Refund policy

Version of 1 October 2026, in force from 8 October 2026.

MILKY SOUP ceramics is a small studio in Warsaw: Mila makes every ceramic piece by hand. This page explains how to withdraw from a purchase (return it), how to make a complaint, and what to do if a parcel arrives damaged. For every order you place as a consumer in our online shop milkysoup.xyz – whichever country you live in, and including orders you collect in person at Lekka – we apply the rules of the Polish Consumer Rights Act of 30 May 2014 (ustawa o prawach konsumenta).

In short

  • You have 14 days from receiving your order to withdraw from the contract without giving any reason. This also applies to pieces sold at a lower price because of small imperfections and to gift certificates.
  • An email or a letter is enough. You can use the form at the end of this page, but you don't have to.
  • You send the item back by post or courier to our business address, or hand it in at the Lekka shop (by prior arrangement) – within 14 days of withdrawing.
  • When you withdraw, you pay the cost of sending the item back. We don't send return labels.
  • We refund you within 14 days of receiving your statement, including the cost of delivery to you (up to the cheapest standard delivery we offered). We may hold the refund until the item is back with us or you send us proof that you've posted it.
  • We don't do exchanges.
  • If an item is faulty, damaged in transit or not the one you ordered, we cover all the costs.

Your right of withdrawal (14 days)

If you buy as a consumer, you can withdraw from the contract within 14 days without giving any reason. The period starts on the day you receive the order (or someone you name, other than the carrier, receives it), and for in-person collection, on the day you collect it. If your order arrives in several parcels, the 14 days start when you receive the last one. You can also withdraw before your order arrives.

This right covers every ready-made item in our shop, including pieces sold at a lower price because of small imperfections and gift certificates. The only exception is items made to your specifications or personalised especially for you (for example with an inscription, shape, colour or design you specified).

The rights described on this page (withdrawal and complaints) also apply if you run a sole proprietorship and the purchase isn't of a professional nature for you (Article 7aa of the Consumer Rights Act).

How to withdraw

Send us a clear statement that you're withdrawing from the contract. The easiest way is an email to mila.smaltser@gmail.com or a letter to: MILKY SOUP ceramics Mila Smaltsar, ul. Skaryszewska 10 lok. 20, 03-802 Warszawa, Poland. Tell us which order and which items it's about. The order number helps us find it faster.

You can use the model withdrawal form at the end of this page, but you don't have to – an ordinary message is enough.

To meet the deadline, it's enough to send your statement before the 14 days are up. If you give us an email address, we'll confirm by email that we've received your statement.

Sending the item back

Send or bring the item back without undue delay, and no later than 14 days after the day you withdraw from the contract. Sending the parcel before the deadline is enough. You have two options:

  • By post or courier to our business address: MILKY SOUP ceramics Mila Smaltsar, ul. Skaryszewska 10 lok. 20, 03-802 Warszawa, Poland.
  • In person at the Lekka shop (Lekka – sklep i pracownia ceramiczna, ul. Ząbkowska 30, 03-735 Warszawa) – our physical shop and order pickup point. Returns at Lekka are by prior arrangement: write or call us and we'll agree on a day and time. If you tell us before the deadline that you want to return the item at Lekka, we treat the deadline as met even if the agreed day falls later.

Ceramics are fragile, so please pack the item carefully (for example in bubble wrap and a sturdy box) and ideally send it with a tracked service. The original packaging isn't needed.

If you're sending the parcel from a country outside the European Union, please mark it in the customs paperwork as goods returned to the seller ("returned goods"). If you're not sure how to do this, write to us before sending.

Cost of sending it back

When you withdraw from the contract, you pay the direct cost of sending the item back: you choose the carrier and pay for the shipment. When you withdraw, we don't send return labels and don't pay for return shipping. Returning in person at Lekka costs nothing.

It's different if the item doesn't conform to the contract (for example, it's faulty, damaged in transit or not the item that was ordered). Then we cover all the costs, including shipping – see "Complaints" and "Damage in transit".

Your refund

We'll refund all payments we received from you, including the cost of delivery to you, without undue delay and no later than 14 days after the day we receive your withdrawal statement. If a delivery method more expensive than the cheapest standard delivery we offered was chosen for the order, we don't refund the difference above that cheapest cost.

We may withhold the refund until we've received the item back or you've given us proof that you've sent it, whichever comes first.

We'll refund using the same payment method that was used for the order, unless you expressly agree to a different method that costs you nothing. Your bank or payment provider may need a few days to show the refund.

If a carrier or customs authority collected import charges from you on delivery in a country outside the European Union, they weren't paid to us, so they aren't part of our refund. Sometimes they can be reclaimed from the carrier or the customs office.

Condition of the returned item

We don't require the original packaging, tags or a receipt. You can unpack the item, look at it and hold it, just as you would in a shop. You're only responsible for any reduction in the item's value caused by handling it beyond what's necessary to establish its nature, characteristics and functioning.

Exchanges

We don't do exchanges. If you'd prefer a different item, withdraw from the contract as described above and place a new order. This doesn't apply to replacement as a way of resolving a complaint – see "Complaints".

Gift certificates

Our gift certificate is a paper certificate with a personal code to use in our online shop. You can withdraw from buying it just like from any other order – within 14 days of receiving the certificate. Send the certificate back by post or hand it in at Lekka, and we'll refund the amount you paid (including the cost of delivery, as described above) and deactivate the code. If part of the certificate's value has already been used, we refund the unused part and deactivate the code for it.

If we refund an order that was paid for fully or partly with a gift certificate – after a withdrawal or a complaint – the part paid with the certificate comes back to you as a new code for the same amount. It is valid until the original certificate's expiry date, and in any case for at least 30 days from the refund. The rest goes back via the payment method that was used, unless you expressly agree to a different way.

Complaints: when something is wrong with an item

We're responsible for the item's conformity with the contract. If an item doesn't conform to the contract – for example, it has a crack or another flaw, it leaks, it arrived damaged, or it isn't the item that was ordered – you have the rights given by the Polish Consumer Rights Act (Article 43a and following):

  • you can ask us to repair or replace the item;
  • you can declare a price reduction or withdraw from the contract if we refuse to repair or replace it (for example because both are impossible), if we don't do it within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to you, if the problem continues despite our attempt to fix it, if the non-conformity is serious enough to justify a price reduction or withdrawal straight away, or if it's clear from what we say or from the circumstances that we won't fix the non-conformity within a reasonable time or without significant inconvenience to you. You can't withdraw from the contract if the non-conformity is minor, but a non-conformity is presumed to be significant.

Most of our pieces exist only once and ceramics usually can't be repaired, so in practice this will most often mean a price reduction or withdrawal from the contract with a refund.

We're responsible for any non-conformity that existed when the item was delivered and becomes apparent within 2 years of delivery. If it appears within that time, it is presumed to have existed on delivery unless we prove otherwise.

How to make a complaint: write to us by email or post (see "Contact") telling us what's wrong and what you'd like: repair, replacement, a price reduction or withdrawal from the contract. If you can, include your order number and photos – this speeds things up, but it isn't a condition for handling your complaint.

We'll reply to your complaint within 14 days of receiving it, by email or letter. If we don't reply within that time, it means we've accepted your complaint.

We cover the costs: the costs of repair or replacement, including shipping, and, if you withdraw from the contract because of the non-conformity, also the cost of sending the item back to us. We'll agree with you how to send it: we'll arrange the shipment or reimburse your postage.

We refund the amount of a price reduction within 14 days of receiving your statement. If you withdraw from the contract because of the non-conformity, we refund the price (and the cost of delivery to you) within 14 days of receiving the item or proof that you've sent it.

Handmade: features, not flaws

We make our ceramics by hand, and most pieces exist only once. Small variations in shape, colour and painting, visible brushstrokes, small irregularities in the glaze and the unglazed matte foot (the base the piece stands on in the kiln during firing) are natural features of handmade ceramics. Photos and descriptions help show the character of each piece. Showing or describing a feature, or a lower price, does not by itself exclude our statutory liability for goods that don't conform to the contract. We sell pieces with small imperfections at a lower price, and we show each imperfection in the photos and describe it with the product, so that it's clear before you buy what you're getting. Colours on screen can also look a little different from real life.

All our tableware is food-safe, dishwasher-safe, microwave-safe and suitable for hot drinks and hot food. Everyday use, including in the dishwasher and microwave, is therefore normal use.

None of this limits your rights: you can always withdraw from the contract within 14 days without giving a reason, and we'll handle any problem you report with an item under the complaint rules described above.

Damage in transit

Until you receive the parcel, we bear the risk of it being damaged in transit. If an item arrives broken or damaged, please write to us as soon as you can, ideally with photos of the item and the packaging – this helps us sort things out with the carrier faster. Not having photos or a damage report, or contacting us later, doesn't take away your rights. If you can, keep the item and the packaging until we've agreed on the next steps. We treat this as a complaint: we cover the costs.

If we can't agree

Please always write to us first – we want to settle every matter amicably. If a dispute isn't resolved after your complaint, we'll tell you by email or letter whether we agree to take part in an out-of-court procedure, and if we agree, we will name the competent body. You can get help from, among others:

  • the municipal or district consumer ombudsman (miejski lub powiatowy rzecznik konsumentów), who helps consumers free of charge;
  • the regional (voivodeship) inspectorate of the Trade Inspection (Inspekcja Handlowa), which runs mediation and a permanent consumer arbitration court – taking part is voluntary for both sides;
  • the European Consumer Centre in your country, if you live in another European Union country.

You'll find more information on the UOKiK website (in Polish), and the list of bodies authorised to resolve consumer disputes out of court at polubowne.uokik.gov.pl. You can also always take your case to court.

Contact

MILKY SOUP ceramics Mila Smaltsar
ul. Skaryszewska 10 lok. 20, 03-802 Warszawa, Poland – business address, also for returns and complaints sent by post or courier
NIP (tax ID): 1133173616, REGON: 544690265
Email: mila.smaltser@gmail.com
Phone: +48 881 285 610

Physical shop and order pickup point: Lekka – sklep i pracownia ceramiczna, ul. Ząbkowska 30, 03-735 Warszawa. Returns and in-person collection by prior arrangement.

We usually reply within 1–2 business days.

These rules apply to orders placed from the day this version was published on the site. For orders placed earlier, we apply the terms shown when the order was placed if they're more favourable to you. The Polish version is binding; the English and Russian versions have the same content. Any ambiguities are interpreted in your favour.

Model withdrawal form

You can use this form, but you don't have to – any clear statement works, for example an ordinary email. Send the completed form by email to mila.smaltser@gmail.com or by post to the address given in the form. You can fill it in in English. Below is a translation of the model form from Annex 2 to the Polish Consumer Rights Act of 30 May 2014, with our business details filled in; the Polish version of the form is binding.

MODEL WITHDRAWAL FORM
(complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract)

– To: MILKY SOUP ceramics Mila Smaltsar, ul. Skaryszewska 10 lok. 20, 03-802 Warszawa, Poland, email: mila.smaltser@gmail.com

– I/We(*) hereby give notice that I/we(*) withdraw from my/our(*) contract of sale of the following goods(*) contract for the delivery of the following goods(*) contract for work consisting in making the following goods(*)/contract for the provision of the following service(*)
………………………………………………………………………………

– Date the contract was concluded(*)/date of receipt(*)
………………………………………………………………………………

– Name of consumer(s)
………………………………………………………………………………

– Address of consumer(s)
………………………………………………………………………………

– Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is sent on paper)
………………………………………………………………………………

– Date
………………………………………………………………………………

(*) Delete as appropriate.