In early December we bought a chair from a furniture website called Interior Addict, which sells replicas of design classics, and paid £134.55 on my husband’s credit card to a company called KMA Republic. We received an acknowledgement of our order the same day and confirmation that delivery would be in early March.
We tried to contact the company to get an exact delivery date but were not able to get through to anyone. This week we tried again and were unable to leave a message as the firm’s voicemail box was full. We then discovered that other customers had had similar experiences. After reading numerous negative comments posted online we sent the company an email, but as yet have not received a response. We fear this company has gone out of business.
How do we get a refund? Do we approach the credit card company and explain the situation, and is this a straightforward procedure? AH and RH, London N8
We have written before about a similar operation called Infurn.com, which also offered design classics and which left a trail of unhappy consumers across Europe complaining that the goods for which they had paid had not arrived. When we checked out the status of Interior Addict we found that KMA Republic Limited, which owned and operated the business, was placed into administration on 7 April 2015. Insolvency adviser Portland Business and Financial Solutions said that “because of the extent of the company’s insolvency and absence of funding” trading had been suspended. Portland is dealing with the fallout for unhappy customers – and it is quite a long queue from the looks of it.
The good news is that as you paid by credit card, you should be able to get a refund through your card provider under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, and we advised you to claim as a matter of urgency. Others who have paid by bank transfer will not be so fortunate.
We advise shoppers to beware of such European websites offering desirable designer products at a fraction of the price. If the deals are too good to be true, it is because they inevitably are.
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