Vita Di Palma – Has Anyone Actually Got a Refund?

beautyofhindsight2025

Hi all,
I’m hoping someone here can offer advice or insight.

I recently placed an order with Vita Di Palma for three dresses totalling £98.86, which was debited from my account on 1st July 2025. I didn’t receive any order confirmation, tracking info, or receipt at the time of purchase, and only received updates once I chased the company several days later.

I requested a cancellation and full refund before the parcel was delivered — as the items were for an event I was attending (which has now passed). The company has refused to cancel the order, and has now told me I must return the dresses at my own cost — despite their website advertising a “100% Return Guarantee” and promising 24-hour shipping (which didn’t happen).

I’m aware of my rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, and I’ve made that clear to them. They continue to insist they will only refund me once I return the items — which I can’t even do yet as I’m away from home and the parcel was left with a neighbour.

I’ve submitted a review on Trustpilot and plan to raise a chargeback through my bank when the 15-day window allows it. But I wanted to ask:

🔹 Has anyone here successfully received a refund from Vita Di Palma — particularly on sale items?
🔹 Has anyone had success via chargeback or Trading Standards in similar situations?
🔹 Is this company based overseas (the mailing label suggests China)? If so, does that change anything in terms of UK consumer protections?

Any guidance, advice, or shared experiences would be so appreciated.
Thank you 🙏

K

DullGreyGuy

This bunch www.vitadipalmaboutique.com ? 

You'll find they are based out in the the far east, so you are likely going to just have to cut your losses. 

According to their website they ship in 24 hours but delivery is up to 14 business days after they ship it, ie up to 3 weeks from order to delivery.

The "100% return guarantee" is simply that you can return non-sales goods, at your own expense. It pointless because they are always on sale as they sell cheap tat at a fairly high price by claiming it was originally vastly more expensive and using photos of different products. A lot of the stuff you can find on Temu etc at the price its supposed to be sold at which will be much less than what you paid. 

For a chargeback you have to return the goods, the cost of which will be high. Even if you pay for it to go back by a tracked return it likely to never actually be received back. If you contact them and ask for a return they will normally offer you discounts to keep them, its 50/50 at best if the refunds ever materialise 

Trading Standards dont regulate overseas firms. 

Generally it doesnt change UK protections but it does change your prospects of enforcing them. Typically these firms have no presence outside of the country they are based in and attempting recover action overseas is going to cost you vastly more than the value of the dresses. 

soolin

Ouch a very quick google search suggests it's probably one of those dodgy non UK companies pretending to be in the UK. Their business address is Dommerswijk 1, 7782PA De Krim so outside the Uk which is going to make things more difficult and will of course have added to the postage delays. They also have some very odd wording in their policies.

Realistically though you will need to at least show you tried to comply with their t and cs before a chargeback would be successful, so that is notifying them of a return request and getting the goods back to them. others will be more knowledgeable than me, but i can't see any way you are going to get a refund without returning the goods first and that itself might not be easy.

Trust pilot is not always reliable, but the reviews suggest these are poor quality items from a non UK company and that would be enough red flags for me.

Would I be correct in thinking you saw an advert on social media somewhere, posisbly offering huge savings or even a 'closing down' sale? 

Exodi

This should probably be in the consumer rights board.

beautyofhindsight2025 said:

I requested a cancellation and full refund before the parcel was delivered — as the items were for an event I was attending (which has now passed). The company has refused to cancel the order, and has now told me I must return the dresses at my own cost — despite their website advertising a “100% Return Guarantee” and promising 24-hour shipping (which didn’t happen).

I’m aware of my rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, and I’ve made that clear to them. 

I'd recommend re-reading the regulations, as traders under normal circumstances are not responsible for the cost of return shipping for returns exercised under the CCR2013. Despite it not being a statutory requirement, we see a lot of UK retailers (particularly clothing retailers) offering free returns as a sales tactic, and I think this unfortunately causes many UK consumers to mistakenly believe that it is their right to receive free returns.

To save you some time - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/35
Returns for fault are a separate matter and covered under different legislation. 

'100% Return Guarantee' is very vague as all traders are required to accept 100% of returns by statute (but they are entitled to make deductions where the statute allows). Usually when a companies advertises a return guarantee, it's for an extended period (e.g. mattresses offering 100 night sleep guarantees). It seems you've interpreted the 100% return guarantee as meaning the trader will cover the cost of return shipment, which I don't think is a natural conclusion. Do they have any terms about what this guarantee means on their website?

From what has been said thus far, it's hard to argue the trader has acted against any UK statute, and on that basis I couldn't see that a chargeback would be successful (it's a change of mind return and ultimately you are in possession of the goods + refusing to return them, while simultaneously demanding a refund - again there is no requirement for them to collect them for free). 

Likewise, despite many believing that Trading Standards is this hero that will swoop in when things get dicey and get people their money back for them, the reality is they do not work on individual consumer cases. They will launch investigations and take general punitive action against the business if they receive multiple reports of shady practices, but they're not chasing individual refund cases on behalf of consumers.

I see you've posted on their TrustPilot page now but unfortunately we always insist that you need to do your research and look at the reviews before you purchase.

But regardless, it sounds like the company is based in China so all gloves are off and the above isn't really relevant. We see countless threads of Chinese companies setting up a website that suggests it and the products are UK based, run some ads on social media showing different high quality products, put a very low price on it, watch the sales roll in. In most cases you have to take what you're given, which if you're lucky will be a partial refund. Those that do send goods back to China will find the trader will do all they can so that the goods aren't ever delivered, meaning you're out the goods and the prospect of a refund.

born_again

beautyofhindsight2025 said:

Hi all,
I’m hoping someone here can offer advice or insight.

I recently placed an order with Vita Di Palma for three dresses totalling £98.86, which was debited from my account on 1st July 2025. I didn’t receive any order confirmation, tracking info, or receipt at the time of purchase, and only received updates once I chased the company several days later.

I requested a cancellation and full refund before the parcel was delivered — as the items were for an event I was attending (which has now passed). The company has refused to cancel the order, and has now told me I must return the dresses at my own cost — despite their website advertising a “100% Return Guarantee” and promising 24-hour shipping (which didn’t happen).

I’m aware of my rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, and I’ve made that clear to them. They continue to insist they will only refund me once I return the items — which I can’t even do yet as I’m away from home and the parcel was left with a neighbour.

I’ve submitted a review on Trustpilot and plan to raise a chargeback through my bank when the 15-day window allows it. But I wanted to ask:

🔹 Has anyone here successfully received a refund from Vita Di Palma — particularly on sale items?
🔹 Has anyone had success via chargeback or Trading Standards in similar situations?
🔹 Is this company based overseas (the mailing label suggests China)? If so, does that change anything in terms of UK consumer protections?

Any guidance, advice, or shared experiences would be so appreciated.
Thank you 🙏

K

Why do you think they will refund you before you return the items?
Chargeback, if you paid via Mastercard you would have to wait 30 days before you could, Aside from which there is no chargeback for change of mind.

DullGreyGuy

soolin said:

Ouch a very quick google search suggests it's probably one of those dodgy non UK companies pretending to be in the UK. Their business address is Dommerswijk 1, 7782PA De Krim so outside the Uk which is going to make things more difficult and will of course have added to the postage delays. They also have some very odd wording in their policies.

Its in the netherlands, their equivalent of companies house do confirm the company name and number matches that listed on the website but you have to pay for any more information and I would suspect its a shell and not actually the trading entity with no assets there either. 

Pollycat

soolin said:

Ouch a very quick google search suggests it's probably one of those dodgy non UK companies pretending to be in the UK. Their business address is Dommerswijk 1, 7782PA De Krim so outside the Uk which is going to make things more difficult and will of course have added to the postage delays. They also have some very odd wording in their policies.

Realistically though you will need to at least show you tried to comply with their t and cs before a chargeback would be successful, so that is notifying them of a return request and getting the goods back to them. others will be more knowledgeable than me, but i can't see any way you are going to get a refund without returning the goods first and that itself might not be easy.

Trust pilot is not always reliable, but the reviews suggest these are poor quality items from a non UK company and that would be enough red flags for me.

Would I be correct in thinking you saw an advert on social media somewhere, posisbly offering huge savings or even a 'closing down' sale? 

Love the use of "entrepreneur" in their T&Cs.

Entrepreneur:

The natural or legal person who offers products and/or services remotely to consumers.

Typically, most companies that have the word 'London' in their name aren't actually based in London (or the UK).

Allegedly, they have a shop somewhere...

Our shop is open Mon/Fri 09:00 - 17:00 & Sat/Sun 10:00 - 17:00Response within 24 hours

And... 

Every month we give £100 to one of our loyal Vita Di Palma abbonees!

(subscribers to me and you) 

Exodi said:

This should probably be in the consumer rights board.

Definitely.
Move requested.

To the OP:
They are quite right to insist you return the unwanted items before they refund you.
It's not their fault that you are away from home.

DullGreyGuy

Pollycat said:

soolin said:

Ouch a very quick google search suggests it's probably one of those dodgy non UK companies pretending to be in the UK. Their business address is Dommerswijk 1, 7782PA De Krim so outside the Uk which is going to make things more difficult and will of course have added to the postage delays. They also have some very odd wording in their policies.

Realistically though you will need to at least show you tried to comply with their t and cs before a chargeback would be successful, so that is notifying them of a return request and getting the goods back to them. others will be more knowledgeable than me, but i can't see any way you are going to get a refund without returning the goods first and that itself might not be easy.

Trust pilot is not always reliable, but the reviews suggest these are poor quality items from a non UK company and that would be enough red flags for me.

Would I be correct in thinking you saw an advert on social media somewhere, posisbly offering huge savings or even a 'closing down' sale? 

Love the use of "entrepreneur" in their T&Cs.

My guessing is it's part of stock terms from Spotify, that most these sites tend to use. Most the websites recently posted here on similar threads have had a "entrepreneur" rather than the normal we/us/out

Pollycat

DullGreyGuy said:

Pollycat said:

soolin said:

Ouch a very quick google search suggests it's probably one of those dodgy non UK companies pretending to be in the UK. Their business address is Dommerswijk 1, 7782PA De Krim so outside the Uk which is going to make things more difficult and will of course have added to the postage delays. They also have some very odd wording in their policies.

Realistically though you will need to at least show you tried to comply with their t and cs before a chargeback would be successful, so that is notifying them of a return request and getting the goods back to them. others will be more knowledgeable than me, but i can't see any way you are going to get a refund without returning the goods first and that itself might not be easy.

Trust pilot is not always reliable, but the reviews suggest these are poor quality items from a non UK company and that would be enough red flags for me.

Would I be correct in thinking you saw an advert on social media somewhere, posisbly offering huge savings or even a 'closing down' sale? 

Love the use of "entrepreneur" in their T&Cs.

My guessing is it's part of stock terms from Spotify, that most these sites tend to use. Most the websites recently posted here on similar threads have had a "entrepreneur" rather than the normal we/us/out

Good guess.

This is on the website:

© 2025, Vita Di Palma Boutique. Powered by Shopify

DullGreyGuy

Pollycat said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Pollycat said:

soolin said:

Ouch a very quick google search suggests it's probably one of those dodgy non UK companies pretending to be in the UK. Their business address is Dommerswijk 1, 7782PA De Krim so outside the Uk which is going to make things more difficult and will of course have added to the postage delays. They also have some very odd wording in their policies.

Realistically though you will need to at least show you tried to comply with their t and cs before a chargeback would be successful, so that is notifying them of a return request and getting the goods back to them. others will be more knowledgeable than me, but i can't see any way you are going to get a refund without returning the goods first and that itself might not be easy.

Trust pilot is not always reliable, but the reviews suggest these are poor quality items from a non UK company and that would be enough red flags for me.

Would I be correct in thinking you saw an advert on social media somewhere, posisbly offering huge savings or even a 'closing down' sale? 

Love the use of "entrepreneur" in their T&Cs.

My guessing is it's part of stock terms from Spotify, that most these sites tend to use. Most the websites recently posted here on similar threads have had a "entrepreneur" rather than the normal we/us/out

Good guess.

This is on the website:

© 2025, Vita Di Palma Boutique. Powered by Shopify

Its been noted before on other sites posted here with questions raised on why Shopify keep hosting these sites and not stop them from being set up. Its still a guess as to if they are the source of the terms (they do have a terms builder on their site) or perhaps its the same person keep on setting up new brands and just reusing their own terms.