Last updated: 29 July 2026
1. About Bio Forest
Bio Forest is a UK business operated by Mark Gordon-Hill as a sole trader.
Trading name: Bio Forest
Owner: Mark Gordon-Hill
Correspondence address: Bio Forest, Belchmire Lane, Gosberton, Spalding, PE11 4HG
Customer service email: cs@bioforest.co.uk
Sales email: sales@bioforest.co.uk
Bio Forest is not currently registered for VAT. All prices displayed on our website are the final prices for the products, excluding any separately stated delivery charges. No VAT is charged.
Our correspondence address is not open to the public. Our private animal premises remain closed for safety, security and animal-welfare reasons. Visits, collections and returns are not permitted unless agreed with us in writing beforehand.
2. About These Terms
These Terms and Conditions apply when you use the Bio Forest website or purchase products and services from us.
Please read these terms before placing an order. By placing an order, you confirm that you have read and accepted them.
These terms do not affect your legal rights as a consumer. If there is any conflict between these terms and your statutory rights, your statutory rights will apply.
Our website may offer live invertebrates, livefood, clean-up crew, plants, bioactive supplies, reptile and amphibian equipment, educational visits, parties, shows and other related products or services.
3. Orders and Order Acceptance
When you place an order, you are making an offer to purchase the products or services shown in your order.
An automatic order confirmation only confirms that we have received your order. It does not mean that we have accepted it.
Your order is accepted when we send confirmation that it has been dispatched. For services, educational visits, parties or events, your booking is accepted when we confirm it in writing.
All orders are subject to availability. We may refuse or cancel an order if:
- A product is unavailable.
- There is an error in the price or product information.
- We cannot safely deliver live products because of weather or welfare concerns.
- We suspect fraud, misuse or unlawful activity.
- The delivery address is unsuitable or outside our delivery area.
- We cannot provide the requested service or event.
If we cancel an order after payment has been taken, we will refund the amount paid for the cancelled item or service.
. Prices and Payment
All prices are shown in pounds sterling (£).
Bio Forest is not currently registered for VAT, so VAT is not added to our prices. Delivery charges are shown separately before an order is completed.
We take reasonable care to ensure that prices and product information are correct. If we discover an obvious pricing error, we will contact you before accepting the order. You may continue at the correct price or cancel the affected item for a full refund.
Payment must be made using one of the payment methods available at checkout. Orders will not be dispatched until payment has been received successfully.
If a payment is refused, reversed or identified as potentially fraudulent, we may place the order on hold or cancel it.
Any discount code must be used according to its stated conditions. Discount codes cannot be exchanged for cash and may be withdrawn or changed at any time unless we have already accepted an eligible order.
5. Products and Natural Variation
We take reasonable care to describe and photograph our products accurately. Colours, sizes and appearances may vary slightly because of lighting, screens, packaging changes and natural variation.
Live animals, invertebrates, plants, cultures and other living products naturally vary in size, colour, markings and appearance. Photographs may be examples and may not show the exact specimen you will receive unless clearly stated.
Stated quantities for live cultures and clean-up crew are approximate unless the product description guarantees an exact count. Small juveniles, eggs or newborn animals may be difficult to see within the substrate.
Any age, size, sex, morph or locality information is provided honestly using the information reasonably available to us. Sex cannot be guaranteed unless the product listing specifically states that it is guaranteed.
Product packaging may change without notice, but we will aim to supply an equivalent product with the same intended purpose and quantity.
6. Live-Animal Welfare and Customer Responsibilities
Animal welfare is our priority. We may delay, refuse or cancel the sale or delivery of a live animal if we reasonably believe that completing the order could put its welfare at risk.
Before ordering a live animal, the customer is responsible for:
- Researching the species and its care requirements.
- Providing suitable, secure and fully prepared housing.
- Maintaining the correct temperature, humidity, lighting and ventilation.
- Ensuring that keeping the species is legal at the delivery address.
- Obtaining any licence or permission that may be required.
- Providing accurate contact and delivery information.
- Being available to receive and care for the animal promptly after delivery.
Care information supplied by Bio Forest is general guidance and does not replace advice from a suitably qualified veterinary professional.
Live animals must not be released into the wild. Unwanted non-native animals should be rehomed responsibly or returned only where Bio Forest has agreed to accept them in writing.
7. Delivery
We currently deliver eligible products to UK addresses using the delivery options shown at checkout. Available delivery services, charges and estimated times are explained on our Delivery Information page.
Delivery dates and times are estimates unless we have expressly agreed a guaranteed date in writing. Delays caused by couriers, severe weather, public holidays or circumstances outside our reasonable control may occur.
Live animals and temperature-sensitive products will only be dispatched when we believe the weather and delivery conditions are suitable. We may delay dispatch to protect animal welfare.
Customers must provide a complete and accurate delivery address, postcode, email address and telephone number.
The customer must ensure that someone is available to receive live animals and perishable products. Any safe-place instruction is given at the customer’s request, but this does not remove any legal rights that cannot be excluded.
If a parcel is returned because delivery was refused, repeatedly missed or the address was incorrect, additional charges may apply before it can be sent again. Live products will only be resent when it is safe and appropriate to do so.
Premium Delivery of Custom Bioactive Setups
Our premium Bio Forest delivery service is available with all custom bioactive setups.
Premium delivery is included free of charge with our Gold and Platinum custom setup packages. Delivery charges for any other package will be shown and agreed in the customer’s quotation.
Free delivery applies to our usual delivery area and delivery to an accessible ground-floor location.
Additional charges may apply for remote locations or journeys requiring additional time, fuel, staff, ferry travel, tolls or overnight accommodation. This may include the Scottish Highlands, Scottish Islands and other remote parts of the UK.
We will explain and agree any additional delivery charge with the customer before accepting the order.
Our premium delivery service includes:
- Delivery by the Bio Forest team on an agreed date.
- Careful transportation of the custom setup.
- Delivery to a safe and accessible ground-floor location.
- Reasonable positioning in the agreed ground-floor location.
- A handover explaining the setup and its main equipment.
The customer must tell us before accepting the quotation if:
- The setup must be carried upstairs or downstairs.
- There are steps, narrow doors, tight corners or restricted access.
- The property is a flat or requires the use of a lift.
- There is no suitable nearby parking.
- There is a long distance between our vehicle and the property.
- Any other access issue could affect safe delivery.
Delivery above or below ground level is not included in the original delivery service.
Where stairs, difficult access or heavy items are involved, an additional team member may be required. An extra charge will apply and must be agreed with the customer before delivery.
The customer is responsible for checking that all doors, hallways, stairs, lifts and the intended location are large enough and suitable for the setup.
We may refuse to move or position a setup if we reasonably believe it would be unsafe, could cause injury, damage the setup or property, or affect animal welfare.
If the customer did not provide relevant access information beforehand and we cannot safely complete delivery, the setup may be placed in a suitable ground-floor location or returned. Additional staffing, transport, storage and rearranged-delivery charges may apply.
Unless expressly included in the written quotation, premium delivery does not include electrical work, plumbing, wall fixing or alterations to the customer’s property.
Responsibility for goods passes to the customer when they are delivered into the customer’s physical possession or to a person identified by them to receive the delivery.
8. Cancellations, Returns and Custom Builds
Ordinary Online Purchases
For most ordinary, non-custom products purchased online, customers have the right to cancel without giving a reason. The cancellation period ends 14 days after the customer, or a person chosen by them, receives the goods.
To cancel, the customer must send a clear statement to cs@bioforest.co.uk within the cancellation period.
After notifying us, the customer must return the goods within 14 days. Unless the goods are faulty, damaged, incorrect or we are legally responsible for the return cost, the customer is responsible for arranging and paying for the return.
The fact that an item was originally delivered by the Bio Forest team does not mean that Bio Forest must collect it when the customer has simply changed their mind.
If Bio Forest agrees to collect a non-faulty item, collection must be arranged in advance. A reasonable collection charge may apply and may be deducted from any refund. The collection cost will be explained and agreed before collection.
Customers must not send or bring products to our private premises without receiving written return instructions. Our correspondence address is not open for public visits or unarranged returns.
Returned goods must be safely packaged. Customers may inspect products as they would in a shop, but we may make a reasonable deduction from the refund if unnecessary handling, use, damage or poor packaging has reduced their value.
Where cancellation rights apply, we will refund the product price and the cost of our least expensive standard delivery option. Any additional amount paid for premium or upgraded delivery is not refundable unless that service was faulty or not provided as agreed.
We may withhold a refund until we receive the returned goods or the customer provides evidence that they have sent them back. Refunds will be made using the original payment method unless otherwise agreed.
Products Excluded from Change-of-Mind Cancellation
The legal right to cancel may not apply to:
- Livefood, live cultures, plants or other products liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly.
- Bespoke, personalised or custom-made products.
- Custom bioactive setups built to the customer’s specifications.
- Sealed products that cannot be returned for health or hygiene reasons after the seal has been broken.
- Services fully completed after the customer expressly requested that they begin during the cancellation period and acknowledged that their cancellation right would be lost once completed.
- Other products or services excluded under applicable consumer law.
Cancellation of Custom Bioactive Setups
Custom bioactive setups are designed and built to the customer’s agreed specifications. Once materials have been ordered, preparation has started or construction has begun, the customer will not normally have a legal change-of-mind cancellation right.
If a customer asks to cancel, we will calculate the work completed and the costs Bio Forest has reasonably incurred or cannot recover. These may include:
- Design and administration work.
- Ordered or prepared materials.
- Plants, substrate and decorations.
- Equipment and custom-made components.
- Livestock preparation where applicable.
- Staff time.
- Supplier cancellation charges.
- Delivery, return transport and storage.
Any refund will be calculated after deducting these reasonable costs and losses. A cancelled custom build will not necessarily receive a 100% refund. Any deduction will not exceed the loss Bio Forest has reasonably incurred because of the cancellation.
A customer cannot receive a full refund merely because delivery could not be completed due to unsafe or unsuitable access, an unprepared location, incorrect measurements or access information that was not disclosed before delivery.
In these circumstances, the setup may be returned to Bio Forest and held for rearranged delivery. Reasonable failed-delivery, return, storage, additional staffing and redelivery costs may be charged separately or deducted from any refund that is due.
Bio Forest is not required to collect a correctly made custom setup merely because the customer no longer wants it.
Faulty Custom Setups and Equipment
If a custom setup or supplied item is faulty, the customer must contact Bio Forest promptly and provide photographs, video and a clear description of the fault.
Where legally permitted and reasonably possible, Bio Forest will first offer to repair or replace the faulty item, component or equipment.
All faulty items or components must be returned to Bio Forest or made available for inspection and collection before a replacement or refund is issued, unless:
- Returning the item would be unsafe or unreasonable.
- Bio Forest agrees otherwise in writing.
- The customer has a legal right to another remedy.
Customers must not dismantle, modify, repair or arrange the return of a large setup or electrical item without receiving instructions from Bio Forest.
Where a fault is confirmed, Bio Forest will arrange collection or cover reasonable return costs where legally required. If inspection shows that the product is not faulty, the customer may be responsible for reasonable collection, inspection and redelivery costs, provided these costs were explained beforehand.
If a repair or replacement is impossible, unsuccessful, disproportionate or cannot be completed within a reasonable time, the customer may be entitled to a price reduction or refund.
9. Live-Arrival and Delivery-Condition Claims
Customers must inspect their delivery as soon as reasonably possible after it arrives.
Any concern involving a live animal must be reported to cs@bioforest.co.uk immediately on the day of delivery. Concerns involving livefood, cultures or clean-up crew must be reported as soon as possible and no later than two days after delivery.
The customer must provide:
- Their name and order number.
- A clear description of the problem.
- Clear photographs or video showing the condition of the product.
- Photographs of the packaging, shipping label and visible damage.
- The date and time the delivery was received.
- Any additional information reasonably required to assess the claim.
The customer must not dispose of the animal, culture, product or packaging until Bio Forest has responded, unless retaining it would create a health, safety or animal-welfare risk.
The customer must follow reasonable welfare instructions while a live-arrival concern is being assessed.
Reporting within these timeframes allows us to assess whether the problem existed at delivery. A late report may mean that we cannot treat the issue as an arrival-condition claim, but this does not remove any legal rights the customer may have.
If we confirm that a product arrived dead, damaged, incomplete or incorrect, we will provide an appropriate remedy. Depending on the circumstances and the customer’s legal rights, this may include a replacement, refund, repair or price reduction.
Where a replacement is provided, the affected product may need to be returned or made available for collection. Bio Forest will provide instructions and cover reasonable return costs where we are responsible.
We are not responsible for problems caused after delivery by unsuitable housing, incorrect temperature or humidity, failure to follow care instructions, accidental injury, escape, neglect or another animal. This does not apply if the original problem was already present when the order was delivered.