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The information on this page forms our terms and conditions and is in accordance with the The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000. If you do not agree with anything here please do not continue to place your order with us!
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| Ordering |
How to order
Out of stock items
Postage and packing
Delivery
BFPO addresses
Refunds, returns & cancellation policy
Frequently asked questions
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| Other information |
Acceptance of your order
Payment processing is performed using WorldPay or PayPal
Privacy policy
Website help
Copyright of Card Projects
Environmental policy
The Offensive Weapons Act 1996
Downloadables - Terms of usage
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| How to order |
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It's easy to shop at Mad about Cards. Add the products you require to the shopping basket and proceed towards the checkout when you are ready by clicking on the basket button at the top of the screen. Our minimum order is £15.00.
If you have not ordered before on the NEW Mad about Cards (ie. since 1st July 2006), click on the 'Checkout now' button. As the old website did not require a password and login details, existing customers will still need to click this button to set up a new account. Even if you are on our mailing list and receive emails from us, you will not be set up on the new website unless you have ordered since 1st July.
After setting up your details you will be directed to the Worldpay or PayPal secure server where you will be able to process your payment.
We only accept payment by debit/credit card or PayPal through this website and do not accept payment via any other means.
You can check the progress of your order at any time by clicking on 'My account' at the top of the screen. You will also receive confirmation emails from ourselves and WorldPay or PayPal (as long as the correct email address was entered).
An email will be sent to you when your order is ready for despatch which includes a link where you can track your parcel (UK mainland only).
Orders are dealt with strictly in the order they are received.
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| Out of stock items |
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Our online shop works in the same way as a normal craft shop: if we don't have an item in stock when you visit, you won't be able to buy it.
We try to keep as much in stock as we can but it's inevitable that items will sometimes be out of stock because of high demand or very often because the supplier is out of stock of the particular item. The ability to purchase an item is suspended as soon as we run out of any product. Some products are invisible when they are not in stock although many key products will show an 'out of stock' button with a due date underneath.
Stock levels are checked when you add an item to your shopping basket and also when you checkout. In this way we hope to avoid any stock shortages, however this can sometimes occur during sale times and because of damage or short deliveries. If this happens, your item will be marked as out of stock on your invoice and we will send it on as soon as we get it for no additional postage cost.
We send a weekly automatic email to all customers who are awaiting out of stock items and you will be offered the choice of waiting for your item or receiving a refund. You can ask for a refund on an out of stock item at any time and it will then be removed from your order.
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| Postage and packing |
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We do not accept orders from countries other than those listed below.
UK - Postage and packing is free on orders totalling £60* or more. A postage and packing charge of £3.95 will be added to orders up to £59.99 which includes a tracked delivery via City Link.
Ireland - Postage and packing is free on orders totalling £125* or more. A postage and packing charge of £6.95 will be added to orders up to £124.99.
*Refers to final order amount. If non-faulty goods are returned and the goods value is reduced to less than £60 (£125 for Ireland), refunds will be given less the relevant postage cost.
There is no postage and packing charge on gift vouchers.
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| Delivery |
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We aim to offer a fast service and are currently despatching orders within 2 working day(s). Orders received after 5pm are deemed to have been received by us on the following morning. Orders received after 5pm on Friday are deemed to have been received by us on the following Monday morning. If there is going to be a delay in despatching your goods (eg. a large part of your order is out of stock), we will let you know and advise you of the expected despatch date. We will email you and let you know when your order is ready to despatch.
UK mainland only (inc. Isle of Wight)
Parcels (except gift vouchers) to the UK mainland (including Isle of Wight) will be sent by carrier (City Link) on a next day delivery* (Mon-Fri).
The delivery address that you provide MUST be one where someone is there in the daytime to receive the parcel - a work address is best where possible. This will ensure that deliveries are made without problems. Although parcels may be left in a place around your property nominated by you, this is at your own risk.
City Link cannot deliver to post offices or Royal Mail sorting offices. We reserve the right to amend customers' delivery instructions if no suitable instruction is given (we amend to 'try any neighbour if out' - we would never suggest that parcels are left outside without specific instruction from the customer to do so).
In the absence of a safe leaving place, City Link will attempt delivery to the address given twice only and will try neighbours either side only if that is your instruction. Please remember that neighbours go out too. If City Link cannot deliver or leave safe per instruction, it is up to the customer to collect their parcel from their City Link depot. Re-direction to another address or a third delivery is chargeable to the customer at cost which is currently £5.00 plus VAT. This also applies where customers give incorrect address details such as an incorrect postcode. We will send you a link where you will be able to process the additional fee in these cases.
If they are unable to deliver or leave safe, City Link keep parcels for 5 working days only before returning them to us. In this case the cost of the return (£5.00 + VAT) will be deducted from the refund due to the customer. The same parcel will not be resent but goods will need to be re-ordered.
Although City Link don't routinely deliver on a Saturday without an additional charge (£15 + VAT), parcels despatched by us on a Friday will usually be available for collection from your branch on a Saturday morning if you require it more quickly - but please phone your branch before travelling to make sure that your branch offer a Saturday collection service (as some do not).
*Next day delivery in most cases. You can check the progress of parcels sent by City Link using the link that we will advise you of. If you have any queries regarding your delivery, please contact your local City Link branch directly using the branch locator that can be found on the link that we send you, or on www.city-link.co.uk. Please quote your tracking reference when contacting City Link. If you do not get a satisfactory response from City Link or are having difficulties reaching them by phone (at certain times they may take a long time to answer), please email us immediately quoting your Mad about Cards order number and we will get in touch with them on your behalf.
Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, other offshore islands and BFPO
Parcels under 1500g to these areas will be sent by Royal Mail First Class post (1-2 day delivery including Saturdays). Parcels over 1500g to these areas will be sent by Royal Mail standard parcels (3 - 5 day service) or occasionally by City Link (not BFPO) if the parcel is particularly heavy. Please allow 14 days for delivery for all parcels sent by Royal Mail. The delivery time for City Link parcels is up to 3 days, trackable on the link that we send to you.
Ireland
Parcels to Ireland will be posted using Royal Mail's small packet service (under 2kg) - please allow 14 days for delivery. Parcels over 2kg will be sent by City Link (trackable) and will usually be delivered within 3 days.
Gift vouchers
Gift vouchers will be sent by first class post.
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| BFPO addresses |
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We are happy to despatch orders to BFPO addresses although we cannot guarantee that your order can be despatched VAT free. All parcels with BFPO addresses will be sent by Royal Mail First Class post or Royal Mail standard parcels only to BFPO London. Please put your BFPO number in the postcode field in your delivery address.
VAT refunds for BFPO personnel are not automatic and are largely dependent on where you are based geographically. If you are based outside the EU or are in Gibraltar, we can refund the VAT you have paid (please email us after you have placed your order and let us know where you are based).
As far as we have established, VAT is chargeable on goods despatched to the following BFPO addresses and CANNOT be refunded: BFPO 6, 8, 15, 49, 105 to 150, 801 to 825 and all BFPO ships.
The information that we have to date is that we can refund VAT for parcels to be delivered to the following BFPO addresses: BFPO 2, 4, 10, 11, 12, 14, 40, 52, 53, 57, 58, 59, 63, 622, 655 and 677.
For other BFPO address within the EU, you will need to provide a tax exemption form complying with article 77/388/EEC. (As per the requirements of HMRC VAT Notice 725, Paragraph 10.16). This form is normally available from Commanding Officers or pay offices.
We do not have a system to alert us to BFPO orders therefore please email us after each order to advise that VAT should be refunded (subject to the conditions above).
Once within the BFPO system we are unable to trace goods and enquiries should be made direct with the BFPO RAF Northolt.
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| Refunds, returns & cancellation policy |
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If your goods arrive in a damaged or faulty condition, please email us within 7 days. We will replace or refund for the damaged goods as required. We will also pay the normal First Class/standard parcels cost of returning your goods. DO NOT RETURN DAMAGED GOODS WITHOUT CONTACTING US FIRST. Postage will not be refunded on faulty goods returned without prior notification. Any shortages/discrepancies must be advised within 7 days of receipt of your parcel.
If you do not like the goods you have chosen or if you have ordered the wrong goods, please return them to us within 14 days of receipt. Please enclose a copy of your invoice indicating the items being returned. We will be happy to refund you for the returned items providing they are returned in their original condition with any sealed packaging unopened. You must pay the cost of returning the goods and you will be responsible for their safety during transportation. When returning items please obtain a free proof of postage from the Post Office so that you can make a claim against them in the event of the goods being lost in the post.
If you ordered incorrectly or want replacement goods for returned items, this will be regarded as a new order and as such should be made through the website in the usual way which will include postage and packing at the standard rate.
When returning goods, it is your responsibility that they are packed so as to avoid damage in the post as goods must be received by us in a re-saleable condition. If any returns received are not in a re-saleable condition, we may only refund you 50% of the retail value of the goods.
Magazines cannot be returned. Die-cuts are a made to order product and cannot be returned.
Downloadables are non-refundable as they are a digital product.
We cannot guarantee the suitability of any of our products for a specific purpose therefore customers are asked to make their own tests before making any large orders. We cannot exchange or refund any money on items that have been used.
Products returned that formed part of a multiple that qualified for an additional discount will be refunded as if the reduced quantity had been ordered. Eg. 5 packs ordered with 20% discount and 4 packs subsequently returned - refund will be the 5 pack cost less the full single pack cost.
Where non-faulty goods are returned when the original order has qualified for free postage and packing, and the total order amount is reduced to less than the free postage threshold, refunds will be given less the appropriate postage charge.
Refunds for returned items will be made through WorldPay or PayPal to the account through which the purchase was made within 14 days of receipt of the returned item(s).
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| Frequently asked questions |
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Our contact information can be found after the following frequently asked questions. As most of the queries we receive relate to areas already covered in our frequently asked questions, please read the following before contacting us.
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| General enquiries |
Do you have a mail order catalogue?
Do you have a shop I can visit?
Do you have a trade price list or offer bulk discounts?
Can you tell me where you get your supplies from?
Does the card that you sell go through inkjet printers?
I'm having trouble getting your downloadable images - is something wrong with your website?
Can I use your products on my cards to sell?
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| Pre-order enquiries |
Do you have a minimum order charge?
My parcel will only be small - do I still have to pay £3.95 P & P (£4.75 for Ireland)?
I want to order but don't want to do it online, how do I do it?
How do I add an item to my order that you show as out of stock, so that you can send it on when you get it in.
Do you deliver to BFPO addresses?
Do you deliver overseas?
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| Existing order enquiries |
I have just submitted my order online, can I add something to it?
I've just ordered, can you despatch my order urgently?
When will I receive my order?
I've had an email to say that my order has been despatched but I haven't received it yet - what shall I do?
I haven't received my order yet but my credit card has already been charged - why?
Can you send a VAT invoice with my order?
I need help accessing the downloadable images I have purchased.
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| After delivery |
I haven't received an invoice with my order, can you send one?
I have items missing from my order, can you send them?
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| Do you have a mail order catalogue? |
No we don't. We are constantly adding new products so any printed catalogue would be quickly out of date. Our full range of products is shown on this website. Please use our excellent search facility to see if you can find what you're looking for. |
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| Do you have a shop I can visit? |
No, however if you are local you are welcome to pick up any orders that you have placed on the website (we'll refund your postage to you after collection). If you want to do this please enter "COLLECTION PLEASE" in the delivery instructions on the checkout page and we'll let you know when your order is ready to be picked up. |
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| Do you have a trade price list or offer bulk discounts? |
We don't have a separate trade price list as bulk and trade prices are available to all customers, retail or wholesale, via this website with a minimum order value of just £15.00. We offer wholesale/bulk discounts on more than two thirds of our products and many more items come in large packs that can be split down into smaller packs for re-sale. Most sections contain discounted items.
If no quantity discounts are shown against a product, it is already at the best price we can offer and no discount is available. No further discounts are available for greater quantities other than those shown and all discounts are on a per-product basis. |
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| Can you give me the contact details of one or more of your wholesalers/suppliers? |
No, it is not in our interests to reveal our suppliers. |
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| Does the card that you sell go through inkjet printers? |
All of the card that we sell goes through our Canon inkjet printer - it is one that only takes card/paper around less than 90 degrees. We used to have another printer (HP) that took card/paper around 180 degrees and we found that the card went through a bit wonky so the print ended up in the wrong place.
We can't vouch for all printers, however, so please consult the manufacturer's handbook or website for your printer before ordering card or card blanks. |
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| I'm having trouble getting your downloadable images - is something wrong with your website? |
You will need to install Adobe Reader to be able to download our images. This is completely free and can be done via the link provided on the Card project. Some larger images take longer to download so please be patient.
We always use the most recent version of Adobe, so if you already have it installed and are still having problems, it may be that you need to update your software. This can also be done by clicking on the Adobe link in the card project. |
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| Can I use your products on my cards to sell? |
In general there is no problem in using pre-bought items in cards to sell as long as you are not copying the item and reproducing it yourself (copyright = the right to copy). We have a comprehensive article on copyright in our Useful stuff section.
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| Do you have a minimum order charge? |
Our minimum goods order is just £15, a small price to pay for trade prices and bulk discounts! |
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| My parcel will only be small - do I still have to pay £3.95 P & P (£6.95 for Ireland)? |
Yes - all UK mainland orders are sent by carrier (City Link) on a next day trackable delivery, equivalent to Royal Mail special delivery, and cost us the same regardless of weight. We use City Link to provide a reliable service to our customers because many parcels were lost or delayed when we used Royal Mail. |
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| I want to order but don't want to do it online, how do I do it? |
Sorry we only take online orders using a debit/credit card or PayPal. When you order online, you are processing your own payment transaction through WorldPay or PayPal. Your payment is instantly charged to your account. Our system automatically creates your invoice for us, leaving no room for error. All we do is pick, pack and send your order (it makes it sound so easy!)
We can take card details by phone only where you have completed your order online but have experienced difficulties in the payment process - please email us if this happens.
We do not accept cheques, postal orders or orders via email, nor do we despatch goods on an invoice now, pay later basis.
We're sorry to the small minority of potential customers who cannot or do not wish to place orders online but keeping ordering simple means we can continue to provide a fast service and keep our prices low.
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| I want to add an item to my order that you show as out of stock, so that you can send it on when you get it in. How do I do that? |
Sorry, this isn't possible. As soon as we run out of an item, the ability to purchase it is suspended. Our online shop works in the same way as a craft shop - if we don't have an item when you visit, you won't be able to buy it.
We all hate out of stock items, no-one more than us as we are losing out on sales. Suppliers are often out of stock of popular items and we do not get them when we order. We need to control our postage costs and can't do this if we cannot send all your items with your order.
The alternative to this would be increasing the postage charge to cover this which we feel would be wholly unpopular. |
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| Do you deliver to BFPO addresses? |
Yes, this is no problem at all. All BFPO parcels will be sent by First Class post or Royal Mail standard parcels only to BFPO London. We will refund VAT where requested to do so for overseas destinations (please email us separately with your order number, advising the country in which you are based). We do not refund VAT for any EC destination unless documentary evidence of VAT exempt status is supplied. |
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| Do you deliver overseas? |
We deliver to the UK and Ireland only. High postage costs, excessive administration and the inability to be able to track overseas parcels has made us take this decision.
If you do not live in the UK or Ireland and wish to order from us, we can only suggest that you have your parcel delivered to a friend or relative in the UK and have them send it on to you. Sorry, no exceptions. |
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| I have just submitted my order online, can I add something to it? |
I'm afraid not. When you submit your online order, you are processing your own payment transaction through WorldPay or PayPal and your account is instantly charged. We do not have access to your account details so cannot increase the amount that has been paid. |
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| I've just ordered, can you despatch my order urgently? |
We pack and despatch orders in the order that they are received - sorry, no exceptions. If we let you jump the queue, we would be delaying the despatch of orders to other customers who have ordered before you. Please note the despatch times on the home page of the website when ordering (which will be longer in busy periods) and make sure that you order in time for your project. |
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| When will I receive my order? |
Current despatch times are always shown on the home page of the website. This is an accurate reflection of the likely despatch time of your order and is updated as necessary. As an example, if the despatch time is shown as 2-3 days and you order on a Monday, we would expect your order to be sent out on Wednesday or Thursday. If it's shown as 'within 1 working day' (ie. 24 hours), your order should be despatched the same day or the next day at the latest.
Please note that the despatch time relates to working days; we do not work at weekends or on Bank holidays so these days do not count in the despatch time.
Occasionally we may hold onto your order if we are out of stock of a large part of it but we will always let you know the likely timescale for despatch in this case.
You can check on the progress of your order at any time by clicking on 'My account' on the home page of the website and entering your email address and password.
An email will be sent to you when your order is ready which will show the day of despatch and delivery method. Please see delivery for an explanation of delivery methods.
City Link parcels are usually delivered the next working day (Mon-Fri) following despatch. Parcels sent by First Class post are usually delivered 1-2 working days (Mon-Sat) following despatch. |
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| I've had an email to say that my order has been despatched but I haven't received it yet - what shall I do? |
For orders sent by City Link, please click on the link in your despatch email for progress of your parcel. If necessary, please contact City Link directly using the branch locator that can be found in that link. City Link claims for non-delivery must be made within 5 days of the tracked delivery date.
Orders sent by Royal Mail occasionally take longer to arrive than their published delivery times due to circumstances beyond our control. Please allow 14 days for delivery of all Royal Mail parcels. |
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| I haven't received my order yet but my credit card has already been charged - why? |
When you place an order on our site, you process your own payment transaction through WorldPay or PayPal. Your account is instantly charged and there is no intervention on our part. Even if you place your order in the evening or at weekends, WorldPay or PayPal's payment system is automatic and your account will be charged immediately.
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| Can you send a VAT invoice with my order? |
An invoice is sent with every order which provides all the necessary information required for VAT purposes.
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| I need help accessing the downloadable images I have purchased. |
Please see our Downloadables help page which contains comprehensive information and troubleshooting.
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| I haven't received an invoice with my order, can you send one? |
An invoice is included with every order and forms the address label on the outside of your box (not City Link bag). Please look on the other side of your box if you do not think it's included - you may have opened it upside down!
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| I have items missing from my order, can you send them? |
Please check your invoice (which forms the address label on the outside of your box) to see if the item has been marked as out of stock and to follow. If not, please check through your package carefully before contacting us. Most customers find the item that they think is missing, usually tucked between something else or dropped out on the floor. Some customers do not know what the item is that they've ordered, so please check through your invoice and match up the items you've received. Shortages must be advised within 7 days of receipt of your parcel.
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| Our contact information |
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Our address is:
Mad about Cards Limited
Monogram House
1 Towerfield Close
Shoeburyness
Southend-on-Sea
Essex SS3 9QP
United Kingdom
VAT number: 791537696
Registered in England. Number 4913465.
Email: info@madaboutcards.com - as we are an Internet only retailer this is our preferred method of contact. If you have any questions about our products or your order, please email us. You will get a prompt response during our office hours (8:30am-4pm, Monday to Friday). If we're tied up on the phone, we're not packing orders so keeping it this way makes our mail order service as efficient as possible. Please do not send PayPal payments to this email address as we will be unable to accept them. If you need to send us a PayPal payment please use accounts@madaboutcards.com and include your order number.
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| Acceptance of your order |
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Mad about Cards reserve the right to refuse any order submitted. Orders submitted by post will be returned to the customer unfulfilled. Orders with overseas delivery addresses will be cancelled and refunded.
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| Payment processing is performed using WorldPay or PayPal
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Security is probably one of the most significant concerns when ordering over the internet. For this reason we use WorldPay, part of the Royal Bank of Scotland group, and PayPal for payment processing and have our own dedicated server to which only we have access. Shopping through WorldPay and PayPal is completely secure, probably more so than using a credit/debit card in a shop as the information submitted is encrypted using highly complicated logarithm combinations. Even we don't see credit/debit card numbers and they are not stored on our system. In our years of trading, we have not come across any case of our customers' card details being used fraudulently so please breathe easy and shop freely!
Click here to view WorldPay's shopper help and security statement.
Click here to visit PayPal's security centre.
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| Privacy policy |
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We are committed to protecting your privacy. We will only use the information that we collect about you lawfully (in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998).
The information that we ask you to provide when you order is used to be able to send your order to you and/or to contact you if we have a query with your order. We do not pass your details to anyone else.
Cookies are used to enable you to take your shopping basket with you from page to page.
We send email newsletters to our mailing list which may include details of new products, new card projects or that contain offer codes. You may unsubscribe to it if you wish by click on the link at the bottom of the newsletter email.
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| Website help |
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Cookies are used to enable you to take your shopping basket with you from page to page. If you do not have cookies enabled, you may find that you can only add one item to your basket which subequently disappears when you go to another section. If this happens, you will need to enable your cookies.
To do this open Internet Explorer, click on 'Tools', then 'Internet options' and click on the 'Privacy' tab. Click the 'Default' button - the slider bar should be set on 'medium' or lower. Click OK.
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| Copyright of Card Projects |
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You are welcome to reproduce any of our cards for local sale or for personal use. Reproduction is limited to 100 of any design per year (ie. no mass production).
Reproductions should not be shown on any other website (including E-bay), whether for sale or not. If you wish to show a reproduction of one of our designs on an online card gallery (such as Docrafts), you must acknowledge www.madaboutcards.com under the picture or you will be asked to remove it. You should not claim that any of our cards are your own design or enter them into competitions or online card galleries as such.
Our pictures of cards, products and step-by-step instructions from card ideas must not be reproduced on any other website (including E-bay).
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| Downloadables |
All downloadable images, except where stated, are © Mad about Cards/S. Goble and have been designed and created by us. You are welcome to download and print them for use in your handmade cards for limited and local sale or for personal use.
You may not print any sheet, or have any sheet printed by a third party, and sell it in its entirety or reproduce any image on another website.
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| Environmental policy |
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We recycle everything that we can. You may well find your order packed in a box that originally came from one of our suppliers.
We shred magazines, junk mail and any other waste paper for packaging. We also found that we had a lot of plastic bags that goods were packed in - these all used to go in the bin. Since seeing a news article about a landfill that was as deep as seven double decker buses, we have also started using these as packaging too!
We would like to say a special 'Thank you' to Waitrose in Southend who donate their excess marketing material to be shredded for packaging in your orders.
This all helps to keep our packing costs down which ultimately reflects in our prices. Good news for everyone!
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| The Offensive Weapons Act 1996 |
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Under the Offensive Weapons Act 1996 it is an offence for anyone in the UK under the age of 16 to purchase a knife that could be used to harm others.
In purchasing from this site, you are accepting the terms and conditions on this page and certify that, should you be purchasing a knife, you are over 16 years of age and agree to provide Mad about Cards with truthful and accurate information and to act in accordance with the aforementioned act.
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| Downloadables - Terms of usage |
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All downloadables on this site are copyright Mad about Cards. Once you have purchased your downloadables, you are welcome to print them as many times as you like, cut up the pages and use them in your handmade cards or other handmade items for personal use or for sale, subject to a maximum of 100 cards or items of any one design per year (no mass production).
If you wish to show cards made using our downloadables on online card galleries or in magazines, you must acknowledge Mad about Cards using words such as 'Printed graphics courtesy of www.madaboutcards.com'.
You are not permitted to pass on our downloadables to others via electronic means. You may not print our graphics on paper or card to sell or give to others. You may not reproduce our graphics on CD or disk to sell to others. You may not host our files for access or download from any other site. You may not alter the files in any way.
If you see any of our downloadables being sold on eBay or any other auction site, or see what you think may be unauthorised use, please report it to us immediately with the details and we will be extremely grateful.
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