Frequently asked questions

This page answers some of the most common questions about the ordering process for Lifting Shadows. Click on a question below to jump to the appropriate answer. If your question isn't answered here, please contact us.

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Payment

Delivery and Shipping

Problems or Order Queries

Roll of Honour

Payment

Who's publishing the book?

The book is being published by Essential Works, who are a well-established book production company based in the UK. They regularly supply top quality books to major publishers all around the world.

How do I pay?

After filling in your details, you will be forwarded to Google Checkout. This is a safe and secure system, offering you various payment methods. You will need an account with Google, and the system will prompt you to set create an account if you do not already have one. The registration process is easy. If you do not wish to pay via Google, please see the other payment options below.

When will payment be taken from by credit / debit card?

Payment will be taken immediately when you place your order. Please be aware that for international card purchases, charges may not appear to your credit card for up to 5 working days from your initial order date.

What credit cards do you take?

We accept the following credit cards:

I don't have a credit card. How else can I pay?

We accept other forms of payment by post only. All payments sent by post should be in British Pounds Sterling (£) or US Dollars ($). Use the prices listed on the website to calculate your order total and contact us if you wish to confirm them.

Checks or money orders should be in British Pounds Sterling (£) or US Dollars ($) and drawn on a UK or US bank. All payments should be made payable to Essential Works, and included with your posted order. We DO NOT accept postal orders/money orders by fax.

Essential Works does not accept cash. We cannot be held responsible for any losses incurred as a result of sending cash by post, registered post, or other courier.

All invalid forms of payment will be returned by post with a letter detailing other payment options. Cash will not be returned by post.

Please send checks made payable to Essential Works:

Essential Works
29 Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0DU
United Kingdom

Can I pay in different currencies?

All credit/debit cards will automatically convert currency - you don't need a special card to order online with us.

Is there sales tax to pay?

Books are being sold from the UK, they are not subject to US sales tax. Books are not subject to sales tax/Value Added Tax (VAT) in the UK.

Will I pay import tax?

We can not predict if you will pay import tax as this will depend on individual circumstances. However we can say:

Delivery and Shipping

What are the shipping costs?

The shipping costs depend on your location. For more detail, please refer to the shipping costs page. You will have the opportunity to review shipping prices before providing your credit card details.

The shipping costs seem high. Why?

We have tried to keep the delivery costs as low as possible, but unfortunately the weight of the books (around 2kg / 5lb US) does make the shipping costs stack up!

How will the books be delivered?

Your order will be delivered by courier. Please note that we can only accept online orders for delivery within the European Union. If you are outside the European Union, please click here contact us directly for a shipping quotation. We will need your full delivery address. Please note that we cannot deliver to PO Boxes.

How do I know if you ship to my country?

We ship to most world-wide countries, and it is unlikely that yours isn't included in our list! However, if your country is not listed, please contact us before placing your order with your full name and postal address and we will be able to make any necessary arrangements.

How long will it take for delivery?

Orders will typically be shipped within 3-5 working days, but we ask that you please allow 30 days for order processing and delivery in the event of busy sales periods or other unforeseen delays.

However, if you do not receive your merchandise within 30 days of this notification, please contact us with your full name and postal address, any email confirmation received, and your order number if applicable.

My country has a high import tax. Can you mark the customs declarations as a 'Gift'?

Unfortunately, we cannot alter customs declarations to reflect value or circumstances other than those surrounding the order. All items are marked as 'books', and value is declared at the full purchase price. Declared customs values will not include shipping costs.

Problems or Order Queries

I have not received my order. Who do I contact?

You will receive an email confirmation when your pre-order goes live and is ready to ship.

However, if you do not receive your merchandise within 30 days of this notice, please contact us with your full name and postal address, any email confirmation received, and your order number if applicable.

There is a problem with the order I have received

If there are any problems with an order you have received, please contact us with your full name and postal address, any email confirmation received, and your order number if applicable.

My merchandise was damaged / defective when it arrived.

We check all our products to ensure that they are shipped in new condition. However, Essential Works cannot be held responsible for damage incurred during shipping. Should merchandise arrive damaged, please contact us with your full name and postal address, any email confirmation received, and your order number if applicable.

Once you have provided us with a description of the damage or defect we will provide further instructions for its return. You will be responsible for any associated postage charges in returning the item - however, once the item is determined to be damaged as a result of damage during shipment or manufacturing fault, postage charges will be refunded upon receipt (although we cannot refund any priority, express or courier component of the postage charge).

Essential Works will provide replacements for any damaged or defective item while still in stock; we are unable to offer refunds as an alternative to replacement. Should a replacement for a damaged or defective product be unavailable, we will provide alternatives - such as store credit, alternative product replacement, or full refund.

You must contact Essential Works within 30 days of receipt of any damaged or defective items to arrange an exchange or refund. Requests received outside this 30 days may not be possible, and will be at the discretion of Essential Works.

I want to return the items I purchased.

If for any reason you are unhappy with your purchase, you can return it to us in its original condition within 30 days of the date you received the item, unopened (with any seals and shrink-wrap intact) and we will issue a full refund for the price you paid for the item. We can only accept the return of opened items if they are damaged or defective (please see details above for damaged or defective items).

You must contact us before returning any item for full details and instructions; we are unable to accept returned without the necessary documentation.

When you send your item back to us, we'll process the returned item and you can expect a refund in the same form of payment originally used for purchase within three weeks of our receiving your return.

For full instructions on how to return a purchase, please contact us with your full name and postal address, any email confirmation received, and your order number if applicable.

You must contact Essential Works within 30 days of receipt of any purchase to arrange any return. Requests received outside this 30 days may not be possible, and will be at the discretion of Essential Works. This does not affect your statutory rights.

The Roll of Honour

What is the Roll of Honour?

If you wish, as one of the people whose faith and dedication has helped make this book possible, we can include your name in a Roll of Honor to appear in the book.

You can include as many names as you are buying copies of the book, so if you are ordering two books you can include two names. You don't necessarily have to include your own name, so if you are ordering copies as gifts you could enter the recipients' names. This offer will be open until midnight GMT on the 31st August 2007. After that time, you will still be able to order the books, but your name will not appear.

What is the deadline for including names on the Roll of Honour?

This Roll of Honour deadline has now passed. You can still order the books, but your name will not appear.

I have received my book, but the names I supplied haven't been entered correctly. Why not?

It may be that we have made an error. Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide any type of compensation for inclusion, omissions or misspellings of any names in the credit list due to, but not limited to, electronic ordering error, clerical error, and/or lost communication, either written or electronic. Please accept our apologies.

Please remember that the offer to include names in the Roll of Honour is only open to people buying the book before midnight GMT on the 31st August 2007.

Need to know more?

We hope this explains things clearly, but if do you have any questions, please contact us and we will try to help.