Digital Content, Cancellation and Refund Policy
This policy explains when you may cancel a direct digital order, what happens if digital content is defective or unavailable, and how to ask Reader Care for a remedy. It does not reduce any right you have under applicable consumer law.
Important: For print books or other purchases completed on Amazon or another retailer, that retailer is the seller and controls the cancellation and returns process. Contact that retailer directly using the order details it supplied.
1. Scope
This policy applies to eBooks, audiobooks and other digital content bought directly from Hawkins & Wells. It forms part of the Terms and Conditions that apply when you place the order.
A product page and checkout summary identify the format, language, price, currency, compatibility information and whether Hawkins & Wells or an external retailer will complete the sale.
2. Change-of-mind cancellation
If a statutory cancellation or withdrawal period applies where you live, it normally begins when the contract is made. For digital content supplied without a physical medium, that right may end once supply starts only where the law permits and after you have expressly asked for immediate supply and acknowledged the effect on that right.
If immediate supply has not started, or if a required consent or acknowledgment was not obtained, contact Reader Care promptly. We will apply the cancellation right required by the law governing your purchase. Nothing in this policy asks you to waive a right that cannot lawfully be waived.
3. Content that is defective, unavailable or not as described
Digital content must match its description, be of satisfactory quality, be fit for a purpose made known to us, and work with the compatibility information shown before purchase. If it does not, tell us what happened and which device, app or file format was involved.
Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, the remedy may be renewed delivery, repair or replacement, a proportionate price reduction, or a full refund. We will not require a repair or replacement where it is impossible, unlawful, disproportionately costly or cannot be completed within a reasonable time without significant inconvenience.
- You were charged more than once for the same order.
- The paid edition was not added to your library after payment was confirmed.
- The supplied file is materially incomplete, corrupted or incompatible with the published requirements.
- The title, language, format or edition supplied does not match the order confirmation.
- An update or access change causes the purchased content to stop conforming to the contract.
5. How to request a cancellation, refund or other remedy
If you have an account, open My desk, choose Support and refunds, and select Refund or Payment dispute. If you cannot sign in, use the public contact form on the About page and choose Reader care.
We will acknowledge the request, review the order and delivery record, and tell you if more information is reasonably needed. We may pause library access to the affected edition while a fraud or ownership dispute is investigated, but we will not restrict unrelated purchases without a valid reason.
- Your order number and the email address used for the order.
- The title, edition and format concerned.
- A concise explanation of the issue and when it occurred.
- Device, operating system, reading or listening app, and error message where the problem is technical.
- The remedy you are requesting.
6. Refund timing and method
Once a refund is due, we will instruct the payment provider without undue delay and no later than 14 days after we agree that you are entitled to it, unless a shorter mandatory period applies. The provider may need additional processing time before the credit appears on your statement.
Refunds are made to the original payment method and currency where possible, without a Hawkins & Wells refund fee. If the original method is unavailable, we will agree a lawful alternative after verifying the account holder. We never ask for sensitive payment credentials by email or support message.
7. Access after a refund or termination
After a full refund or valid termination, the refunded edition may be removed from your library and any active download or streaming permission may end. You must stop using and delete retained copies where applicable law requires it. A partial price reduction does not normally end access unless we agree otherwise.
Rewards earned from a refunded purchase may be cancelled or reversed under the Rewards terms. A reward used on the order will be restored only to the extent stated in the applicable offer and recorded reward rules.
8. Amazon and other external retailers
When a link sends you to Amazon or another retailer, the retailer sets the price, takes payment, confirms the order, fulfils it and handles cancellation, return and refund requests. Its terms and privacy policy apply to that transaction.
Hawkins & Wells can help identify an edition or investigate a publication-quality issue, but cannot access the retailer’s payment account or issue a refund for an order the retailer sold.
9. Complaints and unresolved disputes
If you disagree with a decision, reply to the support case and explain the outcome you believe applies. We will arrange a fresh review where appropriate. This process does not prevent you from contacting a payment provider, consumer-protection body, regulator, ombudsman, alternative-dispute service or court available to you.
The former European Union Online Dispute Resolution platform was discontinued on 20 July 2025, so this policy does not direct customers to that closed service.