Complaints Policy

How to exercise your rights if a digital or printed personalised book, or a gift add-on from the workshop, turns out to be faulty.

1. Introductory provisions

These complaint rules govern how to complain about products purchased from the seller — Lukáš Kantor, Company ID 03177009, with its registered office at Milíkov 244, 739 81 Milíkov (hereinafter the "seller"). For a buyer in the United Kingdom the rights they describe are the rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which applies to the contract wherever the contract has a close connection with the United Kingdom — regardless of the fact that these terms are otherwise governed by Czech law (section 74(1) of that Act). Nothing here limits those rights, and a term that tried to would not bind you (section 31 for goods, section 47 for digital content, section 62 on unfair terms). These complaint rules form an integral part of the terms and conditions.

2. What you are entitled to expect

• Goods — the printed book, an additional copy and gift add-ons from the workshop — must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described (sections 9, 10 and 11 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015). What we say about the product on the website and in advertising forms part of that standard (section 9(5) and (6)), and the pre-contract information we must give you is itself a term of the contract (section 11(4)).
• Digital content — the PDF book, the online flipbook and the audiobook — must meet the same three standards (sections 34, 35 and 36).
• A fault that follows from material you supplied yourself is not a fault we are liable for (section 19(2)). That covers the photograph you uploaded and the name and dedication you entered.

3. How long your rights last

British law has no two-year warranty period; it is built differently.

• The first 30 days — you may simply reject the goods. If the printed book or an add-on is faulty, you may return it and get your money back without having to let us repair or replace it first (the short-term right to reject, section 22(3)). We may not shorten that period, and it is extended by the time any repair or replacement takes (section 22(6)).
• The first 6 months — the burden of proof is ours. A fault that appears within six months of delivery is presumed to have been there when you received the goods, and it is for us to show otherwise (section 19(14); for digital content section 42(9)).
• After six months your rights do not end. They last as long as the limitation period: 6 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980; the Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989) and 5 years in Scotland, where the obligation is extinguished once the period has run (section 6(1) of, and paragraph 1(g) of Schedule 1 to, the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973). What changes with time is only the evidence: the longer since delivery, the more it is for you to show the fault was there from the start.

4. What is not a fault

• The artistic rendering of a character, which naturally differs from the uploaded photograph — the book is illustrated, it is not a reproduction of the photograph. The appearance of the characters and the illustrations are not shown before payment; they are created only once the order has been paid for, so a rendering that differs from what you pictured is not a fault in the goods.
• Minor colour deviations in printing that are usual for the given production method (digital A4 printing).
• Mechanical damage arising after receipt — creases, a cover scratched in use, spills.
• Subjective dissatisfaction with the illustration style or with the chosen story, where the book matches its description and the input you entered.

5. How to complain

The fastest route: open the book in question in your account and click "Complaint" — the form pre-fills your details and sends the description to our team. Alternatively write to contact@heroofthebook.co.uk and give us:

• your name and contact details,
• identification of the order (order number / e-mail / date),
• a description of the fault — for a printed book, please attach a photograph of it,
• how you would like it put right (repair, a new book, a price reduction, a refund).

We confirm receipt of every complaint in writing by e-mail. For a printed book we pay the cost of returning it, as the law requires of us (section 20(8)); we will agree the method of dispatch with you in advance. You do not need a receipt or the original packaging — proof of purchase in any form is enough.

6. How quickly we deal with it

The law does not set a fixed number of days: a repair or replacement must be provided within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to you (section 23(2)(a)), and where you are entitled to money back we must refund it within 14 days of agreeing that you are (section 20(15)) and without any fee (section 20(17)).

Over and above the law we undertake, as a voluntary commitment, to settle a complaint no later than 30 days after it is filed unless we agree a longer period with you. Our failing to meet that voluntary deadline does not deprive you of anything the Act gives you.

7. What we can offer

Goods (the printed book, add-ons) follow the statutory sequence:

• within the first 30 days, an immediate refund on rejection (section 22);
• otherwise repair or replacement, at your choice, within a reasonable time and at our cost (section 23); we may refuse the option you choose only if it is impossible or disproportionate compared with the other (section 23(3));
• if that does not put things right — or if it cannot be done — a price reduction or a final right to reject the goods (section 24). You are entitled to that after one repair or replacement; we cannot insist on a second attempt (section 24(5)). A deduction for use may be made from a refund only after the first six months, and never for the first six months (section 24(8) and (10)).

Digital content works slightly differently: the remedy is repair or replacement — in practice correcting the text or regenerating the affected page — and, where that fails, a price reduction which may be up to the whole price (sections 42(2) and 44(2)). There is no right to reject digital content as such (section 42(8)). If defective content damaged your device or other digital content, we are liable for repair or compensation (section 46).

8. A complaint is not a cancellation

A complaint concerns faulty performance. Cancelling for any other reason is governed by the terms and conditions and by the page on cancelling an order: a personalised printed book and add-ons are excluded from the 14-day right to cancel by regulation 28(1)(b) of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, and for digital content the right ends under regulation 37(1) once we begin to supply it with your express request and acknowledgement. Neither exclusion touches this complaints procedure. A gift voucher may be cancelled within 14 days (Article 13 of the terms and conditions).

9. Out-of-court dispute resolution

The body designated for the out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes with us is the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (Česká obchodní inspekce), Gorazdova 1969/24, 120 00 Praha 2, Czech Republic, adr.coi.cz. Its competence follows from the seller being established in the Czech Republic; a submission is free of charge and may be made in English.

The United Kingdom has its own approved ADR bodies under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/542), but those schemes cover traders established in the United Kingdom, so none of them can take on a dispute with us. Two routes that used to bridge that gap no longer exist: the UK European Consumer Centre closed on 31 December 2020, and the European Commission's ODR platform has been shut down — Regulation (EU) 2024/3228 repealed Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 with effect from 20 July 2025 and the platform stopped accepting complaints on 20 March 2025. Any website still offering an ODR link is out of date.

Alongside or instead of ADR you may:

• write to us first at contact@heroofthebook.co.uk — most matters are settled that way;
• report the matter to the Citizens Advice consumer service (0808 223 1133, citizensadvice.org.uk), which passes reports on to Trading Standards;
• turn to the Competition and Markets Authority, which since 6 April 2025 can decide consumer-protection cases itself and impose a penalty of up to £300,000 or 10 % of worldwide turnover (Part 3 Chapter 4 and section 182(6) of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024).

None of this takes away your right to go to court. Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 apply to the contract wherever it has a close connection with the United Kingdom, regardless of the choice of Czech law (section 74(1) of that Act), and as a consumer you may bring proceedings in the courts of the part of the United Kingdom in which you are domiciled (section 15B of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, inserted by the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019).