MFI Administration article discussion

Freepost

Hi, I’m in a similar situation to the rest of you but could do with a little bit of advice if possible. I ordered bedroom furniture from the manila range, but because the furniture wasn’t all available at the same time MFI split my order into two orders and consequently two payments. This was to allow me to install the fitted wardrobes and for the three fitted chests, tops and a tall insert, to span the wardrobes across a chimney breast, to follow up later. Of course I did receive the wardrobes, 18 Nov, but the fitted chests, tops and insert could not be delivered before 18 Dec. Now it seems most unlikely that my fitted chests, tops and insert will arrive on the 18th, so where do I stand on claiming back from the credit card company. Will I only be entitled to claim for what has not been delivered? If that is indeed the case then it would leave me with only a partial bedroom. How slippery is the credit card company going to be in this regard? It wasn’t my choice to split the order. One further point, the first delivery was not fully completed, the delivery was short of a length of plinth. When I contacted MFI about this they told me that they would deliver the plinth on the 18th with the rest of my order.
Any advice would be most welcomed.

olderbutnotwiser_2

text wrote: »

At the moment I believe the form is for trade creditors only. Your name will not be on that list, the administrator has obtained permission from the High Court not to publish customers names, for privacy purposes.

It is likely that the company has only been trading for 8 weeks as MFI originally went into administration on October 7th (I believe) the new management then set up a new MFI company MFI Group, this company is the one that has now gone into administration, along with the customer deposits.

ok thanks for that, i got a bit worried there!

PEACHES71

does any1 know if theres been an update anywhere today , only it stated that there would be 1 today the 15th december ??

mdf

there is a new update on the mfi website and for those of us with outstandning orders should have a better idea of the way it will go at close of business on the 17th.

MDF

Blowdog

MFI Group Limited (In Administration)
Date: 15/12/2008
MFI Group Limited (In Administration)
Updated: 15 December 2008

MFI Group Limited (In Administration) (“the Company”)

Phil Duffy, Geoff Bouchier and Paul Clark of MCR were appointed as Joint Administrators (“Administrators”) to MFI Group Limited on the evening of 26 November 2008. All Administrators are licensed by the Insolvency Practitioners’ Association.

The affairs, business and property of the Company are being managed by the Administrators, who act as agents of the Company and without personal liability.
At the time of the Administrators appointment, the Company was experiencing supply chain difficulties which has resulted in stock out’s and delays or cancellations of many customer orders. Consequently, the Administrators were unable to immediately commit to the ongoing fulfilment of any customer orders until such time as the financial, supply and delivery aspects of the orders could be reviewed. This has proven to be a very complicated and time consuming task.
The decision was made to continue to operate the Company’s stores post appointment whilst a purchaser was sought for the business. The store activity has been limited to the sale of display stock only. The majority of the display stock has now been sold, and consequently most stores have now been closed.

Outstanding Customer orders
The Administrators are aware of the many complex issues surrounding the receipt of customer monies prior to their appointment and have taken steps to ensure the best outcome for all customers affected.
Prior to the business being placed into Administration on 26 November 2008, the directors entered into certain arrangements with the company’s merchant services provider whereby substantial cash sums were held as security for customers’ monies.
The Administrators currently believe that the merchant service provider is holding in excess of £30m in respect of these arrangements which is roughly equivalent to the total amount of customer deposits and balance payments taken by MFI Group Limited in respect of outstanding orders as at the date of Administration.
Whilst the Administrators are still in negotiations with several interested parties in respect of a sale of the customer order book it is possible that a significant proportion of customer orders may be fulfilled as a result of a sale. Depending upon the outcome of these negotiations a decision is likely to be made by close of business on 17 December 2008 in respect of any potential sale of the order book.
However in the event that a sale of the customer order book is not possible the Administrators will cease trading and effect a refund of customer monies.
If this route is followed a detailed letter will be issued to all customers as soon as reasonably practicable setting out the following procedures:-
1. If a customer has paid a deposit or a final payment by credit card or VISA debit card and has not received any product then they will be asked to contact their credit card provider to initiate a refund of sums paid. The Administrators have agreed a detailed process to ensure that all valid customer refunds will be processed as quickly as possible.
2. If a customer has paid by credit card (or VISA Debit card) and has received an incomplete delivery, the customer will be asked to contact their credit card provider to initiate a partial refund of their order. The Administrators will liaise with the merchant service provider to confirm short deliveries and to ensure all valid refunds are issued as quickly as possible.
3. If a customer has paid by cash, cheque or non-visa debit card and has not received a delivery then based upon management’s financial information it is expected that the surplus funds held by the merchant service provider will be sufficient to enable a full refund. It is not yet possible to predict the timing of such refunds in the event customer orders cannot be fulfilled, although discussions with the merchant service provider are taking place in order to obtain an interim release of the surplus.
4. Customers who made arrangements to pay for their order using any form of interest free or other customer credit who have not received a delivery are unaffected by this process. This credit has not been drawn down by the Company and the Administrators will make arrangements with the finance provider to have these agreements cancelled forthwith.
5. Customers who have paid for their order using a consumer credit agreement but who received an incomplete delivery will be contacted by the Administrator in order to arrange a reduction in the amount owed to the credit provider. The Administrators have already initiated a process to contact such customers. The main consumer credit supplier is currently holding more than sufficient cash in order to implement and finance the expected reductions. Again, the Administrators, have implemented a process to ensure that all valid claims are dealt with quickly.

ITV advertisement
Advertisements in respect of MFI Group Limited were aired on ITV commencing on 11 December 2008.
It should be noted that the agreement to air these advertisements were arranged prior to the Administrators appointment and no payments for the advertisements were made by the Administrators. The advertisements were aired without the consent of the Administrators and against the Administrators explicit requests to have the advertisements withdrawn.
When the Administrators became aware that the advertisements were scheduled to be aired on ITV, they took all reasonable steps to have them withdrawn.
The Administrators confirm that they did not place the advertisements and that they are taking steps to try to ensure no further advertisements of this nature are aired.

Customers seeking information on product warranties/guarantees
If your product was branded Diplomat or was an MFI own brand product you may have a claim in the Administration if the product has failed during the standard warranty period. Please send details of your claim to the Administrators office at the address below.
If you have an appliance which was made by another manufacturer, it may be covered by the manufacturers’ warranty. Please contact the manufacturer directly.
If you purchased an extended warranty through a third party such as AIG and the product is still within its warranty period, please contact the third party directly.
Further details will be posted on the MFI and MCR websites as information becomes available.
Customers seeking information regarding payments made via Black Horse Finance
The Administrators are currently reviewing the position of customers whose orders cannot be fulfilled, and who entered into a finance agreement with Black Horse.
Those orders that have been cancelled will be communicated to Black Horse and confirmation that the agreement has been cancelled will be issued. If a customer has paid a deposit against the agreement, the relevant refund process above should be followed depending upon mode of payment.
General customer order queries

The most up to date information regarding customer orders will continue to be available from the MFI www.mfi.co.uk and MCR www.mcr.uk.com websites.
Whilst the customer services call centres remain operational, please be aware the staff are unable to provide you with any further information regarding the fulfilment of specific orders.
The customer call centre details are as follows:
Weekdays - 01405 744 813 between 9:00AM and 6:00PM.
Saturday - 01405 744 813 between 9:00AM and 6:00PM.
Please note that the call centre does not operate on Sundays.
Please also note that the call centre continues to experience a very high volume of calls. You may therefore prefer to email your query to [EMAIL="customer.services@mfi.co.uk"]customer.services@mfi.co.uk[/EMAIL] and your email will be responded to as quickly as possible. Due to the high volume of enquiries, and the ongoing review of customer orders, it may not be possible to reply regarding your specific order at this time. As soon as the position becomes clarified, customers will be notified by way of update on the MFI and MCR websites.
Alternatively, if your query is not covered by the information contained within this website, you can email the Administrators’ representatives at [EMAIL="mfi@mcr.uk.com"]mfi@mcr.uk.com[/EMAIL]. Your email will be responded to in cases where we are able to provide additional information.

Suppliers

All supplier orders including fitters and subcontractors have been suspended and should not be completed/fulfilled without the express authorisation of the Administrators.

All debts owed to suppliers/creditors incurred prior the Administrators appointment will be unsecured claims against the company. The Administrators will be writing to all creditors within the coming weeks. However, if you wish to lodge your claims now then you can download a Claim Form from the MCR website (go to downloads/publications and follow the link to MFI). All completed forms should be sent to the MCR offices at 43-45 Portman Square, London W1H 6LY. Alternatively, scanned Claim Forms can be emailed to [EMAIL="mfi@mcr.uk.com"]mfi@mcr.uk.com[/EMAIL]. To assist the Administrators in dealing with the email enquires, please include “Supplier - Claim Form” in the subject line of your email.

Payment will not be made by the Administrators for any supplies/work provided after 26 November 2008 without the prior and express authorisation from the Administrators.

Please note that creditors/suppliers claims will be dealt with in the Administration and this is likely to take several months before all claims are agreed. At this stage it is too early to confirm what level of funds will be available to distribute amongst unsecured creditors. Any funds will be distributed equally amongst unsecured creditors and should funds be available it is likely you will receive a fixed percentage of your claim.

Suppliers queries should be directed to [EMAIL="mfi@mcr.uk.com"]mfi@mcr.uk.com[/EMAIL] and one of the Administrators staff will endeavour to deal with your enquiry.

The Administrators offices are located at 43-45 Portman Square, London W1H 6LY.

The Joint Administrators' Report to Creditors and Statement of Proposals dated 5 December 2008 is available by clicking here [direct link to document]. An Order of the High Court of Justice dated 3 December 2008 granted the Joint Administrators relief not to post the report to all known creditors. A copy of this Order is contained with the report. This document together with other notice and documents relating to the administration can also be found by clicking on Publications/MFI on the left hand side of the MCR website. The proposals report is also available on the MFI website www.mfi.co.uk by clicking here http://www.mcr.uk.com/documents.aspx

Tonic_2

Have actually had TWO letters through post from Mark Two saying that they have my bathroom still ready for delivery and will quote me a good price (same as I originally paid to MFI!!!) Have also tried their website and that is down too. Even if I do eventually get my money back I will be a bit wary now dealing with Mark Two - could result in the same problem as I believe MFI was their biggest customer. I also see the administrators have commented on the TV ad. so who actually paid for this ad???????

leha_2

Having read the lastest information it still does not answer our question and have written twice to MCR to ask and they havent responded either.

We had securred a refund from MFI prior to administration in letter form only, but because we paid by cheque we had to have our refund returned via cheque. This obviously never came.

Is anyone else in the same boat or does anyone have any information which might help.

The MCR statement only talks about existing customers, but at the time of administration we no longer had an order, we were just waiting for the return of our money!!! We dont know where we stand now.:rolleyes:

leha_2

Having read the lastest information it still does not answer our question and have written twice to MCR to ask and they havent responded either.

We had securred a refund from MFI prior to administration in letter form only, but because we paid by cheque we had to have our refund returned via cheque. This obviously never came.

Is anyone else in the same boat or does anyone have any information which might help.

The MCR statement only talks about existing customers, but at the time of administration we no longer had an order, we were just waiting for the return of our money!!! We dont know where we stand now.:rolleyes:

leha_2

Having read the lastest information it still does not answer our question and have written twice to MCR to ask and they havent responded either.

We had securred a refund from MFI prior to administration in letter form only, but because we paid by cheque we had to have our refund returned via cheque. This obviously never came.

Is anyone else in the same boat or does anyone have any information which might help.

The MCR statement only talks about existing customers, but at the time of administration we no longer had an order, we were just waiting for the return of our money!!! We dont know where we stand now.:rolleyes:

doesnt

mfi say they are waiting to see what orders can be processed but i have already been told i will not be getting my order so why cant mfi give me a refund? anyone else reckon mcr are stalling. this fiasco smells to high heaven and with the clowns from mcr dealing with it i dont hold out much hope of a refund.