Returns, Tax Exemptions & Other Policies

USDA FOREST SERVICE INSIGNIA & APPAREL RULES: (AND National Park Service must use government email to order apparel)

Separation of Government vs. General Public:

The Forest Service insignia will be available on all apparel items we offer, in all colors and in any variation 
to anyone purchasing with a valid USDA email address and paying with a government credit card. 
We will not be able to do "Volunteer", "Retiree" or anything custom under the FS shield unless purchased 
on a government account.

Personal orders will still be accepted, but there are 2 main restrictions:

1) The only insignia version allowed to the general public is the FS shield with "Caring for the Land" below.

2) Green and black apparel items with the FS insignia are restricted to all apparel items to the general public. 
Some other items like white polo’s and grey vests may also be restricted to government only purchases.

If an order is placed with a personal account and has any restricted items, we will contact you to discuss your 
other options. In some cases, a refund may need to be issued. We strongly encourage you to only use 
government emails and government funds to purchase Forest Service insignias. After January of 2024 a 6% 
bank fee will be deducted from any purchase that needs to be refunded.

BILLING ADDRESS AND AVS MISMTACH:

We take credit card theft very seriously. Our system is set to insure that your billing address matches the

ACTUAL BILLING ADDRESS YOUR CREDIT CARD IS MAILED TO.  You can ship to any other address, 
but the billing address must match EXACTLY to the cards filed billing address or you will get an 
error code: AVS mismatch.  This error code puts a PENDING charge in your bank account.  This is by 
your bank, and will be removed once all charges are settled.  This can take 24 hours to 3-5 business 
days depending your bank.  We cannot refund charges showing pending on your bank account.

You will know if your order has been placed because you will get an email thank you for your order with your 
amount and items shown.  If you are not provided an order number, your order was not officially placed.

If you keep making attempts to process a card that is declining without fixing the address, you will get more 
charges showing these attempts in your PENDING area of your bank account.   These are not POSTED 
charges, and we do not ever see those charges in our bank.  All charges that are declined will leave the 
pending area of your bank once the accounts settle, but that is up to your banks policies and procedures on 
how long that takes.  Sometimes a card will stop letting you make attempts and will put a lock on your account 
thinking your card is stolen.   In any of these events, WHC is not who can help, you will need to contact your
 bank if you have further questions.

RETURNS POLICY:

You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery, a 20% re-stocking fee will apply.

We will pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

Custom orders, including all apparel items, are not returnable unless defective.

You can expect to receive your refund within 7-10 business days of us physically receiving the item(s). We can only refund you by the original payment method.

If you need to return an item, please Contact Us with your order number and details about the product you would like to return. We will respond quickly with instructions for how to return items from your order.

REFUNDS AND REPROSSESING:

If for any reason you need to refund your order and have it processed to a different credit card, there will be a 6% fee added to your order for processing fees. We cannot process a refund within 24 hours that you placed your order. In those cases we have to VOID your order. Only in these circumstances will there be no extra bank fees.

SHIPPING:

We WILL NOT use 3rd party freight. We use Fedex or USPS. We would prefer not to ship outside of the USA.

When you place an order shipping costs are figured by the delivery service based on weight and destination. Western Heritage does not control the shipping costs.

PRODUCTION TIMES:

Please remember we are a small Mom & Pop shop, not a massive warehouse. Our warehouse space is less than 2000 square feet. WE ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH AMAZON. Almost all items are prepared as ordered, and most often are hand crafted from scratch. Things can take 6-8 weeks to ship. We aim to get items out as fast as possible. Please contact us with any questions or concerns. We are small, but you will get a real person on the line to help go over all your questions and concerns regarding specific items and turn around times.

TAX EXEMPTION:

All orders are tax exempt with the exception of our home state of Colorado.

If you are tax exempt and shipping to a Colorado address you must supply your tax exemption certificate to devon@westernheritage.com AND you must create a login profile. Once Devon receives your tax exempt certificate she will make your profile tax exempt. You will receive an emailed response from her once you are set up as tax exempt. Tax cannot be refunded if you do not follow these steps.

IF YOU PLACE YOUR ORDER AS A GUEST AND THEN ASK FOR TAX REMOVAL: If it's the same day, we can void the order without penalties. You will have to make an account, send Devon your tax info. WAIT for her to let you know it's been added to your account, then when you are logged in you can replace your order. If it's not the same day, you may be subject to the 6% processing bank fees that will be charged to refund and recharge your order. ALL TAX EXEMPT ORDERS MUST BE PLACED BY A CUSTOMER- NOT A GUEST. We cannot refund any tax to a "guest". Even if you make an account ,the system sees you as 2 different people now and will not put that tax from one account to the other.

THIS IS WHAT WE NEED:

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A COPY OF YOUR TAX EXEMPT FORM: You may send us a letter with the Tax ID number, on official letterhead like this:

If you are tax exempt with a government credit card we need something in writing. We cannot just accept your tax ID number or a copy of your Government card. According to the following link for the State of Colorado you can provide your information, with tax ID, on government letterhead"

https://tax.colorado.gov/sites/tax/files/Sales63.pdf

Per paragraph 3:
In order for a government entity to take advantage of the tax exemption, the purchase must be made with a prescribed government form or purchase order, and paid for directly to the seller by warrant or check drawn on governmental funds, or via credit card in the name of the exempt governmental agency. [Reg. 39-26-704.1] When using a credit card, verification that the purchase is for governmental purposes and will be paid for by the governmental agency may be required. A letter on the governmental entity’s letterhead is acceptable for this purpose. In cases where the seller invoices on a delayed basis for a purchase, the billing must be made directly to the governmental agency, not to the individual making the purchase.

END OF FISCAL YEAR AND GOVERNMENT RECONCILING:

Cards are processed at the time you place your order. We are not able to legally hold your card number until your order ships. We have been working with the Government for over 40 years and understand that many of our customers are using Government funds and that reconciling needs to be done within 30 days of purchase. We will always strive to ship within the 30-day window. We can partially ship orders to help provide legal documentation from us that your remaining items are coming and allow you to reconcile your purchase. In some cases extensions can be filed on your side with your Senior Purchasing Agent. You can always contact us prior to placing your order to ensure the stock of items to see if you will run into any risk of coming close to your 30 day cut off. Please contact us if you have any questions or for other options.

BELT BUCKLE PASSWORDS:

All buckles that reside in the restricted section are set to different levels of protection from just anyone purchasing them. We understand that crew captains can change. If you are trying to get a buckle and need help resetting the password. Please contact NICOLE, nicole@westernheritage.com.

BELT BUCKLE LIFETIME GUARANTEE:

We guarantee your satisfaction. You have the finest buckle available! We are proud of our highest quality handcrafted buckles. MADE IN THE USA. Due to humidity variations, your buckle may tarnish. To restore it to its original high luster, lightly apply metal polish and buff with a soft cloth. You may choose to allow your buckle to naturally wear to an antique patina. If that is your choice, there is no need to polish it. We guarantee our workmanship against cracks and breaks in your casting. If you send it back to us we'll make it right or replace it and send it back to you in new condition. EXCEPTIONS: plated buckles do not apply to the lifetime guarantee.

In the event that your buckle needs repair:

We need to determine what part of the buckle is busted. If it's the boss or the hook, we will need you to send it to us for full replacement. If it's just the bail you can get replacements here:

https://westernheritagestore.com/buckle-bail/

If you need to send it to us for replacement, please know we will melt down your buckle and use that metal to cast you a brand new belt buckle. We will translate any serial numbering or engraving onto the new buckle. There is no charge for this. You get it to us and we'll take care of the rest. We just ask that you send it to us with a note INSIDE THE PACKAGE with your name, phone number, return address and email if possible. This way we can get it back to you as quickly as possible. Repairs are priority, but as casting is not a fast process and can take 4-5 weeks.