Marketplace terms
UK business buyers and suppliers

When payment is due
Payment is due in full immediately at checkout for every purchase, including standard pallet orders, bulk buys, clearance sales and purchases from multiple suppliers in one basket. Auction winners must pay the full amount immediately at checkout when the auction ends.

Supplier plans, commission and payouts
Monthly supplier membership prices exclude VAT. Standard sales commission is 12% on Free (£0 per month), 8% on SLATS (£29 per month) and 6% on SLATS+ (£79 per month). For clearance, bulk-buy and auction sales, the rates are 9% on Free, 7% on SLATS and 5% on SLATS+. A combined member pays the rate for their corresponding supplier tier.
Commission is calculated on the supplier order including delivery and excluding VAT. The supplier share of actual order payment processing is 100% on Free, 50% on SLATS and 0% on SLATS+. Where the SLATS split leaves an odd penny, the supplier covers that penny. Pallet HQ covers standard UK bank payout fees and active supplier payment-account fees on every plan.

Cancellations, refunds and payment disputes
Buyers may request cancellation from the relevant supplier order before dispatch or confirmed collection. The supplier has three calendar days to respond. Pallet HQ will review an unanswered request for a paid order. If the supplier has not responded within three calendar days, Pallet HQ may approve a full refund for the affected supplier order, including its delivery charge, where there is no evidence of dispatch or collection by the time the buyer requested cancellation. If evidence shows the pallets had already been dispatched or collected by that time, the order remains in place for a change-of-mind request. Where cancellation is accepted, the buyer will receive a full refund for the cancelled supplier order, including its delivery charge, to the original payment method.

Reporting a problem with the goods
If goods are missing, damaged or materially different from the listing, the buyer should report the issue through the order as soon as reasonably practicable. Identify the affected items and quantities and provide available evidence. The supplier and Pallet HQ will review the report and explain the proposed remedy. Where the supplier is responsible and a return is required, the supplier will arrange and pay for collection. A buyer may request a review by Pallet HQ if the parties cannot agree. This process preserves rights and remedies available under applicable law.

Commission and processing costs
For refunds other than confirmed supplier-responsible damage, Pallet HQ will credit the supplier for commission on the refunded portion at the original commission rate. For confirmed supplier-responsible damage, the original sales commission is retained. Any original payment-processing fee retained by the payment provider will be allocated according to the supplier’s plan at the time of sale. Pallet HQ will bear processing costs attributable to its own error. The supplier statement will show the refund, commission credit, any refund admin fee, any retained processing cost and any adjustment to a previous payout.

Refund admin fee for missing or damaged pallets
For shortages, Pallet HQ credits the original commission on the refunded amount and retains 20% of that credit as the admin fee. For confirmed supplier-responsible damage, Pallet HQ debits the full refund plus a damage admin fee and retains the original sales commission. The damage admin fee is 20% of the original commission attributable to the refunded value. The total admin fee is capped at £5 per refunded order line. The supplier pays this fee. The buyer receives the full agreed refund. Pallet HQ waives the fee if it caused the error.

Wrong pallet grade, size or type
If the supplier sends pallets that differ from the agreed listing and the buyer receives a refund or agrees a price reduction, calculate the admin fee on the amount refunded using the original sale commission rate. Credit the commission attributable to that amount and charge 20% of that credit as the admin fee, subject to the total £5 cap per refunded order line. For example, if a buyer ordered Grade A, received Grade B and keeps the pallets for a £100 reduction on a standard SLATS sale, the buyer receives £100, the commission credit is £8 and the admin fee is £1.60. The supplier balance falls by £93.60.

Supplier cancellation because stock is unavailable
If a supplier cancels a paid order line because stock is unavailable, the buyer receives the full refund due for that line. Pallet HQ credits the supplier the original commission on the refunded amount and charges a refund admin fee of 20% of that credit, capped at £5 in total per refunded order line. Only cancelled lines are affected. If the supplier removes the listing before a buyer pays, there is no refund or refund admin fee.

Replacement pallets
If the buyer accepts the replacement and receives everything they paid for, the refund admin fee is £0. If some pallets are replaced and others refunded, calculate any applicable refund admin fee only on the commission attributable to the refunded portion, using the rule for the reason for that refund. Exclude the value of the replaced pallets and apply the existing £5 total cap per refunded order line.

Changes of mind, disputed responsibility and Pallet HQ errors
When a change-of-mind cancellation or return is accepted, the supplier pays no refund admin fee. If responsibility is disputed, Pallet HQ will review the listing, delivery or collection note, available photos and accounts from both parties before deciding whether a supplier fee applies. When Pallet HQ is responsible, we waive the refund admin fee, correct the error and provide the refund or fee reversal due. We also give each affected buyer or supplier £5 in Pallet HQ goodwill credit in addition to any amount owed. If both are affected, each receives £5. Buyers can use the credit towards their next pallet order. Pallet HQ funds it so that the supplier receives their normal payout. Suppliers on any plan can use it towards their next selling fee or paid promotion.

Bank disputes
If a bank dispute is opened, Pallet HQ will notify the affected supplier of the evidence required and the response deadline. Pallet HQ may temporarily withhold the disputed amount from the affected supplier’s unsettled proceeds while the case is reviewed. Before recovering a provider dispute fee from a supplier, Pallet HQ will explain the evidence of supplier responsibility, the actual unrecovered fee and how to request a review. Any amount subsequently recovered will be credited to the party that bore it.

Delivery, damage and proof of delivery
Before the vehicle leaves, the supplier should photograph the condition of the pallets before and during loading and the completed stacks before departure. Record any broken blocks, split slats or damage caused by forklift forks or other loading equipment. Identify the order on the photographs and record any damage already disclosed in the listing.
The supplier, vehicle operator and driver each have duties for safe loading and transport. Before departure, the driver must check that the stacks are stable and secured with suitable restraints for the load and vehicle. The driver should photograph the secured load. It must travel safely and be capable of safe unloading at the destination.

On arrival, before unloading
The driver should check and photograph the load from a safe position before restraints are released. If stacks have slid, tipped, become uneven or are pressing against a door or curtain, stop and agree a safe unloading plan with the operator and receiving site. Never enter the fall zone to inspect or photograph a load.
The buyer must record visible damage and photograph it before any pallets are unloaded, where safe. If damage first becomes visible during unloading, record it as soon as it can safely be seen. Note when the damage was observed and tell the driver. If inspection was unsafe, record the reason on the proof of delivery (POD).

Count and sign before the driver leaves
Once the accepted pallets are unloaded, the buyer and driver must reconcile the count, including any pallets remaining on the vehicle. Record the order reference, quantity ordered, quantity presented, damaged, accepted and refused. Complete both checks, record any disagreement, and have the driver confirm the handover and the buyer sign and date the POD with the time. Both parties should retain a copy.
Quantity: Tick ✓ if the full ordered quantity was presented and enter shortage 0. Otherwise mark X and enter the number missing. Pallets presented but refused for damage count as damaged and refused.
Condition: Tick ✓ if the visible condition matches the agreed listing. Otherwise mark X, record the affected quantity and describe the damage. Record any limitation on inspection.
For 100 sound pallets ordered and delivered, tick both boxes and record shortage 0 and damaged 0. If all 100 arrive but 10 are damaged, tick quantity, enter shortage 0, mark condition X and enter damaged 10. If only 90 arrive and all 90 are sound, mark quantity X, enter shortage 10 and tick condition.
For supplier-arranged deliveries, custody passes to the buyer for the pallets accepted once unloading and the signed handover are complete. The buyer is responsible for subsequent damage it causes through handling or storage. Record any damage caused during unloading and who was handling the goods. A signature records the count and visible condition checked at handover. A recorded shortage or evidence that damage existed before handover can still be reviewed, including damage that could not reasonably be seen at delivery.

If 10 out of 100 pallets are damaged
Record the buyer’s choice on the POD. The buyer may refuse the entire load and record the reason and quantities. They may accept the 90 sound pallets and refuse the 10 damaged pallets. Leave the 10 on the vehicle for return to the supplier where safe. The driver must ensure the remaining load is safe and secured before departure. Alternatively the buyer may accept all 100 with the damage recorded and request that the supplier replace the 10 damaged pallets and collect them at its expense, or agree a discount for the 10 with the supplier. Record any agreed discount in pounds.

Review, remedy and refund
Report the issue through the order and attach the POD and available photographs. Pallet HQ reviews the listing, loading and arrival records, count and both parties’ accounts. The review and supplier remedy share one five-calendar-day period starting when the issue is reported through the order. Within that period the supplier must complete the replacement and arrange collection of damaged pallets, or agree and issue the discount with the buyer. A replacement without a refund incurs no refund admin fee.
If supplier responsibility is established and the remedy has not been completed by the deadline, Pallet HQ will initiate a refund to the original payment method for the affected pallets at the price the buyer paid, allowing for any amount already refunded. For a justified refusal of the whole load, review the full affected supplier order, including delivery. Pallet HQ will give both parties a reasoned decision if responsibility is disputed. The buyer’s bank may take additional time to show a refund.
For confirmed supplier-responsible damage, Pallet HQ debits the full refunded amount and adds the damage admin fee as a separate supplier statement entry. For 10 pallets at £10 each, the full refund is £100. On a standard SLATS sale, the original 8% commission on those pallets was £8. The damage admin fee is £1.60. The supplier statement shows a £100 refund debit and a £1.60 admin fee, a total deduction of £101.60. Damage accurately disclosed in the listing, damage caused after collection by the buyer or its haulier, and errors caused by Pallet HQ carry no supplier damage admin fee.

One checkout with several suppliers
We divide the actual processing fee for one buyer payment in proportion to the amount charged for each supplier order, including delivery and applicable VAT. Any fixed processing charge is counted once per payment. Sales commission is calculated separately on each supplier order including delivery and excluding VAT. We round each share down to whole pennies, then allocate the remaining pennies one at a time in order of largest fractional remainder. Ties go to the lowest original supplier-order number first.
Free suppliers cover their full allocated fee. SLATS suppliers split it equally with Pallet HQ and cover the extra penny when the allocated fee has an odd number of pennies. On a £6.07 allocation, the SLATS supplier pays £3.04 and Pallet HQ pays £3.03. Pallet HQ covers the full allocated fee for SLATS+ suppliers. We retain the original allocation with the payment. A refund on one supplier order leaves the other supplier allocations unchanged.

Advertising and sponsored listings
All supplier plans can promote a listing for seven days. Before you confirm, we show the placement, start and end dates, and the credit or price required. Buyers see the label “Sponsored”. The promotion ends automatically.
Free: £10 excluding VAT per seven-day promotion. SLATS: three included promotions per paid monthly cycle. Each extra promotion costs £8 excluding VAT. SLATS+: ten included promotions per paid monthly cycle. Each extra promotion costs £6 excluding VAT.
The credit is used or the fixed price is charged for the placement, regardless of the number of sales. Orders from that promotion carry the usual commission and payment-processing charges.

Optional sales-based advertising pilot
Selected suppliers may opt in for standard fixed-price listings. The advertising rate is 3% for Free, 2% for SLATS and 1% for SLATS+. We calculate it on the price of the promoted pallets after discounts, excluding VAT and delivery.
A sale qualifies when a buyer clicks the sponsored listing and pays in full for that same supplier’s listing within seven days of the click. Views and clicks are free. Only the promoted order line qualifies, including in a mixed basket. We record the sale at checkout and deduct the advertising fee from the supplier’s proceeds when the order is fulfilled. We show it separately from commission and processing.
You set the maximum advertising spend for the campaign and can see the amounts spent and remaining. If a qualifying fee would exceed your remaining budget, we charge only the remaining amount and stop the campaign. For example, if £4 remains and the calculated fee is £10, you pay £4.
We reverse the advertising fee charged on a fully refunded sale, or the corresponding proportion on refunded pallets. Any applicable refund admin fee follows the separate refund terms.
Each listing uses one promotion method at a time. A click during a fixed-price promotion stays covered by that placement even if you later change methods. Repeated clicks can generate at most one advertising charge on the same order line.