Help with online accounts
This area lists the most commonly asked questions about online accounts on our website, which are listed below.
- Do I need an online account to buy from your online shop?
- What are the advantages of an online account?
- I have received an email from you containing account details. What is that for?
- Why do I need to log in?
- Why can't I check and / or change my account details online?
- I don't have an account. How do I create one?
Do I need an online account to buy from your online shop?
No. An online account helps to speed up the checkout process, but it's not necessary to order. When you order online, simply enter all the requested details; when we receive your order we will automatically check your details against our back-office accounting system. If your details are already there, then we will create an online account for you, and we will send you the login details via email.
What are the advantages of an online account?
There are a few benefits for having an online account.
- When you check out your order, you don't need to enter your address.
- It enables you to request an invoice to be set with your order, rather than having to pay up front by using a credit or debit card.
- You can create an 'address book' of other delivery addresses, which can be selected on checkout to save you entering them each time. These can be administered online.
- It will enable access to special offers that are only available to registered customers.
In order to take advantage of these benefits, you need to be logged in before you start shopping.
I have received an email from you containing account details. What is that for?
As mentioned above, there are a benefits to having and using your online accounts. This email contains your username and password, together with instructions for logging in. We encourage you to log in whenever you order.
Why do I need to log in?
As mentioned in the previous section, there are advantages to using your online account. It also greatly speeds up the processing of your order as it ensures a seamless integration of your orders with our accounting software, and enables us to process your order with a few clicks of a mouse. We would encourage you to log in whenever you order to ensure quick processing of your order.
If you have forgotten or mislaid your log in details, please request a reminder.
Why can't I check and / or change my account details online?
Whenever you order from us, we process your order using our in-house accounting and stock management software. This is completely separate from our online shop, but some information is exchanged between both systems - enough to ensure a seamless integration of your orders. However, the software used to create our online shop is only used to gather and transfer your orders into our accounting system; none of that account information is transferred to the online shop - which is why it is not available to view or change online.
If your address, phone number or email address has changed and you want to change it, see this question to find out how.
I don't have an account. How do I create one?
The easiest way is to order from our online shop and, if you have already bought from us in the past, we will automatically set up an online account for you (see this question for details).
However, it is possible to create an account without buying from us first; simply fill in the form below, and click [Send]. We will set your account up and email the details to you as soon as we can (this can take up to two days, depending when you send the request).
Please note, that if you choose to do this, we will place a restriction on your account - you will only be able to pay by credit or debit card. We have been forced to do this by a small number of first-time customers who have requested an invoice on their first purchase and then never paid us. Once you have ordered from us once, you can remove this restriction; please contact us for details.
