Concern that House of Fraser’s new owners Sports Direct may not honour the department store’s gift cards is growing after the retailer has fallen silent over the matter.
A report by the BBC this morning said many customers with gift cards had contacted House of Fraser directly after the retailer fell into administration and was subsequently bought by Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct.
They were told by House of Fraser to send in their gift cards for a replacement. Now four weeks on, customers are yet to hear back from the department store, which is also not responding to questions over the matter.
If Sports Direct fail to replace the cards, customers who still had them when the department store chain went into administration will join a long line of unsecured creditors, and the chance of them getting their money back will be very slim.
When Mike Ashley’s retailer bought House of Fraser out of administration last month for £90 million, he acquired none of its substantial debt pile leaving many suppliers being owed millions.
It comes after customers were informed last week that they would not obtain a refund on goods they are yet to receive, despite Sports Direct previously promising to pay up.
Days after Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct purchased the collapsed retailer out of administration for £90 million, it issued a statement on Twitter apologising for “delays with delivering online orders” promising to “cancel and refund all orders that have not already been sent”.
It added that customers would receive an email regarding their refunds in a couple of days.
However, nearly a month later the retailer is now advising customers awaiting refunds to contact administrators EY.
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