Cold-chain shipping is the operational core of a research-compound distributor. This Shipping Policy describes how Orders move from the UK warehouse to the Researcher's address: which carriers, what the cut-off is, the six tracked checkpoints, who pays the duties, what happens to lost or seized shipments, and the no-ship list.
Every Order is shipped free of carrier charges, worldwide, by DHL Express or FedEx International Priority. There is no minimum order value, no surcharge for express service, no signature surcharge, and no fuel-supplement surcharge billed to the Researcher. The cold-chain insulated box, gel ice-packs, tamper seal and integrity sticker are included on every shipment, including replacements.
Free shipping covers the carrier-billed leg from the United Kingdom warehouse to the destination address. It does not cover destination-country import duties, value-added tax assessed at the border, brokerage fees imposed by the carrier on the consignee where the Researcher is the importer of record, or warehousing fees that arise because a recipient could not be reached for delivery within the carrier standard hold period.
Zerovial uses two carriers as standard: DHL Express and FedEx International Priority. The choice of carrier on a given Order is made on operational grounds (capacity, route, last-mile network in the destination) and is not configurable by the Researcher. Both carriers operate end-to-end on a tracked, signature-required, expedited-time-definite service.
Orders confirmed before 14:00 UTC on a UK working day are dispatched the next UK business day. Orders confirmed after 14:00 UTC, or on a Saturday, Sunday or UK public holiday, are dispatched on the next UK business day after that. Cold-chain orders are not dispatched on Fridays after 12:00 UTC unless the destination is on a verified weekend-delivery route, to avoid a courier-side weekend hold that defeats the cold chain.
Transit windows below are working-day estimates from the moment the box is handed to the carrier, not from the moment the Order is placed. They are indicative; actual transit varies with carrier capacity, customs status at destination, and seasonal volume.
Every Order moves through six tracked checkpoints. The Researcher is notified by email at the first three; the WhatsApp channel is open at every step for ad-hoc questions. The diagram below is the canonical sequence; the actual tracking events on the carrier portal map directly onto these labels.
Duties, value-added tax, sales tax and any equivalent import charge assessed at the destination border are the responsibility of the Researcher as the importer of record. Zerovial is not the importer of record into the Researcher country and does not pre-pay third-country duties, except in the rare case of a pre-arranged institutional account where DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) terms are explicitly recorded on the Order.
The shipment commercial invoice declares the Product accurately and at the actual transactional value, with the correct HS code for laboratory research reagents. Zerovial does not under-declare value, mis-classify HS codes, or mark shipments as gifts. Where a customs authority requests additional documentation (for example, an end-use statement from the institution, a research-use letter, or a cosmetic-or-veterinary-use exclusion declaration) Zerovial cooperates with the carrier and the consignee to provide it within one business day.
Zerovial maintains a no-ship list of destinations and a screened list of jurisdictions that require additional review. The list is updated as customs, sanctions and carrier rules evolve, and is honoured at the Order-confirmation step. Researchers in screened jurisdictions are asked for additional documentation; researchers at no-ship destinations are refunded in full and not charged for the carrier-side cancellation.
If a shipment is delayed beyond the carrier published service-level guarantee, Zerovial opens an investigation with the carrier on the Researcher's behalf. If the shipment is declared lost by the carrier, Zerovial re-ships the Order at no charge and refunds any duties paid by the Researcher on the original shipment on production of the carrier confirmation of loss.
If a shipment is held at customs for more than five (5) working days without an obvious documentation request, Zerovial contacts the carrier and the destination broker to identify the cause. Where the cause is documentation Zerovial can supply, we supply it the same day. Where the cause is a customs decision specific to the Researcher's jurisdiction (for example, a personal import-licence requirement), the Researcher is responsible for the resolution; Zerovial cooperates with documentation and re-shipping where lawful.
If a shipment is seized by customs, Zerovial replaces the Order on the same terms as a lost shipment, on the second seizure to the same destination Zerovial may decline further shipment to that address. Refund-or-replace defaults to replacement; Researchers can request refund instead at any point.
On delivery, the Researcher must inspect the cold-chain box for tamper-seal integrity, visible damage, ice-pack state and pen appearance. Damage in transit, broken seals, melted ice-packs on a same-day delivery, or any other indication that the chain has been compromised, must be reported to shipping@zerovial.com or by WhatsApp within twenty-four (24) hours of delivery, with photographs of the outer box, the tamper seal, the pen, and the airwaybill label.
On a confirmed cold-chain failure, Zerovial re-ships free of charge or refunds in full, at the Researcher's option. The damaged Order does not need to be returned; please dispose of the contents in accordance with local hazardous-waste rules.
It is the Researcher responsibility to provide and maintain a complete, accurate, deliverable shipping address. The carrier standard address-fix charge is not absorbed by Zerovial: where an address change is requested after the box has been picked up by the carrier, the carrier intercept fee is the Researcher's cost and is added to the Order, with explicit confirmation by the Researcher before being incurred.
On delivery, the carrier requires a signature from the consignee or a household / institutional adult. Zerovial does not enable signature waiver or leave-at-door instructions on cold-chain shipments by default. Where a Researcher explicitly authorises a signature waiver in writing, Zerovial notes the instruction on the airwaybill and the cold-chain insurance is voided; the risk of loss passes to the Researcher at hand-off.
Cold-chain research compounds cannot be returned to inventory once they have left the UK warehouse, for safety and traceability reasons (see the Refund Policy). Where a Researcher refuses delivery, asks the carrier to return the package, or fails to collect a held shipment within the carrier storage period, the package is treated as abandoned. In that case Zerovial does not re-ship the same Order; we refund the Order minus the actual carrier-billed return cost and the cost of the consumed cold-chain box.
Zerovial uses two carriers as standard: DHL Express and FedEx International Priority. The choice of carrier on a given Order is made on operational grounds (capacity, route, last-mile network in the destination) and is not configurable by the Researcher. Both carriers operate end-to-end on a tracked, signature-required, expedited-time-definite service.
Orders confirmed before 14:00 UTC on a UK working day are dispatched the next UK business day. Orders confirmed after 14:00 UTC, or on a Saturday, Sunday or UK public holiday, are dispatched on the next UK business day after that. Cold-chain orders are not dispatched on Fridays after 12:00 UTC unless the destination is on a verified weekend-delivery route, to avoid a courier-side weekend hold that defeats the cold chain.
Transit windows below are working-day estimates from the moment the box is handed to the carrier, not from the moment the Order is placed. They are indicative; actual transit varies with carrier capacity, customs status at destination, and seasonal volume.
Every Order moves through six tracked checkpoints. The Researcher is notified by email at the first three; the WhatsApp channel is open at every step for ad-hoc questions. The diagram below is the canonical sequence; the actual tracking events on the carrier portal map directly onto these labels.
Duties, value-added tax, sales tax and any equivalent import charge assessed at the destination border are the responsibility of the Researcher as the importer of record. Zerovial is not the importer of record into the Researcher country and does not pre-pay third-country duties, except in the rare case of a pre-arranged institutional account where DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) terms are explicitly recorded on the Order.
The shipment commercial invoice declares the Product accurately and at the actual transactional value, with the correct HS code for laboratory research reagents. Zerovial does not under-declare value, mis-classify HS codes, or mark shipments as gifts. Where a customs authority requests additional documentation (for example, an end-use statement from the institution, a research-use letter, or a cosmetic-or-veterinary-use exclusion declaration) Zerovial cooperates with the carrier and the consignee to provide it within one business day.
Zerovial maintains a no-ship list of destinations and a screened list of jurisdictions that require additional review. The list is updated as customs, sanctions and carrier rules evolve, and is honoured at the Order-confirmation step. Researchers in screened jurisdictions are asked for additional documentation; researchers at no-ship destinations are refunded in full and not charged for the carrier-side cancellation.
If a shipment is delayed beyond the carrier published service-level guarantee, Zerovial opens an investigation with the carrier on the Researcher's behalf. If the shipment is declared lost by the carrier, Zerovial re-ships the Order at no charge and refunds any duties paid by the Researcher on the original shipment on production of the carrier confirmation of loss.
If a shipment is held at customs for more than five (5) working days without an obvious documentation request, Zerovial contacts the carrier and the destination broker to identify the cause. Where the cause is documentation Zerovial can supply, we supply it the same day. Where the cause is a customs decision specific to the Researcher's jurisdiction (for example, a personal import-licence requirement), the Researcher is responsible for the resolution; Zerovial cooperates with documentation and re-shipping where lawful.
If a shipment is seized by customs, Zerovial replaces the Order on the same terms as a lost shipment, on the second seizure to the same destination Zerovial may decline further shipment to that address. Refund-or-replace defaults to replacement; Researchers can request refund instead at any point.
On delivery, the Researcher must inspect the cold-chain box for tamper-seal integrity, visible damage, ice-pack state and pen appearance. Damage in transit, broken seals, melted ice-packs on a same-day delivery, or any other indication that the chain has been compromised, must be reported to shipping@zerovial.com or by WhatsApp within twenty-four (24) hours of delivery, with photographs of the outer box, the tamper seal, the pen, and the airwaybill label.
On a confirmed cold-chain failure, Zerovial re-ships free of charge or refunds in full, at the Researcher's option. The damaged Order does not need to be returned; please dispose of the contents in accordance with local hazardous-waste rules.
It is the Researcher responsibility to provide and maintain a complete, accurate, deliverable shipping address. The carrier standard address-fix charge is not absorbed by Zerovial: where an address change is requested after the box has been picked up by the carrier, the carrier intercept fee is the Researcher's cost and is added to the Order, with explicit confirmation by the Researcher before being incurred.
On delivery, the carrier requires a signature from the consignee or a household / institutional adult. Zerovial does not enable signature waiver or leave-at-door instructions on cold-chain shipments by default. Where a Researcher explicitly authorises a signature waiver in writing, Zerovial notes the instruction on the airwaybill and the cold-chain insurance is voided; the risk of loss passes to the Researcher at hand-off.
Cold-chain research compounds cannot be returned to inventory once they have left the UK warehouse, for safety and traceability reasons (see the Refund Policy). Where a Researcher refuses delivery, asks the carrier to return the package, or fails to collect a held shipment within the carrier storage period, the package is treated as abandoned. In that case Zerovial does not re-ship the same Order; we refund the Order minus the actual carrier-billed return cost and the cost of the consumed cold-chain box.
All six documents form one binding agreement between Zerovial and every researcher with a Zerovial account or order on file.