Our Policies
Refund policy
Due to the hygienic and perishable nature of baby formula, we are unable to accept any returns on products that have departed from our warehouse.
Baby formulas are considered non-returnable items
Certain types of items cannot be returned, like perishable goods (such as food), custom products (such as special orders or personalized items), and personal care goods (such as beauty products).
Unfortunately, we cannot accept returns on sale items or gift cards.
Cancellations
Orders may be cancelled within 30 minutes of payment, or by midnight Eastern Time - whichever comes soonest. By maintaining such a short cancellation window we are able to ship out formulas around the clock, ensuring that your parcels are delivered as quickly as possible. After this cancellation period, orders are processed immediately and depart our warehouse. Once an order departs the warehouse it is not possible to cancel or reverse a shipment. You will receive a tracking number as soon as your item departs our fulfillment facility, although please be patient during the first 24 hours while the tracking numbers update in the shipping provider's systems.
Anti-Fraud Verification Measures
In an effort to combat potential fraud - if an order is placed for a significant monetary amount, an unusual quantity, or an unusual subscription frequency, Organic Life Start may take additional measures the verify the validity of a transaction. Large orders may be split and shipped in batches for the safety of the payment card holder. While the first parcel in a batch is shipped immediately after an initial verification, we reserve the right to delay the shipment of additional parcels until we are able to verify the genuine nature of a transaction. This may include waiting to ship subsequent parcels until a partial delivery has been accepted successfully at the registered delivery address. We take these anti-fraud measures seriously and do so in an effort to improve the safety of both parties.
Damaged items
Organic Life Start defines your item "damaged" if it is received and the internal bag has been punctured (for boxed items), or if the can has been punctured (for canned items). Although we go to great lengths to prevent cosmetic damage caused during shipping, items received that have cosmetic imperfections such as dents in cans or creases in boxes are not considered as damaged goods from a refund perspective. Any damage must be reported immediately when your package is received. Please keep your original packaging which will be provided as evidence to the relevant shipping carrier. To help with your claim, please be prepared to submit photos of the product in question, the original shipping materials, and the shipping labels attached to the packaging. Claims without photographic evidence will not be considered. Returns of damaged items must be sent back within 15 days of purchase.
Wrong items delivered
Although rare, fulfillment mistakes happen from time to time. It is the customers responsibility to open and inspect the package as soon as it is received - don't put off opening the package, all claims must be submitted within 15 days of delivery confirmation. Please contact us immediately if you receive the wrong item, so that we can evaluate the issue and make it right. Keep your original packaging which will be provided as evidence to help with our internal investigation. Shipping packaging styles vary, and a detailed record is kept of each packaging style that is used for every shipment. Claims without photographic evidence will not be considered. All claims related to incorrect products must be made immediately upon delivery.
Mis-deliveries
Once the package departs our warehouse, it is the customers responsibility to coordinate directly with the shipping provider to arrange delivery. While we will do our best to help if any shipping issues arise, it is the customer's responsibility to be available at at the time of delivery. If a package is marked as delivered but you can not find it, we recommend checking common areas of your property, as well as with the neighbors. In some cases we may be able to get a gps coordinate of your delivery location, although this option isn't always available. We do not offer refunds for packages that are claimed as lost or stolen once the carrier marks it as delivered. Any items with tracking numbers marked as "undelivered" are covered by our delivery guarantee and we will work with the customer on a resolution.
PO Boxes
Our carriers are unable to deliver to any PO boxes or non-physical addresses. As a result, we have a strict no-shipping-to-PO-box policy. Organic Life Start will not issue any refunds related to claims from shipping to PO boxes. Our checkout flow visibly informs that PO boxes are not deliverable addresses. We bear no responsibility for any customer who insists on shipping to a PO box, as we have no way of knowing whether a carrier will be able to deliver to the PO box address. The customer bears full responsibility should the carrier fail to deliver because of a customers choice to circumvent this policy.
Address changes after an order has been placed
Upon ordering, customers agree that Organic Life Start's responsibility is to deliver to the address which was provided at the original time of purchase. Although our customer support team will attempt to accommodate changes of address after your order has been paid for, we make no guarantee of a new delivery address. Any mis-deliveries due to a parcel going to the old address are not considered refundable. Once a package departs our warehouse in Europe, Organic Life Start is not able to take responsibility for mis-delivered packages in the event that the change of address was not processed by a delivery carrier in time for the delivery to be redirected. While our carriers will do their best to update the address, requests for mail redirection should be avoided due to a high likelihood of delivery to the old address.
Customer intervention with shipping carriers
If a customer directly reaches out to a shipping carrier in an attempt to redirect a parcel to a different address, including having it held at the carriers facility for personal pickup, - we can no longer be liable for a successful delivery. Should a customer reach out and discuss the delivery directly with a carrier, Organic Life Start no longer has the full communication chain with the carrier and therefore can no longer guarantee a delivery. Any shipping-related adjustments need to be requested directly to our support team, who is already in contact with our shipping partners.
Delivery delays
Our shipping carriers will do their best to deliver within 1-6 business days (up to 8 business days for Canada), but at times there may be delays that are out of our control. We recommend that customers allocate up to 3 weeks to receive their delivery, although such delays are very rare. Because not all shipping carriers operate on weekends, we do not include Saturdays or Sundays when calculating a 1-6 business day delivery window. Delivery delays caused by the carrier, including any delays caused by import & customs clearance, are not considered refundable as they are out of Organic Life Start's control. At times, carriers may experience unusually high shipping volume or logistical headwinds that may additionally cause delays beyond our control and outside of our normal delivery timeframe.
Expiration dates and our 6 month guarantee
Most formulas sold by Organic Life Start are guaranteed to arrive with at least 6 months remaining before the printed best-before date, and in practice the remaining dates are usually considerably longer. Our warehouses are replenished continuously and ship on a first-in, first-out basis. If a product that is covered by this guarantee reaches you with less than 6 months remaining, please contact us and we will put it right.
Kendamil and Aptamil products are not covered by the 6 month expiration date guarantee. The dates available on these two brands are determined by what the manufacturer releases to the market rather than by our own stock rotation, and we are not able to hold them to a fixed minimum. Organic Life Start will always ship the longest dates available to us at the time of fulfillment, and each product page states whether that product is covered. Because a shorter remaining shelf life is a known and disclosed condition of purchasing these two brands rather than a defect in the product, receiving a Kendamil or Aptamil item with less than 6 months before its best-before date does not entitle the customer to a refund, return, replacement or credit. Customers who require a guaranteed minimum of 6 months should choose a brand that is covered.
Different product packaging received vs. product photography
At times manufacturers will update their product packaging design to an updated box or can with different wording, imagery, or colors. Because we want to ensure the longest possible expiration dates, we only receive the newest inventory from manufacturers. Organic Life Start will do its best to maintain the most up to date packaging designs, but at times customers may receive a box that is more up to date than the photography or wording on our website. Receiving a different packaging design does not entitle the customer to any refund rights. Organic Life Start is acting in the best interest of all customers by only shipping out the freshest available products on the market.
Refunds
We will notify you once we’ve reached a resolution related to your issue, and will let you know if a refund was approved or not. If approved, you’ll be automatically refunded on your original payment method. Please remember it can take some time for your bank or credit card company to process and post the refund back to your account (we have no way of expediting this process).
You can always contact us for any questions at care@organiclifestart.com.
Attempted customer fraud in context of product complaints
Please note that while rare, we take any product complaints very seriously. Because of the hygienic standards to which European Manufacturers uphold their products - any complaints will need to be evidenced with photographic, video, and otherwise requested evidence that will be shared directly with Manufacturers. Failure to provide requested evidence will render any complaints as unable to be proven and will not be given further consideration. Any attempt by a customer to falsify product information in a manner that would imply a defect which does not exist will be dealt with by the joint cooperation of Organic Life Start and the Manufacturers' legal teams. Organic Life Start will provide specific instructions on how to send back any formula for lab testing in such claims. Please note that all manufacturing batch numbers are recorded at the time of shipping and will be matched against any submitted claims.
We'll respond within 24 hours — usually much faster.