A MUM-of-two is worried she’ll never get a £80 refund she’s owed from Studio after a faulty Christmas gift left her daughter in tears.
Lynsey Petofalvi, 36, was told she would get her money back when she returned a broken scooter on January 6.
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But she’s still waiting for her money back more than a month later.
Now, Studio has collapsed into administration, leaving thousands of customers potentially out of pocket.
Up to 1,000 jobs are at risk at the Lancashire-based online retail company, which sold clothing, homeware, electricals and toys.
It’s stopped accepting new orders and customers waiting for deliveries and refunds have so far been left in the dark.
Lynsey, who lives in Crewe, Cheshire with her children and husband Lajos, thinks they’re unlikely to get a refund at all.
She said the ruined gift left 10-year-old Gabriella in tears – and she fears it could have ruined her daughter’s last magical Christmas.
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“How can you explain to them that Santa’s brought you a present that doesn’t work?
“She heard me yesterday on the phone and I could see her brain ticking over thinking: ‘hang on a minute, you told me Santa brought that so why are you talking about the money for it’.
“It’s her last year with all of this magic because she’s not going to keep believing in Santa for much longer.”
Instead of playing together on Christmas Day, the broken present led to disappointment and arguments between Gabriella and brother Leo, 9.
Lynsey has repeatedly contacted Studio’s customer service team and has been told several times to expect the refund within seven days.
But she’s still waiting for the cash back and hasn’t been able to replace her daughter’s Christmas present.
The company even asked her yesterday how many scooters she had returned, she said.
“We took it back and they sent a courier straight away and said the refund would be processed in seven days, and that was on January 6,” Lynsey told The Sun.
“We gave them a call seven days later because I could track it and it said they’d got it. They said give it another seven days, then another seven days.
“My mum was ringing them and I was messaging them on Facebook as well. We found out they went into administration and so they were just fobbing us off.
“I rang them yesterday and they didn’t know I’d sent them a scooter. Then they looked at the account and asked me how many I’d sent back.
“They were saying let me put you on hold, and then never picked it back up.”
She added: “I don’t think we’ll get it back unless somebody comes in and saves them.
“They don’t even know how many scooters I sent back, they’re never going to refund my money but I’m not going to stop trying.”
“We have no scooter now for my little girl and no money back,” Lynsey said.
The Sun has contacted Studio Retail Group for comment.
Studio said it plans to appoint administrators after failing to secure a short-term loan from banks.
It said the loan would have been “sufficient” to tide it over while it sold surplus stock.
The retailer has around 2.5million customers and made £579million in sales during the last financial year.
It has not yet been disclosed how many customers have outstanding orders or refunds with the company, but it could be thousands.
At the moment the company’s website just warns there could be delays in processing returns.
Studio Retail Group said this morning: “Following detailed discussions with our UK lenders, the company has not been able to reach agreement with them to provide the additional funding Studio requires.
“The board therefore now intends to file a notice of intention to appoint administrators to SRG and Studio Retail Limited, its wholly-owned subsidiary, as soon as reasonably practicable.”
I’m a Studio customer – what are my rights?
It is unclear at the moment whether customers who have an outstanding order will get their products, or will receive a refund.
Studio’s website is still up and running, but it’s not taking any new orders.
It could take up to 10 days for administrators to be appointed, and it is likely we will know more about what customers can expect then
If the company continues trading in administration, you might receive your order or continue to be able to return goods.
If it stops trading though, you may have to apply to the administrator to get your cash back.
Even then there’s no guarantee you’ll see any money as you’ll be bottom of a long list of people with claims against the business.
The situation should become clearer in the coming days, after administrators are appointed.
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