Refund policy
Refund policy
Also live in shorter form on the Delivery and Questions pages.
Why this policy reads the way it does
Every Teakwa piece is built by hand after you order it, and you approve photographs of your actual piece before it is crated. Nothing sits in a warehouse. That shapes everything below, and we would rather be direct about it than bury it in a wall of text.
Cancelling your order
You have 72 hours from placing an order to cancel it for a full refund, no questions asked. Email hello@teakwa.com and we process it the same day.
After 72 hours your order is released to the workshop and timber is selected and cut for your piece. From that point we cannot offer change-of-mind cancellations, because the piece exists only because you ordered it. Pieces made to your own dimensions cannot be cancelled once production begins, including within the 72-hour window if you have asked us to start early.
If something is wrong on arrival
Tell us within 10 days of delivery. Send photographs, and an unboxing video if you have one — a video makes a transit claim quick to settle rather than slow, and we recommend filming the unpacking of any statement piece.
Email hello@teakwa.com with your order number and the images. We respond personally, usually within a day.
How we put it right
We resolve by the scale of the problem, not by a single blanket rule:
A scuff, a mark, a small flaw in the finish. We send you the oil and materials to put it right, with instructions — most surface marks in an oiled finish disappear in ten minutes. If you would rather not do it yourself, we pay for a local restorer and reimburse you on receipt.
More than cosmetic, but repairable. We arrange and pay for a local furniture repair, or agree a partial refund with you and you handle it yourself. Your choice, not ours.
Serious damage, or not what you ordered. A replacement piece or a full refund. Yours to choose.
Why we repair rather than take it back
Returning a crated console across an ocean costs more than almost any repair and puts a piece that could have been saved into a skip. We would rather spend that money making your piece right where it stands.
Returns are available where nothing else will do, but they require our written agreement first. Please do not ship anything back before speaking to us — an unauthorised return cannot be refunded, because we have no way to verify its condition or recover it.
Exchanges
We do not exchange for a different piece, size or finish once production has begun. Your piece is built to your order and approved by you in photographs before it ships, which is exactly why we ask you to look carefully at that stage.
What is not a defect
Teak is a natural material. Colour variation, grain movement, small knots, and the way an oiled finish deepens over the first months are characteristics of solid wood, not faults.
Fine hairline movement at a joint can occur as a piece settles into a drier climate. We kiln-dry to 10% moisture content specifically to minimise this. It is not treated as transit damage, but tell us and we will always advise on remedy.
Damage arising from misuse, an unsuitable environment, or failure to maintain the finish is not covered.
Refund timing
Approved refunds are returned to the original payment method within 10 business days.