Complaint & Dispute Resolution Policy.
Valerive — operated by S Commerce, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands — wants every complaint handled the way we'd want ours handled: acknowledged quickly, looked into properly, and answered honestly, even when the answer is difficult. This page sets out exactly how we handle a complaint from the first email through to a formal decision, how to escalate or appeal if you disagree with us, and where to turn for independent help under UK and Dutch law if we can't resolve things between us.
A complaint is information, not an inconvenience
If a Fairy Maxi Dress arrives damaged, a Serelina Maxi Dress doesn't match its listing, or a refund seems to be taking too long, we want to know straight away. Every complaint is reviewed by a member of our own customer service team — not an outsourced call centre reading from a script — and treated with the same urgency as an order that hasn't arrived.
This policy applies to complaints about your order, your delivery, our website, our marketing, or the conduct of our customer service team. It sits alongside, and does not replace, your rights under our Return & Refund Policy and our Cancellation & Withdrawal Policy.
Three steps, start to finish
Most concerns are sorted out at Step 1. The remaining steps exist for the minority of cases that need a closer look.
Start with whichever channel suits you: email support@valerive.com, call +31 6 26269395 (Monday–Friday, 09:00–18:00 CET/CEST), or use the live chat available on valerive.com. Tell us what's happened in your own words — this first conversation resolves the large majority of concerns without needing to go any further.
If you're not satisfied with the outcome of your first conversation, send a written complaint to support@valerive.com with "Formal Complaint" in the subject line, along with the details listed in Section 3 below. This creates a clear, timestamped record and moves your case into our formal complaints process.
We investigate your written complaint and send you a formal written response by email setting out what we found, what we're doing about it (if anything), and why — within 30 days of receiving your written complaint at the latest. See Section 4 for how that 30-day period works in practice.
The details that help us resolve things faster
You don't need every item below to raise a complaint, but including as many as you can helps us investigate properly the first time, rather than writing back to ask for more information.
What happens, and by when
| Stage | Target timeframe |
|---|---|
| Acknowledgement of your first email or chat message | Within 5 hours, 24/7 |
| Acknowledgement of a formal written complaint (Step 2) | Within 2 business days |
| Investigation and internal review | Ongoing, kept proportionate to the complexity of your complaint |
| Formal written response (Step 3) | Within 30 days of receiving your written complaint, at the latest |
If a genuinely complex case needs longer than 30 days — for example where we're waiting on information from a courier or a payment provider — we will write to you before the 30 days is up to explain why, and give you a new expected date. We will never let a complaint simply go quiet.
Escalating a complaint within Valerive
If you don't think your Step-1 response resolved things properly, you don't need to start over — simply reply to the same email thread, or send a new email to support@valerive.com with "Escalation" in the subject line, and reference your original order or complaint. This moves your case to a senior member of our customer service team for a fresh, independent look, separate from whoever handled it first.
An escalated complaint is acknowledged within 2 business days and receives its own formal written response within the same overall 30-day window described in Section 4, measured from your original written complaint unless significant new information has been raised that reasonably requires more time — in which case we will tell you plainly and give you a revised date.
Asking us to reconsider a formal response
If you receive our formal written response (Step 3) and believe it's wrong — for example because we've missed a piece of evidence, misunderstood what happened, or you have new information — you can appeal it. Email support@valerive.com within 14 days of receiving our decision, with "Appeal" in the subject line, explaining specifically what you'd like us to reconsider and why.
Your appeal is reviewed by someone who was not involved in the original decision, wherever our team size allows. We aim to respond to appeals within 15 business days. If our decision stands, we will explain our reasoning clearly and point you to the independent options in Section 7 and Section 10, so you are never left with nowhere further to go.
Independent help if we still can't agree
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) lets an independent, impartial body look at an unresolved dispute between you and Valerive without either of you needing to go to court. In the United Kingdom, ADR for consumer contract disputes is now governed by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA 2024), which took effect on 6 April 2026 and gives the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) the role of accrediting and overseeing ADR providers for traders like Valerive, in what is known as the unregulated sector.
Valerive has not committed to automatically referring every unresolved dispute to a specific ADR provider — this is not a legal requirement for most retailers. Where our internal process in Sections 2, 5 and 6 has been exhausted and we still disagree, we are willing to consider referring your specific dispute, on a case-by-case basis, to a CTSI-accredited ADR provider, and we will always tell you plainly in writing whether we agree to do so once you ask.
RetailADR (a trading name of Consumer Dispute Resolution Limited, CDRL) is a CTSI-accredited ADR provider covering the retail sector, and its service is free to consumers. You can find out more, and start a complaint, at retailadr.org.uk. A full directory of all CTSI-accredited ADR bodies is also published at tradingstandards.uk.
Using ADR is entirely optional for you, never compulsory, and does not remove your right to go to court instead, described in Section 10.
Dutch complaint-handling and dispute rules
S Commerce, the company behind Valerive, is registered in the Netherlands (KvK 78609437, VAT NL003351754B26), so Dutch consumer-protection law shapes how we structure our complaints process, in addition to the UK rules in Section 9.
The Netherlands implemented the underlying EU rules on consumer ADR through the Wet implementatie buitengerechtelijke geschillenbeslechting consumenten, which requires traders to inform consumers about how a dispute can be referred to a recognised dispute committee. The main recognised body for consumer-to-business disputes in the Netherlands is De Geschillencommissie (the Dutch Disputes Committee), which handles disputes for member businesses across many retail sectors.
The Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM) supervises Dutch traders' compliance with consumer-protection and e-commerce rules, including complaint-handling obligations. The Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- en Documentatiecentrum (WODC), the research and documentation centre of the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security, periodically evaluates how well the Dutch ADR framework is working in practice — it does not itself investigate or decide individual consumer complaints.
UK complaint and consumer-protection rules
Because you, our customer, are based in the United Kingdom, UK consumer law governs the substance of your rights when something goes wrong with a Valerive order.
Guarantees that goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described, and sets out the remedies (repair, replacement, refund, price reduction) available if they are not — the substantive rights most product complaints are actually about.
Governs distance-selling information duties and your cancellation rights, covered in full in our separate Cancellation & Withdrawal Policy.
The current UK framework (in force from 6 April 2026) for consumer protection enforcement and ADR accreditation, replacing the earlier ADR Regulations 2015 and giving CTSI its oversight role described in Section 7.
Free, independent guidance for UK consumers is available from Citizens Advice and the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, and local Trading Standards services, overseen nationally by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI).
Your right to go to court instead
Nothing in this policy, and no ADR process, ever removes your right to bring a claim through the courts. This route can take longer and, unlike ADR, is not free, but it remains available at any stage — before, during or after our internal process or any ADR referral.
UK consumers can bring a claim through the County Court, including via the online Money Claim Online service for straightforward money claims, or the small claims track for lower-value disputes, which is designed to be usable without a solicitor.
Because S Commerce is established in the Netherlands, a claim could in some circumstances also be brought before the Dutch Kantonrechter (cantonal court), which handles lower-value civil and consumer claims, though as a UK-based consumer you are generally entitled to rely on the courts of your own country of residence for a consumer dispute.
Trader identity and registration
Valerive is a trading name; the company you are contracting with, and complaining to, is:
| Registered company name | S Commerce |
| Trading as | Valerive |
| Chamber of Commerce (KvK) number | 78609437 |
| VAT number | NL003351754B26 |
| Registered address | Wijde Wade 4-89, 3439 NP Nieuwegein, The Netherlands |
| Contact | support@valerive.com · +31 6 26269395 |
Reviewing and updating this policy
We review this Complaint & Dispute Resolution Policy at least every 12 months, and sooner whenever we change our complaints process or the third parties involved in it, or when UK or Dutch consumer-protection and ADR law is updated — including further guidance from CTSI or the ACM. The version in force is always the one published here, dated at the top of this page.