Before You Read This Policy
The guidance below explains how damage, refunds and replacements are usually handled in practice when purchasing paving slabs and tiles. If you would like a fuller explanation of the wider industry background, please see our guide: Damage, Refund and Replacement in the Paving Slabs and Tiles Industry.
That page explains why these approaches are commonly used across the trade, including transport realities, pallet delivery costs, product handling requirements and why ordering a suitable surplus is normally recommended.
A Helpful Note for Homeowners
If you are a homeowner and do not regularly purchase these materials, it may be helpful to speak with your landscaper, tiler or installer before placing an order. Professional installers work with these products more frequently and are usually familiar with normal trade practice, including ordering allowances, handling expectations and how minor transport-related issues are managed during installation.
Their advice can help you understand the practical standards of the industry and offer reassurance that the guidance below reflects how paving slabs, stone tiles and related products are commonly purchased, delivered and installed.
Damages Policy
In line with long-established industry practice, small levels of damage may occasionally occur during transportation. For this reason, damage of up to 7% of the total order is not normally subject to compensation under our commercial damage allowance. Many suppliers within the industry operate a higher tolerance of up to 10%.
Where total verified damage exceeds 7% but does not exceed 20%, compensation will apply only to the qualifying portion exceeding the initial 7%. Compensation is calculated proportionally and is subject to clear photographic evidence showing the nature, extent and overall scale of the damage.
Replacement material will only be considered where the total verified damage exceeds 20% of the order, subject to the required evidence, product availability and the individual circumstances of the claim.
To minimise the risk of a project shortfall caused by cutting, handling or occasional breakage, customers are strongly advised to order an additional 10–15% of material based on the size, layout and complexity of the project.
Requests for a small number of replacement pieces to complete a project are not supported as standard practice because transportation, warehouse handling and repacking costs are often significantly higher than the value of the affected material. Depending on the product's size, weight and fragility, even a small replacement quantity may require specialist packaging or palletised delivery.
Where customers experience minor damage and still wish to purchase replacement items, this may be arranged subject to product availability and acceptance of any applicable repacking and delivery charges. This does not include minor chips or edge imperfections that do not materially affect installation, appearance or performance.
To understand the practical reasons behind this approach, please read Why Suppliers Don't Replace Minor Broken Paving Slabs and Tiles.
Split Packs
Split packs require additional handling by UK warehouse staff, including opening the original factory packaging, separating the required quantity and repacking the products for delivery.
As a result, split packs are naturally less secure than unopened factory packs and may carry a slightly higher risk of minor chipping or edge damage during handling and transportation.
For this reason, we generally recommend purchasing full packs wherever practical. Where a customer chooses a split pack, they acknowledge the additional handling involved and the small associated risk of minor cosmetic damage.
Minor Chipping and Edge Damage
During packing, unpacking, transportation and site handling, minor chipping to edges or corners may occasionally occur. Small chips are not normally eligible for a claim where they do not materially affect the structural performance, intended appearance or installation of the product.
In practice, partially chipped pieces can often still be used for cuts, boundaries, edges, corners or less prominent sections of the installation. Minor imperfections can usually be managed by an experienced installer when the material is sorted and planned correctly before installation.
Natural stone and split face tiles can be relatively thin or contain smaller individual stone sections. Minor damage affecting one edge or one small section does not necessarily make the entire tile or panel unusable. The assessment will be based on the genuinely unusable quantity and whether the product can still be installed correctly.
This is different from substantial breakage, a major missing section or structural damage that makes a slab, tile or panel unsafe or impractical to install.
Photographic Evidence and Reporting
All damage claims must be supported by clear photographs showing both the overall delivery and the individual affected products.
Customers should:
- Inspect the delivery promptly after arrival.
- Photograph the complete pallet, crate, cartons and packaging.
- Photograph each genuinely damaged piece clearly.
- Show the total affected quantity in one or more overview photographs.
- Separate minor cosmetic chips from structurally unusable products.
- Keep the affected material and packaging until the claim has been assessed.
- Submit the claim within the reporting period stated in our Terms & Conditions.
Photographs showing only a close-up of a broken edge, without showing the complete product or overall quantity, may not provide enough evidence for the claim to be assessed accurately.
Refunds and Replacements
Where a qualifying claim is accepted, we will normally refund the applicable value of the verified damaged items in accordance with this policy.
Free replacements are not generally provided for small quantities because specialist packing and delivery costs can be disproportionately high compared with the value of the affected products.
We maintain competitive prices by operating on fair margins rather than adding a substantial replacement contingency to every order. Our approach may therefore differ from that of retailers operating on higher margins and building the cost of additional deliveries into their selling prices.
Where substantial verified damage exceeds the applicable replacement threshold, replacement material may be considered depending on stock availability, transport arrangements and the circumstances of the claim.
Additional Material and Project Allowances
Customers should not normally order exactly the measured finished area. Additional material is needed for cutting, grading, pattern adjustments, corners, boundaries, accidental site damage and future repairs.
Approximately 10% additional material may be suitable for a straightforward project. A 10–15% allowance may be more appropriate for smaller areas or installations involving numerous cuts, corners, curves, steps, drains, sockets, openings or other detailed work.
Split face tile installations may also require additional allowance because panels often need to be cut around wall edges, corners, sockets and openings, and their thinner natural stone sections can be more vulnerable before installation.
The appropriate allowance should be confirmed with the customer's installer before the order is placed.
Customer Rights and Legal Compliance
All policies and explanations above are intended to provide clear guidance on ordering, transportation, damage assessment, refunds and replacements. They do not affect, limit or override any statutory consumer rights under UK law.
Customers remain protected under applicable legislation, including the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and other relevant regulations. Where goods are proven to be faulty, materially not as described or unfit for purpose, the customer's legal rights will continue to apply.
A minor cosmetic chip that does not materially affect installation, appearance or performance is not necessarily equivalent to a structurally defective or completely unusable product. Each qualifying claim will be assessed according to the evidence and individual circumstances.