Refund, Return & Cancellation Policy

1. About this policy

This policy forms part of the Terms of Use and applies to every purchase made through AfricanDiscountFoods. Each shipment in your order is a contract between you and the seller named on it; the seller is the first point of contact for problems, and AfricanDiscountFoods administers refunds through Stripe and steps in when a seller does not resolve a valid claim. Nothing here limits rights that consumer law in your country gives you and that cannot be excluded (see section 10).

2. Cancelling an order

2.1 Before dispatch

• You may cancel any shipment whose status is still “Processing” from your order page or by emailing support@africandiscountfoods.com with the order number. You receive a full refund of that shipment, including delivery.
• Exception: made-to-order and freshly prepared items (for example restaurant dishes, catering, custom cakes, fresh-pressed or fresh-baked goods) cannot be cancelled once the seller has started preparing them. Listings for such items say so, and the seller may treat the order as started once it has been accepted.

2.2 After dispatch

Once a shipment is marked “Shipped” it cannot be cancelled. Refuse delivery only if the parcel is visibly damaged; otherwise accept it and use section 3 or 4.

2.3 Cancellation by the seller or by us

A seller may cancel a shipment before dispatch if an item is out of stock, was listed at an obvious error price, cannot lawfully be shipped to your address, or fails their own quality check. We may cancel any order that fails fraud or sanctions screening, breaches the Terms, or cannot be fulfilled because a store is suspended. In every such case you receive a full refund of the affected shipment and we tell you why.

3. Problems with what you received

You are fully covered when something is actually wrong. Within 48 hours of the delivery time recorded on your tracking timeline, report any of the following through your order page or to the seller and support@africandiscountfoods.com:

• Keep the item and packaging until the claim is resolved; we or the seller may ask you to return it (prepaid) or to dispose of it safely.
• Do not consume food you believe is unsafe. If you become unwell, seek medical help first, then contact us; keep any remaining product for authorities if they ask.
• Claims made after 48 hours are considered on their merits, but perishable claims become very hard to verify; report as soon as you can.
• Normal variation in artisanal and home-made products (colour, size, texture, natural settling or separation) is not a defect. Small cosmetic damage to outer packaging that leaves the food intact is not a defect.

4. Shipments that never arrive

• If a shipment is not marked delivered within double its estimated delivery time shown at checkout, contact us for a full refund of that shipment, including delivery.
• If tracking shows delivery but you did not receive the parcel, tell us within 48 hours; we will ask the seller and carrier to investigate (safe-place photo, neighbour, building reception) and refund if it cannot be located, unless the delivery address you gave was wrong or incomplete.
• If a parcel is returned to the seller because you were unavailable, gave an incomplete address, or did not collect a pickup order within the stated window, we refund the items minus any perishable items that could not be re-sold and minus the delivery fee. Shelf-stable items are refunded in full when they arrive back with the seller.

5. Change-of-mind returns

5.1 Shelf-stable items

Unopened, sealed, shelf-stable items (dry grains, flours, spices, canned and bottled goods, packaged snacks, teas and similar) may be returned for any reason within 14 days of delivery. Tell the seller through your order page first; the seller will give you a return address. You pay return postage and are responsible for the item until it arrives, unless the return is because of the seller's error. Once the seller confirms receipt in re-saleable condition, the item price is refunded; the original delivery fee is not refunded unless the whole shipment is returned within 14 days and you are a consumer in the EU or UK (section 10).

5.2 What cannot be returned for change of mind

• Fresh produce, meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs, bakery and any chilled, frozen or otherwise perishable item;
• Prepared meals, restaurant dishes, catering and made-to-order items;
• Any item that has been opened, unsealed, part-used or whose tamper seal is broken, for hygiene and safety reasons;
• Items with a use-by or best-before date within 14 days of delivery;
• Personalised or custom items.

These exclusions mirror the perishable-goods and hygiene exemptions in the EU Consumer Rights Directive, the UK Consumer Contracts Regulations, and equivalent laws elsewhere. They never apply when the item is faulty, unsafe or not as described (section 3).

6. How refunds are paid

• Refunds are made to the original payment method through Stripe. We cannot refund to a different card, bank account or in cash.
• Once approved, refunds are issued within 2 business days and typically appear on your statement within 5–10 business days, depending on your bank. Some banks show a refund as a reversal of the original charge rather than a new line.
• Refunds are made in USD, the currency you were charged in. If your bank converted the payment to another currency, the refunded amount in your currency may differ slightly because of exchange-rate movements and bank fees, which we do not control and do not reimburse.
• Partial refunds are calculated per item plus that item's proportional share of the shipment's delivery fee where the policy provides for delivery to be refunded.
• Where a seller's payout has already been made, we recover the refund from the seller under the Seller Agreement; this never delays your refund.
• If you were given a replacement instead of a refund, no cash refund is due for the replaced item unless the replacement also fails.

7. Escalating to AfricanDiscountFoods

1. Report the problem to the seller through your order page, with photos, as soon as possible and within the time limits above.
2. If the seller has not resolved it within 3 business days, or you disagree with their answer, email support@africandiscountfoods.com with the order number, the shipment concerned, what happened and what you have already sent the seller.
3. We review the evidence from both sides, may ask for more, and make a decision within 5 business days. Our decision is binding on the seller under the Seller Agreement. If we decide in your favour we issue the refund ourselves.
4. If you disagree with our decision you may ask for a second review by a different team member by replying within 14 days, and you keep every right you have under local law and the dispute-resolution section of the Terms.

8. Chargebacks and disputes with your bank

Please give us the chance to resolve a problem before opening a chargeback with your card issuer. A chargeback started while a claim is open freezes the claim until the bank's process ends, which is usually slower than ours. We supply Stripe and the card network with order, delivery and communication records to answer a dispute. Chargebacks found to be filed without a genuine basis, or filed after a refund was already paid, may lead to account suspension and recovery of the amount.

9. Abuse of this policy

We track claim patterns to protect honest buyers and sellers. Repeated claims that cannot be substantiated, claims for items that tracking and photographs show were delivered intact, returns of items that were used or swapped, or fraudulent photographs may result in refusal of a claim, suspension of the account and referral to law enforcement. We will always tell you why a claim was refused and how to appeal.

10. Your statutory rights

European Union and European Economic Area

As a consumer you have a 14-day right to withdraw from a distance contract without giving a reason, starting on the day you receive the goods, except for goods liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly and sealed goods unsealed after delivery that cannot be returned for health or hygiene reasons (Directive 2011/83/EU, Article 16(d) and (e)). To exercise it, tell the seller or us in a clear statement (you may use the model form in Annex I(B) of the Directive, or simply email us); return the goods within 14 days at your cost; the full price and standard delivery cost are refunded within 14 days of receiving the goods back or proof of return. Independently of this, the seller is liable under Directive (EU) 2019/771 for any lack of conformity that becomes apparent within two years of delivery, and for perishable goods within the period the goods would reasonably be expected to last.

United Kingdom

The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give the same 14-day cancellation right with the same perishable and hygiene exceptions. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described; you have a short-term right to reject faulty goods within 30 days (in practice much shorter for perishable food, since the right runs only until the goods could reasonably be expected to perish), followed by rights to repair, replacement, price reduction or a final right to reject.

United States

There is no federal right to return non-defective goods; this policy sets the terms. The Federal Trade Commission's Mail, Internet or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule requires shipment within the time stated or 30 days, failing which you may cancel for a full refund; section 4 above is more generous. Implied warranties of merchantability under the Uniform Commercial Code are owed by the seller, and state laws (for example California's) may give you further rights.

Canada

Provincial consumer-protection statutes (for example Ontario's Consumer Protection Act, 2002, Quebec's Consumer Protection Act, and British Columbia's Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act) give rights to cancel internet agreements where the supplier has not delivered within 30 days of the promised date, and imply warranties of merchantable quality; these rights are not limited by this policy.

Australia and New Zealand

Goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law and the New Zealand Consumer Guarantees Act 1993. You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure and compensation for other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage; for a minor failure you are entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced. These rights are owed by the seller and are in addition to this policy.

Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 (Nigeria), the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (South Africa: right to return unsafe or defective goods within six months, and a five-business-day cooling-off for direct-marketing sales, which excludes perishables under the ECT Act section 42), the Consumer Protection Act 2012 (Kenya) and the Public Health Act and Food and Drugs Act (Ghana) apply and are not limited by this policy.

Brazil

Under Article 49 of the Consumer Defence Code you may withdraw within seven days of receipt for purchases made outside a physical store; for perishable food this is exercised through cancellation before dispatch and the defect rules of Articles 18 to 20, which give 30 days to complain about non-durable goods.

India

The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules 2020 require us to display the return, refund and exchange policy of each seller and to provide a grievance officer, reachable at legal@africandiscountfoods.com, who acknowledges complaints within 48 hours and resolves them within one month.

Everywhere else

Where your local law gives you greater rights than this policy, the local law applies. This policy never reduces a statutory right; it adds a marketplace guarantee on top.

11. Sellers

Sellers agree in the Seller Agreement to honour this policy, to respond to buyer problems within 3 business days, to accept our decision on escalated claims, and to bear the cost of refunds, replacements and chargebacks arising from their goods or fulfilment. Refunds are deducted from the seller's balance or recovered from future payouts.

12. Contact

Orders and refunds: support@africandiscountfoods.com · Delivery times, fees and customs: Delivery & returns · Track a parcel: Track your order