We know that life does not always run to plan. A house move can fall through, circumstances change, and a decision that felt certain a few weeks ago can suddenly feel uncertain. If you find yourself in that position after placing an order with us, please talk to us. We would always rather have an open conversation than leave you worrying.

To make that conversation as easy as possible, we want to be completely clear about how a bespoke order works, what your deposit pays for, and why our position on cancellations is what it is. There are no surprises hidden here, just a plain explanation of something that genuinely catches people out.

Everything we make is made just for you

Every set of shutters and every blind we supply is bespoke. There is no standard size sitting on a shelf. Each item is cut and built to the exact measurements of your windows, in the colour, style and configuration you chose. That is what makes them fit so beautifully, and it is also the single most important thing to understand about cancelling an order.

What happens the moment you place your order

This is the part almost everyone gets wrong, so it is worth explaining carefully.

When you confirm your order and pay your deposit, your specification goes straight into production. Your shutters or blinds are made to your exact windows, and for many of our products manufacture is completed within days of your order being placed.

The reason a completed order can take several weeks to reach you is rarely the making of it. It is the journey. Some of our products, our shutters in particular, travel a considerable distance to reach us, often by sea, before being brought to you here in Scotland. Depending on the product, the whole process can take up to twelve weeks, and most of that time is delivery rather than manufacture.

Why this matters if you need to cancel

Because the lead time can be so long, it is natural to assume that your order has not been made yet, and that there is plenty of time to change your mind. Understandably, people think that if installation is still weeks away, the order can simply be unwound.

In reality, by the time most people start to wonder about cancelling, their shutters or blinds have already been made. They were built to your windows within days of your order going into production. They cannot be unmade, resized for anyone else, or put back into stock, because there is no stock. They fit your windows and no one else's.

Your deposit and why it cannot be refunded

We ask for a deposit of 50% of your order value when you place your order. That deposit is not a holding fee or a reservation. From the moment you place your order, real work begins. Our team designs your shutters or blinds to the exact dimensions of your windows, prepares and carefully checks your order, sources the materials, and commits your items to manufacture. Your deposit covers this work, the greater part of which happens in the first days after you order.

Once your order has been placed, that work cannot be undone, and the 50% deposit is not refundable. It reflects the design, the preparation and checking, the materials and the manufacture that have already gone into items built to your exact windows, which have no value or use to anyone else.

We do, though, hold on to your finished shutters or blinds for a full three years. If your circumstances change and you are able to go ahead, we will still have them safely stored, and we would be glad to talk through completing your order. After three years, if they remain uncollected, they are securely destroyed.

We know none of this is what anyone hopes to read, which is exactly why we want you to understand it clearly before you order, rather than at a difficult moment afterwards.

If your circumstances change, talk to us early

The single most useful thing you can do is tell us as soon as you can. The earlier you speak to us, the more options we may have to help. Once your order reaches production and your items are made, our flexibility is very limited, but before that point there is more we can do. Please do not sit on a worry. Pick up the phone or drop us a line, and we will talk it through with you openly.

Your statutory rights are always protected

Nothing in this policy affects your legal rights. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, if anything we supply is faulty, not as described, or not fit for purpose, you are protected, and this policy does not change that.

Because our products are made to your own specification, they are exempt from the standard 14-day cancellation right that applies to off-the-shelf goods under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. This is standard across the made-to-measure industry and reflects the bespoke nature of everything we produce.

We are also a fully paid-up member of the British Blind and Shutter Association (BBSA), and our Technical Director, David D'Ambrosio, is a Past President of the Association. The BBSA exists to protect both you and us, and offers a free mediation service in the rare event that something cannot be resolved directly.

Talk to us

If you have any questions about your order, or your circumstances have changed, please get in touch. We are here to help. Call us on 0800 086 2989 or email judith@scottishshutters.co.uk.

Bespoke Orders & Cancellations