When should I order for delivery before Christmas?
As soon as possible! PLEASE REMEMBER that the delivery network is always significantly busy in the lead up to Christmas, so please plan ahead with your postal orders. Our deadlines for last orders to guarantee delivery in time for Christmas are:
Monday 11th December for 2nd class standard delivery
Thursday 14th December for 1st class delivery
After these dates, we will continue to take orders and dispatch them as fast as we can, but cannot guarantee that they will arrive before Christmas.
My order hasn’t arrived yet. What do I do?
First thing to check is what the expected delivery times are from the time your order was placed. You can find this information on our Delivery page. Please take into account weekends and bank holidays. For example, if you were to place an order at 3pm on the Thursday before Easter, we may not be able to pack it and dispatch it that same day, as our same day dispatch cut-off time is 2pm. Then the following day (Good Friday) is a bank holiday, then its Easter weekend, with another bank holiday on the Monday, meaning that your order may not reach our post office until the following Tuesday morning, 5 days later). If you chose 2nd class delivery (3 to 5 working days), that might mean your order not reaching its intended destination for 5 working days, which would be the following Tuesday – a full 12 days after you placed your order. Now this is an extreme example, but could realistically be the case. Please also remember that we’re in December now. Christmas deliveries often take longer than normal due to the high demand on the delivery network. This isn’t ideal, but it is outwith our control. As such, please allow an extra day before contacting us.
Second thing to check is that the delivery address details are correct. These are shown on your confirmation email sent automatically when an order is placed from [email protected] (please check your Junk or Spam folder in case your email provider has automatically diverted the confirmation email there).
Third thing to do is check with the recipient that they have definitely not received them. They may simply have not got round to contacting you and thanking you, or someone else in the household may have diverted the gift and put it in a safe place to be saved for the special occasion, and forgotten about it. These are surprisingly common scenarios, believe it or not!
If, however, the usual delivery timeframe has passed, there has been no delivery, or attempted delivery card left by Royal Mail, please do get in contact with us either by email [email protected] or by calling 01833 631 307. It’s really helpful if you have your order reference number from your order confirmation email to hand, as this helps locate your order, and usually makes things a lot quicker. We’ll then do our best to give you an order update, locate your order, and try to resolve the issue for you.
I haven’t received a confirmation email for my order
Every order placed via our website should receive two emails as soon as the order has been confirmed and payment cleared. The first email should be from [email protected] confirming the details of what you ordered, the delivery method, delivery address (if applicable), and billing address. The second should be from either PayPal or SagePay (depending on which method of payment you chose on Checkout) confirming your order payment total. You will then receive a third email from Chocolate Fayre confirming that your order has been completed, meaning that it has either been dispatched, and is now in the hands of Royal Mail, or it is ready for Local Collection from the Chocolate Fayre shop in Barnard Castle (depending on which delivery option you chose).
If you do not see any of these emails in your inbox, firstly, it’s always worth checking your junk or spam folder to see if they have been filtered there by your email provider. If you still cannot see any of these emails there, it’s worth checking your bank card statement or PayPal account to see whether the order payment has been taken, or whether there has been an issue clearing payment. It may also be worth checking the Chocolate Fayre site to see if the item(s) you selected are still in your basket, or if they have been processed.
In the event that you still are not sure if an order has been placed or not, please do contact us on either [email protected] or by called 01833 631 307, and we’ll do our best to find out what has happened, and resolve any issues that there may be for you.
How long do the chocolates last?
The majority of the chocolates have a minimum shelf life of three months. Many have best before dates that last a lot longer than that. Occasionally some pre-packed products may have a shorter shelf life. However this will still be at least one month from date of purchase.
Should I store chocolates in the fridge?
Not really, no. Unfortunately the chocolate will come out of the fridge and then have a white bloom on the surface, which will ruin the appearance of the chocolate. A cool, dark corner of the house is perfect, away from radiators, direct sunlight, pets, small children, etc!!
Competition and Offer Terms & Conditions
Basket discount deals from the online store are discounted from the total value of the products purchased, excluding post & packaging (unless otherwise specifically stated).
Winners of competitions run on social media platforms will be announced on the same social media platform as the competition was run on. Winners will have 7 days from which to contact Chocolate Fayre (either by private message on the social media platform or by email to [email protected]) to claim their prize. After this time, the prize is forfeit.