Terms and conditions

Water Butt terms and conditions

May 2023

Where to find information about us and the water butts we are selling

You can find everything you need to know about Wessex Water Services Limited and this offer on our website before you order. Key information about the is available within these terms and conditions.

When you buy from us you are agreeing that:

We only accept orders when we've checked them 

We will contact you to confirm we've processed your order and we will accept it once we have taken payment from you. 

We may have to reject your order

We may have to reject your order because there are a limited number of water butts available, so we may have none left when you make your order.  When this happens, we let you know as soon as we can and refund any sums you have paid.

We charge you when we accept your order

We will accept payment by payment cards with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Maestro, Visa Electron or Vpay logos. Transactions are carried out securely through our payment processor ‘Square’ (Squareup Europe Limited).

We're not responsible for delays outside our control 

If the delivery of your water butt is delayed by an event outside our control, we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and do what we can to reduce the delay. As long as we do this, we won't compensate you for the delay, but you can contact our Water Efficiency team at water.efficiency@wessexwater.co.uk to end the contract and receive a refund for any water butts you have paid for but not received.

Water butts can vary slightly from their pictures 

A water butt's true colour may not exactly match that shown on your device. 

Your legal right to change your mind

You have a legal right to change your mind about your purchase and receive a refund. This is subject to some conditions, as set out below:

The deadline for changing your mind

If you change your mind about the water butt, you must let us know no later than 14 days after the day we deliver your water butt. 

How to let us know

To let us know you want to change your mind, please contact us at water.efficiency@wessexwater.co.uk

You have to return the water butt at your own cost

You have to return the water butt to us within 14 days of telling us you have changed your mind.

Please email us at water.efficiency@wessexwater.co.uk - you will need to provide your order reference number, which will be included in your order confirmation email.

You will then need to send the water butt back to us using an established delivery service. You should keep a receipt or other evidence from the delivery service that proves you have sent it and when you sent it.

Alternatively, you can take it to our Little Canford depot at Wessex Water Services Limited, Ham Lane, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 7LR.

We reduce your refund if you have used or damaged the water butt

If you handle the water butt in a way which would not be acceptable, we will reduce your refund to compensate us for its reduced value. For example, we will reduce your refund if the water butt's condition is not "as new", if labels have been removed or accessories are missing. In some cases, because of the way you have treated the water butt, no refund may be due. Our Water Efficiency team is contactable at water.efficiency@wessexwater.co.uk and they can advise you on whether we're likely to reduce your refund.

When and how we will refund you

If your water butt hasn’t been delivered to you, we will refund you as soon as possible and within 14 days of you telling us you've changed your mind. If you are sending your water butt back to us, we will refund you within 14 days of receiving it back from you (or after receiving evidence you've sent it to us). We will refund you by the method you used for payment. We don't charge a fee for the refund.

You have rights if there is something wrong with your water butt

If you think there is something wrong with your water butt, you must contact our Water Efficiency team at water.efficiency@wessexwater.co.uk - we honour our legal duty to provide you with products that are as described to you on our website and that meet all the requirements imposed by law. Your legal rights are summarised below. These are subject to certain exceptions. For detailed information please visit the Citizens Advice website. You also have several options for resolving disputes with us (see below).

Summary of your key legal rights

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says your water butt must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality. During the expected lifespan of your water butt your legal rights entitle you to the following:

• Up to 30 days: if your water butt is faulty, then you can get a refund.
• Up to six months: if your water butt can't be repaired or replaced, then you're entitled to a full refund, in most cases.
• Up to six years: if your goods do not last a reasonable length of time you may be entitled to some money back.   

We can end our contract with you

We can end our contract with you for the water butt and claim any compensation due to us if:

• you don't, within a reasonable time of us asking for it, provide us with information, cooperation or access that we need to provide the water butt. For example, if you are unable to take delivery of it and/or you have not nominated a safe place for us to leave it;
• you don't, within a reasonable time, allow us to deliver the product to you, we will treat your order as cancelled and refund the purchase price.

We don't compensate you for all losses caused by us or our products

We're responsible for losses you suffer caused by us breaking this contract unless the loss is:

• Unexpected. It was not obvious that it would happen and nothing you said to us before we accepted your order meant we should have expected it (so, in the law, the loss was unforeseeable).
• Caused by a delaying event outside our control. As long as we have taken the steps set out in the section: We’re not responsible for delays outside our control. 
• Avoidable. Something you could have avoided by taking reasonable action. For example, informing us of a safe place for us to leave your water butt when it is delivered but from which it is stolen or taken by a third party.
• A business loss. It relates to your use of a water butt for the purposes of your trade, business, craft or profession.

We use your personal data as set out below and in our Privacy Notice

We’ll need to use your name and address to make sure we deliver your water butt to the right place and person.

We will use your email address to notify you that we have accepted your order and to contact you the day before we deliver to confirm delivery.

We will add your email address to the customer contact details we hold about you so we can contact you to ask how about your water butt and to provide garden-related water-saving advice. If you don’t want us to receive these emails you can opt out at any time by emailing optout@wessexwater.co.uk with the subject line ‘Water Efficiency contact’ and providing your name and postcode. More information about how we use any personal data you give us and your rights is set out in our Privacy Notice.

You have several options for resolving disputes with us

Our complaints policy

Our Water Efficiency team is available at water.efficiency@wessexwater.co.uk. They will do their best to resolve any problems you have with us or your water butt as per our Complaints policy.

Resolving disputes without going to court

Alternative dispute resolution is an optional process where an independent body considers the facts of a dispute and seeks to resolve it, without you having to go to court. You can submit a complaint to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) (please see our Complaints policy). The CCW does not charge you for making a complaint and if you're not satisfied with the outcome you can still go to court. 

You can go to court

These terms are governed by English law and wherever you live you can bring claims against us in the English courts. If you live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also bring claims against us in the courts of the country you live in. We can claim against you in the courts of the country you live in.

Other important terms apply to our contract

We can transfer our contract with you, so that a different organisation is responsible for supplying your water butt.

We'll tell you in writing if this happens and we'll ensure that the transfer won't affect your rights under the contract.

Nobody else has any rights under this contract.

This contract is between you and us. Nobody else can enforce it and neither of us will need to ask anybody else to sign-off on ending or changing it.

If a court invalidates some of this contract, the rest of it will still apply.

If a court or other authority decides that some of these terms are unlawful, the rest will continue to apply.

Even if we delay in enforcing this contract, we can still enforce it later.

We might not immediately chase you for not doing something (like paying) or for doing something you're not allowed to, but that doesn’t mean we can't do it later.