Missguided shoppers have been left in limbo after the company's website was suspended, amid reports of missing refunds and orders.
The troubled online retailer was bought out of administration last week by ex- Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley's Fraser Group, which also owns Sports Direct and House of Fraser
The fashion brand, which was founded in 2009, collapsed last week following accusations that they owed their suppliers millions of pounds., but after the deal with Frasers Group, Missguided reassured customers that nothing would change and that orders would be honoured.
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Despite going into administration, the company was still operating as normal and still accepting orders from Tuesday, May 31, and their online refunds portal was still open from Wednesday, 1 June.
But the company has now suspended their website, app and comments from social media. When we checked this afternoon (June 9), the website read: "Our maintenance pixies are currently working their magic on the site. We'll be back with you soon, in the meantime check out our blog or get help on an existing order through our customer care team..."
However, clicking on the customer care tab brings up an error message, with no way of contacted the company.
Disgruntled customers have taken to social media to complain about the website, with many reporting missing orders placed and paid for before Missguided collapsed and missing refunds.
Here, with the help of Raisin UK we have a look at your options if you are owed goods or a refund from Missguided and what your next steps are.
Buy Now, Pay Later Purchases
If you paid via a Buy Now, Pay Later platform such as Klarna, you should continue to pay off any amounts that you owe. Your ‘debt’ is handled by your lender which is the BNPL platform, not Missguided. This is especially important as BNPL companies are now reporting your history to credit reference agencies.
Credit Card Purchases
Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, if you paid for something costing between £100 and £30,000 on a credit card, the card firm’s equally liable if something goes wrong with your order, so you may be able to claim your money back for any missing orders or refunds. Contact your credit card company to start the ball rolling.
Debit Card Purchases
If you paid by debit card, or your purchase was under £100 on a credit card, you can also chargeback with your bank to try to get any money back from missing orders and refunds. But a chargeback is not a legal requirement and is just a customer service promise where your bank will request the money back from Missguided. But note that chargebacks can be disputed, and Missguided may take that money back from your account at some point.
Gift Cards
Teneo, which is handling Missguided's administration, hasn’t yet confirmed whether gift cards will still be accepted. Going forward, it will be up to Fraser’s to take on any gift cards.
If you have made any purchases with a gift card, you can still return your items but be aware you will still have to get your refund via a gift card. If you have an existing Missguided gift card, it could be wiped and not taken on by Fraser’s as it may not be part of the takeover agreement. Until you know what's happening, keep hold of the gift cards and await an update.
We have contacted Teneo to ask if Frasers intends to take over the gift cards, but have not had a response.
Should I continue with returns?
Your return rights cannot be affected by a company going into administration. You can still make returns and you should still receive refunds. But Kevin Mountford, co-founder and savings expert, is advising customers to keep hold of their items for now.
“Missguided have made it harder to get refunds with the returns portal now being unavailable as customers can no longer access their accounts," he said. “If you can, hold onto the items while Missguided resolve issues with their website and app and then make your returns."
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