Shipping Protection
What Is Shipping Protection?
Shipping Protection is Lilac & Crème's in-house order protection program, designed specifically for the unique risks of shipping perishable goods overnight.
What's Covered?
Lost Packages
Your order is considered lost if:
- UPS tracking shows no movement for more than 24 hours after the first scan
- UPS opens a trace investigation and confirms the package cannot be located
Delivery Delay - Spoilage
Your order is covered for delay-related spoilage if:
- Your order was shipped via UPS Next Day Air and arrived after the delivery date (when covered under UPS Service Guarantee) and
- The delay caused actual spoilage or significant deterioration that makes the product unusable or materially diminished in quality.
Please note that our products can generally withstand a one-day delay. We evaluate delay-related claims individually based on the reported data and documented state of the product upon arrival.
If your order arrives a day late with no evidence of spoilage, this does not qualify as a covered claim. We trust our customers to report product condition honestly, and we review each claim on its own merits.
Damaged Products
Your order is covered if it arrives in a condition that makes it unusable, including:
- Product packaging that is visibly crushed, punctured, or compromised in a way that affected its contents
- Product arrived visibly damaged* or deteriorated as a direct result of transit conditions
Please note: if only part of your order arrived damaged, we will cover the affected items.
*it is normal for the topping of some of our cakes to make contact with the plastic shrink wrap, especially for our rosette designs. For such damage claims, please provide images of the product both with and without the plastic. (Majority of the time, the topping touching the plastic does not impact the cakes design)
Wrong or Missing Items
If your order arrives with incorrect items, missing items, or a quantity different from what you ordered, this is covered regardless of whether shipping protection was purchased. Shipping protection does not alter or limit our standard fulfillment guarantee.
What's Not Covered
The following situations are not covered by Shipping Protection
Incorrect or Incomplete Addresses It is your responsibility to provide accurate and complete shipping information, including the correct shipping address. We shall not be held liable for any delays, misdeliveries, or additional charges resulting from incorrect or incomplete address information provided by the customer.
Weather or Address Related Delays We shall not be liable for any failure or delay in shipping or delivery of products arising from circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to natural disasters, carrier scheduling or delays, labor disputes, or transportation disruptions.
In the event of such delays, we will work with the shipping carrier to investigate the issue and, if necessary, file a claim. However, we cannot guarantee the outcome of such claims or be held responsible for any losses incurred as a result of delays not covered by the carrier's service guarantee.
Refused or Unclaimed Orders/Deliveries Shipping Protection does not cover orders that are returned to us because the delivery was refused by the recipient at the door, or orders placed for local pickup that were never collected.
If a package was refused or a pickup was missed due to an emergency or extenuating circumstance, please contact us and we will review your situation individually, but we are not able to guarantee a resolution under Shipping Protection in these cases. If you need to change a delivery address, cancel an order, or update a pickup arrangement, please reach out to us and we will do our best to assist you.
Damage Claims without Photo Evidence Please inspect your order upon reception and contact us immediately if the item is defective or damaged, so that we can evaluate the issue and make it right. Please include a photo of the item that you received with your initial request to ensure that we can properly assist you.
Unfortunately, Lilac & Crème cannot approve return or exchange requests for damaged items without photo evidence. Additionally, please note that all communications, along with the required photo evidence, must be received within 48 hours of the delivery date.
Intentional Misuse Any claims submitted with false, misleading, or exaggerated information will be denied, and the Shipping Protection fee will not be refunded. Repeated fraudulent claims may result in cancellation of future orders.
Orders without Shipping Protection If you removed Shipping Protection during checkout, your order is not covered under this program. For unprotected orders, we still provide standard customer service and will review issues on a case-by-case basis, but we are not able to guarantee reshipping or refunds for transit-related issues outside our control.