Delivery times and charges
Missing or delayed orders
Cancellations and returns
Account issues
Contacting Authors
Getting Published
Purchasing an ebook
Other FAQs

Q. Who owns www.rbooks.co.uk?

Delivery times and charges - (not relevant for Services such as ebooks)

Q. How much is P&P?

A. rBooks.co.uk can deliver to most addresses in the UK and Europe.  Click here for details of our charges.

Q. When will my order be dispatched?

A. On the website we give an estimate of the dispatch time both on the product pages and throughout the shopping basket.  Most items can be dispatched within 1-2 working days from the date at which you place your order.  If your title is a pre-order title, publication date has not yet passed, or a title being reprinted the estimated dispatch time shown on the product pages and in the basket will reflect that.

When items are ready to leave our warehouse you will receive an email advising you that your books are being dispatched.   

You can see the status of your orders in the 'My Account' section of the site, which is also where you will find the order enquiry form should you need to contact customer services.

Missing or delayed orders

Q.Why hasn't my order arrived?

A. If you have received a dispatch notification email from us your delivery should arrive in a day or two (as fast as the Royal Mail can get it there) if you live in the UK.  If your order hasn't arrived please check with your local post office to make sure the package is not being held pending delivery. If this isn’t the case, please contact our customer service* team to make sure that we have the correct address and payment details. You can do this via the order enquiry form on the My Account page. For overseas orders, please allow extra time.

* Please note, our customer services department only speak English.


Cancellations and returns

Q. Can I cancel an order (for Products and Services)?

A. Yes.  You can cancel your order at any time before receiving your delivery or within 14 days following delivery if you live in the UK, or 28 days if you live outside the UK in one of the non-UK countries we deliver to. You can cancel your order before delivery by getting in touch with our customer service team by using the order enquiry form on the My Account page.  Please remember to state your full name, address and order number in any correspondence.

For Services such as ebooks, the download will be available immediately.  Please refer to the returns section below.

Q.How do I return an item once it has been delivered?

For Products:

A. We are happy to refund the cost of unwanted items that are cancelled and returned to us within the specified period. If you want to return an item after delivery please register your order cancellation with us within 14 calendar days of delivery to a UK address or 28 calendar days of delivery if the delivery address is outside the UK. You can do this by using the order enquiry form on the My Accounts page. Please state your full name, address and order number in any correspondence, as well as the reason for return.

Once your order has been cancelled you have thirty calendar days to return the item to us. It should be unused and in its original packing. Unwanted goods are returned to us at your own cost, unless the items are damaged or defective, or have been sent to you in error. We recommend that you use a recorded delivery service, as we will be unable to make a refund if goods go astray in transit. Please note that we will also be unable to refund your payment if goods are returned in an unsaleable condition as a result of broken seals and opened or defaced packaging. A refund for the cost of the item and our original delivery fee will be made to your payment card. It will not be paid in cash. Refunds will not be given where goods are returned in an unsaleable condition.

For Services such as ebooks:

A: If Services are defective, please contact us via the order enquiries form on the My Account page. We reserve the right to check if the Services are defective before agreeing to reimbursement and to ask for proof of defect. We may refund you the cost of defective Services at our sole discretion.

Q.I’ve been sent an incorrect or damaged item. How do I exchange it?

A. Please accept our apologies. At RBooks.co.uk we take great pains to ensure that you receive the books you order promptly and in perfect condition, but despite our best efforts items are occasionally dispatched incorrectly or damaged in transit. If this has happened to you, please alert our customer service team to the problem, remembering to include your name, full address, and order reference. You can use the order enquiry form on the My Account page to contact us. If you return the incorrect or damaged item to us, we'll exchange it and refund the cost of postage.

Q. I have just bought or been given a book published by The Random House Group in the UK and some pages are missing; what should I do?

A. Every year we produce millions of books and unfortunately a very small minority get past our Quality Assurance system and into the market with production faults. We do apologise for this. It is best if you return the book to the original bookshop from which it was purchased and they should be happy to exchange it for a perfect copy. If you have any difficulty with this then please return the cover and title page to us. NB: You will only need to return it all if the book is over £20 in value. Please email ggillings@tbs-ltd.co.uk for details, or mswinge@randomhouse.co.uk if your mailing address is outside the UK.

Account issues

Q.What should I do if I’ve forgotten my password?

A. Click here to let us know that you'd like a reminder sent to your registered email address.

Q.I’d like to pay with a different credit card. How can I change my details?

A. Click here to amend your RBooks.co.uk payment details. For security reasons, you will be asked to login.

Q.I'd like my order delivered to a new address. How can I change my details?

A. Click here to amend your RBooks.co.uk address book. For security reasons, you will be asked to login.

Q. How do I get in contact with a Random House author/copyright holder?

A. First check to see if the author includes any contact details on their website in our list of author sites. If not, so as to protect the privacy of an author, we are not permitted to give out author contact details under any circumstances. If you wish to contact an author please do so BY LETTER ONLY and send it the author c/o Publicity Department, The Random House Group Limited, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA. Your letter will be forwarded to them immediately if we have their details on record. If an author's books are now out of print, we are unlikely to still have their details. To contact an author in these circumstances is as difficult as it is to contact any private individual. Perhaps an experienced genealogist or detective agency could help!

Q. Can I email a Random House author/copyright holder?

A. No, not unless they have publicised their email address on their website as above. We are unable to forward emails. To contact the author you will need to write as above.

Q: How can I find out where and when an author is on tour?
A: Click on Author Events at the top of this page. You will also find links to tell you that an author is on tour from any book or author page.

Q. What if the book I am looking for doesn't come up when I search on this site?
A. If you are sure you have searched accurately then one of the following will apply:

- It could be published by another part of the Random House Group. Have you tried searching Random House Inc. in the US?

- It is not published by Random House at all, but by another publisher. Search the Amazon database.

- It is out of print. We do not keep details of books which were previously published by Random House. See out of print FAQ below.

- It is published by a company no longer associated with Random House UK. See below for current Random House publishing imprints. Otherwise try searching the Amazon database.

Purchasing an ebook

For a complete step by step guide on choosing the right ebook format and purchasing on www.rbooks.co.uk, please visit:

Step by step guide to purchasing an ebook on rBooks
Which ebooks format?
Complete FAQs

Please note, ebooks are only available in the UK at present.

Getting Published

Q. How can I get published?

A. Research shows that less than 1 per cent of manuscripts sent unsolicited to publishers achieve publication and few publishers will now accept unsolicited manuscripts, including ourselves. So it is not easy to get a book published unless you have an agent, and the best starting point is the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook which contains addresses of all the UK literary agents. You may also find The Literary Consultancy or The Writers’ Workshop useful for advice and manuscript assessment.

Q. I want to submit my manuscript directly, how should I go about doing this?

A. We only accept for consideration those submissions which come via a literary agent. This decision has been taken in response to the vast number of unsolicited submissions we receive, which we simply do not have the time or the manpower to evaluate properly. So please follow the advice above..

Q. I would like to submit my poetry for consideration. How do I do this?

A. The Jonathan Cape poetry list is small - publishing 4-6 books a year - and can only consider collections by English-language poets. Prior to submission, it is crucial that writers make themselves familiar with the kind of work published by Cape, and that they then follow the guidelines laid down in The Writers' Handbook or The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook. Ideally, any submission should include 30-40 poems; all work must be accompanied by a covering letter and sufficient return postage. Reading time: 2-8 weeks.

Q. I would like to have my artwork considered, how should I go about doing this?

A. If you would like us to consider your artwork for use in adult publications at Random House please send samples of your work to: Design Department
The Random House Group Limited
20 Vauxhall Bridge Road
London
SW1V 2SA

If you would like your artwork to be considered for Children's titles then please click here.

Please do not email your samples to us as we are unable to handle submissions in this format. Please send photocopies or printed samples (not originals) that we can respond to, but please be aware that this may take some time.

Q. How soon will I receive a reply?

A. Once a typescript has been submitted it can take as long as twelve weeks, or even longer, before a decision is reached. If you want to know if your manuscript has been received, please enclose a self addressed return postcard asking for confirmation of receipt.

Other FAQs

Q. How do I find out if a book I want is still in print?

A. If it is a Random House title - search this site, all titles from The Random House Group which are in print are listed in the database. Every bookshop has data on which books are in print. Alternatively, you could search the Amazon database for all books currently available in the UK.

Q. If a book is not in print how can I find a copy?

A. It is unlikely the publisher will know how to help you. Second-hand bookshops are a starting point. You can search the second-hand book database at www.abebooks.com.

The Random House Group Archive: For help in indentifying a book, you can browse the complete archive of publications by Random House and our imprints dating back to at least 1850. This facility is available online at http://archive.randomhouse.co.uk/.

Q. What is the difference between an imprint and a publishing company?

A. Random House is a publishing company that comprises a group of imprints that were once separate businesses. Each imprint has a slightly different publishing philosophy. Most imprints publish either hardback or paperback editions, so the same title usually appears under two different imprints. For instance John Grisham is published by the imprints Century and Arrow which are both part of Random House.

Random House imprints include: Arrow, Century, Chatto & Windus, Ebury, Everyman, Harvill Secker, Hutchinson, Jonathan Cape, Mainstream, Pimlico, Rider, Vermilion, Vintage, William Heinemann and Yellow Jersey. Random House Children's Books is also comprised of a large number of separate imprints. You can check the current titles of each imprint by making a selection from the dropdown list at the top of the page. A full list of imprints, including Children's, can be found on the Publishers page.

Q. What do words like B Format, Demy Octavo and Royal mean?

A. These are book sizes and translate as follows:

A Format = 178mm x 110mm
B Format = 198mm x 129mm
Demy = 216mm x 135mm
Royal = 234mm x 153mm

Q. How can I receive your book catalogues?

A. We publish catalogues for our imprints in four combinations which roughly represent popular fiction, literary and classic fiction, illustrated and non-fiction, and Children's. You can request catalogues by clicking here to send an email. Alternatively, our literary and classic fiction catalogues are also now available on-line: click here for the July 2009 - January 2010 catalogue. 

Q. How do I get a job in publishing?

A. Please visit our dedicated careers site at careersatrandom.co.uk for full details and online application forms.

Q. Where can I get information about using Random House books for promotions or incentives?

A. We would be pleased to talk about any idea that you have for using Random House books as premiums, incentives, covermounts or media promotions. Please visit our books for promotions website at www.booksforpromotions.co.uk for details.

Q. I would like to use some material from one of your titles in my publication. What do I need to do?

A. Written permission is required for use of any material published by the companies of Random House in the UK. Please check out our Permissions Page for full details.

Q. I would like to use some of your material on my website. What do I need to do?

A. The same rules apply for electronic media as for traditional publications. Please check out our Permissions Page for full details.

Q. I am a retailer. How can I order books?

A. Our books are distributed by TBS. If you would like to place an order then please do so through PubEasy.

Q. Where does the paper used in the production of Random House books originate?

A. Papers used by Random House are natural, recyclable products made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.

Please click here to see our Paper Procurement Policy