Shipping & delivery

1. Processing time

Orders placed before 14:00 UK time, Monday–Friday are picked, packed, and dispatched the same working day from our Birmingham warehouse. Orders placed after 14:00, on weekends, or on UK bank holidays dispatch the next working day.

Backordered items are flagged on the product page before checkout. If a multi-item order contains a backordered item, we'll either:

• Split-ship the in-stock items immediately and follow up with the backorder when stock arrives (no extra cost to you), or
• Hold the order until everything is available, if that's what you prefer — let us know in the order notes.

2. UK mainland shipping

All UK orders ship via Royal Mail Tracked or DPD depending on weight and value:

• Royal Mail Tracked 48 (Standard): £2.95 — 2–3 working days. Free on orders over £30.
• Express (Royal Mail Tracked 24 / DPD Next Day): £6.99 — next working day if dispatched same day.
• DPD Saturday Delivery: where offered, selectable at checkout.

UK mainland addresses include England, Scotland (excluding remote Highlands postcodes), Wales, and Northern Ireland. Highlands & Islands, Isle of Man, and Channel Islands incur additional carriage charged at cost — shown at checkout.

3. International shipping

We ship to the European Union, Switzerland, Norway, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and most Commonwealth countries via DPD International or FedEx International Priority. Delivery times:

• EU + Switzerland + Norway: 3–5 working days.
• USA / Canada / Australia / New Zealand: 5–8 working days.
• Rest of world: 7–14 working days, varies by destination.

Rates are calculated at checkout based on package weight and destination — we don't mark them up. Restrictions apply to certain destinations under UK export controls; we'll contact you within 24 hours if your order falls into that category.

4. Trade accounts

Dental practices, laboratories, hospitals, dental schools, and group purchasing organisations on a Dental Bench trade account get:

• Free UK Tracked 24 on orders over £100 ex-VAT (vs £30 retail threshold).
• Account-billed shipping — invoiced monthly with the order, not paid at checkout.
• Bulk-order palletised delivery for orders over £2,000 ex-VAT (UK only), arranged via dedicated pallet network.
• Dedicated dispatch contact: info@toolsmithltd.co.uk.

5. Tracking your order

Once your order ships, you'll receive an email with the tracking number and a direct link to the courier's tracking page. Tracking updates typically appear within 4 hours of dispatch.

If 24 hours pass after dispatch and tracking still shows "label created", please email info@toolsmithltd.co.uk with your order number — sometimes the carrier scan misses a parcel and we'll chase it directly.

6. Lost or damaged in transit

If your package arrives damaged:

1. Photograph the outer packaging and any damaged items before opening fully.
2. Email info@toolsmithltd.co.uk within 24 hours of receipt with photos and your order number.
3. We'll send a replacement at no cost and open a claim with the courier on our side. You don't have to deal with the courier yourself.

If a package appears lost in transit (no tracking updates for 5+ working days after dispatch in the UK, 10+ days internationally), email us and we'll either reship or refund per your preference. UK MDR 2002 reg. 44 also requires us to log any in-transit incidents involving medical devices — that's our duty, not yours.

7. Customs duties & taxes (international)

For deliveries outside the UK, prices are shown without UK VAT, and any import duties and local taxes are calculated and shown at checkout. Where your destination is supported, these are collected upfront (Delivered Duty Paid) so your parcel clears customs with no surprise fees on arrival.

For the few destinations where prepaid duties aren't available at checkout, the order ships Delivered At Place (DAP) and any import charges are payable to the carrier on delivery — these vary by country and product classification.

Class I medical instruments often attract reduced or zero customs duty; we include a commercial invoice with indicative HS codes (e.g. 9018.49 for dental instruments) to ease clearance. Final classification rests with the destination customs authority.