BUYING CLUB POLICIES

Membership

• Membership Fee
• Member Loan
• Member Discount

• Format
• Sending In Your Order
• Faxing
• Emailing
• When To Submit Your Order
• Additions To Your Order
• Substitutions
• Monthly Specials
• Ordering Cases

• Minimum Orders
• Delivery Charges
• Delivery Guidelines

• First Order
• Terms
• Forms Of Payment
• N.S.F. Cheques
• C.O.D. Discount
• Taxes

• Options For Reporting
• When Making A Claim Include
• Once You Have Reported Your Claim
• Dated Products

Membership

We are a co-operative which means that as a member, you are also a co-owner. As a member-owner you not only have access to wholesome, natural foods at affordable prices and a member discount, you have a voice in how the organization is run.

All members are invited to participate on the Board of Directors, Committees, and at the Annual General Meeting. Member participation is the strength that makes ONFC a vibrant, grassroots organization.

Membership Fee:

A one-time membership fee of $10 per club is charged upon approval of your application.

Member Loan:

On December 1, 2004 ONFC introduced a new Member Loan of 1% on all invoices. All Member groups pay the Member Loan. It is tracked per Buying Club and is your Member investment in order to ensure that ONFC remains a strong, relevant, and responsive co-op.

The Member Loan is reimbursed if the club ceases Membership with the ONFC, as per our Member Loan policy.

Member Discount:

All Members in good financial standing with the co-op receive a 1% discount on all orders.

Member Discount and Loan are calculated for you on your invoice.
See Invoice Explanation

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Your Club must order at least once per year to keep your account ‘Active’. After this one-year period your club will be removed from the mailing list.

Format

All orders must be compiled which means that multiple orders of the same product must be added up to appear as a single line item on the order (i.e., if more than one member orders the same product). The key is not to have any product code appear more than once in the order. Orders may be in any sequence.

Sending In Your Order

You can call in your to our Sales Team at ext. 333 or send in your order by fax or email. Email is the preferred method.

Faxing

Please include the following information:

• Write the name of the Buying Club on every page
• State your delivery address emphasizing any change in shipping information
• Include a daytime telephone number and contact name on the order
• Write Page ___ of ___ (total) on every page
• If ordering from the specials, specify the month of specials you are using
• Write legibly; include the product code and a brief description (include product size); the quantity of each item; singles or cases; and the cost per single or case
• Any special requests, even if on-going, should be written on the cover page of every order
• Fax to 905.507.2848 or toll free fax 1.866.218.2848
• Call ext. 333 to confirm that your order has been received by the Sales Team

Emailing

• All orders created with the ONFC Excel Ordering Software should be sent by email to orders@onfc.on.ca
• Any special requests, even if on-going, should be written in the body of your email
• The ONFC Excel Macro Software helps to automate all of the above steps. It is a real time-saver and makes the ordering process a lot easier.

All orders must be received no later than one week in advance of the delivery day (i.e., 5 business days before delivery day) with the following exceptions:

Clubs on the Barrie, Hagersville, Kingston, Ottawa or Montreal run: Orders must be in 2 Fridays prior to the delivery day, even if your order is to arrive on a Tuesday or Wednesday. This is because your order is picked and prepped on the Friday before your delivery day.

Additions To Your Order

• One addition to the order is permitted if submitted a minimum of three business days prior to the delivery day.
• A maximum of 10 items are permitted
• Minimum dollar value of $25.00.

Substitutions

We work hard to keep a good in-stock rate. However, out-of-stocks do happen for a range of reasons. That’s why we encourage you to request substitutions on your order for must-have items. Here’s how to do it:

• Maximum 1 substitution per item
• Maximum 5 substitutions per order
• Be clear that this is an alternate choice so that you do not receive both items if they are both in stock
• Indicate all substitutions in the body of your email message or fax coversheet stating the product code and description
• Do not insert extra lines into your Excel-generated order to indicate substitutions. Since orders are automatically uploaded into our system, this means you will receive both the item ordered and the substitution if both are in stock.

Monthly Specials

Note: Specials correspond to your delivery date

• Please refer to our Buying Club Specials Dates to find out which month's specials your delivery day corresponds with
  
• Always specify the month of specials you are ordering
• Items on special do not have to be marked on your order
• Be aware that we update our pricing on the 1st of the month. If you are receiving a delivery near the start of the month, be extra careful to check that your delivery date is eligible for the specials you are ordering or simply give us a call to check.

Ordering Cases

Case prices are on average 4% lower than if you were to buy the same number of singles. Buying by the case saves the Members and the Co-op money. Some products can be bought as FULL CASES ONLY. (e.g., 1 litre non-dairy beverages). Other products can be bought as HALF CASES OR FULL CASES ONLY (e.g., rice cakes, chips, etc.).

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Delivery

Minimum Orders:

Within Metro Toronto:
Orders less than $200 will NOT be processed
Orders less than $400 = $20 delivery charge
Outside Metro Toronto:
Orders less than $500 will NOT be processed

Delivery Charges

All orders less than $1000 will be charged a 2% surcharge, which is calculated on the sales total.
Ottawa/Quebec, North Bay, & Georgian Routes:
A $10 charge is levied on Buying Club orders on these routes in order to supplement the costs of delivery.

Off-Route Deliveries:

For deliveries judged to be off our major routes, ONFC reserves the right to charge an additional delivery fee and/or may require a higher minimum order.

Pick-Up Orders

• Pick-Up orders receive a 2% discount
• Minimum order for pick-up is $200.
• Orders must be received one week in advance of the pick-up day.
• Telephone the Order Desk (ext. 333) to schedule a pick-up date.
• Orders can be picked up at ONFC Monday to Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Friday 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m..
• Add-ons will not be processed on day of pick-up. We do not do straight exchanges.

Common Carrier

If your area is not serviced by an ONFC truck or if you choose to use a common carrier instead of the ONFC truck, you are subject to freight policies specific to your delivery zone.

Please note, in most cases, common carriers will not deliver to private residences. (You may need to find a commercial location for delivery or pay an additional fee for delivery directly to your home).
Freight charges for Common Carriers vary depending on your delivery location. Please contact ONFC to see what the charges are for your area.

At least 75% of the value of the order must be paid prior to shipping if using a common carrier. C.O.D. discounts apply to prepaid amounts only. The ONFC responsibility ceases when the carrier accepts the shipment in good condition. Direct any damage claims to the common carrier. To validate a short shipment, the ‘piece count’ must be confirmed in the presence of the carrier.

Delivery Guidelines

• We do not guarantee a specific delivery time during the day.
• Deliveries are to the main entrance only.
• Any assistance with carrying boxes is greatly appreciated.
• Ensure that the unloading area is safe. If the location is dangerous (i.e., pathways that may be slippery), our driver has the right to refuse to deliver the order to the designated receiving area.
• Count all the boxes with the driver and sign your receipt recording the ‘piece count.’

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Payment

Prices are subject to change without notice.
Prices of U.S. products are susceptible to fluctuations in the value of the Canadian $.
Prices on U.S. products will increase or decrease in accordance to a
formula that allows for minor variances.
We reserve the right to correct/reprint published errors.

First Order

First orders must be paid C.O.D.. Full payment (by cheque or money order) must be paid on the delivery/pick-up day to the driver or staff.

Terms

All Buying Clubs must pay within 7 days. The ONFC reserves the right to ask for C.O.D. payment if the 7-day credit schedule is not met.

Common Carrier deliveries: 75% of the order must be paid before shipping (the first order must be paid 100% in advance).

Forms Of Payment

We accept payment by cheque or money order. As of January 2008 ONFC no longer accepts cash payment.

With your payment please include:

• Buying Club Name or Customer ID
• Invoice Number
• Applicable Credit Memo Numbers

N.S.F. Cheques

$25 is charged for all NSF cheques

C.O.D. Discount

1% C.O.D. discount is only applicable if the payment is dated the same day as delivery or pick-up and is given to our driver or staff on the delivery/pick-up day. In the case of common carrier, the C.O.D. discount will be applied to the payments received before shipping.
Payments for deliveries made by the ONFC truck that are mailed in are not eligible for the C.O.D. discount regardless of the date of the cheque or postmark.

Taxes

Certain items in the catalogue are subject to PST and/or GST. These items are indicated in the catalogue and on the invoice with a P and/or a G.

Surcharges are subject to GST.
Freight is always subject to GST.
Freight is subject to PST when there is any item in the shipment which is subject to PST.

Click on the link below for an explanation of the ONFC invoice:

Invoice Explanation PDF

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• Buying Club name and contact
• Invoice Number
• Shipper Number
• Product code(s)
• Quantity ordered, billed, and received
• Description of the problem and the way you want it resolved
• Returned Items: Give a reason for the return (e.g., wrong product, quality, etc.)
• Credits for returns are issued only when product is received by us in re-saleable condition

• The credit or debit memo will be mailed or emailed with an account statement to your club’s billing address
• On your next order, deduct that credit or add that debit amount to your payment
• Do not deduct adjustments from an invoice before reporting them to us
• In case of an oversight with a return, the driver has a Driver Signing Sheet where you can record returns that do not have a return slip.  Please document these returns completely on the Driver Signing Sheet.

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