01. Scope of Agreement and Framework of Supply

By finalizing and submitting an order with HRS Distribution, hereafter referred to as “the Company,” the purchasing party, hereafter referred to as “the Customer,” explicitly agrees to be bound without reservation by the terms, protocols, and liabilities outlined within this document.

All goods dispatched by the Company are subject strictly to our internal verification, packaging standards, and external courier protocols. The Customer acknowledges that the products supplied, including but not limited to laboratory hardware, administration systems, and research compounds, require specific logistics handling. It is the Customer’s sole responsibility to ensure compliance with delivery reception conditions at the designated destination point.

02. Dispatch Schedules, Cut-Off Windows, and Fulfillment Logistics

The Company prioritise efficient transit but operates within rigid fulfillment windows to maintain absolute quality control over all outgoing cargo.

• Standard Operational Cut-Off: The daily deadline for processing and warehouse preparation is strictly 2:00 PM (GMT/BST), Monday through Friday. Any order completed, paid for, and cleared through our payment gateways at or after 2:01 PM will be handled in the subsequent operational cycle on the next working day.
• Weekend and Public Holiday Protocols: No dispatches occur on Saturdays, Sundays, or official UK Bank Holidays. Orders registered during these periods will be queued chronologically for preparation on the immediate following business working day.
• Fulfillment Buffer Variances: While the Company makes every commercial effort to maintain same-day dispatch for orders meeting the cut-off, “dispatch” denotes the transfer of custody from our facility to the third-party carrier network. The Company cannot be held liable for internal courier processing delays, warehouse backlogs at regional sorting hubs, or weather-induced transit disruptions once custody has been transferred.
• Automated Tracking Dissemination: Tracking references are generated dynamically when shipping labels are printed. A lack of immediate courier scan data upon receipt of tracking does not indicate non-shipment; customers must allow up to 24 hours for the carrier’s digital architecture to update transit scans.

03. Tiered Shipping Infrastructure, Pricing, and Courier Routing

The Company utilizes specific carrier pathways optimised for weight, tracking fidelity, and security. Available options at checkout are defined as follows:

Royal Mail Tracked 24 (£4.95)

• Specification: Premium expedited postal routing with a general delivery target of the next working day following dispatch.
• Mandatory Requirement: This is the only valid, approved tier for any consignment containing pre-filled pens, cartridges, or temperature or vibration-sensitive items.

Royal Mail Tracked 48 (£3.95)

• Specification: Economy postal routing with a delivery window of 2 to 3 working days from the point of collection.
• Restriction: Strictly prohibited for orders containing pre-filled pens or cartridges.

Evri Next Day Tracked (£3.95)

• Specification: Commercial courier delivery targeting the next working day.
• Restriction: Strictly prohibited for orders containing pre-filled pens or cartridges.

Evri Standard Tracked (£2.95)

• Specification: Economy commercial courier delivery with an estimated timeline of 2 to 3 working days.
• Restriction: Strictly prohibited for orders containing pre-filled pens or cartridges.

InPost Locker Collection (£1.99)

• Specification: Self-service automated locker collection.
• Restriction: Strictly prohibited for orders containing pre-filled pens or cartridges due to unmonitored ambient temperature fluctuations within external locker structures.

Note: All delivery timeframes stated across the site or within checkout fields are strictly non-binding estimates. The Company does not guarantee delivery dates, and transit delays do not entitle the Customer to a refund of standard shipping fees.

04. Product-Specific Restrictions and Forced Checkout Compliance

To protect product stability, compound integrity, and internal inventory parameters, strict enforcement rules apply to product classes:

• Pre-Filled Pens and Cartridges: These items require premium, rapid transit handling. They are physically restricted to the Royal Mail Tracked 24 service framework.
• Incorrect Service Selection Consequences: In the event that an automated system error or manual checkout bypass allows a Customer to select a restricted, lower-tier service, such as Tracked 48, Evri, or InPost, for an order containing pens or cartridges, the Company reserves the absolute right to:
  • Unilaterally suspend dispatch and request immediate payment of the shipping premium balance from the Customer.
  • Unilaterally upgrade the shipping service to Tracked 24 at the Company’s own expense if operationally viable, without altering the contract of sale.
  • Cancel the affected order entirely, deducting any administrative transaction fees incurred by the payment processor from the final refund amount, where legally permissible.
• Refusal of Liability for Alternative Shipping: If a customer insists on or mistakenly routes sensitive items via an unauthorised tier, the Company completely disclaims all liability for compromised product effectiveness, crystallisation, leakages, or degradation caused by extended exposure to uncontrolled transit environments.

05. Transfer of Risk, Title, and Delivery Reception Protocols

• Legal Transfer of Risk: In alignment with UK merchant practices, the risk of damage, degradation, or loss of the goods transfers entirely to the Customer the moment the parcel is marked as “Delivered,” “Left in Safe Place,” or “Delivered to Neighbour” by the courier’s GPS-logged scanning apparatus.
• Safe Place and Attended Delivery Mandates: It is the Customer’s strict responsibility to ensure a reliable agent is physically present at the destination address to accept the parcel. If the Customer has configured independent “Safe Place” preferences or automatic diversions within their personal Royal Mail, Evri, or InPost accounts, the Company is entirely released from liability for any subsequent theft, weather damage, or third-party tampering occurring after the courier executes that instruction.
• InPost Expiry Protocols: Parcels directed to InPost Lockers must be collected within the carrier’s designated pickup window, which is typically 72 hours. Failure to collect items that results in automatic return-to-sender actions will incur a mandatory £10 administrative and restocking penalty fee, which will be deducted from any store credit or refund assessment.

06. Comprehensive Damage, Discrepancy, and Transit Shortage Verification Protocols

Given the precision-engineered nature of laboratory glassware, administration pens, and hardware components, strict evidentiary timelines are enforced to protect the Company against fraudulent or courier-attributed claims.

• The 48-Hour Notification Window: Any structural compromise, component breakage, transit leakage, or volumetric shortage must be reported comprehensively to the Company via our official support email at returns@hrsdistribution.co.uk or via our contact us page within 48 hours of the delivery timestamp recorded by the courier network. Failure to report discrepancies within this precise 48-hour window constitutes absolute, irrevocable acceptance of the goods in pristine condition, and the Company will summarily reject any subsequent claims for damages or missing items.
• Evidentiary Documentation Requirements: To initiate an internal investigation or a formal courier dispute, the Customer must provide high-resolution photographic evidence showing:
  • The external shipping container demonstrating any crushing, punctures, or tearing.
  • The shipping label clearly showing the tracking number and destination details.
  • The internal protective packaging architecture, including bubble wrap or cushioning.
  • The specific damage or compromised items in question.

The Company reserves the right to request the physical return of damaged items for laboratory analysis before any replacement or credit is authorised.

07. Non-Delivery Framework and Lost-in-Transit Mitigation

A shipment cannot be declared legally lost or missing instantly based solely on a delayed delivery estimate. The Company operates under structured buffer windows aligned with courier compensation policies before issuing remedy actions.

• Investigation Window: A parcel is not officially categorised as lost in transit until a buffer period of 5 full working days has elapsed beyond the carrier’s maximum estimated delivery date, with zero tracking movement updates recorded.
• Claims Action: During this 5-working-day investigation window, the Company will launch a formal search with the respective postal network. The Customer agrees that no replacement goods will be dispatched, and no financial refunds will be processed, until the carrier officially concludes the investigation or confirms the irrevocable loss of the consignment.
• Incorrect Address Provision: The Company utilises automated shipping label software that prints addresses exactly as inputted by the Customer at checkout. If a parcel is misrouted, delayed, or lost due to an incomplete postcode, typographical error, or incorrect address line provided by the Customer, the Company accepts zero liability. No refunds or replacements will be offered under these conditions unless the parcel is successfully recovered and returned intact to our facility by the courier network, at which point a mandatory re-shipping fee will apply.

08. Force Majeure and Exceptional Delays

The Company is released from all operational fulfillment liabilities and delivery timelines in the event of circumstances beyond our reasonable control, known as Force Majeure. This includes, but is not limited to: severe meteorological anomalies, regional transport strikes, localised courier sorting facility closures, grid failures, regulatory or border agency interventions, and civil disruption. Under such events, our delivery obligations are suspended for the duration of the incident.