MFI Group Limited (In
Administration)
Updated: 23 December 2008
MFI Group Limited (In Administration)
(“the Company”)
Phil Duffy, Geoff Bouchier and Paul Clark of MCR were appointed as Joint
Administrators (“Administrators”) to MFI Group Limited on the evening of 26
November 2008. All Administrators are licensed by the Insolvency Practitioners’
Association.
The affairs, business and property of the Company are being managed by the
Administrators, who act as agents of the Company and without personal liability.
Further to the updated
announcement on 18 December 2008, despite the best endeavours of the
Administrators and management, it has not been possible to conclude a sale of
the customer order book.
However, as noted previously,
prior to the business being placed into Administration on 26 November 2008, the
directors entered into certain arrangements with the Company’s merchant
services provider whereby substantial cash sums were held by the merchant services provider as security for customers’ monies.
Based on management’s figures,
the Administrators currently believe that the merchant services provider is
holding a total of almost £30m in respect of these arrangements which is
roughly equivalent to the total amount of customer monies held by MFI Group
Limited in respect of outstanding orders as at the date of Administration.
Following the unresolved negotiations with
parties who had wished to acquire the rights to the fulfilment of the Company’s
order book, the Administrators have decided to cease trading and to effect a refund of customer monies. All stores have now been
closed.
Outstanding Customer orders and
refunds
Following
the decision of the Administrators to close all
FUNDING IS
AVAILABLE FOR REFUNDS / CHARGE-BACK
Prior to
the business being placed into Administration the directors entered into
arrangements with the Company’s merchant services provider (the Company which
processes all of the Company's credit and debit card transactions) whereby
substantial cash sums were deposited and held as security for customers’
monies.
The
merchant services provider is holding a total of almost £30,000,000 in respect
of these arrangements, a sum which is believed to be roughly equivalent to the
total amount of customer monies held by
REFUND /
CHARGE-BACK CLAIMS PROCEDURES
In order
to claim a refund / charge-back from these funds, customers with outstanding
orders should follow the following procedures:-
CREDIT
CARD AND VISA DEBIT CARD PAYMENTS
1. If a customer has paid a deposit or a final
payment by credit card (or VISA debit card) and has not received ANY product
then they should contact their own credit card issuer to initiate a charge-back
of any sums paid.
All such charge-backs
will be made from the funds already held by the Company's merchant services
provider in accordance with normal industry practice.
The
Administrators have agreed a detailed process to reconcile all claims to the
Company's records and to ensure that all valid customer charge-backs will be
approved and processed as quickly as possible.
2. If a customer has paid by credit card (or
VISA Debit card) and has received an incomplete delivery, the customer should
contact their own credit card issuer to initiate a partial charge-back of their
order.
All such
partial charge-backs will be made from the funds already held by the Company's
merchant services provider in accordance with normal industry practice.
The
Administrators will liaise with the merchant service provider to confirm short
deliveries and to ensure that all valid charge-backs are issued as quickly as
possible.
Charge-backs
will NOT be made where the customer has signed Company documentation confirming
receipt of goods which they now claim were not delivered.
CASH,
CHEQUE AND NON-VISA CARD PAYMENTS
1. If a
customer has paid by cash, cheque or non-VISA debit card and has not received a
delivery, based upon current financial information the Administrators expect to
be able to issue a refund from the surplus funds held by the merchant services
provider.
It is not
yet possible to predict the timing of such refunds although discussions with
the merchant services provider are taking place in order to seek an interim
release of the surplus.
All such
customers should complete the Proof of Debt form available on the Company's
website and submit this form to the Joint Administrators at mfi@mcr.uk.com or
INTEREST-FREE
AND OTHER CONSUMER CREDIT ARRANGEMENTS
1.
Customers who made arrangements to pay for their order using any form of
interest free or other consumer credit and who have not received a delivery are
unaffected by this process. The credit has not been drawn down by the Company and
the customer will NOT be required to make payments under any such arrangements.
2. Customers who have paid for their order using
a consumer credit agreement but who received an incomplete delivery will be
contacted by the Administrator in order to arrange a reduction in the amount
owed to the credit provider. Specific queries in this regard should be emailed
to blackhorse-enquiries@mfi.co.uk.
The
Administrators have already initiated a process to contact such customers.
The
arrangements put in place by the directors prior to the appointment of
Administrators have ensured that the Company's consumer credit supplier is
currently holding more than sufficient cash to make the expected reductions.
Again, the
Administrators, have implemented a process to ensure that all valid claims are
dealt with quickly but refunds will NOT be made where the customer has signed Company
documentation confirming receipt of goods which they now claim were not
delivered.
The
Administrators regret that it has not been possible to find a buyer for the
business as a going concern but are committed to establishing an equitable
process to refund customer monies where this is possible and where valid claims
are made and confirmed by the Company's records.
ITV advertisement
Advertisements
in respect of MFI Group Limited were aired on ITV commencing on 11 December
2008.
It should
be noted that the agreement to air these advertisements were arranged prior to
the Administrators appointment and no payments for the advertisements were made
by the Administrators. The advertisements were aired without the consent of the
Administrators and against the Administrators explicit requests to have the
advertisements withdrawn.
When the
Administrators became aware that the advertisements were scheduled to be aired
on ITV, they took all reasonable steps to have them withdrawn.
The
Administrators confirm that they did not place the advertisements and they have
taken steps to ensure no further advertisements of this nature are aired.
Customers seeking information on
product warranties/guarantees
If your product was branded Diplomat or was an MFI own brand product you may
have a claim in the Administration if the product has failed during the
standard warranty period. Please send details of your claim to the
Administrators office at the address below.
If you have an appliance which was made by another manufacturer, it may be
covered by the manufacturers’ warranty. Please contact the manufacturer
directly.
If you purchased an extended warranty through a third party such as AIG and the
product is still within its warranty period, please contact the third party
directly.
General customer queries
The customer call centre details are as follows:
Weekdays - 01405 744
813 between 9:00AM and 6:00PM.
Saturday - 01405 744
813 between 9:00AM and 6:00PM.
Please note that the call centre does not operate on Sundays.
Please also note that the call centre continues to experience a very high
volume of calls. You may therefore prefer to email your query to customer.services@mfi.co.uk and
your email will be responded to as quickly as possible.
Alternatively, if your query is not covered by the information contained within
this website, you can email the Administrators’ representatives at mfi@mcr.uk.com. Your email will be
responded to in cases where we are able to provide additional information.
Suppliers
All supplier orders including fitters and subcontractors have been suspended
and should not be completed/fulfilled without the
express authorisation of the Administrators.
All debts owed to suppliers/creditors incurred prior the Administrators
appointment will be unsecured claims against the Company. The
Administrators will be writing to all creditors within the coming weeks.
However, if you wish to lodge your claims now then you can download a Claim
Form from the MCR website (go to downloads/publications and follow the link to
Payment will not be made by the Administrators for any supplies/work provided
after 26 November 2008 without the prior and express authorisation from the
Administrators.
Please note that creditors/suppliers claims will be dealt
with in the Administration and this is likely to take several months before all
claims are agreed. At this stage it is too early to confirm what level of funds
will be available to distribute amongst unsecured creditors. Any funds will be
distributed equally amongst unsecured creditors and should funds be available
it is likely you will receive a fixed percentage of your claim.
Suppliers queries should be directed to mfi@mcr.uk.com and one of the Administrators staff will endeavour to
deal with your enquiry.
Customers who purchased Kuchen
Lab kitchens
The following section applies to customers who have paid
for a Kuchen Lab kitchen in full. It does not apply to any other class of
customer.
Having reviewed the Company’s books and records, the Joint
Administrators advise that subject to meeting certain terms and conditions, the
Joint Administrators are able to facilitate the release of Kuchen
Lab kitchens that are currently located at the Company’s warehouse in the
The Joint Administrators are able to release these goods,
because the Kuchen Lab kitchens are custom designed,
built for individual customers, paid for in full and have been delivered into
the
You will be contacted by the Joint Administrators
representatives in due course who will explain the process to you. Further,
should you wish to contact the Joint Administrators, please contact us at mfi@mcr.uk.com
and place ‘Kuchen Lab’ as the subject header to your email.
The Joint Administrators are continuing to review the
balance of the Kuchen Lab order book in respect of
other classes of customers, including remedial work. An update will be provided
in due course once the position has been clarified.
Homebase Offer
In order to further support
customers who have outstanding deliveries and who have or will receive a
refund, the Joint Administrators have managed to secure a 10% discount at Homebase on all new Kitchen, Bedroom and Bathroom orders
placed before 30 January 2009.
To receive this discount, customers
with outstanding deliveries will need to provide proof of their outstanding
delivery obtainable by email from the Administrator at mfi@mcr.uk.com with the word 'Homebase' in the subject heading.
Terms and conditions apply.
For more information, customers can call the Homebase
helpline number: 0845 601 0441 or visit www.homebase.co.uk.
General Enquiries and
the Joint Administrators’ Report to Creditors and Statement of Proposals
The Administrators
offices are located at
The Administrators' Report to Creditors and Statement of Proposals dated 5
December 2008 is available by clicking here http://www.mcr.uk.com/documents/78.pdf. A
proof of debt form is available by clicking here http://www.mcr.uk.com/Documents/76.pdf.
An Order of the High Court of Justice dated 3 December 2008 granted the Joint
Administrators relief not to post the report to all known creditors. A copy of
this Order is contained with the report. This document together with
other notices and documents relating to the administration can also be found by
clicking on Publications/MFI on the left hand side of the MCR website.
The proposals report to creditors and proof of debt form are also available on
the MFI website www.mfi.co.uk
By the Administrators