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You’ve probably noticed a few shops on your high street, and indeed on the web, disappear in the last few months. But what happens if you’ve bought something that needs taking back or hasn’t been delivered? Find out what rights you have when a retailer goes into administration…

Refunds
If you want to return goods, after a retailer has gone into administration, you may hit a few problems. Previous returns policies will probably not apply so the best way to deal with the situation, whilst stores are still open, is to talk to staff to see if they will be able to refund or exchange the goods.

If they are unable to do this, your next port of call is with the administrators. Place a claim with them and send them all the receipts and other paperwork you have. Of course, you may still end up with nothing but you may be lucky and get at least some of your money back.

Undelivered or faulty goods
If you have placed and paid for an undelivered order, even if you’ve only paid a deposit, you have more rights but it does depend on how you’ve paid.

Funnily enough, these cases are always better when you pay by credit card. That doesn’t mean you should all go away and stack up debt on your credit cards! But, if you know that you’re able to pay the card back in full, they do offer a bit more security when things go wrong.

If you pay for something between £100 and £30,000 using your credit card for part or the whole purchase, you are protected by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. This states that he credit provider is “jointly and severally liable” for your purchase:

75. — (1) If the debtor under a debtor-creditor-supplier agreement falling within section 12(b) or (c) has, in relation to a transaction financed by the agreement, any claim against the supplier in respect of a misrepresentation or breach of contract, he shall have a like claim against the creditor, who, with the supplier, shall accordingly be jointly and severally liable to the debtor.

So they will be obliged to refund you if your goods are not delivered or if they arrive faulty.

If your purchase was under £100, you will not be protected and you will need to contact the administrators to make a claim instead.

If you’ve paid by debit card then you don’t have the same protection as you do with your credit card but you do have the option of the ChargeBack service - if you contact your bank within 120 days from the purchase date, they may be able to reclaim the cost of your purchase from the retailer’s bank and then charge this back to you. However, there is no guarantee that you will get your money back.

Another thing to think about is to make sure you’ve spent all your vouchers and any store credit you have remaining whilst the retailer is still trading.

On a positive note, when a retailer goes into administration, it’s usually a great time to pick up a bargain. They will try and sell off as much stock as possible so keep your eyes peeled for some price cuts. Just remember that once the retailer is gone for good, you may have a devil of a job taking it back if you don’t like it. Make sure you keep all the receipts, just in case you need to make a claim later and if you can, use your credit card, just in case the goods are faulty or undelivered.