The freight damage 48-hour window is the published period, 48 hours after receipt of your shipment, in which any damage or missing parts must be reported. It covers obvious crate damage as well as concealed damage discovered during a visual and operational inspection. Owners also call it the damage claim window, the reporting deadline or the 48-hour rule, and it comes straight from the shipping policy at ellasbubbles.com/shipping.

How It Works

The clock starts when the shipment is received. Within those 48 hours you carefully open the crate, save all packaging material, and inspect the tub for concealed damage before filing. Inspection means both a visual check and an operational one, so whenever possible fill the tub and run the systems before installation. A problem found during that test is easier to resolve when it is reported inside the window than after the tub is set in place.

If something is wrong, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 with photos, your invoice and your bill of lading. In most cases a damaged part is replaced rather than the whole tub, so the process is straightforward. If a dealer or retailer holds your order, report the damage to them as well. You may have seen an older video mention a five-business-day period; that figure is superseded, and the published 48-hour window is the one that applies.

Which Ella Models Have It

The 48-hour window applies to every freight shipment from Ella's Bubbles, so it covers every walk-in tub model and any part that ships on a pallet. It is a delivery policy rather than a model feature.

What to Know as an Owner

Treat delivery day as inspection day. Use the delivery inspection checklist while the driver is present, and note any damage on the delivery document before signing. Then unpack and compare the contents against what is in the crate, because missing items fall inside the same window. Keep the crate and every piece of packaging until the installation is complete.

For a ticket, have ready: photos of the damage and of the crate, the signed bill of lading, your invoice, your order number and a short description of what you found during the operational test. Our step-by-step guides, my tub arrived damaged, what to do in the first 48 hours and filing a freight damage claim, cover the rest.

Common Questions