Shopping on-line

We actively encourage all of our customers to use our on-line shopping system as it represents a fast and efficient method of placing orders and arranging payment. Our web site is designed to make it easy for you to find the right products, check that they suit your requirements, and provide us with all the information we need to process and ship your order, which we will typically do within 24 hours. We will send you an email as soon as you confirm your order, and may contact you further by phone or email if there are any queries.

You need to be logged in to our web site in order to view prices and to place orders. Please click here for information on how to become a customer.

Finding products
There are several ways to browse products, the easiest of which is by using the navigation menus down the left hand side of the page. Depending on your needs you can find products either by type, application area or manufacturer. The 'Shop' section offers further clarification on what types of products lie within each category. Alternatively, if you know more specific information about the type of product you are looking for you can use the 'Search' box located in the top right hand corner of the page.

Each product has a detailed description and photo, often with more in-depth information available in a 'More info' section, complete with links to manufacturer web sites and more technical information.

To add a product to your order, simply click on the 'Buy' button once you are logged in. You may wish to review the daily stock status information to check the product's availability, or contact us for accurate and up-to-date stock information.

Multi-currency operation
We offer complete multi-currency ordering in US Dollars, Euros and British Pounds. This means that not only can you view our prices in your favoured currency, but when it comes to ordering and paying for your goods, we will use your chosen currency when charging your credit or debit card. Thus if you are based in the USA and place your order with USD selected, your card will be charged the exact amount shown, without any currency conversion, unless for some reason we are prevented from doing this, in which case your card will be charged the exact equivalent in Pounds. You can change the currency at any time during your visit to our site, up to the point when you confirm the items in your order and click to checkout, and you can still go back and change it after that point if you wish, so long as you haven't clicked to confirm your payment. To change currencies, simply click on the link at the top of the page.

Quantity pricing
We offer competitive quantity pricing discounts on many product lines, and these are displayed on our web site and applied automatically to your order as it proceeds. You can review the items and prices in your order by clicking on the 'View Trolley' link at the top of the page. You can change the quantity of a particular product ordered by entering the new quantity in the box provided and clicking on the 'Adjust' button on this page. If you require pricing for higher quantities, please contact us directly to discuss your needs.

Shipping and payment options

Shipping options
We typically offer two shipping options to most destinations, Standard and Express, plus the ability for you to use your own courier account, for example with FedEx or DHL, in which case we do not charge a packing or shipping fee. Depending on the destination, Standard shipping will usually be via regular mail or airmail. Express shipping will be via courier, priority mail or express airmail, depending on the package weight and destination.

Subject to order cut-off times, we will use reasonable endeavours to ship all Express orders placed Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) on the same day, provided that no additional security checks are required and all products are in stock. The cut-off time for Express orders is 3pm for deliveries to the UK, and normally 11am GMT to all other destinations. Orders received after this time will be processed and prioritised for the next day.

In no event shall we be liable for any losses incurred due to delay in delivery. Our web site shop will calculate the approximate total weight of your order and will base the shipping cost on that. If the weight is above certain limits then the cost will not be displayed automatically, and we will advise you via email instead, after you have confirmed your order.

Payment options
You can pay for your order on-line using most credit or debit cards. In order to ensure fast and successful processing of your payment, please make sure that you enter all of the requested information, including the billing address for the card if different from the delivery address, and the security code printed on the signature strip. Whilst we may request authorisation for the transaction straight away, we will not actually charge your card until our security checks have been completed and the goods are being prepped for shipping. Your card will be charged in the currency that you chose when ordering, provided it is possible to do so.

Alternatively, you can choose to pay by bank transfer, sometimes known as paying by pro-forma invoice. In this case we will send you an email when you confirm your order, containing instructions for making the payment, and will reserve your goods for 14 days until we receive your payment, after which we will ship them immediately. Please note that, when using this method of payment, it is important that you ensure that all associated bank charges are paid by you, since we are unable to release goods if charges are deducted from your payment, which sometimes happens on international bank transactions.

Finally, please contact us if you would like to discuss the option of opening a credit account. This requires full trading references and a credit card payment authority. It can take some time for your application to be processed.

VAT/tax/duty Information

Value Added Sales Tax
Our business is based in the UK and as such we have to comply with UK and EU VAT requirements. Depending on the country to which we are delivering the goods, your order will be dealt with as follows:

Orders delivered to the UK
We always charge VAT at the prevailing UK rate on your total order value. We provide a VAT invoice with your goods, which you can use to reclaim the VAT if appropriate.

Orders delivered within Europe
So long as you have provided a valid European VAT registration number when applying to buy though us, we will not normally charge VAT. Otherwise VAT will be charged at the prevailing UK rate, and you will receive a VAT invoice that allows you to reclaim this charge if appropriate.

Orders delivered outside the European Union, including to the USA
We do not charge VAT on your order.

Customs duty
If your order is shipped outside of the EU, it will be subject to the usual international rules on customs duty, and, depending on the destination, the value, and type of products, you may have to pay import duty before being able to take delivery of your goods. Note that this is an additional cost that you must bear as an importer. In some cases the courier may pay these charges on your behalf and then pass the charges on to us. In this situation we reserve the right to charge any customs duties or local sales taxes incurred in this manner back to you. We do not charge a fee for this service. Dot Distribution cannot offer advice on tariffs or whether you will be liable in any particular instance. However, we will always endeavour to provide all necessary documentation to accompany your package, and have many years of trouble-free experience in shipping international orders.

Returns and cancellations

If an item is incorrect, damaged, faulty or develops a fault during the warranty period provided by the manufacturer, we will, at our option, replace, repair or refund the purchase price of the item, so long as the warranty conditions are met. To return an item please inform us via email first, quoting your original order number and order date, and we will then advise you by return email what steps to take. For items correctly supplied, returned in perfect condition, there will be a 20% re-stocking fee payable.

If you need further help or advice about our policies on returns, please contact us.

Privacy and security

Privacy
We will use your personal information to process your order and to provide any additional services that you've requested. We may also use this information for auditing, research and analysis purposes, in order to operate and improve our products and services, and for the prevention of fraud. Other than for these purposes, we will not pass your details on to any third parties without your consent.

Security
We take the security of your personal information very seriously. When you shop online, all of your personal and payment information is protected by well-established internet security methods and protocols, and is typically encrypted to at least AES 256-bit. Your credit card details are also always transmitted for processing in an encrypted form.