Dispatch days and cut-off times
- Orders for non-chilled and non-frozen items may be shipped Monday to Friday.
- Chilled and frozen orders are shipped Monday to Thursday only. Orders containing chilled or frozen items received after 12 noon on Thursday will be held and shipped on Monday.
- Our daily order cut-off is 12 noon. Orders received after this time will be processed the next working day wherever possible.
- We do not ship on bank holidays or public holidays.
- We aim to dispatch orders within 1–3 working days.
- If your order contains bulk butter, we will hold the order and email you with the dispatch date.
UK delivery services
Available services and prices are calculated from your basket weight and delivery postcode and are shown at checkout. Parcel weights include the packaging needed to protect your goods.
Royal Mail Tracked 24 and Tracked 48
- Royal Mail services are available for eligible orders weighing up to 5kg.
- Delivery times are estimates and are not guaranteed.
- For chilled or frozen items, we recommend choosing Parcelforce. If Royal Mail is selected, chilled and frozen items are sent at the customer’s own risk.
Parcelforce 24hr Signed For
- Parcelforce is the only delivery service available for orders weighing more than 5kg.
- This service requires a signature.
- Parcelforce aims to deliver on the next working day after dispatch in most parts of the UK, although some locations may take longer.
- We recommend Parcelforce for orders containing chilled or frozen items.
- Saturday and Sunday delivery is not included.
Regional delivery
Delivery prices and available services can vary for the Highlands and Islands, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight and Isles of Scilly. Enter the full delivery postcode at checkout to see the correct options.
Packaging chilled and frozen goods
We include chill packs and insulation where required. Please check chilled and frozen goods promptly on arrival and store them appropriately.
Packaging and tracking
Orders are picked and packed by our team. We reuse suitable packaging wherever possible to reduce waste. Tracking information is sent when it is available; providing a mobile number at checkout can help the carrier send delivery updates.
International orders
Please email info@therealfoodcompany.org.uk for a delivery quote before placing an international order.
Delivery Addresses
It is extremely important that the full delivery address is entered correctly including the correct postcode. Couriers will not consider compensation for items lost unless the delivery address and postcode are 100% correct.
Risk of Damage or Loss and Ownership of Goods
The risk shall pass to you on delivery or, if you fail to take delivery of the Goods, at the time when the Goods are delivered (or delivery is attempted) to you in accordance with your instructions.
Title of the Goods shall pass to you upon delivery of the Goods and on our receipt of full payment. Legal ownership of the Goods will immediately revert to us if we refund any such payment to you or if the Goods are returned in accordance with any cancellation, refund, return or exchange policy as posted on this website.
You should inspect the Goods when you receive them for damage. If your goods are damaged please take a photograph of the package showing any damage and contact us within 24 hours of delivery to inform us of the problem.
Items lost in the post
We send out hundreds of orders a week and it is very rare than Royal Mail or our couriers lose a parcel. However from time to time unfortunately this does happen. As a rule parcels are not considered lost until after 14 working days. We are not able to process a claim for the parcel until 14 working days have passed from the time of us sending the goods. Once the 14 days have passed we will then process a claim as quickly as possible, however please note the claims process can take several weeks.
We do not wait for the compensation to come to us before we refund you or resend the goods but we do have to wait for confirmation that the claim has been accepted.
Please understand that in this situation it is not us that have lost the goods and it is frustrating for us also.
Returns and Replacements
Any unused goods which have been bought in error can be returned to us "as new" within fourteen days of receipt of your purchase (as per Consumer Rights Act 2015). Please phone our shop on 01270 873322 first, so that we can help you to return the item correctly.
Packages must be returned to:
The Real Food Company, 48-50 Sandbach Road South, Alsager, Cheshire, ST7 2LP.
Postage costs for the return will not be refunded, unless it can be shown it was our error.
Exceptions apply to chilled and frozen goods, as it is impossible to know that they have been stored correctly and are suitable for resale. If they are defective we need to know immediately with photographic and documented evidence. We will not expect them back as a return.
Please note that, for reasons of hygiene, we are unable to offer refunds or exchanges on any opened or used products. Additionally, we cannot offer any refunds for goods specifically customised or bespoke which are not damaged or defective.
We will not accept any responsibility for loss or damage to Goods returned in this way until they are received at our address above. We recommend that returns are sent by 'recorded registered delivery' with a proof of posting which is to be kept. Please note that we are not responsible for return postage other than for incorrectly supplied, defective or damaged Goods. Return postage for Goods returned for any other reason shall be solely at your cost.
If incorrect goods have been supplied, we will arrange collection for them at our own cost. If you are aware the goods are incorrect please refuse to accept delivery of the parcel. Otherwise, please notify us immediately and a collection will be arranged as soon as is mutually convenient. A refund or re-dispatch, as appropriate, can then be arranged.
Once we receive the Goods in their original condition, any payments made by you for the purchase will be refunded in full or replacement Goods will be dispatched to you as previously agreed, as soon as we can, with no further costs for you.The refund will be made back to the card/payment method of the original sale only.