Returns and Exchanges
Time to decide whether your guitar is right for you, with clear information about returns, exchanges and help with a problem.
- 14-day home trial
- From receipt or collection, online or in the studio.
- No restocking fee
- Return transport costs and any lawful deductions are explained below.
- Refund or exchange
- Choose a refund, discuss an alternative or ask for help with an issue.
How does the 14-day trial work?
Qualifying non-bespoke guitars bought online, remotely by telephone or email, or in our studio come with a 14-day home trial. Play, listen and assess its feel and response in your own familiar surroundings. The trial starts when you receive or collect the guitar.
Advance payments do not use up your trial. Paying a reservation fee or the balance before delivery or collection does not start or shorten those 14 days.
For eligible online, phone and other distance purchases
- Tell CGA you are cancelling within 14 days after the day you receive the goods. You can also cancel before delivery.
- Send the goods back without undue delay, within the following 14 days after notifying us. Unless CGA has offered to collect them, this is the deadline for sending them, not for their arrival at CGA.
The item does not have to arrive back during the initial 14 days. For one order delivered in separate parts, the cancellation period normally runs from receipt of the last item or part.
Studio purchases and other shop items
Our 14-day return or exchange benefit also covers accessories and other shop items, whether bought online or in the studio. The studio benefit is an additional CGA promise; a change-of-mind return is not a statutory right for every in-person purchase. Contact us within the 14-day period from receipt or collection so we can help with return arrangements under the terms of your purchase.
Genuinely bespoke guitars made to your specifications or clearly personalised are excluded from the normal change-of-mind trial, as explained before ordering. Merely sourcing a standard model does not make it bespoke. Read the bespoke order terms; rights for faulty or misdescribed goods remain unaffected.
For studio purchases, notify us within 14 days after the day of receipt or collection, then send the item back within the following 14 days unless CGA has offered collection. We offer the same practical refund timetable below as an additional CGA promise. Any more generous terms promised when you bought your item continue to apply.
How do I arrange a return?
Contact CGA
Use the form below or email ed@classicalguitaracademy.co.uk. Tell us which item you want to return, with your name, order reference or purchase date where available.
A clear statement that you wish to cancel is enough. You do not need an account, an order number, a reason for cancelling or our prior approval. Keep a copy of your notification.
Pack securely
Protect the instrument in its case and a suitable outer box. Include the accessories and other contents supplied with it. See the packing guidance.
Arrange the appropriate return service
For a change of mind, arrange and pay for return postage and insurance with your chosen courier. Keep tracking and proof of dispatch. If you have reported an issue, CGA books the return and initially covers postage and insurance; contact us for the booking and packing arrangements.
Return address: Classical Guitar Academy, 16 Calder Close, Allestree, Derby, DE22 2SH, United Kingdom. Please arrange any in-person handover before travelling.
Refund or exchange
We check the returned item and discuss any findings with you, then process your refund within the applicable timescale or arrange an agreed exchange.
Who pays for return postage and insurance?
- Change of mind
- You arrange the return and pay for postage and insurance.
- A reported issue
- CGA books the return and initially covers postage and insurance.
- No issue found, and you still choose a change-of-mind return
- The actual agreed return postage and insurance cost may be deducted from your refund.
Where that deduction could apply, CGA will make the potential postage and insurance cost clear before booking the return. We will discuss the assessment and any unresolved concern with you before treating it as a change-of-mind return. Being unable to reproduce a problem does not by itself settle your concern or remove your statutory rights.
This is a conditional postage and insurance deduction, not a charge for asking a question or reporting a concern. There is no restocking fee or diagnostic or administration charge under this returns policy.
Earlier commitments made for your purchase still apply. For eligible distance cancellations, you only bear return costs where we gave the required information before purchase, or you have agreed to pay for collection.
How should I pack the return?
Care for your guitar during the trial: store it safely and protect it from knocks, scratches and unsuitable conditions. Reasonable playing and handling to assess the instrument are part of the trial; it does not have to remain unused or unopened.
- Return the associated case, accessories and any other supplied contents.
- Secure the guitar in its case, protect loose accessories and use suitable cushioning inside a strong outer box so the contents cannot move in transit.
- Keep and reuse the original packaging where suitable. The original box is helpful, but is not an absolute condition of statutory cancellation. Contact us for advice if you need alternative packaging.
Damage or handling beyond what is necessary to establish the item’s nature, characteristics and functioning is different from reasonable assessment. For an eligible distance cancellation, a lawful deduction may reflect the resulting loss in value; it is not an automatic refusal of the return.
Take care of the item and its packing before handover. Once CGA has physically received it, it is in our care; your responsibility does not continue while we inspect it.
When will I receive my refund?
Refunds use your original payment method unless you expressly agree to another method, with no additional refund fee.
Eligible distance cancellations
We refund without undue delay and within 14 days after receiving the goods back or receiving evidence that you sent them back, whichever happens first, where we have not offered collection. If CGA has offered to collect the goods, the deadline is 14 days after you tell us you are cancelling. If you cancel before goods are dispatched, we refund within 14 days of your notification.
Inspection does not extend these deadlines. Your refund includes the item price, subject only to lawful deductions, and any standard outbound delivery charge that must be reimbursed. If you chose a premium delivery upgrade, reimbursement is limited to the applicable standard-delivery amount.
Return transport costs are separate from the item refund, as set out above. A diminished-value deduction can only reflect loss caused by handling beyond what is necessary to assess the goods, where the law permits it and we supplied the required cancellation information. We explain the reason and amount of any proposed deduction.
Voluntary studio returns
For qualifying studio returns, CGA voluntarily offers the same refund timetable and purchase-price treatment described above, including any standard outbound delivery charge paid to CGA. This is our additional promise. It does not mean that in-person change-of-mind cancellation is a statutory right. Agreed return transport costs and only lawful deductions remain applicable.
Refunds for a problem with an item
Where you exercise a statutory right to reject faulty, damaged or misdescribed goods, the refund must be made without undue delay and within 14 days beginning with the day we agree that you are entitled to it. The remedy and any permitted deduction depend on the circumstances and the statutory right being exercised; change-of-mind deductions do not automatically apply.
Can I exchange my guitar?
Prefer to try a different guitar? Tell us what did and did not suit you, and we can discuss suitable alternatives.
An exchange is optional. You can request a refund without first discussing or accepting another guitar. Availability, any price difference and transport arrangements are agreed with you.
Ask about an exchangeWhat if there is a problem with my purchase?
Contact CGA with a description of the issue and identifying purchase details where available. Photos or video can help where relevant; you can email them, but they are not required before asking for help.
CGA books the return and initially pays postage and insurance. We discuss our findings and any unresolved concerns with you. The conditional postage and insurance deduction described above applies only if no issue is found and you still choose to proceed with a change-of-mind return.
Your statutory rights for faulty, damaged or misdescribed goods are separate from, and may extend beyond, the 14-day trial. Depending on the circumstances, these may include a refund, repair or replacement. CGA bears the reasonable return costs required by law for a valid statutory rejection. A valid statutory remedy does not depend on accepting a chargeable service.
These rights also apply to pre-loved and sale purchases; neither is automatically excluded.
Report a problem with an itemArrange a return or exchange
Tell us what you need. An order reference and item details help us find your purchase, but you can contact us without them.
Prefer email? Write directly to ed@classicalguitaracademy.co.uk. A clear cancellation statement is sufficient; no reason or prior approval is needed.
Only your email address is required. You do not need to explain a change-of-mind cancellation.