High Street camera retailer Jessops goes into administration - Your rights

09 January 2013

Jessops administration gift vouchers refund tesco clubcard vouchers

 

 

The announcement from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) who have been appointed as the administrators of the ailing retail outlet, puts 2,000 jobs at risk as a buyer of all 193 stores seems unlikely.

 

 

 

Unfortunately people who have Jessops gift vouchers will be disappointed to hear that the administrators (PwC) have immediately come out to say that they won't be accepting gift vouchers and will not be accepting returns. However, when comet went into administration last November the administrator made exactly the same statement only to then retract the decision following public out cry. If you have been affected by the Jessop closure you therefore need to voice your concerns.

 

 

Meanwhile supermarket Tesco said that it would give a full refund to any customer who had recently exchanged Clubcard vouchers for tokens to spend with Jessops.

 

I have purchased goods from Jessops that have not been delivered

The first thing consumers should do in this position is contact Jessops and ask about the status of their order. If the goods are in stock and within Jessops warehousing there is a good chance that you will still receive the goods. However, if Jessops are not able to fulfil your order and you have already paid a deposit, or the full amount, there are several courses of action available to you. The most appropriate will depend on the value of your unfulfilled order and how you paid: 

i)                    If you paid by credit card

If the value of your goods was over £100 and you paid at least some by credit card (this can be any amount either under or over the £100 product value minimum), your card provider will be obliged to issue a refund. This is thanks to Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, which states that the credit provider is "jointly and severally liable" for your purchase.

If you need to make a claim in this way then contact your card provider and tell them that you need to make a Section 75 claim.

ii)                  If you paid by Visa or MasterCard debit card

If you made your purchase using a Visa or MasterCard ‘debit card’ you may be able to claim your money back using there ChargeBack service. This is where your debit card provider reclaims the value of your purchase directly from the retailer's bank and charges it back to you.

If this applies to you it is imperative that you contact the card provider within 120 days

iii)                If you paid by any other way

Unfortunately if you paid by any other means you will not have any immediate way of getting your money back. Instead you will have to become creditors to the company, which means that If there is any money left after they have sold off all of Jessops assets and paid ‘secured’ creditors they will distribute monies to unsecured creditors such as customers. However, this is unlikely.

I have Jessops gift vouches, can I get my money back?

Generally speaking NO, however:

If you paid by credit card and the voucher was £100 or more you need to contact your card provider and make a claim under Section 75. 

However Section 75 mainly applies to goods and services. The Office of Fair Trading has said that you 'may' get your money back, but this is a largely untested area of law.

I need a refund from Jessops, my goods are faulty! What can I do?

You will certainly not get a refund. However, It may be possible to exchange faulty goods but this is also unlikely as there are reports that the administrators are returning stock to creditors.

Again, this is a situation where if you paid with your credit card you may be able to make a claim under section 75 (as explained above).

 

I purchased an extended warranty will it still be valid?

Your warranty is most probably with a third party, not Jessops itself, so this should be unaffected. However, check the paperwork that you got with the warranty and contact those named on the agreement to check the position.

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