Frequently Asked Questions

Goods are normally despatched on the day the order is received, if the order is received by 5pm Monday - Friday. We shall despatch goods by First Class post (for orders below £60 and under 1kg) or our preferred Carrier (for orders over £60 or over 1kg in weight) to UK-based customers.

No. You can proceed through the checkout on our website as a guest. The only details you need to enter in the 'Guest Checkout' are your email address, name and delivery address. After placing your order you will have the option of registering with us.

Simply click the 'Register' part of the 'Sign In/Register' link as above, and enter your details in the 'Register for an Online Account'' section. Here you will need to create your log-in details and enter your contact information and billing address details. You also have the chance to sign up to our newsletter. Click the 'Register' button to confirm your registration.

If you forget your password, enter your email address on the 'Sign In' page and click the 'Recover Password' link. You will be sent an email with a temporary link to a page on which you can reset your password. Please note: this link is only valid for use once. Alternatively, if you are still having difficulty, or if you do not receive the email, contact us and we will manually reset your password for you.

For security reasons you should regularly change your password. You can do this from the 'Update Personal Details' link in the 'My Account' dropdown box or from the 'Personal Details' link in 'My Account'.

When you create an account or place an order, an automated email will be sent to you.

If you do not receive these emails, this could be due to an error with the email address you provided when you registered with www.rapidonline.com. You may have omitted a letter, number or other character, so that any messages we try to send will not reach you. If this happens we will receive a notification and contact you if possible and amend your email address on our records.

Sometimes our emails are blocked by email filtering software, particularly if it is the first message we have sent you. It is worth checking your Spam folder and adding sales@rapidonline.com to your safe senders list.

If you do not receive an email that you expect from Rapid, please contact us.

We deliver to addresses around the world. Customers from territories which are both outside the UK and outside the EU do not pay VAT. If you are a non-EU customer and VAT is included in your order, please contact our Export department by email on exports@rapidonline.com, who will set up your account correctly or refund to you any amount already paid.

Your payment card will be debited in UK pounds sterling, and based on the current exchange rate converted to the equivalent amount in your own currency. Prices on the website are displayed in UK pounds sterling. There is the option to view prices in US dollars or Euros, for guidance purposes only. You can set these currency preferences in your 'My Account' area.

From any page, just click on the Rapid logo at the top left corner of the screen to be taken back to the homepage.

Customers who do not have credit facilities can change their invoice address in the 'Personal details' section of 'My Account'. Credit account customers should contact us by emailing accounts@rapidonline.com to enquire about updating their invoice address details. It is also possible to have separate addresses registered to your account for deliveries and invoices. However, for security reasons, this is not available for your first order placed on the desktop and mobile versions of the website, and for the first 30 days after your first order.

Please contact our customer services team on customer.services@rapidonline.com, who will investigate why your card has been declined. This could be due to insufficient funds in your account, the entering of incorrect details relating to your card and billing address (such as your postcode) or your bank's anti-fraud controls. We will respond promptly and suggest an appropriate course of action.

If you are having trouble placing an order, finding the part you want or when the information you need is not immediately available online, click on the 'Chat to an Online Advisor' link in the grey bar at the top of any page on the site.

This facility allows you to contact a sales or technical advisor, who will seek to solve your problem as soon as possible via a real-time web chat.

This facility is available from 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

You can enter your reference or Purchase Order number in the Delivery Details section of the checkout page.

All orders weighing under 1kg or less than £60 in value are sent via 1st class post and do not require a signature. Parcels above 1kg in weight and £60 in value are sent by our preferred carrier and require a signature before delivery. In the event that no one is available to sign, a card will be left and the customer will be asked to collect the parcel from the carrier's local depot or arrange a more convenient time for delivery. If you would like to give us special delivery instructions, such as leaving parcels with neighbours, you can do so over the phone at the time you place the order.

If you have an invoice account with Rapid, you can find details of your credit limit when you are logged in to the website. Simply click the 'Personal details' or 'Update personal details' link in the 'My Account' area of the website. Your credit limit will be displayed under 'Credit Status' on the right of the page. You can apply for an increase in your credit limit by contacting our Accounts department.

To help users with dyslexia navigate the website we have introduced a dyslexia-friendly font, approved by the British Dyslexia Association. This can be accessed when customers are logged-in by clicking the accessibility icon at the top right of the site, then checking the 'Dyslexic Friendly Font' box.