Returns, Refunds & Warranty Policy

1. How do you request a return or warranty assessment?

Before sending any product, contact hello@buitengewoon.co.za or 084 250 1456. Because hot tubs are large and require specialist packaging, returns must be coordinated safely. This coordination requirement is not intended to delay or limit a statutory right.

Please provide your order number, customer name, delivery address, reason for the return and photographs or videos reasonably needed to assess the issue.

2. What if you change your mind after an online purchase?

Under section 44 of ECTA, a consumer may cancel a qualifying online purchase without reason and without penalty within seven days after receiving the goods.

For this type of return:

• you must notify us within the applicable seven-day period;
• you bear the direct cost and risk of suitable packaging and return transportation;
• no general penalty or administration fee will be charged;
• the goods should remain unused, uninstalled, undamaged and in their original packaging where reasonably possible; and
• we will refund payments covered by the cancellation within 30 days after cancellation, subject to the lawful direct return cost.

You may arrange suitable return transport or ask us to obtain a packaging and courier quotation. If we arrange the return, you must pay the actual direct return cost or authorise its deduction from the refund. Any deduction will be explained and agreed in writing.

We ask customers to retain all original packaging for at least seven days after receipt. Not retaining the packaging does not automatically remove a statutory right, but the customer remains responsible for safely packaging a change-of-mind return.

3. Can you cancel before delivery or collection?

You may request cancellation before delivery or collection by emailing us. Where permitted by the CPA, Buitengewoon may apply a reasonable cancellation charge based on the actual circumstances, including work completed, costs incurred, notice given and the reasonable ability to resell the standard product. The 50% deposit is not automatically non-refundable.

No cancellation charge will be used to remove an ECTA cooling-off right or another mandatory remedy.

4. What if the wrong product arrives or there is visible damage?

You should be given a reasonable opportunity to inspect the product on delivery or collection. If it is materially different from the order or description, visibly damaged, or otherwise unacceptable for a reason recognised by law, record the issue and reject delivery where you are legally entitled to do so.

Please report visible damage or discrepancies as soon as reasonably possible, preferably on the delivery note and before the product is moved or installed. A late report does not automatically remove a statutory right, but prompt evidence helps determine when and how the damage occurred.

5. What if a product is defective or unsafe during the first six months?

Section 56 of the CPA provides an implied warranty of quality for six months after delivery. If goods fail to meet the CPA’s requirements and the failure was not caused by alteration contrary to instructions after the goods left our control, you may return them without penalty at our risk and expense.

For a qualifying claim, you may direct Buitengewoon to:

• repair the product;
• replace the product; or
• refund the price paid.

We may request reasonable evidence and assess the product to confirm the nature and cause of the problem, but an assessment will not be used to unreasonably delay or override your CPA election.

Where practical and agreed with you, assessment or remediation may be completed through photographs, video, an approved local repairer, a site visit, or shipment of an affected component instead of transporting the complete hot tub.

6. What happens if a statutory warranty repair fails?

If Buitengewoon repairs goods and, within three months after that repair, the same failure is not remedied or a further failure, defect or unsafe feature is discovered, the CPA may entitle you to a replacement or refund.

7. What is not automatically a manufacturing defect?

A problem is not automatically a manufacturing defect merely because the product has changed through normal use or exposure. Subject always to the CPA and the facts of the claim, the following may fall outside warranty cover where they caused or constitute the issue:

• normal wear and tear, cosmetic marks or ageing consistent with ordinary use;
• natural timber grain, colour variation, minor checking, weathering or the greying of untreated Rhino wood that does not impair function;
• the intended oxidised patina of Corten steel, including reasonable surface colour development;
• damage caused by incorrect offloading, rigging, positioning, installation or inadequate structural support;
• heating without sufficient water, overheating, unsuitable fuel or failure to follow the operating manual;
• damage from unsuitable water chemistry, excessive minerals, iron, salt or chlorides, or incorrect chemical treatment;
• failure to clean, polish, seal, drain or maintain the product as instructed;
• misuse, abuse, impact, overloading, unauthorised modification or repair; or
• damage occurring after risk has lawfully passed through customer-arranged transport or handling.

An exclusion will be applied only to the extent that the excluded circumstance caused or materially contributed to the problem. It will not be used to exclude an unrelated statutory defect.

8. What additional Buitengewoon warranty applies?

Buitengewoon provides the following additional written warranty against confirmed manufacturing faults from the delivery or collection date:

• Coil heater: three years.
• Wooden cladding: one year.
• Fibreglass shell: one year.
• Accessories and other separately supplied components: one year.

Keep your invoice or order confirmation as proof of purchase.

Commercial warranty after the first six months

After the CPA’s compulsory six-month period, and subject to any continuing mandatory right, Buitengewoon may choose the reasonable remedy under its additional commercial warranty. This may include repair, replacement of the affected component or another agreed remedy.

Unless required by law or agreed otherwise in writing, the additional warranty after six months covers the confirmed defective component or repair only. It does not include site visits, travel, removal, reinstallation, rigging, crane hire, packaging or transport of the complete hot tub. We will first consider practical options such as an approved local repair or shipment of a component.

9. What happens if no covered defect is found?

If a reasonable assessment establishes that the issue is not covered by the CPA or the applicable commercial warranty, we will explain the findings. We may offer a paid repair, replacement part, packaging or transport quotation. No optional work or charge will be undertaken without your approval.

10. How are refunds paid?

Approved refunds will be made using the original payment method where reasonably possible. Processing times may depend on Ozow and your bank, but statutory refunds will be initiated within the period required by law.

Delivery charges will be refunded where required by law. Change-of-mind return costs remain the customer’s responsibility as explained above.

11. Where must returns be sent?

Returns must be coordinated before dispatch and sent to the agreed receiving point at: Unit 2, Rivergate Industrial Park, 7 Columbus Crescent, Parklands, Cape Town, 7441.