Deliveries, check-in and returns
Track a parcel, check it in so your stock is right, report a parcel that doesn't arrive, and return or claim for items, in the UK (except Northern Ireland) and the US.
Each supplier sends its own parcel, so one order can arrive in several. This page follows a parcel from dispatch to your shelf, and back again if something's wrong. The Shop serves practices in the UK (except Northern Ireland) and the US.
Track a parcel
On the order, click Track package. You see each courier update in order, the courier's own tracking link and the expected window:
| Update | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Label created | The supplier has booked the courier |
| In transit | On its way |
| Out for delivery | Arriving today |
| Delivered | The courier delivered it |
| Delivery problem | The courier reported a problem; it may still arrive |
A parcel the supplier delivers in its own van says Delivered by the supplier, who confirms on arrival. A parcel the courier is taking back reads Returning to the supplier, then Returned to the supplier, and can't be checked in: the supplier sends it again or you're refunded.
The person who paid for the order is told when it's dispatched, out for delivery and delivered.
Check a delivery in
Checking in confirms what actually arrived. Owners, managers, the front desk, dentists, hygienists and nurses can check in.
- Click All received when everything came whole. The parcel reads Checked in.
- Click Report a problem when something came short or damaged. For each line, change Received and Damaged, add What went wrong (no patient details) and click Report problem. This opens a claim with the supplier for the missing or damaged packs.
Stock
When a parcel is delivered, its packs are added to the site's Inventory item for that product, with no one's name on the restock. Checking in doesn't add them again; a reported problem takes the missing or damaged units back out.
One order line can restock several items. When your basket holds the same product for two stock items (two surgeries' gloves, say) and both come from the same supplier, the order has one line for it, and each delivery fills the items in the order they appear in the basket: the first item's packs first, then the next. Extra packs from the supplier's pack size (an offer sold only in fives, say) go to the first item. A problem reported at check-in takes the units back from the last item first.
When no stock item at the site matches the product, its line offers Add to inventory (owners and managers):
- Choose Link an item you already stock, or Create a new item and give it a name.
- When the Shop can't work it out, answer How many units in one pack.
- Click Add to inventory. The packs are added once.
A parcel that doesn't arrive
A parcel still not delivered five working days after its delivery date reads Possibly lost, and the person who paid is told. Click Report not arrived: this opens a claim with the supplier for everything still missing from that parcel. Reported as not arrived. The seller answers within 2 working days. The supplier sends it again or refunds you.
Return items
Click Return items on a delivered parcel.
Choose Packs to return for each line, up to what you can still send back.
Choose the Reason (Wrong item, Arrived damaged, Faulty, No longer needed or Recall) and the Condition (Unopened, Opened or Damaged).
Add Photos if you like (each up to 10 MB) and a Note for the seller (no patient details).
Check the summary and click Request return. Return requested. The seller answers within 2 working days.
Each line says what happens to it: Goes back for a refund, Goes to the seller's warranty or Can't be returned, with the reason.
| What happened | Outcome | Who pays the postage back |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong item, arrived damaged or faulty, within 30 days of delivery | Return for a refund | The supplier |
| No longer needed, unopened, within 30 days | Return for a refund | You, with your own courier |
| A recall | Return for a refund, at any time | The supplier |
| A fault in an opened sterile or single-use item | Opened sterile items go to warranty | — |
| Installed equipment, a software licence, or past 30 days | Warranty | — |
| No longer needed and opened | Can't be returned | — |
Items that can't go back together say These items can't go back together. Return them separately.
After you ask
The supplier answers on the order page:
- Approves the return. When the supplier pays the postage, a Return label appears to download, or the supplier sets a day to collect it. When you pay, book your own courier, then enter the Carrier and Tracking number and click Send.
- Refunds you and lets you keep the goods, for example after damage in transit.
- Rejects it, with a reason.
The refund starts once the supplier receives the parcel. The return reads Refund in progress until the money is on its way back, or Refund waiting for Smileline while Smileline looks at it, then Refunded. You can Cancel return until the parcel is on its way. If a supplier rejects a return and you disagree, click Ask Smileline to review: Smileline will review the seller's answer. A supplier that doesn't answer in time leaves the decision to Smileline.
A refund covers what you paid for those packs, tax included. The delivery fee comes back only when the whole order is refunded because of the supplier, a delay or a cancellation before dispatch, and never for No longer needed. See Refunds.
Recalls
When a supplier recalls a product you bought, every member who can open the Shop is told, by email too (that email can't be turned off). The order shows Recalled: return these with the supplier's notice and the recalled lots. Return them with the reason Recall: the supplier pays the postage, at any time.
Rate the delivery
Once a parcel arrives, Rate delivery on it scores how the delivery went, and Write a review on a line reviews the product. See Reviews and delivery ratings.
Your orders
Find an order, open its invoices, cancel what hasn't been dispatched, answer a delay, and keep your orders after the Shop closes, in the UK (except Northern Ireland) and the US.
Quotes
Ask a supplier to quote for equipment, accept the quote and pay its deposit, and pay the balance once it's installed, in the UK (except Northern Ireland) and the US.