Terms and Conditions
1. About These Terms
These terms apply to all orders placed with Regency Cakes, whether by phone, email, in person at our shop, or through our website. Placing an order, or paying a deposit / booking fee, confirms your acceptance of these terms.
2. Orders and Contract Formation
A contract between you and Regency Cakes is formed once we’ve confirmed your order details – verbally (in person or by telephone) or in writing (by email or in person) – and either received your deposit / booking fee, or, for orders under £80, agreed that payment in full is required on collection. Quotations are valid for 30 days from the date given, after which prices may need to be reconfirmed.
3. Design, Inspiration Images and AI-Generated Concepts
We love seeing the inspiration you bring – whether that’s a photo of another cake maker’s work or an AI-generated design image. However:
- We do not replicate or copy another designer’s or brand’s cake, and we don’t reproduce AI-generated designs exactly. Any cake we create is our own bespoke interpretation, inspired by your reference images and created in our own style.
- AI-generated images can show designs that simply aren’t physically possible to bake – structures that couldn’t support their own weight, decoration that would collapse, or effects that don’t exist in real sugarcraft. Where a reference image shows something that isn’t structurally achievable, we’ll let you know and suggest a workable alternative that keeps the same look and feel.
- By placing an order, you accept that your cake will be a bespoke interpretation inspired by any reference images supplied, not an exact replica, and that the final design is subject to what’s practically achievable, confirmed with you before we bake.
4. Payment
Celebration cakes (under £80): payment in full is required on collection.
Celebration cakes (£80 and over) and wedding cakes: a deposit / booking fee is required to secure your order (see clause 5), with the balance due as set out below.
We accept cash, cheque (payable to Regency Cakes), BACS transfer, and card in person or by telephone. We do not accept card details by email. Goods will not be released until BACS payments have cleared.
All prices quoted include VAT at the applicable rate. Regency Cakes is VAT registered (VAT number: 401177439).
5. Deposit / Booking Fee
Any order of £80 or more requires a 25% deposit / booking fee. Your order is only confirmed once we’ve received this payment, and paying it confirms your acceptance of these terms. The deposit / booking fee is non-refundable (see clause 6).
Final payment for wedding cakes is due 6 weeks before your delivery or collection date. For celebration cakes, the balance is due on collection, or 3 days prior to delivery. We’ll send an invoice where possible.
6. Cancellation
If you need to cancel:
- Your deposit / booking fee is non-refundable.
- Any further payment already made is refunded on a sliding scale, based on how much notice you give before your delivery/collection date:
| Notice given | Amount retained |
|---|---|
| 8 weeks or more | 50% of total order value |
| 6-8 weeks | 75% |
| Under 6 weeks | 100% |
This clause doesn’t affect your right to cancel if we’re at fault – see clause 18 (Liability).
7. Postponement
If your event is postponed (for example, a wedding date change), please tell us as soon as possible. We’ll do our best to accommodate a new date, but this is subject to our availability and may involve a further fee to cover materials, planning time already committed, and any price changes since your original booking. Postponement is treated differently from cancellation – your original deposit / booking fee and payments are carried forward to the new date rather than forfeited, provided we’re able to accommodate it.
8. Delivery
We ask for at least 3-5 days’ notice for delivery bookings. All deliveries are kerbside; please let us know about any access or timing restrictions at the delivery address when you order.
Someone must be available to receive the delivery and sign for it. If nobody is available and no alternative arrangement has been agreed in advance, the cake will be returned to our shop for collection, and any further delivery attempt will need to be booked and paid for separately, subject to availability.
For cakes requiring assembly or staging on site, we’ll unload and set up as needed, take a photograph of the finished result, and hand over an allergen list, ingredients list, and a labelled box of any leftovers. Once you or your nominated representative has inspected the cake, confirmed the photograph is a fair representation, and signed to confirm receipt, responsibility for the cake passes to you. From that point, Regency Cakes is not responsible for the cake being moved, mishandled, damaged, substituted, cut, spoiled, contaminated, or for the loss of any accompanying paperwork.
9. Collection
If you’re collecting your cake, please transport it on a flat, stable surface and drive carefully – cakes are not designed to withstand sudden braking or an unstable boot. We’re not responsible for damage that occurs after collection.
10. Hire of Equipment
A returnable deposit may be required for hiring stands, bases, or knives. Hired items must be returned to us in good condition within 2 working days of your event. If items aren’t returned by this time, your deposit will be forfeited unless we’ve agreed otherwise in advance. Late returns may incur an additional charge if we need to source a replacement for another order.
11. Inedible Parts
Flowers, bouquets, models and other decorative elements on your cake may not be edible – even where made from sugar, they can contain wire, ribbon, or structural supports. Piped designs and frilling are edible. Please check with us if you’re unsure whether a specific element is safe to eat.
12. Customer-Supplied Cakes
By prior agreement, you may supply your own cake(s) for us to decorate or incorporate. We reserve the right to decline to use a customer-supplied cake if we have concerns about its quality or suitability. We accept no liability for the contents of any customer-supplied or commercially-bought cake.
13. Customer-Supplied Fresh Flowers
You may supply your own fresh flowers. We accept no liability for what’s provided, and where possible we’ll advise your florist of our requirements. We can’t be responsible for any damage to the cake caused by customer-sourced flowers, and some flowers are not safe for contact with food – please check toxicity with your florist, as we can’t be liable for contamination from flowers we haven’t supplied ourselves.
14. Allergies and Dietary Requirements
Our kitchen is not an allergen-free environment. We work with products containing, or produced alongside, all 14 legally-defined allergens: celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, soybeans and sulphur dioxide/sulphites. We will always do our best to accommodate specific dietary requirements and minimise cross-contamination where asked, but we cannot guarantee any product is completely free from a specific allergen, and we may decline an order where we can’t safely accommodate a severe allergy. Please discuss any allergy or dietary requirement with us before ordering.
15. Handmade Variations
Every cake we make is handmade to order, so minor variations in colour, shading, and finish compared to any reference image or sample are normal and not a fault. We’ll always aim to match your brief as closely as possible.
16. Storage and Shelf Life
Unless we tell you otherwise, your cake should be kept at cool room temperature, away from direct sunlight and heat sources, in the box provided, and is best enjoyed within 3 days of collection or delivery. We don’t generally recommend refrigerating iced cakes, as this can affect texture and finish. In warm weather, chocolate and buttercream products are more vulnerable to melting once outdoors or in transit – please plan accordingly.
17. Complaints
We want you to be delighted with your cake. If anything isn’t right, please tell us as soon as possible, and in any event within 48 hours of delivery or collection, together with a photograph and, where possible, the affected part of the cake retained for us to assess. We’ll do our best to resolve any genuine issue fairly, which may include a partial refund, a replacement, or another appropriate remedy at our discretion. We’re not able to consider complaints about matters outside our control, such as damage occurring after handover, or normal handmade variation (see clause 15).
18. Liability
Except where caused by our negligence or breach of these terms, we won’t be liable for any indirect or consequential loss (for example, costs relating to a wider event, venue, or celebration) arising from an issue with your order. Our liability to you for any claim is limited to the price you paid for the order concerned. Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that can’t legally be limited or excluded.
19. Force Majeure
If circumstances beyond our reasonable control (including but not limited to illness, extreme weather, power failure, or supply shortages) prevent us from fulfilling your order as agreed, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and, where we can, offer a cake of similar quality and value. Where this isn’t possible, we’ll refund any amount paid for the affected order, but we won’t be liable for any further loss. The same principle applies to hired equipment returned late by another customer – we’ll provide a replacement as close to your original item as we reasonably can.
20. Photography and Marketing
We’re proud of the cakes we make, and we may photograph your finished cake and use these images – along with your first name and/or event venue where relevant – on our website, social media, and other marketing. If you’d prefer we didn’t do this for your order, just let us know when you book and we’ll leave you out.
21. Design Ownership
Cake designs created by Regency Cakes remain our intellectual property. You’re welcome to keep and share photographs of your own cake, but the design itself shouldn’t be reproduced commercially by a third party without our agreement.
22. Data Protection
We handle your personal information in line with our GDPR Policy. By placing an order, you agree to us using your details to fulfil it and, where applicable under clause 20, for marketing purposes.
23. Your Legal Rights
Because our cakes are made to your specifications or are clearly personalised, the standard 14-day cooling-off period for online and distance purchases (under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013) does not apply – this is why we operate our own cancellation policy at clause 6 instead. Nothing in these terms affects your other statutory rights, including your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 in relation to goods that are faulty, not as described, or not fit for purpose.
24. General
If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the rest will continue to apply. These terms, together with any written order confirmation, form the entire agreement between us for your order. We may update these terms from time to time; the version published on our website at the time you place your order will apply.
These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and any disputes will be dealt with exclusively by the courts of England and Wales.