MSE news story: Habitat, Moben and others collapse: your rights

adamg

smala01 wrote: »

I bought a kitchen today (not from Moben) that lists each unit, plynth and door as a separate line item ALL under £100 each.

Considering Section 75 - would this be viewed as a £3000 kitchen (good for section 75 protection) or a collection of separate "items" each under £100 (Bad for section 75 protection) ?

I hadnt considered this implication and am considering going back tomorrow to have him hand write a recipt "1 X kitchen @ £3K"

Smala01

from which company did you buy?

wealdroam

adamg wrote: »

from which company did you buy?

Looks like it was Wren...

smala01 wrote: »

Lets hope Wren remain solvent until the weekend when i can go in and get this sorted out

Bobwiki

princesslaura25 wrote: »

In a similar vein to the unfulfilled orders problem, i have some Jane Norman gift vouchers that i have not spent. What do i do about this now that the stores have all closed? They cannot be spent online. Does anyone know what happens with this?

You will find that their stores are now open as Zolfo Cooper (Administrators) are trying to get as much money as they can from their stock. It seems that instructions have gone out from "JN Realisations Limited (formerly Jane Norman Limited) - in Administration (the Company)" to allow the Jane Norman Vouchers to be used but ONLY against non-sale items and you have until the 31st July 2011 to use them, so get there quick while there maybe something worth buying. But a word of warning, although this sounds positive there is a big, big CATCH! As well as only being able to use their vouchers against non-sale goods, the value of the goods HAS TO BE DOUBLE the face value of the voucher. I cannot believe that this could be legal but it must be as I am sure they would not authorize such action unless it were. Perhaps somebody who understands the legality of dealing with this type of issue might like to comment. My humble advice to any individual intending to gift any form of retail vouchers to a friend or relation for a special occasion is DON'T. Just give them a personal cheque (Save our cheques) and print something nice on the back. With the retail world in so much turmoil and company's going bust daily, the last thing to do is hand over your hard earned cash for what could well be a fairly WORTHLESS VOUCHER.

smala01

Bobwiki wrote: »

You will find that their stores are now open as Zolfo Cooper (Administrators) are trying to get as much money as they can from their stock. It seems that instructions have gone out from "JN Realisations Limited (formerly Jane Norman Limited) - in Administration (the Company)" to allow the Jane Norman Vouchers to be used but ONLY against non-sale items and you have until the 31st July 2011 to use them, so get there quick while there maybe something worth buying. But a word of warning, although this sounds positive there is a big, big CATCH! As well as only being able to use their vouchers against non-sale goods, the value of the goods HAS TO BE DOUBLE the face value of the voucher. I cannot believe that this could be legal but it must be as I am sure they would not authorize such action unless it were. Perhaps somebody who understands the legality of dealing with this type of issue might like to comment. My humble advice to any individual intending to gift any form of retail vouchers to a friend or relation for a special occasion is DON'T. Just give them a personal cheque (Save our cheques) and print something nice on the back. With the retail world in so much turmoil and company's going bust daily, the last thing to do is hand over your hard earned cash for what could well be a fairly WORTHLESS VOUCHER.

Im affraid once a comapany is in administration voucher holders become an unsecured creditor (like any other business that provided a goods/service to the company)

If the administrator is trying to sell the company as a going concern, they may continue to accept vouchers/returns as "good will" (a potential buyer doesnt will want to retain a positive customer relationship).

Smala01

Mithos

donquine wrote: »

I'm fairly sure I have a giftcard for Habitat lying around somewhere - anyone know if Habitat are still honouring giftcards, or should I just throw mine in the bin?

I had a £50 card before the bust :eek: Went in quickly after the news and a friendly staff member said they would take it.

Had a good nose around at the till when paying for my "haul", and there was a print out thing saying their intention was to honor all gift cards.


When I went in it was 20% off all stock, even sale items. Personally I'd use the card ASAP, you might be able to use cards instore, but if your local store closes it could be a trek to get to the next closest one.

apapamama

Hi, wondering if anyone can help. Paid Dolphin in 2009 and the bathrooms been finished, ripped out, put back and its half out now, and i have all the bits to rectify it. I bought my own flooring and was told i would be reimbursed by dolphin. What are my chances of that and also what are my chances of anyone actually filling my bathroom and also what are my chances of any money back? I have a feeling its slim to none but just want to check with people who might be able to help. And I dont want to get someone to coma along and finish it if that invalidates any agreement i have with anyone who buys dolphin.Thanks

wealdroam

apapamama wrote: »

Hi, wondering if anyone can help. Paid Dolphin in 2009 and the bathrooms been finished, ripped out, put back and its half out now, and i have all the bits to rectify it. I bought my own flooring and was told i would be reimbursed by dolphin. What are my chances of that and also what are my chances of anyone actually filling my bathroom and also what are my chances of any money back? I have a feeling its slim to none but just want to check with people who might be able to help. And I dont want to get someone to coma along and finish it if that invalidates any agreement i have with anyone who buys dolphin.Thanks

"What are my chances?" is probably a difficult question to answer at the moment.

How did you pay? Any sort of credit?
If so, consider a Section 75 claim.

However, you will not get very far with that until Dolphin actually refuse to continue with the work.
Until then... keeping your fingers crossed is probably the best that you can do.

mr_rush

I love Habitat. Right now I'm sitting in my kitchen at a lovely oak Habitat table drinking coffee from a Habitat mug. I liked their designs and the quality.

However, there were a lot of problems with the company.

1. late entry into online retailing - I think 2008 or so.

2. expensive rents / central locations / lack of furniture on display - all the Habitat stores I can think of have 'central' prime locations with accompanying high rents. Because of this the shops are never very large and therefore cannot display the full range of goods on sale. I'm sure this impacts on actual sales. Tottenham Court Road, Kings Road, Westfield, Richmond, Brighton, Regent Street (closed now)... only in Manchester (Trafford Centre) was a shop actually in the 'right' location. I don't know about you but I don't go looking for a sofa when I'm buying a pair of jeans.

3. Expensive RRP prices with heavy discounting in sales. I don't know who bought at RRP in Habitat. Their prices were high but they had massive discounts in the sales. I think everything I own from Habitat is atleast 50-70% discounted.

RJL76

Hi,

My girlfriend and I have received our Kitchen through Moben just before they've gone into administration. This means while we have received the goods (I'm hoping it's all there) we won't receive the service part of our contract, as in it being fitted. I'm wondering where we stand as far as claiming through the Visa Chargeback scheme as we have paid the deposit through one Visa debit card and the final amount through another.

The other option is that Moben's self employed fitter contacted me in reference to fitting the kitchen at further cost and I therefore wonder if there is way to claim this cost back, if chargeback scheme won't apply.

Newbie2saving

Contemplating buying a dining table and chairs from Habitat, am I mad??? Its the only one I've found that I like and fits my criterias, but think I would be silly, any thoughts??? TIA.