Portia Information

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About Us Irene Davidge, trading as Portia, together with her husband Bob, has been dealing in most of the major china houses for the past twenty five years. Twenty two years ago she opened Portia, a company which specialises in supplying quality gifts that cannot be bought on every High Street including Votivo Candles, Mad Bags, Pecksniff and Bombay Duck as well as collectables and china from Royal Doulton, Beswick, Minton, Wedgwood, Coalport, Border Fine Arts, Enesco, Royal Worcester and Royal Crown Derby.

Portia operates as a mail order business dispatching orders world-wide and is always willing to give personal advice to collectors on the phone or via email. With agents across the globe Portia also operates a finding service which looks for that elusive discontinued piece that means something special to you or will complete a collection. This service is offered on a no obligation basis, so even when we do find you are not obliged to have it. We also deal direct with insurance companies and insurance assessors to replace items should you be the unfortunate victim of crime or accident.

Operating from the warehousing and offices The House of Portia guarantees the authenticity and condition of any piece supplied. Discontinued pieces that were originally supplied with certificates always come with certificates. No pieces are sold which are seconds or knowingly restored. It is obviously important to choose a reputable dealer who will offer such a friendly, trustworthy service and Portia has many letters of gratitude from existing customers to be able to stake their claim in this area.

Attending gift & collector's fairs throughout the country Portia also organises the Doulton & Beswick Collectors Fair held at The Stafford County Showground, Stafford and the Doulton and Beswick Fair for Collectors which is held in October in Winchester.

Portia is organised with the wishes and interests of its customers at the forefront.

Making A Purchase
Making a purchase could not be easier. Just browse our store and add any items that you wish to buy into the shopping cart. After you have finished your selection, click on 'Checkout' and you will be asked for a few details that we need to be able to complete the order.

We accept credit card payment as well as cheques and cash. If you are shopping from North America or anywhere else, place your order and your credit card company will convert the transaction to US Dollars or your own currency.

We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and most debit cards. We do not charge for any item until it is ready to ship. Backordered items are not charged until they are in stock and ready to be shipped. You may send your credit card information via phone, fax, and snail mail or over our secure server on the Internet.

All reasonable care is taken to ensure that product description is correct at the time of publication. However, specification and price details may change at any time, without notice.

Many of the products that we sell are no longer made and we only have one of them. All products are subject to availability.

All prices are in pounds sterling including VAT

When confirmation of order is received, this is to indicate that we have received your order. It does not indicate that a contract exists between us. We will indicate acceptance of your order, and hence a contract between us, when we send you an invoice. We have included this term to protect us in the case that a mistake has been made in pricing or in our available stock or we are no longer able to supply a particular product for some reason. In the case of a change of price, we will always contact you first to ensure that the change is acceptable.

Shipping And Handling Postage is normally payable on all orders. However the total maximum postage payable for any number of products ordered for delivery at the same time, within the UK, is just £6. Many of the small items only cost £2.50.

Delivery within the UK is normally next day after posting by Royal Mail Special Delivery or first class post, or within three days when we use Royal Mail Recorded Delivery. A signature is normally required at the time of delivery. Heavier parcels are normally delivered next day by UPS courier.

Delivery outside the UK is normally by the relevant local postal service but again heavier parcels are normally sent by UPS with a guaranteed delivery service. We are happy to discuss your needs prior to dispatch.

Postage outside the UK to a non EU country is charged at a flat rate of £10. However very small or light parcels may be less then this and a reduction will be made when payment is taken. For large or heavy parcels we use the difference in the quoted price and the non VAT price to make up some of the shortfall in the shipping costs. Where the VAT difference far exceeds the shipping cost a discount will be applied to the final charge. We are happy to discuss your needs prior to dispatch.

Postage outside the UK to an EU country is charged at a flat rate of £10. However very small or light parcels may be less then this and a reduction will be made when payment is taken. We are happy to discuss your needs prior to dispatch.

Where possible all orders are posted within one business day of the order being placed.

Delivery Schedule
We try to deliver your order right away. We will normally post your order to you one business day after the order is placed . International orders are generally received in under seven days.

Back Orders
If your item is not in stock, we will back order for you. You will always be emailed with the option to cancel your order if you would rather not wait.

Tax Charges
For orders made from the UK or the European Union, 17.5% VAT is already added. All other orders are VAT free.

Credit Card Security When the order is placed at our website, credit card numbers are encrypted using 128 bit encryption. They are only decrypted after they reach our computer. They are not held in clear text on any web site.

Guarantee
We guarantee your satisfaction or the full cost of your purchase will be returned.

Please note that you will be responsible for the costs of returning the goods to us (unless the item was delivered to you in error or if the item is faulty). If returning goods, for your own protection, we recommend that you get, at least, a proof of posting from Royal Mail or use a recorded delivery service.

All items supplied are in perfect condition with no known chips, firing flaws or restoration.

Reaching Us
By Post to
The House of Portia
23 Boleyn Way
Hainault Essex
IG6 2TW
United Kingdom

By Phone: 020 8500 3505
Non-UK residents ++ 44 20 8500 3505

By Fax: 020 8500 2707
Non-UK residents ++ 44 20 8500 3505

info@portia.co.uk

Privacy Policy
Portia does not disclose buyers' information to third parties other than when order details are processed as part of the order fulfilment. In this case, the third party will not disclose any of the details to any other third party.

Cookies are used on this shopping site to keep track of the contents of your shopping cart, to store delivery addresses if the address book is used and to store your details if you select the 'Remember Me' Option. They are also used after you have logged on as part of that process. You can turn off cookies within your browser by going to 'Tools | Internet Options | Privacy' and selecting to block cookies. If you turn off cookies, you will be unable to place orders or benefit from the other features that use cookies.

Returns Policy We guarantee your satisfaction or the full cost of your purchase will be returned.

Please note that you will be responsible for the costs of returning the goods to us (unless the item was delivered to you in error or if the item is faulty). If returning goods, for your own protection, we recommend that you get, at least, a proof of posting from Royal Mail or use a recorded delivery service.

Your rights to return goods are protected under the EU Distance Selling Directive which can be found at http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2000/20002334.htm

EPOS System Information