Version 2, 25 October 2026. This policy forms part of our Terms of Sale.
1. Our promise in short
We want you to be sure when you order a mill that is made for you. In short:
- Before we start making your mill, you can cancel for a full refund.
- If we are late, and have not dispatched your mill by the latest date on your order, you can cancel for a full refund.
- After your mill arrives, you have 30 days to return it unused for a refund of the price you paid for the mill. We pay for the return courier.
- If you Personalise a mill, you get a full refund until you approve the proof. After you approve it and we engrave it, you can return it only if it is damaged, faulty or not as the approved proof.
- If a mill is damaged or faulty, we replace it, repair it or refund you, at our cost.
- Your legal rights are not affected by anything on this page.
2. Cancelling before we start making your mill
2.1 You can cancel your order for any reason until we start making your mill. We then refund everything you paid for it, including the delivery charge.
2.2 We start making a mill when it is paid for or, if you Personalise it, when you approve the proof. Our email confirming your payment is our notice that making has started or, for a personalised mill, our email confirming the proof you approved.
2.3 To cancel, email info@lighthousemills.co.za with your order number. Your number goes back on sale when we have refunded you.
3. If we are late
3.1 Every order shows a latest date. If we have not dispatched your mill by that date, you can cancel and we will refund everything you paid, including the delivery charge. This is true even if we have already started to make your mill.
3.2 For a mill that is made for you, the latest date is 8 weeks after the day your payment is confirmed or, for a personalised mill, 8 weeks after you approve the proof. For Full Set tranches, the latest date is on your order.
3.3 If we expect to miss the aim of about 3 weeks, we will email you with a new estimate.
4. Returning a mill after it arrives
4.1 You have 30 days from the day your mill is delivered to return it for a refund of the price you paid for the mill.
4.2 The mill must be unused, in good condition and in its packaging. Unused means that it has not been filled and ground. A mill that was damaged on its way to you is treated under section 10.
4.3 To return a mill, email info@lighthousemills.co.za with your order number within the 30 days. We will book the return courier for you and pay for it.
4.4 We refund the price you paid for the mill within 30 days of the day you cancelled.We also refund the delivery charge you paid for that mill. The only cost of a return that the law allows us to charge you is the direct cost of sending the mill back, and we pay that ourselves because we book the return courier.
4.5 This section does not apply to a personalised mill after you have approved the proof (section 5) or to salt and pepper (section 9).
5. Personalised mills
5.1 Until you approve the proof, you can cancel a personalised mill for a full refund.
5.2 After you approve the proof and we engrave your mill, you can return it only if it is damaged, faulty or not as the approved proof. We cannot sell an engraved mill to someone else, so a change of mind is not a reason for a return.
5.3 You have 2 weeks from the day we send the proof to approve it. If you do not, we send you a reminder. If you still have not approved it 14 days after the reminder, we cancel your order and refund the price you paid less a handling fee of 15 per cent. We may waive the fee if the delay was caused by circumstances beyond your control.
5.4 We may refuse any request, for example offensive text or someone else’s trade mark. If we do, we refund the engraving and, if you wish, the whole order.
6. A design we withdraw
6.1 If we decide not to make a design before we have started your mill, we refund you in full.
7. Ready to ship mills
7.1 A Ready to ship mill is an ordinary order and not a pre order. The 30 day return in section 4 applies from the day it is delivered.
7.2 A Ready to ship mill cannot be personalised, so section 5 does not apply to it.
8. Full Sets
8.1 A tranche of your Full Set that has not yet been delivered can be cancelled for a full refund.
8.2 Mills you have already received follow the 30 day return rule in section 4, counted from the day each tranche is delivered.
9. Salt and pepper
9.1 Salt and pepper are food. After delivery you cannot return them just because you changed your mind.
9.2 If they arrive damaged, are not what you ordered or are not fit to eat, we will replace them or refund you.
10. A mill that is damaged or faulty
10.1 If your mill arrives damaged or has a fault, please email info@lighthousemills.co.za as soon as you can, and within the 30 day return period, with your order number and photographs of the damage and the packaging.
10.2 We will repair it, replace it with the same number, or refund you, as you prefer, at our cost, including the courier.
10.3 Your rights under section 56 of the Consumer Protection Act, which lasts six months from delivery, also apply (section 12).
11. How refunds are paid
11.1 We refund you through PayFast to the card or bank account you paid with. We do not deduct PayFast’s fees from your refund.
11.2 A refund to a card usually reaches you in about 7 business days. A refund to an Instant EFT payment usually reaches you in about 2 to 3 business days. The time depends on your bank.
11.3 When a refund is made before production, the number returns to Available. When a refund is made after the mill was made, the number becomes Ready to ship, and the same finished mill is sold again under that number.
12. Your rights by law
12.1 Nothing on this page limits your rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002. In short, as we understand them:
(a) you may cancel an advance order, and we may charge a reasonable cancellation fee, except for special order goods (CPA section 17);
(b) you may cancel and be refunded if the goods are not delivered by the agreed date (CPA section 19(6)(c));
(c) if goods are defective or unfit for their purpose, you may within six months return them and choose repair, replacement or a refund (CPA section 56); and
(d) if you buy online, you may cancel within seven days of receiving the goods without giving a reason, paying only the direct cost of returning them. We refund within 30 days of the cancellation. This does not apply to goods made to your specification or clearly personalised, or to foodstuffs and other goods intended for everyday consumption (ECTA sections 42(2) and 44).
12.2 If the law gives you more than this policy, the law applies.