Returns & refunds

What this document covers and when it applies to your order.

1. 1.1This Return & Refund Policy governs every order placed on chicthread.com and is the complete and only statement of ChicThread's return and refund terms. No verbal assurance, social media reply or message from any individual overrides it.
2. 1.2By placing an order you confirm that you have read and accepted this policy as it stood on the date of your order. The version in force is the one published here, dated at the head of this page.
3. 1.3We may revise this policy at any time. Revisions apply to orders placed after the revision date and are never applied retrospectively to an order already placed.
4. 1.4Nothing in this policy limits your statutory rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 or the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020.
5. 1.5Every piece sold by ChicThread is crocheted by hand in small batches. This policy is written for handmade goods, and clause 4 sets out what that means in practice for what counts as a fault.

The deadline, and the condition a piece must be in when it reaches us.

1. 2.1You have 14 calendar days from the date of delivery to raise a return request. Delivery date is the date recorded by the courier, not the date you opened the parcel.
2. 2.2Once a request is approved you have a further 7 calendar days to hand the parcel to a courier. A return posted after that period will be refused and returned to you at your cost.
3. 2.3The piece must reach us unused, unwashed, unworn and undamaged, with all original tags attached and in its original packaging, including any dust bag, gift box or care card it was sent with.
4. 2.4The piece must be free of odour, stains, make-up marks, perfume, smoke and pet hair. Any of these is treated as use, and use ends the right to return.
5. 2.5You must include the original invoice or the order number inside the parcel. A return that reaches us with nothing identifying the order cannot be matched to a refund.
6. 2.6Returns are accepted only from the delivery address and the account the order was placed from. We do not accept returns of pieces bought from a reseller, a marketplace listing or a pop-up stall, whoever made them.

These categories are final sale. The exclusion is stated on the product page before you buy.

1. 3.1Custom and personalised pieces — anything crocheted to your specification, in your chosen colourway, to your measurements, or carrying a name, date or initials. These have no second buyer, and the work is done specifically for you.
2. 3.2Made-to-order pieces, where the listing states the piece is hooked after the order is placed rather than held in stock.
3. 3.3Earrings and hair accessories, once the hygiene seal or tag has been removed. Unopened, they are returnable under clause 2.
4. 3.4Sale, clearance, sample-sale and second-quality pieces, and anything bought with a discount of 30% or more.
5. 3.5Gift cards and digital credit, which cannot be returned, refunded or exchanged for cash.
6. 3.6Any piece that has been washed, blocked, altered, repaired, dyed or worked on by anyone other than ChicThread.
7. 3.7Free gifts and promotional items. Where a free gift accompanied a returned order, it must be returned with it, or its retail value is deducted from the refund.

What a hand-crocheted piece is allowed to be, and where the line sits between character and defect.

1. 4.1Dimensions on the product page are approximate and stated as such. A variation of up to 10% in any dimension is normal and is not a defect.
2. 4.2Yarn is dyed in lots. Colour varies between lots and between screens, and a piece may differ slightly in shade from the photograph or from another piece you own. This is not a defect.
3. 4.3Visible stitch texture, minor irregularity in stitch tension, and small differences between a pair of identical pieces are inherent to hand work. They are not defects.
4. 4.4A single loose or raised loop is not a defect. The Care Guide explains how to ease it back in a minute with a blunt needle. Do not cut it.
5. 4.5Slight asymmetry in a face, a limb or a petal is a consequence of hand assembly and is not a defect.
6. 4.6The following ARE defects and are covered in full under clause 5: a seam coming apart, stuffing escaping, a stem wire piercing the crochet, hardware that is broken or missing, a hole, or a piece that does not match the listing it was bought from.

The fast track. These claims are settled at our cost, and this is the clause to use.

1. 5.1You must report a piece that arrives damaged, faulty or incorrect within 48 hours of delivery. This deadline is short because it is what allows us to claim against the courier, and it is applied strictly.
2. 5.2Your report must include your order number, photographs of the fault, and photographs of the outer packaging as it arrived. For a parcel that arrives visibly crushed, torn or opened, we also need an unboxing video — begin filming before you cut the tape.
3. 5.3Where a claim is accepted we arrange and pay for reverse pickup, and you choose between a replacement, a repair, or a full refund including all shipping charges you paid.
4. 5.4A replacement for a made-to-order or custom piece is hooked from scratch and takes 10–14 days. Where you would rather not wait, take the refund.
5. 5.5Manufacturing faults — seam failure, stuffing loss, hardware failure — are covered for 6 months from delivery, well beyond the 14-day window in clause 2. Send a photograph and we will repair the piece free of charge, or replace it if it cannot be repaired. You pay postage to us; we pay it back.
6. 5.6This 6-month cover does not extend to wear, accidental damage, pet damage, or damage caused by washing or storage contrary to the Care Guide.

The most common claim we receive, and the one this policy is strictest about.

1. 6.1Damage caused by washing, drying, ironing, dry cleaning or storing a piece contrary to the published Care Guide is not covered by any refund, replacement or repair.
2. 6.2This specifically includes: merino wool that has felted or shrunk in a washing machine, acrylic that has been glazed or melted by heat, velvet with a crushed pile, jute that has been submerged, wired stems that have rusted after contact with water, and any piece that has stretched after being hung to dry.
3. 6.3The Care Guide is published on this site, linked from every product page, and included on a printed card with every order. It is your responsibility to read it before the first wash.
4. 6.4Where you are not sure whether a piece can be washed, email us first. We will answer within one business day, and it costs nothing.
5. 6.5If a piece has been damaged this way, tell us anyway. We cannot refund it, but a paid repair is very often possible, and we would rather mend it than have it thrown away.

Four steps. Do not post anything before step 3.

1. 7.1Email hello@chicthread.com within the window in clause 2, with your order number in the subject line, the piece you are returning, the reason, and photographs. A WhatsApp message to the number on your invoice is equally valid.
2. 7.2We respond within 2 business days, either approving the return or telling you which clause prevents it and why.
3. 7.3On approval you receive a return reference and the studio address. Write the reference on the outside of the parcel.
4. 7.4Pack the piece in its original packaging, inside a sturdy outer box or courier bag, and post it within 7 days of approval. Keep the courier receipt and the tracking number until your refund lands.
5. 7.5Do not post a return without approval. An unannounced parcel cannot be matched to an order, is not insured by us, and will be refused.
6. 7.6Do not mark a return parcel 'to pay' or send it cash-on-delivery. It will be refused at the door and returned to you at your expense.

The rule is simple: the party at fault pays the courier.

1. 8.1Where you have changed your mind, no longer want the piece, or ordered the wrong thing, you arrange and pay for the return courier. We recommend a tracked service — an untracked parcel that does not arrive cannot be refunded.
2. 8.2Where the piece was damaged, faulty, or not what you ordered, we arrange and pay for reverse pickup, and we refund the outbound shipping you paid as well.
3. 8.3The piece is your responsibility until it reaches us. A return lost or damaged in transit is a claim against your courier, not against ChicThread.
4. 8.4Original shipping charges are not refunded on a change-of-mind return. Where your order shipped free because it crossed the ₹1,499 threshold, and returning part of it takes the order below that threshold, the ₹79 shipping charge is deducted from the refund.
5. 8.5Cash-on-delivery convenience charges are not refundable in any circumstances, as they are levied by the courier at the point of delivery.

1. 9.1Every return is inspected at the studio within 3 business days of arrival. We check it against clause 2 and photograph it as received.
2. 9.2Where a return passes, your refund is processed under clause 10 and you are emailed on the same day.
3. 9.3Where a return fails — because it has been used, washed, damaged, or arrives outside the window — we email you photographs and the specific clause it failed, within those same 3 business days.
4. 9.4A failed return is held for 14 days. Within that period you may have it posted back to you at your cost. After 14 days without instruction, we are entitled to dispose of it and no refund is due.
5. 9.5Where only part of a return fails, the pieces that pass are refunded normally. One failed piece does not void a whole return.

Method, timing, and what is deducted.

1. 10.1Approved refunds are issued to the original payment method. We do not offer store credit in place of a refund, and we cannot refund to a different card, account or wallet than the one used to pay.
2. 10.2Refunds are initiated within 5–7 business days of the piece passing inspection. Once initiated, the funds are with your bank: cards typically take a further 5–7 business days, UPI and wallets 1–3.
3. 10.3Orders paid cash on delivery are refunded by NEFT bank transfer. You will be asked for an account number, IFSC and account holder name, and the name on the account must match the name on the order.
4. 10.4Refunds are made in Indian Rupees for the amount paid. Where you paid in another currency, your bank's exchange rate on the day of the refund applies, and we are not responsible for a difference caused by the rate moving.
5. 10.5Where a discount code was applied to the order, the refund is of the amount actually paid, not of the pre-discount price. Where a code required a minimum order value that a partial return takes the order below, the discount is recalculated and the difference deducted.
6. 10.6We do not charge a restocking fee.

1. 11.1We offer one exchange per order, for a piece of equal or greater value, subject to the exchange being available in stock at the time your return passes inspection.
2. 11.2An exchange is subject to the same window, condition and exclusions as a return, in clauses 2 and 3.
3. 11.3Where the replacement costs more, the difference is payable before it is dispatched. Where it costs less, the difference is refunded under clause 10.
4. 11.4You pay the courier to send the original piece back; we pay the courier that brings the replacement out.
5. 11.5Custom and made-to-order pieces cannot be exchanged. Because every piece is hooked one at a time, we cannot guarantee that a specific piece will still be available when your return arrives — where it is not, the exchange becomes a refund.

Before it ships is free. After the yarn is cut is not.

1. 12.1An in-stock order may be cancelled free of charge at any time before it is dispatched. Email or WhatsApp us with the order number.
2. 12.2Once an order has been dispatched it cannot be cancelled. Wait for it to arrive and return it under clause 2.
3. 12.3A custom or made-to-order piece may be cancelled within 24 hours of order confirmation for a full refund. After 24 hours the yarn is bought and the work has started.
4. 12.4A custom or made-to-order piece cancelled after 24 hours but before completion is refunded at 50% of the order value. Once completed, it cannot be cancelled and it cannot be returned.
5. 12.5We reserve the right to cancel and refund any order in full where the piece proves undeliverable to your address, where payment cannot be verified, or where we cannot source the yarn the order requires. You will be told which, and refunded within 5 business days.

1. 13.1It is your responsibility to give a complete, correct address and a reachable phone number. Our courier attempts delivery three times before returning a parcel to us.
2. 13.2Where a parcel returns to us because it went undelivered after three attempts, because the address was wrong, or because delivery was refused, we refund the order less the outbound shipping charge actually incurred, whether or not your order shipped free.
3. 13.3Where you would rather it were sent out again, a fresh shipping charge applies and is payable before dispatch.
4. 13.4A parcel recorded as delivered but not received must be reported within 48 hours so we can open a courier investigation. Investigations take up to 7 business days, and we act on the outcome.

1. 14.1All return, refund and cancellation correspondence goes to hello@chicthread.com, or to the WhatsApp number printed on your invoice. We reply within 2 business days.
2. 14.2Where you are not satisfied with an outcome, reply to the same thread and ask for it to be escalated. An escalated case is reviewed by a founder and answered within 5 business days.
3. 14.3This policy is governed by the laws of India. The courts at Mumbai, Maharashtra have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising from it.
4. 14.4Where any clause of this policy is found unenforceable, the remaining clauses continue in full effect.