WARNING! ChoicesUK gone bust - cancel any payments NOW!

Tirian

I ordered a DVD from ChoicesUK on Sunday as they had a lot of really good prices .. just saw today that they have gone into administration:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6956536.stm

Fortunately when I called my bank they were able to remove the authorisation for the payment - if you've ordered anything from them, call your bank / credit card company now and cancel your payment!

The BBC article says that they will continue trading in their stores and on the website while they try to sort things out, but the website hosting has already gone down, so I think that it's very unlikely that orders are going to be fulfilled (remember what happened with Fopp ...)

themusicbox

Thanks for the info! I won't be ordering from them.

satan666wayne

website is up and working

BlightyAndy

But if there just in administration, doesn't that mean they still do excisting orders until they actually go bust?

jnd

I ordered a dvd on Sat. Got an email yesterday, Monday to say it was despatched. Dvd arrived today. No problem.

Tirian

satan666wayne wrote: »

website is up and working

Website was nowhere to be seen when I checked it. I'm still not re-instating my order - Fopp tried for weeks to find a buyer for their business and failed, and unfulfilled internet orders were not honoured.

Trouble is, no-one will touch a DVD/CD retailing unit with a barge pole at the moment, especially with the credit crunch in full effect - and if they don't surface from this, then anyone who placed an order is simply another unsecured creditor and will receive no preference over all the others. If you want to chance it, then I guess it's your choice (no pun intended) - but I would say get out while you can.

If you've paid with a credit card, I suppose it's probably worth hanging on to see if your goods turn up since you're protected by the Consumer Credit Act and can always get refunded by the CC company. Otherwise, caveat emptor ...

maemaesmummy

website there now...

anastasia666

Choices don't take the money until they send the item though, so the only real risk is what happens if you receive a faulty item or the item gets lost in the post.

I'm not saying people should order from them now, just that if you've already got an order with them, they won't take the money until they send the item, so there's no need to start panicking.

I think this is a real shame as I've used Choices foa number of years now, and they've always given really good customer service, and have had really good prices. I hope they can find a buyer.

hammodt

Suspension Letter from the Stock Exchange:

http://www.londonstockexchange.com/LSECWS/IFSPages/MarketNewsPopup.aspx?id=1560299&source=RNS

Nothing on the corporate website though!

Also found this:

RNS Number:5338C
ChoicesUK PLC
21 August 2007



TUESDAY, 21 August 2007-- Since ChoicesUK plc issued a trading statement on 18
April 2007, the directors have been exploring the possible sale or re-financing
of the business as a going concern. Until very recently, the directors were
hopeful that a successful outcome would result.

However, despite extensive negotiations, it has not been possible to reach an
agreement on terms acceptable to all parties. Therefore, the directors have
decided that it is in the best interests of the creditors to seek to appoint
Administrators as soon as possible.


END

Contacts

Gareth Price
Landsbanki UK (Securities) Ltd (Nomad - tel: 020 7426 9000)

Simon Bloomfield
Bankside Consultants (Tel: 020 7367 8888)

David

Tirian

anastasia666 wrote: »

Choices don't take the money until they send the item though, so the only real risk is what happens if you receive a faulty item or the item gets lost in the post.

I can only speak from my own experience, but when I called my bank they confirmed that the payment was going through on their system and I have not had any email to say that my order has been despatched. This would suggest to me that it is not the case that no payments are processed until the item is sent.

Everyone is free to take whatever risks they want, but I don't think it's unreasonable to take all possible precautions when something like this happens. If you've got enough money to spare, then the 'wait and see' approach is fine - but it you want to protect yourself, then I'd say the only option is, as I suggested, to cancel your payment asap.

lewt

do we think they'll be paying cashback?