Frequently Asked Questions

Our phone lines are now reopen and you can speak to a member of our customer service team on 01778 560 256. You can also email them at customerservice@sophieallport.com. We will endeavour to respond to all emails within 48 hours.

Yes, our phone lines are now reopen and if you would prefer to place your order over the phone then please call our customer service team on 01778 560 256. You can also email them at customerservice@sophieallport.com. We will endeavour to respond to all emails within 48 hours.

Yes. We closed our website temporarily on March 23rd for two weeks but we are now open. Our delivery services with Royal Mail and DPD are now operating as normal and we can offer 1st and 2nd class delivery service, as well as next day delivery, and Saturday delivery. Please note we are working extremely hard to get each delivery out as soon as possible.

This depends what delivery method you chose at checkout. We are working hard to get each delivery out as soon as possible. Our delivery services with Royal Mail and DPD are operating as normal.

Standard 2nd class – Delivered between 5 and 7 working days

1st class delivery – Delivery between 2 and 3 working days

Next day delivery – Delivered next day Monday to Friday if your order was placed by 12 noon

Saturday delivery – Guaranteed Saturday delivery if your order was placed by 12 noon Friday

Overseas and non-mainland UK deliveries – Europe 7 to 14 working days. Rest of the world, please all approximately 14 working days.

Yes, following government guidelines from the 24th July you must by law wear a face covering in shops. If you are visiting either our Bourne or Stamford shops please wear a face covering. There are some circumstances whereby people are not expected to wear face coverings which may include: 

- Young children under the age of 11

- Not being able to put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability

- If putting on, wearing or removing a face covering will cause you severe distress

- If you are travelling with or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading to communicate

- To avoid harm or injury, or the risk of harm or injury, to yourself or others

- To avoid injury, or to escape a risk of harm, and you do not have a face covering with you

- To eat or drink, but only if you need toTo take medication

- If a police officer or other official requests you remove your face covering

Our standard returns policy rules still apply, you can return an item within 30 days of receipt, as long as it is unused and in its original packaging.

Our returns and refunds will operate as normal. Once your parcel has been received by our team it can take up to 7 working days to fulfil your request. When we have dealt with your parcel, we will confirm this to you by email. Please be aware that it can take five to seven days after we have processed a refund payment for it to appear on your credit card statement.

We use the courier services of Royal Mail and DPD and both are offering a contact-free delivery and will leave your parcel either at your front door or in a safe place. Current advice states that it is safe to still receive parcels, but we would recommend washing your hands after handling one.

We temporarily closed our online store on the morning of 23rd March. This was before Government restrictions and enforcements came into place that evening. We spent two weeks implementing the necessary safety precautions in our warehouse. Since closing, we have made numerous changes, including limiting the number of staff in our warehouse, ensuring that the best hygiene standards are met for our staff and in our premises, and maximising social distancing.

We have increased our already high standards of hygiene to include a very strict end of day process, which involves daily deep cleans on all work surfaces and packing equipment, warehouse operative equipment, office door handles, kitchens and bathroom areas, using both anti-bacterial surface cleaner and a professional medical sanitiser. Our staff will also be following government guidelines by washing their hands as soon as they enter the building, before leaving the building and regularly throughout the day. As well as this we have introduced some further measures, including all non-fire doors staying open to avoid touching shared door handles.

Each staff member will have their very own designated packing area, which is separated more than 2 metres apart from anyone else to maximise social distancing. Marker tape has also been used around designated areas to remind people of this. To assist further social distancing, we have also introduced staggered break times in designated kitchen areas so no one will have any tea/coffee or lunch breaks with anyone else.

We have introduced numerous procedures, including limiting the amount of staff in our warehouse, implementing a no-contact policy with any delivery drivers, ensuring the best hygiene standards are met and implemented social distancing.

We have a few members of staff working in the office as their work cannot be undertaken at home, however the majority of our office-based staff are working from home.

No, we’ve listened to all our staff members and implemented a detailed health and risk assessment on all employees to ensure that anyone asked to work in our warehouse will not be putting themselves or anyone in their households at risk. These members of staff have been practising social distancing and following the strict Government guidelines since March 23rd and have had no symptoms of COVID-19.

All couriers are offering a contact-free delivery and will leave your parcel either at your front door or in a safe place. Current advice states that it is safe to still receive parcels, but we would recommend washing your hands after handling one.

We have introduced a careful hygiene process throughout our warehouse and there will be no contact between our staff members and our couriers. It is safe to still receive parcels, but we would advise washing your hands after handling one.

Unfortunately, discount codes are only valid on full-price items and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or promotion.

If you have received confirmation of your order via email, then your order has been successfully placed. If you are still getting basket reminders, please revisit our website on the device you used previously, this may be either your phone, tablet or desktop computer. Once you have accessed our website, you should see the items still within your bag which is accessed by clicking on the bag icon (top right-hand side) of your screen. Please work your way through the items and remove them, once removed your bag should now be empty and you will no longer receive basket reminder emails from us.

We may have your details from a previous order, competition entry or from signing up to our Newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please email your details to customerservice@sophieallport.com or call our Customer Service Team on 01778 560256. Our Customer Service Team are available Monday to Friday, 8am – 7pm.

If you would like to look for a local stockist, please use the link below;

www.sophieallport.com/pages/stockists

Unfortunately, we are unable to view the stock availability of products at our stockists. We would advise contacting them directly. You can find all our stockists contact details using our stockist locator, which can be found here; https://www.sophieallport.com/pages/stockists

We have two independent Sophie Allport stores, both in Lincolnshire, UK.

Stamford Shop: Sophie Allport, 26-27 High Street, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 2AY

Bourne Shop: Sophie Allport, The Old Brewery, Spalding Road, Bourne, Lincolnshire, PE10 9WG

Yes. We offer 6 free fabric samples per customer. The postage costs £1.95 and our fabric samples can be ordered online.

We have live chat that is available on the bottom right-hand side of our website page, if our Customer Service Team are not online, you shall see the option here to email us instead. You can also call our Customer Service Team on 01778 560256. If you would prefer to email us, our email address is customerservice@sophieallport.com. We aim to reply to queries within two working days.

We do understand that errors can sometimes occur when placing an order online. We will always try to amend an order, however, we cannot guarantee that this is always possible. Once an order has reached our Packing Team, we are unable to make any changes or amendments. If you need to amend an order, please get in contact with us at your earliest convenience.

We do offer worldwide delivery and you can now also shop in your own currency too, simply follow the steps below:

1. Scroll down to the bottom of our website, where you will see ‘Shipping to’ and a country flag. Please click on this.

2. Change your shipping country to your delivery destination. (For example, if you live in Germany, you would change the drop down to Germany).

3. You can also select the preferred currency at this stage too. (If you live in Germany, you might prefer to shop in Euros).

4. Press save and proceed with shopping as normal until you reach the checkout stage.

5. At the checkout stage, when inputting your details ensure that your billing address and delivery address have the correct country selected. (For example, if you live in Germany, ensure Germany is selected).

6. Then proceed to payment.

Please contact our Customer Service Team straight away, with details of the error and your order reference. We do advise that it may take up to two working days for an email to be acknowledged, during busy times, so would recommend calling us directly with any urgent queries. Our Customer Service Team are available at customerservice@sophieallport.com or on 01778 560256, Monday to Friday, 8am – 7pm.

Yes. If you click to view your basket, you shall see the option to Add A Gift Message. Here there is a text box, under the Subtotal, which repeats Add A Gift Message. You can then checkout securely.

Unfortunately, we do not currently offer a gift-wrapping service. If you would like your goods wrapped in Sophie Allport gift wrap, it can be purchased online or using the following link; www.sophieallport.com/collections/gift-wrapping

We do offer a free standard delivery on mainland UK orders, however your total must be over £50, including any added discounts.

If there is a need for an order to be dispatched in non-branded packaging, we would need to be contacted straight away, as we are unable to amend an order once it has reached our Packing Team. We do advise that it may take up to two working days for an email to be acknowledged, during busy times, so would recommend calling us directly with any urgent queries. Alternatively, we are more than happy to place the order via telephone. Our Customer Service Team are available at customerservice@sophieallport.com or on 01778 560256, Monday to Friday, 8am – 7pm.

We do advise that our standard delivery can take between 3 to 7 working days. While our first-class delivery can take between 2 to 3 working days. If you have placed an order with our next day delivery by 12 noon, then your order will arrive the next day. If you order hasn’t arrived in the expected time frame, please call our Customer Service Team on 01778 560256, who will be able to investigate this. Our Customer Service Team are available Monday to Friday, 8am - 7pm.

We accept all major cards. If you are using American Express, please place your order through our website as we can only accept this form of payment online. There is also an option for express checkout, using PayPal, if you wish to pay by card just scroll further down the page.

Please check the Product Care Guidelines for each product. Most of our fine bone china items are dishwasher and microwave safe, however, we would always recommend checking the Product Care Guidelines for each product. We recommend when loading the dishwasher that items are not touching, this helps prevent any risk of damage. We also advise to not overload or exceed a temperature of 40ºC (104ºF) when washing fine chinaware in the dishwasher and use only the 'gentle,' 'short wash' or 'china and crystal' cycle. Use a very gentle detergent; some of the eco-detergents are a better choice than the stronger dishwashing powders and tablets. As soon as the wash water has drained away, there should be an immediate rinse cycle to flush away deposits of detergent, which will form a film if allowed to dry on the fine bone china. We do always advise, however, that it is best to wash fine bone china items by hand straight away and that scouring pads are not used.

Our melamine is made from 100% melamine so therefore we can confirm that all our melamine products are BPA free.

Please see our Product Care Information section, where we have advised how best to care for your Sophie Allport products; www.sophieallport.com/pages/product-care-information

You can find the measurements for each of our products online, under each product description.

Yes, our lampshades have a fixture that rotates so that it can be used for both, however, you may find the fixture is stiff due to not previously being moved. This should ease after the first couple of uses.

No. They are simply designed to be a decorative accessory and an addition to the existing pet collar.

We have a range of delivery options available. Our Standard Delivery costs £3.95. Our First-Class Delivery costs £4.95. Our Next Day Delivery costs £7.95 and our Saturday Delivery costs £12.95. We can also ship some of our items overseas, all of our delivery costs and important information can be found on the following link; www.sophieallport.com/pages/delivery-uk-overseas

We can ship outside the UK, however, there may be restrictions dependent entirely on the size and weight of the items ordered.  We would always recommend that the order is placed directly through our website, as this will calculate and provide the most accurate cost of shipping automatically for you. All our current and existing lines are available to view online. If there is not an option for delivery at checkout, it may be due to the restrictions in place. In these instances, we kindly ask for our Customer Service Team to be emailed, with information of the items you wish to order and desired delivery address. We can then investigate and obtain a quote from an alternative courier. International orders may take up to 10 working days for delivery and are shipped with either Royal Mail International, DPD or UPS.

International orders may take up to 10 working days for delivery and are shipped with either Royal Mail International, DPD or UPS.

We use Royal Mail, DPD or UPS.

We do offer a Click & Collect service. You can collect your items from our Bourne shop, call our Customer Service Team, who will take your order over the phone. They are available Monday to Friday 8am - 7pm. Subject to stock availability, items will be available to collect from 12 noon on the next working day.

Our lampshades are made to order, so please allow up to 14 working days for this item to arrive. Unfortunately, we are unable to post these outside the UK at present.

If we could kindly ask for images of the broken or defective item, along with the order reference, to be emailed to customerservice@sophieallport.com. Our Customer Service Team can then look into this accordingly. 

No, please get in touch with the stockist you purchased from (make sure you have your original receipt). They will let you know what their returns policy is. If you require a telephone number for a store, please let us know.

An item that was received as a gift can be returned for an exchange or gift vouchers. We do require proof of purchase or a delivery note from Sophie Allport. An email will be sent to the person who made the original purchase when the exchange is completed. Refunds can only be made to the original credit or debit card on which the gift was purchased.

With regards to an exchange or refund, we kindly ask for the items to be returned to us within 30 days, using the returns and exchanges form that was included within the original parcel. We do ask for the items to be unused and in their original packaging, with tags still attached and advise that proof of postage or courier confirmation is kept, on the off chance there is an issue with the delivery of the return. Once the items have been received back here with us, we can then action the exchange or refund for you, as required.

Please find a copy of our returns and exchanges form, on the below link;

www.sophieallport.com/pages/returns-form

We are currently offering personalisation on the following products only: Children’s lunch bags, children’s aprons, children’s backpacks, Christmas stockings and Christmas sacks.

Click onto the product page of the item and you shall see an option to, ‘Personalise This Item.’ Once this has been selected, an option shall appear where you can enter the text and select the preferred colour. You shall then need to agree to our Personalisation T&C’s by ticking the box provided and select, ‘Add To Bag.’

At this moment in time we have one font available, which has been carefully selected by Sophie and our Design Team.

Our maximum character limit is 12. Unfortunately, we cannot accept any more characters than this.

Sophie and our Design Team have carefully selected two colours for each product, which they feel compliments the item. You'll be able to pick your chosen colour on the product page.

We use 100% viscose thread.

Yes, please refer to the care guidelines on your product labels.

Please refer to our Personalisation T&C’s, which can be located here: www.sophieallport.com/pages/terms-conditions 

Unfortunately, we cannot accept any pictures or emojis.

At present, personalisation can only be added to set locations on each product. This shall be shown on the product page, for each individual product.

We expect that you will receive your order in 3 to 7 working days.

Yes, any order that contains a personalised product shall only be available on second class delivery. The entire order shall be held and all products on the order shall then be dispatched altogether. If you require an item sooner, then this shall need to be ordered separately on a faster delivery service.

Unfortunately, once an order has been placed, we cannot guarantee that any changes or amendments can be made. We’d recommend phoning our customer service team if you notice a mistake as soon as possible on 01780 560 256, alternatively you can email them at customerservice@sophieallport.com.

Personalised items cannot be returned, unless faulty. In which case, our Customer Service Team will need to be contacted straight away, please email customerservice@sophieallport.com or call our friendly team on 01780 560 256.

Unfortunately, once an order has been placed, we cannot guarantee that any changes or amendments can be made. We’d recommend phoning our customer service team if you notice a mistake as soon as possible on 01780 560 256, alternatively you can email them at customerservice@sophieallport.com.

We would advise contacting our Customer Service Team, who would be happy to investigate the issue further, please email customerservice@sophieallport.com or call our friendly team on 01780 560 256.

No, unfortunately, we can only offer standard second-class postage on any order that contains a personalised product.