Cancellation policy

Vitika Imports – Order Cancellation, Preorder & Refund Policy

Effective Date: 31/01/2026

This policy applies to all orders placed with Vitika Imports through our website, email, WhatsApp, social media, telephone, or any other communication or sales channel.

This policy should be read together with the Vitika Imports Return and Refund Policy.

1. Preorder Products

A product is considered a Preorder where the product listing on the Vitika Imports website expressly identifies the product as a Preorder.

A Preorder is a product that Vitika Imports does not currently hold in available physical stock and which is being offered for purchase in anticipation of future availability, importation, allocation or fulfilment.

By placing a Preorder, the customer acknowledges that Vitika Imports may need to procure, reserve, import or otherwise commit resources towards obtaining the product specifically in anticipation of fulfilling the customer's order.

Preorder products may be subject to delays or changes arising from circumstances outside Vitika Imports' control, including manufacturer release dates, supplier availability, supplier allocations, international shipping, customs clearance, importation, transport, logistics and other supply-chain circumstances.

Any release or arrival date displayed on a product page is an estimated date only and is not a guaranteed delivery date unless expressly stated otherwise.

2. 24-Hour Cancellation Period

Customers may cancel a Preorder within 24 hours of placing the order without a cancellation charge.

The 24-hour period begins when the order is successfully placed.

The cancellation request must be received by Vitika Imports within the 24-hour period.

Cancellation requests should preferably be sent to:

info@vitikaimports.co.za

Customers may also submit cancellation requests through WhatsApp or another communication channel used by Vitika Imports.

The use of WhatsApp, social media or another third-party messaging service does not create separate or different cancellation rights. All such requests remain subject to this policy.

Vitika Imports will use the time at which the cancellation request is received when determining whether it was submitted within the 24-hour period.

3. Cancellation After 24 Hours – Preorder Products

After the initial 24-hour cancellation period has expired, a customer may still request cancellation of a Preorder, but Vitika Imports may impose a reasonable cancellation charge of 20% of the value of the cancelled Preorder product(s).

The 20% cancellation charge is intended to compensate Vitika Imports for reasonable costs, commitments, procurement arrangements, supplier allocations, administrative costs and/or commercial exposure associated with accepting and subsequently cancelling an advance order.

The cancellation charge is calculated against the amount paid for the cancelled Preorder product(s), including any applicable amount attributable to those products for delivery or shipping, where applicable.

The cancellation charge will not be applied to unrelated in-stock products in the same order.

The cancellation charge is subject to applicable South African consumer protection legislation. Where applicable law requires a lower charge, prohibits a charge in particular circumstances, or provides a consumer with a right to cancel without penalty, the applicable legal requirement will prevail.

4. Why a 20% Cancellation Charge Applies

Vitika Imports is an import-focused retailer. Preorder products are offered before Vitika Imports has the products physically available in stock.

When a customer places a Preorder, Vitika Imports may rely upon that order when making procurement, supplier, allocation, importation and inventory decisions.

A cancellation after the initial 24-hour period may therefore leave Vitika Imports with financial and commercial exposure, including circumstances where:

  • Stock has been ordered or reserved specifically in anticipation of customer demand;
  • Supplier allocations have been secured;
  • International procurement arrangements have been made;
  • The product has limited or uncertain resale demand;
  • Importation or shipping arrangements have commenced;
  • Funds and administrative resources have been committed to fulfilling the order; or
  • The cancellation occurs sufficiently close to the expected arrival or release of the product that finding another customer may be difficult.

The 20% amount is therefore intended to operate as a reasonable cancellation charge, rather than as a penalty or forfeiture.

5. Delays Do Not Automatically Entitle a Customer to Penalty-Free Cancellation

Preorder dates are estimates and may change.

A customer who has placed a Preorder acknowledges that release, arrival and fulfilment dates may change due to circumstances outside Vitika Imports' control.

The following will not, by themselves, entitle a customer to cancel a Preorder without the applicable cancellation charge after the initial 24-hour period:

  • Manufacturer release-date changes;
  • Supplier delays;
  • International shipping delays;
  • Customs delays;
  • Customs clearance delays;
  • Importation delays;
  • Changes in supplier allocation;
  • Changes in estimated arrival dates;
  • Transport or logistics delays; or
  • Other reasonable supply-chain delays outside Vitika Imports' control.

Vitika Imports will make reasonable efforts to communicate material changes to estimated fulfilment dates when reliable information becomes available.

6. Customer Change of Mind or Change in Circumstances

After the initial 24-hour cancellation period, a customer's change of mind does not automatically remove the applicable cancellation charge.

Examples include:

  • The customer no longer wants the product;
  • The customer has found the product elsewhere;
  • The customer believes the product is too expensive;
  • The market price of the product has decreased;
  • The customer no longer wishes to wait for the product;
  • The customer's personal circumstances have changed; or
  • The customer has changed their purchasing plans.

Any cancellation charge remains subject to applicable consumer protection legislation and any mandatory statutory right that may apply to the particular transaction.

7. Orders Containing Preorder and In-Stock Products

Where an order contains both Preorder and in-stock products, the products will be treated separately for cancellation purposes.

If the customer cancels only the Preorder product(s):

  • The applicable 20% reasonable cancellation charge will be calculated against the cancelled Preorder product(s).
  • The customer's in-stock products remain unaffected.
  • No cancellation charge will be imposed on the value of the in-stock products merely because they formed part of the same order.

If the customer requests cancellation of the entire order before dispatch:

  • The applicable 20% reasonable cancellation charge will apply to the Preorder portion of the order.
  • The full amount attributable to eligible in-stock products will be refundable, subject to any applicable statutory rights and the terms of the Return and Refund Policy.

8. Refunds Following Preorder Cancellation

Where a cancellation results in a refundable balance, store credit is the preferred refund option.

Store credit allows the customer to retain the refundable balance and use it towards a future purchase from Vitika Imports.

Where the customer requests a monetary refund instead, the applicable refundable amount will be refunded to the relevant payment method or banking details, as applicable.

Vitika Imports aims to process such refunds within 5–7 business days after the cancellation has been approved.

Actual receipt of funds may take additional time depending on the customer's bank, payment provider or financial institution.

9. Where Vitika Imports Cannot Fulfil a Preorder

If Vitika Imports is unable to fulfil a Preorder because the product is genuinely unavailable or cannot reasonably be obtained, the customer will not be charged the 20% cancellation charge.

In such circumstances, Vitika Imports will provide a full refund of the affected amount through the applicable Shopify refund process.

Where possible, Vitika Imports may offer the customer an alternative product or another mutually acceptable solution before processing the refund.

10. Significant Changes to the Order

If Vitika Imports becomes unable to supply the product in substantially the form advertised or the product becomes unavailable, Vitika Imports will communicate the situation to the customer and provide the applicable remedy required by law.

Vitika Imports will not apply a cancellation charge where the customer is cancelling because Vitika Imports has materially failed to supply what was ordered and the customer has a statutory right to a remedy.

11. Dispatch and Cancellation

Once an order has been dispatched for delivery, the order can no longer be cancelled through the ordinary Preorder cancellation process.

Customers should therefore ensure that any cancellation request is submitted before dispatch.

If a customer attempts to cancel an order after dispatch, refuses delivery, or otherwise instructs the courier not to complete delivery, Vitika Imports may recover any reasonable delivery, return-to-sender, handling or other costs that it is legally entitled to recover.

Nothing in this section removes or limits any statutory consumer right that may apply after delivery, including applicable cooling-off, return, refund, defective-goods, damaged-goods, incorrect-goods or other statutory rights.

Where applicable law permits Vitika Imports to impose a cancellation or other charge following an attempted cancellation after dispatch, Vitika Imports reserves the right to do so.

12. Important: Statutory Consumer Rights

Nothing in this policy is intended to exclude, restrict or waive any consumer right that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Vitika Imports operates subject to applicable South African consumer protection legislation.

Consumer Protection Act – Advance Orders

Section 17 of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) provides consumers with a right to cancel certain advance bookings, reservations or orders, while allowing a supplier to impose a reasonable cancellation charge.

Section 17 provides that a supplier accepting an advance order may impose a reasonable cancellation charge, subject to the Act.

The legislation states that a charge is unreasonable if it exceeds a fair amount in the circumstances, taking into account matters including:

  • The nature of the goods or services;
  • The length of notice provided by the consumer;
  • The reasonable potential for the supplier to find another customer; and
  • General industry practice.

Vitika Imports' 20% cancellation charge is intended to operate within this framework as a reasonable cancellation charge for the circumstances applicable to its Preorder business.

Vitika Imports will not seek to enforce a cancellation charge where applicable legislation prohibits such a charge.

Death or Hospitalisation

Where applicable legislation provides that a cancellation charge may not be imposed because the customer is unable to honour the order due to the death or hospitalisation of the person for whom the order was made, Vitika Imports will comply with that requirement.

Section 17(5) of the CPA specifically addresses this circumstance.

13. Electronic Transactions and Cooling-Off Rights

Where a transaction is concluded electronically, customers may have statutory rights under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECTA).

Section 44 of ECTA provides a cooling-off right for qualifying electronic transactions, subject to the requirements and exclusions contained in the legislation.

Where a statutory cooling-off right applies, Vitika Imports will honour that right in accordance with the applicable legislation.

Nothing in this policy is intended to remove or restrict a statutory cooling-off right.

14. Where the Product Is Defective, Damaged or Incorrect

The 20% cancellation charge does not apply where a customer has received a product that is legitimately subject to a return, refund or other remedy because the product is:

  • Defective;
  • Damaged;
  • Incorrectly supplied;
  • Materially different from the product advertised; or
  • Otherwise subject to a statutory consumer remedy.

Such matters are dealt with under the Vitika Imports Return and Refund Policy and applicable consumer legislation.

15. 14-Day Return Policy

Once an order has been delivered, the Vitika Imports Return and Refund Policy applies to eligible returns.

The current Vitika Imports policy provides a 14-day period for eligible returns, subject to the conditions and exclusions contained in that policy.

Customers should contact:

info@vitikaimports.co.za

to initiate a return.

This cancellation policy does not replace the existing Return and Refund Policy.

Where the Return and Refund Policy or applicable legislation gives the customer a right to return or obtain a remedy, that right is not removed by this cancellation policy.

16. WhatsApp, Social Media and Third-Party Communications

All orders, cancellations, refund requests, return requests and other arrangements made through WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, email, telephone or another third-party communication platform remain subject to this policy and Vitika Imports' other applicable terms.

No employee, representative or third-party communication channel may create a separate cancellation policy unless expressly authorised by Vitika Imports.

Where a customer communicates a cancellation request through WhatsApp or another messaging platform, Vitika Imports will use the timestamp of the message received when determining when the cancellation request was submitted.

Customers are encouraged to send cancellation requests to info@vitikaimports.co.za as well, to ensure that the request is formally recorded against the relevant order.

17. Cancellation Request Requirements

Customers requesting cancellation should provide:

  • Full name;
  • Order number;
  • Email address used for the order;
  • Product(s) they wish to cancel; and
  • Preferred refund method, where applicable.

Vitika Imports may request additional information reasonably necessary to verify the order and process the cancellation.

A cancellation request is not necessarily an accepted cancellation until Vitika Imports confirms the cancellation.

18. No Automatic Waiver of Cancellation Charges

A delay in responding to a customer, or a customer's communication through an unofficial or third-party platform, does not automatically waive an applicable cancellation charge.

However, Vitika Imports will always consider the actual circumstances of the cancellation and any mandatory consumer rights before applying a charge.

19. Policy Interpretation

This policy is intended to provide clear and fair terms for customers while protecting Vitika Imports from reasonable losses associated with the cancellation of advance orders.

Where any provision of this policy conflicts with a mandatory provision of South African law, the applicable law will prevail to the extent of the conflict.

If a provision is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply to the extent permitted by law.

20. Contact

Vitika Imports

Email: info@vitikaimports.co.za

Address: 9 Windsor Place, Elfindale, Cape Town, Western Cape, 7794, South Africa

For cancellation, refund or return enquiries, customers should contact Vitika Imports using the above email address.

Customer Acknowledgement

By placing an order for a product identified as a Preorder, the customer acknowledges that:

  • The product is not currently held in available stock;
  • The product may be subject to supplier, manufacturer, shipping, customs and importation delays;
  • Estimated release and arrival dates are not guaranteed;
  • The customer may cancel within 24 hours without the standard cancellation charge;
  • After 24 hours, a reasonable cancellation charge of up to 20% of the value of the cancelled Preorder product(s) may apply, subject to applicable law;
  • Store credit is the preferred refund option following a customer-initiated cancellation;
  • Monetary refunds, where applicable, are generally processed within 5–7 business days;
  • An order that has been dispatched cannot ordinarily be cancelled through the Preorder cancellation process;
  • Statutory consumer rights remain unaffected; and
  • Orders and arrangements made through WhatsApp, social media or other communication channels remain subject to these terms.

By completing an order, the customer confirms that these terms have been made available to them before purchase.