Smile direct club help!

KerrieRVN

I’m hoping someone could offer me any help on whether I have any consumer rights. I had recently signed up to smile direct club for teeth aligners and received my shipment on Wednesday 6th December. To my absolute horror and dismay, the company went bankrupt on the 8th December 😱 I had chatted to the support team at smile direct club before placing my order as I had read about possible liquidation. The company assured me this was downsizing of the company and there was no mention of bankruptcy. I set up the aligners with much trepidation and now I have unfortunately found myself in a situation. So I have received my aligners but as the company has ceased trading, I will have no lifetime guarantee nor will I have the check ins with a registered dentist as I have paid for. I don’t even know where to start with it all but I’m wondering, do I have any consumer rights in this situation or have I just wasted a lot of money? Any help is appreciated. 

DullGreyGuy

Consumer rights are against the retailer, the retailer is insolvent.

How did you pay? If by card a chargeback is the most sensible route forward 

marcia_

 Yes a chargeback and cancel any direct debit you might have set up with them. 

PRDMKT

marcia_ said:

 Yes a chargeback and cancel any direct debit you might have set up with them. 

Be careful cancelling any Direct Debits, as I know Smile Direct have requested anyone on their payment plans are still expected to make payments (Ref: Their website). I assume this could leave you liable for debt collection when the administrators begin to wind the business down. 

Perhaps contact your bank as the first port of call, they may be able to offer some helpful advice?

There will be a lot of people affected by this so you're not alone, tbh, I would Image this is the sort of thing Martin may address directly.

I hope it all works out for you. 

born_again

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67675431

OP needs to say how they have paid.

Toothsmith

FAQ page on Smile Club's website

https://smiledirectclub.co.uk/en-gb/contact/

They clearly expect payments to continue whilst cancelling all ongoing relationships and retracting all guarantees! 

The BDA, British Orthodontic Society and Dentistry in general have been urging the General Dental Council, and the Care Quality Commission to regulate these people just the same as they regulate 'proper' dentists for the whole time they've been operating. 

The fact that they didn't is scandalous. 

Streaky_Bacon

It would be a very bad idea to continue paying direct debits when the administrators have already said that there is no chance of customers getting their money back.

The administrators may be able to claim that customers owe money, but they would have to show that there has not been a meaningful breach of contract on behalf of the retailer, and that the customer therefore owes the money.

That sounds like an unlikely argument, in most cases.

If you withhold the money now, and the administrators can eventually make a valid case that you owe them the money, you can always make payment then.

If, instead, you pay them the money now, it is definitely gone (whether they have a valid claim or not).

The only other point I would make is that, if any payment, however small, has been made with a credit card there will be a possible path to claim all payments from the card company via s75 (even if you paid a £1 deposit on the card and then £20,000 via direct debit/bank transfer etc).

Debhu154

Do the same rights apply if you were paying on a finance agreement through tabeo which works on behalf on smile direct? I've cancelled my direct debit as I'm only half way through but now worried it may impact my credit score 

mattojgb

Although S.75 isn't restricted to credit cards, whether or not it applies depends on the link between the creditor and the supplier (SDC). If you take out a loan from a bank, you can use it for anything you like and the credit provider has no s.75 responsibility if anything untoward happens. You have to keep paying off the loan whatever. S.75 only applies where the supplier uses the credit provider directly. It's not clear if Tabeo are providing the credit directly or are just an intermediary. Credit card payments through PayPal do not qualify for S.75 protection as PayPal are deemed an intermediary.

However, it seems that Tabeo have a "right of redress" in their T&C's (you would have to check your own terms) which wording corresponds to S.75 and would strongly suggest that they are bound by them.

DullGreyGuy

mattojgb said:

Although S.75 isn't restricted to credit cards, whether or not it applies depends on the link between the creditor and the supplier (SDC). If you take out a loan from a bank, you can use it for anything you like and the credit provider has no s.75 responsibility if anything untoward happens. You have to keep paying off the loan whatever. S.75 only applies where the supplier uses the credit provider directly. It's not clear if Tabeo are providing the credit directly or are just an intermediary. Credit card payments through PayPal do not qualify for S.75 protection as PayPal are deemed an intermediary.

However, it seems that Tabeo have a "right of redress" in their T&C's (you would have to check your own terms) which wording corresponds to S.75 and would strongly suggest that they are bound by them.

It will also depend on if the credit agreement is regulated by the CCA... given the costs its highly likely that it will be but many of these buy no pay later or buy now pay in 3 type credit from Klarna aren't 

uphoriak

I'm in the same boat - currently in the middle of a payment plan with Tabeo until mid 2025 and mid-treatment, and now won't get my corrective alligners at the end and no check-ins or feedback from my assigned authodontist. I've saved copies of my agreements with Tabeo and everything I can think of and am waiting for Tabeo to contact me back as I filled out the contact form on Sunday. I'll email tomorrow if I haven't heard anything so at least I have documentation of what I've sent them (their online form doesn't email you a copy of what was sent).

My bank has told me to cancel my DD to Tabeo which I don't think I want to do because I'm hearing they're being passed onto credit agencies to chase, and I've just spoke to citizens advice this morning who have told me to contact the email address listed on the SmileDirect Club website and confirm whether my payments so far have covered costs and what the cost for redemption is? I'll try this next while also chasing Tabeo as per the "right of redress" clause in the T&C's I have with them.