Refund and Cancellation Policy

Last updated: 20 August 2026

This policy explains when you can cancel an order, when you can get your money back and how long it takes. It forms part of our Terms and Conditions and should be read with our Delivery Policy.

Our products are personalised and made to order, so a book that has been printed with a child's name and face in it cannot be resold. We deal with that by giving you the strongest possible protection before we print, rather than a returns window afterwards.

1. The short version

  • You see a full digital preview of your book before anything is printed or emailed to you.
  • You can cancel and get 100% of your money back, for any reason, at any point before you approve that preview. No questions asked.
  • Once you approve the preview, we print or send the file, and we cannot refund a change of mind.
  • If your book arrives damaged, faulty or different from the version you approved, we replace it or refund it.

2. Cancelling before we start work

If you contact us before we have started building your book, we will cancel the order and refund you in full.

Email hello@taletime.studio or WhatsApp 072 242 0390 with your order number. There is no cancellation fee.

3. Cancelling after we have started, but before you approve the preview

This is our money-back guarantee, and it is deliberately simple.

From the moment you place your order until the moment you approve your preview, you may cancel for any reason and we will refund you 100% of what you paid, including any delivery charge. You do not need to give us a reason, and there is no cancellation fee.

This is possible because nothing has gone to the printer yet. The cost of a cancelled order at this stage is ours to carry, not yours.

Where the guarantee ends. Once you approve your preview, we send your digital file or commit your book to print. From that point the guarantee no longer applies, because the product has been made. Sections 5 and 6 below cover what happens if something is then wrong with it.

Automatic approval. If you do not respond to your preview within 5 business days, and we have sent you at least one reminder, we may treat it as approved and proceed. If you need longer, tell us and we will hold the order and the guarantee stays open.

4. Changes instead of a refund

Most problems are quicker to fix than to refund. If your preview is not right, ask for changes.

One round of changes is included at no charge. A change request covers spelling and text errors, layout or illustration problems, a character who does not reasonably resemble the photograph you supplied, or content that does not reflect the brief you gave us.

A change request does not cover changing the choices the whole book is built on, such as the child's name, the language, the format, the supporting characters or a different set of photographs. Those require a new book. If you would rather not proceed, cancel under section 3 and take the full refund instead.

5. Digital products after delivery

Once your digital book has been approved and emailed to you, it has been delivered and it cannot be returned, so we do not refund a change of mind.

If the file will not open, is corrupted, is missing pages or differs from the version you approved, contact us and we will fix it and resend it at no charge. If we cannot fix it, we will refund you in full.

6. Printed products that arrive damaged, faulty or incorrect

Please check your parcel when it arrives.

If your printed book arrives damaged, has a printing or binding fault, or is materially different from the preview you approved, contact us within 14 days of delivery at hello@taletime.studio. Please include your order number and clear photographs of the problem, including the packaging if it is damaged.

We will assess it and then, at our election and in discussion with you, either:

  • reprint and redeliver the book at no charge, or
  • refund you in full, or
  • refund you in part where you are happy to keep the book

You do not pay for the return of a faulty book, and in most cases we will not ask you to send it back at all.

This does not limit your rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, which gives you six months from delivery to return goods that are unsafe, defective or not fit for their intended purpose.

What is not a fault. We cannot refund or reprint free of charge where the problem comes from the information you gave us and approved, such as a misspelled name, the wrong language selected, a photograph that was blurred or unsuitable, or an incorrect delivery address.

7. If we cannot fulfil your order

If a product becomes unavailable, or if we cancel your order for any of the reasons set out in our Terms and Conditions, Tale Time Studio will refund the client in full within 30 days.

8. Lost or undelivered parcels

If your parcel does not arrive within the timeframe in our Delivery Policy, contact us and we will trace it with the courier. If the parcel is confirmed lost, we will reprint and resend your book at no charge, or refund you in full if you prefer.

If the parcel is returned to us because the address you supplied was wrong or incomplete, or because nobody was available to accept delivery after the courier's attempts, we will resend it once you give us a corrected address. A redelivery fee may apply and we will tell you the amount before charging it.

9. How refunds are paid

  • Refunds are paid back to the original payment method through Payfast. We cannot pay a refund to a different card or account.
  • We process approved refunds within 3 business days of agreeing them.
  • Your bank or card issuer then takes a further 5 to 10 business days to show the money in your account. That part is outside our control.
  • Refunds are paid in South African Rand for the amount you paid. We do not charge an administration or handling fee on a refund.

10. How to request a cancellation, refund or replacement

Contact us with your order number and a short description of the problem:

We reply within one business day and aim to resolve every request within three.

11. Chargebacks

If something has gone wrong, please give us the chance to fix it first. We would far rather reprint your book or refund you directly than have you go through your bank. A chargeback raised before you have contacted us costs us a fee and takes far longer to resolve for you.