Wrong spelling or date on a personalised gift?
Contact the seller immediately and request a written hold on personalisation and dispatch. Compare your submitted details, approved proof and production instruction before agreeing correction costs and a revised delivery plan. Cambridge China Bridge can coordinate the factory checks through its own staff in China.
Request a hold immediately
Contact your seller or sourcing contact through the order channel and call if urgent. Identify the order, affected gift and incorrect wording. Ask them to hold personalisation and dispatch of the affected items while the correction is reviewed. Request confirmation that the factory has received and implemented the hold; a message marked as read does not establish that work has stopped.
Send a clear instruction: “Please hold the affected items pending correction approval. The supplied wording is incorrect. Please confirm what is already personalised, what remains untouched and whether anything has been dispatched.” Ask for production records and photographs tied to your order. Keep any unconfirmed production status visible.
Trace where the mistake entered
Save your original order entry, attachments, messages, approved proof and approval reply before editing anything. Ask for the exact file or instruction the factory used. Compare them character by character, including punctuation, accents, capitalisation and the date format. Distinguish the date printed on the gift from the date by which you need delivery.
If your incorrect wording appears unchanged in the approved proof and finished gift, approach the request as a buyer correction. If your instruction was correct but the seller retyped it incorrectly, or production differs from the approved proof, document that discrepancy. Where the proof conflicts with your order or approval was unclear, ask for an explanation before allocating costs. The artwork approval guide covers the wider proof process.
Agree the correction and its costs
Ask which options remain possible at the confirmed production stage: changing an unused file, replacing a personalised component, reworking the gift or making a replacement. For engraving, embroidery or permanent printing, ask whether correction would leave visible damage. Request a sample or clear photographs before accepting rework.
Request an itemised correction proposal covering artwork changes, setup, materials already used, rework or replacement, packing and additional freight. Ask what can be reused and what evidence supports claimed completed work. Record who pays, the revised dispatch and arrival expectations, and what happens to the incorrect goods. Use the business supply terms guide to check the agreed cost and remedy provisions.
Approve corrected details before restarting
Supply the complete replacement wording rather than an isolated instruction to change a letter. Write the intended month in words in your correction message and separately confirm the exact date format to appear on the gift. For a batch of different names, identify each affected recipient and product clearly so the correction cannot be applied to the wrong gift.
Ask for a fresh proof from the corrected production file. Have another person compare it with the intended wording, then approve the named revision in writing. Obtain confirmation that the old instruction is withdrawn and agree a check of the corrected personalisation before dispatch. Do not promise your customer an unchanged delivery date until the revised plan is confirmed.
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Separate buyer corrections from seller complaints
For your business purchase, review the agreed order documents and correction terms rather than assuming consumer cancellation rules determine the outcome. Keep your request to stop work separate from the discussion about responsibility. If delivered goods differ from the agreed wording, retain photographs and packaging and follow the faulty goods claims guide before arranging alterations or returns.
If you sell the gifts to UK consumers, confirm with Trading Standards whether genuine personalisation excludes change-of-mind cancellation for the particular order. Personalisation does not remove rights where goods are faulty or not as described. Assess whether the gift matches the customer's agreed wording rather than refusing every complaint because it is personalised. The online cancellation exceptions guide explains that distinction.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change a name after approving the proof?
Ask immediately for a confirmed production hold. A change may still be possible, but agree the method, costs and revised delivery plan before authorising correction.
Who pays if I supplied the wrong date?
If production matches your incorrect approved wording, request a buyer correction quote. Check the agreed terms and actual work completed rather than assuming a free remake or accepting unexplained charges.
What if the seller printed a different spelling?
Send the correct order instruction, approved proof and photographs of the gift. Ask the seller to explain the difference and propose a remedy, with responsibility for rework and freight recorded in writing.
What if my personalised gift has already shipped?
Ask whether dispatch can still be intercepted, without assuming it can. Keep the proof and delivery evidence, compare local correction with replacement, and agree costs before changing or returning the gift.