should have no cause to worry, we just have to point out the possible pitfalls.

*** If vehicular access is a problem why not do what several of our customers have done – deliver to another address! We have made several deliveries now to customer workplaces and the product has been taken to the job in smaller vehicles…no problem!! *** We have delivered to a number of builders merchants local to customers addresses and they have made their own arrangements for crane off-load using their vehicle; sometimes a cheaper option than us arranging mechanical off-load. We can arrange full mechanical offload by brick grab crane or transportable fork truck at extra cost, this would be costed on request.

Breakages

In a perfect world this wouldn’t happen, I would be a millionaire, play golf like Rory McIlroy and hang around with Kylie Minogue but as we all know, life isn’t perfect! Our stone is ethically sourced in India, it is crated up and will next see the light of day when you unpack it. In between it is transported from the quarry to the docks, put into a container, thrown around on the high seas for 6 weeks then unloaded in the UK. It travels to us, you buy it and finally we arrange transport to you. In all of that the odd breakage may occur, unfortunately replacement is not an option as these would certainly get broken in transit. Please remember most broken flags can be used for cuts and we, along with every other manufacturer and supplier recommend you allow at least 10% for cuts and breakages (and maybe the odd one you might not like the look of) Because of this a refund or replacement will only occur in exceptional circumstances. However (and we do check), if there is significant damage then please let us know and we will do all we can to resolve the problem (significant damage is more than 10%). If you are ordering close to exactly what you want then please let us know and we will try and offer ideas and suggestions. I hope you appreciate our honesty and can be a little reasonable in return. Almost all flags will suffer small scuff or rub marks in transit, these are normally very minor and will disappear in a short time when laid.

Damage on Delivery

If you have a problem with your delivery and damage occurs or you suspect the product may be damaged then please sign the note as “Damaged on Delivery”. If you do not we cannot make a successful claim against insurance and ultimately replace any goods for you. Please sign “unchecked”.

Re-Delivery Charges

We have just had to re-deliver 3 pallets of stone because the customer nipped out for 5 minutes and we couldn’t contact them by phone. Cost for re-delivery the following day was £156 – please stay in until your delivery arrives. Please make sure you are available to accept delivery. **If the delivering driver tells you they will come back tomorrow, please ask if there will be re-delivery charges. If he doesn’t know then ask him to find out before he leaves.**

Tips for a smooth delivery

A little forward planning should help your delivery go smoothly. Think about where you would like your delivery to be put and work around that. If parked cars are a problem then try to use your own car to good effect, park it out on the road to keep a space for your delivery then move it when the goods arrive. Include a friend or neighbours car too if possible, you can never have too much space. Do not go out on your delivery day, even for a few minutes as we guarantee, that will be the moment your delivery arrives. Please be honest in giving delivery advice, if you think there could be problems then let us know, we can only act on information offered to us. Please do not refuse a delivery for any reason without first calling us and remember, if you turn a delivery away and want it to come back the following day then charges will apply.

***Never refuse a delivery on your allotted day for any reason without first calling us. If you do, either re-delivery or return charges will apply. If you are unsure and it is during office hours (8-5) please call us immediately and we will advise***
NB All deliveries need to be inspected and signed for. If you are not at the delivery address to receive the goods or have not arranged anybody else to receive the goods on your behalf, the courier driver will not leave the goods. A surcharge will be made and also another charge will be made for the cost to re-deliver. The cost will be reasonable and will be charged at the courier rate only.

Prices

All the prices advertised are plus VAT at the current rate.