Refunds, Returns and Cancellations Policy

Last updated: 17 June 2026

1. Our Approach

Lekker Books wants every customer to be happy with their purchase.

This Refunds, Returns and Cancellations Policy explains how we handle:

Physical books
E-books and digital downloads
Gift cards
Pre-orders and back-orders
Incorrect, damaged or defective products
Author memberships and subscriptions
Order cancellations
Failed or incomplete deliveries

Nothing in this policy is intended to limit any right available to a customer under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 or any other applicable South African law.

2. Contacting Us About an Order

To request a return, replacement, cancellation or refund, please contact:

Email: orders@lekkerbooks.co.za

Please include:

Your full name
Your order number
The email address used for the order
The title of the book or product
The reason for the request
Photographs showing any damage or defect, where applicable

Please do not send a product back before receiving return instructions from Lekker Books.

Books may be supplied or fulfilled by different authors, publishers or delivery partners. The correct return address may therefore differ from one order to another.

Lekker Books will remain your first point of contact and will coordinate the matter with the relevant author, publisher or fulfilment partner where necessary.

3. Physical Books: Change-of-Mind Returns

Although books are excluded from the general cooling-off period under section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, Lekker Books voluntarily accepts change-of-mind returns for eligible physical books.

You may request a change-of-mind return within seven calendar days after delivery.

To qualify for a voluntary return, the book must:

Be unread or only reasonably inspected
Be unused
Be undamaged
Have no writing, highlighting, folds or markings
Have no creased or damaged cover
Be in a condition suitable for resale
Include any accompanying items supplied with it

Once your return has been approved, the book must be sent to the return address provided by Lekker Books within seven calendar days.

Change-of-mind return costs

For an approved change-of-mind return:

The customer is responsible for the return delivery cost.
The original delivery fee is not refundable.
The customer is responsible for packaging the book securely.
We recommend using a tracked courier service.
Lekker Books is not responsible for a returned parcel that is lost before reaching the authorised return address.

A refund will only be approved after the returned book has been received and inspected.

If the book is damaged, marked, read extensively or no longer suitable for resale, Lekker Books may decline the voluntary return or make a reasonable deduction for the reduction in value.

This voluntary return option does not apply to:

Signed books
Personally inscribed books
Personalised products
Special-order products made or obtained specifically for the customer
E-books and digital downloads that have already been supplied
Gift cards
Books damaged after delivery through misuse or improper handling
Clearance products expressly marked as final sale

These exclusions do not affect a customer’s rights where a product is defective, incorrectly supplied or materially different from its description.

4. Damaged, Defective or Incorrect Books

Please inspect your order as soon as reasonably possible after delivery.

The wrong book was delivered
The wrong format or edition was supplied
The book arrived damaged
Pages are missing
Pages are incorrectly printed
The binding is defective
The book is materially different from its website description
The parcel contains fewer items than ordered
The book is otherwise unsafe or defective

Where possible, please notify us within seven calendar days and provide clear photographs of:

The book
The damaged area
The packaging
The courier label

The seven-day notification request helps us investigate courier and fulfilment problems quickly. It does not remove any statutory rights you may have.

Where goods fail to meet the quality standards required by the Consumer Protection Act within six months after delivery, the customer may be entitled to choose between a replacement or refund. The return must be handled without penalty and at the supplier’s risk and expense.

For books, a replacement or refund will normally be more appropriate than a repair.

Where a replacement is selected

Lekker Books will arrange for a replacement to be supplied at no additional cost, subject to availability.

If the same book, edition or format is no longer available, you may choose:

A suitable alternative of the same value
Store credit
A refund

You are not required to accept store credit instead of a refund where you are legally entitled to a refund.

Where a refund is selected

Where the product is confirmed to be defective, damaged before delivery, incorrectly supplied or materially misdescribed, the refund will include:

The purchase price of the affected product
The reasonable return delivery cost
The original standard delivery charge where the entire order is being refunded because of the problem

Lekker Books may ask for the affected product to be returned before completing the refund, unless returning it would be unreasonable in the circumstances.

5. Damage Caused After Delivery

Lekker Books cannot provide a refund or replacement where a product was damaged after successful delivery because of:

Misuse
Negligence
Water or liquid damage
Heat or sun exposure
Improper storage
Incorrect handling
Damage caused by another person or animal
Normal wear and tear
Alteration of the book
Writing, highlighting, cutting or removal of pages

This does not apply where the damage arose from an existing manufacturing defect.

6. E-Books and Digital Downloads

E-books and other digital products are supplied electronically and cannot practically be returned after access has been provided.

A change-of-mind refund will therefore generally not be available once:

A download link has been supplied
The download has started
The file has been downloaded
Access to the digital content has been activated
The e-book has been opened or accessed

This restriction applies only to the extent permitted by applicable law.

When an e-book refund or replacement may be provided

Please contact Lekker Books if:

You received the wrong e-book
The file is corrupted
The file cannot be opened
The download link does not work
The file is incomplete
The e-book is materially different from its description
You were charged more than once for the same product
The e-book was never supplied

Lekker Books may first attempt to:

Send a new download link
Replace the defective file
Provide reasonable technical assistance
Supply the correct format

A refund may be provided where the problem cannot be corrected within a reasonable period.

Device and software compatibility

Customers are responsible for checking the format of an e-book before purchasing it.

A refund may not be available merely because:

The customer’s device does not support the clearly disclosed file format
The customer does not have suitable reading software
The customer changes devices
The customer no longer wants the e-book
The customer expected a printed book but selected an e-book that was clearly described as digital

A refund will still be considered where the format was incorrectly described or the product page did not reasonably disclose an important compatibility requirement.

Duplicate purchases

Please contact us if you accidentally purchase the same e-book more than once.

Where our records confirm a genuine duplicate transaction and the additional copy has not been separately used or supplied to another person, we may refund the duplicate purchase.

7. Physical and E-Book Variations

Some books are available in more than one format, including:

Paperback
Hardcover
E-book
Special edition
Signed edition

Customers are responsible for selecting the correct format before completing checkout.

Lekker Books will assist where a genuine selection mistake is reported before the order is dispatched or the digital download is supplied.

Once a physical order has been dispatched, the physical-book return rules will apply.

Once an e-book has been delivered or accessed, the digital-product rules will apply.

8. Pre-Orders and Back-Orders

A pre-order is an order placed for a product that has not yet been released or is not immediately available.

A back-order is an order placed for a product that is temporarily out of stock but is expected to become available.

Cancelling before dispatch

A customer may cancel an ordinary pre-order or back-order before it has been dispatched and receive a full refund.

Please submit the cancellation request as soon as possible.

Special-order or personalised products

Where a pre-order involves a signed, personalised or specially obtained product, Lekker Books may deduct a reasonable cancellation charge where non-recoverable costs have already been incurred.

Any cancellation charge will be based on the actual circumstances and will not exceed a fair and reasonable amount. The Consumer Protection Act permits a reasonable cancellation charge for certain advance orders, subject to the nature of the goods, the notice given and the supplier’s ability to find another customer.

Cancellation by Lekker Books

If Lekker Books, an author or a publisher is unable to fulfil a pre-order or back-order, the customer may choose:

A full refund
Store credit
An alternative product of the same value

The customer will not be required to accept store credit or an alternative product.

After dispatch

Once a pre-ordered or back-ordered physical book has been dispatched, the normal physical-book return rules apply.

9. Order Cancellations

Please contact us immediately if you wish to cancel an order.

Before payment

An unpaid order may be cancelled without charge.

After payment but before dispatch

Where a physical order has been paid but has not yet entered packing or dispatch, we will normally cancel it and issue a full refund.

During packing or fulfilment

If fulfilment has already begun, we will attempt to stop the order. Cancellation may not be possible if the parcel has already been handed to the courier.

After dispatch

Once an order has been dispatched, it cannot be treated as a pre-dispatch cancellation. The customer may request a return after delivery in accordance with this policy.

Digital products

A digital order can generally only be cancelled before the download or access link has been supplied.

10. Gift Cards

Lekker Books gift cards are prepaid vouchers that may be used to purchase eligible products from the Lekker Books website.

Gift cards are valid for at least three years after issue or until their full value has been redeemed, whichever occurs later, subject to applicable law.

Gift card refunds

Gift cards are generally:

Not refundable for cash
Not exchangeable for cash
Not refundable merely because the purchaser or recipient changes their mind
Not replaceable if transferred to or used by an unauthorised person

A refund or replacement may be considered where:

The gift card was not delivered
The customer was charged more than once
The gift card contains the wrong value because of an error by Lekker Books
The code does not work
A refund is otherwise required by law

Purchases made with gift cards

Where a product purchased with a gift card is validly returned, the relevant refund will ordinarily be credited back to the gift card balance.

Where the purchase was paid partly by gift card and partly by another payment method, the refund may be divided between the gift card and the original payment method.

The remaining value of a partially used gift card will remain available for future use until it has been fully redeemed or lawfully expires.

11. Author Memberships

Lekker Books offers monthly and annual author membership options.

Membership fees relate to services such as:

Author profile creation and hosting
Book listings
Website exposure
Newsletter exposure
Social media and promotional opportunities
Access to membership features
Administrative and platform services

Membership provides access to the advertised services but does not guarantee:

A particular number of book sales
A specific level of income
A particular search-engine ranking
A fixed amount of social media engagement
Publication by a third-party publisher
Acceptance into every promotion or campaign

A lack of sales, enquiries or engagement is not by itself grounds for a refund where the membership services have been supplied as described.

Monthly memberships

Monthly memberships may be cancelled at any time.

Cancellation will stop future renewal payments, provided the request is received and processed before the next billing date.

The membership will normally remain active until the end of the current paid billing period.

A partial refund is not ordinarily provided for a billing period that has already started, unless:

The membership was charged in error
The same membership was charged more than once
Lekker Books failed to provide the material membership services
A refund is required by law

Annual memberships

An annual membership is purchased at a discounted rate in return for a longer membership period.

An author may request cancellation of an annual membership in writing.

Where the fixed-term cancellation provisions of the Consumer Protection Act apply, the member may cancel by giving 20 business days’ written or recorded notice. Lekker Books may deduct a reasonable cancellation charge relating to services already supplied, work already completed, discounts granted and reasonable non-recoverable costs. Any remaining amount belonging to the member must be credited or refunded.

The reasonable cancellation calculation may consider:

The period for which membership was active
Author-profile setup already completed
Book listings already created
Promotional work already performed
Discounts received for choosing annual membership
Non-recoverable third-party costs

Cancellation by Lekker Books

Lekker Books may suspend or cancel a membership where an author:

Fails to pay the membership fee
Supplies unlawful or misleading content
Infringes copyright or other rights
Uses the platform fraudulently
Seriously or repeatedly breaches the membership terms
Abuses customers, authors or Lekker Books personnel

Where Lekker Books cancels an active paid membership for reasons unrelated to a breach by the member, an appropriate pro-rata refund of the unused membership period will be considered.

12. Promotional, Discounted and Sale Products

A discounted price does not remove a customer’s rights where a product is:

Defective
Unsafe
Damaged before delivery
Incorrectly supplied
Materially different from its description

A product sold at a reduced price because of a clearly disclosed defect or imperfection cannot ordinarily be returned solely because of that disclosed defect.

Products clearly marked as clearance or final sale may be excluded from Lekker Books’ voluntary change-of-mind return option, but not from statutory rights relating to undisclosed defects or incorrect supply.

13. Delivery Problems

Order not received

Please contact us if tracking shows that an order has not arrived within the expected delivery period.

Lekker Books will investigate the matter with the courier, author, publisher or fulfilment partner.

Where an order is confirmed lost, you may choose:

A replacement, subject to availability
A refund

Incorrect or incomplete delivery address

Customers are responsible for providing a complete and accurate delivery address.

Where a parcel is returned because the customer supplied an incorrect or incomplete address, the customer may be responsible for:

The original delivery cost
The courier’s return fee
A new delivery fee

The customer may choose re-delivery or a refund of the product price less the reasonable delivery and return costs actually incurred.

No deduction will be made where the address error was caused by Lekker Books.

Failure to collect or accept delivery

Where a parcel is returned because it was not collected or delivery was repeatedly refused or unsuccessful, the customer may be responsible for the actual return and re-delivery costs.

Courier damage

If packaging appears badly damaged, please photograph it before opening the parcel.

Do not discard the packaging until the matter has been resolved, as the courier may require photographs or inspection evidence.

14. Returning a Product

After approving a return, Lekker Books will provide:

The return address
The return reference
Any courier instructions
The deadline for sending the product
Confirmation of who is responsible for the return cost

The customer must package the item securely to prevent damage in transit.

Please do not send books to an author, publisher or other address unless instructed to do so by Lekker Books.

Unauthorised returns may be delayed, refused or returned to the sender.

15. Inspection of Returned Products

Returned products may be inspected to confirm:

The identity of the product
The reported damage or defect
Whether all components were returned
Whether the product was damaged after delivery
Whether a voluntary change-of-mind return remains suitable for resale

An inspection will not be used to unfairly delay or avoid a valid refund.

Lekker Books may contact the customer if additional information is required.

16. Refund Processing

Once a refund has been approved, Lekker Books will normally initiate it within 10 business days.

Refunds will usually be made to the original payment method.

The time taken for the refund to reflect may depend on:

The customer’s bank
The payment gateway
The card issuer
Weekends and public holidays

Where refunding the original payment method is not reasonably possible, Lekker Books may request verified bank details and process the refund by electronic funds transfer.

Lekker Books may request reasonable proof that the bank account belongs to the customer or person who made the payment.

No refund-processing fee will be charged for a valid refund.

Where legislation requires a refund within a particular period, the legally required period will apply.

17. Refunds to Another Person

For fraud prevention and privacy reasons, refunds are generally made only to:

The original payment method
The original purchaser
A verified bank account belonging to the payer

A gift recipient may be offered an exchange or gift-card credit where the original purchaser cannot reasonably be verified.

18. Store Credit and Exchanges

Lekker Books may offer an exchange or store credit as an option.

Customers are not required to accept store credit where they are legally entitled to a monetary refund.

Store credit accepted in place of a refund will be issued for the agreed amount and may be subject to reasonable terms disclosed when it is issued.

19. Refund Abuse and Fraud

Lekker Books reserves the right to investigate suspected:

Return fraud
False damage claims
Repeated abuse of the voluntary return policy
Unauthorised use of digital products
Gift card fraud
Payment disputes involving products that were successfully supplied
Alteration or substitution of returned products

This provision will not be used to prevent a customer from exercising a legitimate consumer right.

20. Complaints and Disputes

Please contact Lekker Books first so that we have an opportunity to investigate and resolve the matter.

Email: orders@lekkerbooks.co.za

Lekker Books will aim to acknowledge a complaint within a reasonable period and keep the customer informed while it is being investigated.

If the complaint cannot be resolved directly, the customer may approach an appropriate consumer protection body, ombud, regulator or court.

Potential consumer dispute channels may include:

The Consumer Goods and Services Ombud
The National Consumer Commission
A provincial consumer affairs office
A competent South African court

21. Changes to This Policy

Lekker Books may update this Refunds, Returns and Cancellations Policy when:

Our products or services change
Our fulfilment arrangements change
New payment or delivery options are introduced
Legal or regulatory requirements change
Our author membership options change

The latest version will be published on this page with an updated revision date.

22. Contact Details

Questions about refunds, returns, cancellations, gift cards, digital products or author memberships may be sent to:

Lekker Books
Email: orders@lekkerbooks.co.za