Q. Why are your cages so cheap?

Q. If they are so cheap, what's wrong with them?

Q. Can I try before I buy?

Q. How heavy are they?

Q. How big can I have it?

Q. But it's made of metal, doesn't it rust?

Q. I have nosey neighbours...

Q. What is Mainland UK?

Q. Can you send cages to America?

Q. Why does the price keep changing?

Q. Can I have a Saturday delivery

Q. I'll need to take a day off work, can you guarantee delivery?

Q. Commercial Use

A. So, who are you?

Gross Hurst & Co is a partnership trading as (amongst other interests) puppycages.co.uk.

puppycages started life as a friend wanting a cage, the bottom line being that he could not really afford the £500 it was going to cost. With our background of vehicle restoration, he knew that it was something that we were capable of producing for him and so the challenge was set.

Puppycages was born 3 weeks and one very happy friend later when it was suggested that there would be lots more people (mostly friends and acquaintances) that would like a cage of their own.

So after some design simplifications and standardizing the size, here we are today.

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A. Why are your cages so cheap?

There are many things that we would like to buy or do, but just can't afford to; and that is the over-riding philosophy. We're not talking Ferraris or mansions, just modest luxuries; why should you have to pay over the odds for something just because it is a little different or out of the ordinary?

The mechanics of it are simple: we don't have a show room, we don't employ someone to answer the phone, we buy in materials locally and in bulk and we don't waste money on things we don't really need.

All those saving are passed directly on to you.

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A. If they are so cheap, what is wrong with them?

Damned cheek! There's nothing wrong with them!

The cage is made from 20x20 and 16x6mm box section steel and all the joints are fully welded; that makes it a strong cage that you will need to try very hard to damage, bend or otherwise; Worlds Strongest Men and the Incredible Hulk besides, you're unlikely to be able to it do any damage with your bare hands.

Customer satisfaction is important; happy customers means more customers - we keep customers happy by supplying good quality products.

However, we think it only fair to note that the finish on the cage is not a mass produced, cold and emotionless, perfect shiny finish. These are hand made so there are small tolerances and imperfections.

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A. Can I try before I buy?

The short answer is No!

We keep the cost of the cage down by not having a showroom and providing a mail order service only.

However, if you have bought a standard cage and don't think much of it then you may return it for a refund - see Terms for details.

We cannot accept returns on cages made to customer order, however, we will probably accept a return if you have only had your cage resized slightly from the standard size - see Bespoke for details.

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A. How heavy are they?

The standard cage weighs in at about 47kg. No single section should weigh more than 10kg.

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A. How big can I have it?

The size you can have your cage is mostly limited by the size limit of the courier. For this reason we do not tend to make very large cages except for special commission.

If you are after a slightly larger cage than normal, just email us with the size you have in mind and we will check this against the couriers before providing you a quote.

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A. But it's made of metal, doesn't it rust?

The cages are all painted as standard with a hammer finish black or silver paint for protection.

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A. I have nosey neighbours..

Don't we all! Cages are dispatched in plain cardboard packaging (unless we have some random cardboard boxes lying around) with no indication to contents or intended use.

They are normally sent as 2 or 3 separate parcels.

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A. What is Mainland UK?

I'm sure most of you know if you are within the mainland UK delivery area, but to clarify, the following areas are likely to attract a surcharge:

- Highlands and Islands of Scotland

- All IV postcodes
- All KW postcodes
- AB postcodes except AB 1-16, 21-25, 30-39
- PH postcodes except PH 1 to 3
- PA postcodes except PA 1 to 19
- All islands off the coast of Scotland

- Northern Ireland
- Republic of Ireland
- Channel Islands
- Isle of Man
- Isle of Wight
- Isle of Scilly

If you order a cage from the shop that is in one of the above (or any other problem) areas then we will check your address with our courier before proceeding with the order. If your address attracts a delivery surcharge you will be given the choice of either paying the surcharge (this is charged at cost) or receiving a full and immediate refund.

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A. Can you send cages to America?

Unfortunately, we are not able to send cages outside of the UK as the cost of doing so is prohibitive and in most cases exceeds the cost of the cage!

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A. Why does the price keep changing?

As of June 2008 the steel prices are increasing on a daily basis; with our cages being of such great value we are able to absorb only some of the price increase. Some types of steel have increased by 20 - 30% while other types have more than doubled this year. Unfortunately, some of the steel that we use is the stuff that has doubled in price and we don't want to change to something else as we are not prepared to sacrifice quality.

When (or if) the prices fall again - this is not expected to happen for a very long time - then you can be assured that our prices will also come back down.

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A. Can I have a Saturday delivery?

Yes, you can have a Saturday delivery. The cost of a Saturday varies with each order, however, the surcharge for a standard cage is £26.50 and is charged at cost.

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A. I'll need to take a day off work, can you guarantee delivery?

In theory, yes; all orders are sent on a Next Day Delivery service. Although we do our level best to ensure a delivery is made on your chosen day, the actual collection and delivery of items is outside of our control. The couriers are subject to the same problems we all encounter: sickness, traffic jams, break downs and accidents; for this reason we cannot give an explicit guarantee of delivery.

The good news is that the couriers are normally very reliable and so far all deliveries have taken place as planned.

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A. Commercial Use

If the cage is to be used for commercial purposes we recommend the use of a removable door; this is for Health and Safety reasons and allows easy escape of any occupant should there be an emergency.
Puppy Cage: For the Puppy Cage we recommend either the Double Gate Door or the Escape Door. If ordering a double gate door, please advise if it needs to be removable in the locked position – by default it is not removable.
Tall cage: The Tall Cage is a little too narrow to allow the use of the Double Gate Door and therefore, if a removable door is required, we recommend the Escape Door.

Very Rough use:
For the majority of people and uses our standard cage design is more than strong enough, but if you think your cage is going to be subjected to very rough use (suspension within the cage, suspension of the cage) or continued/daily, aggressive/rough use, we recommend an additional door frame is used.

Please see Extras for more details.

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