Ordered furniture from a company now in administration? Martin Lewis offers advice

With news of Harveys going into administration, there's no doubt it's a worrying time for many consumers who have invested in costly furniture items. Martin Lewis was only too happy to help earlier today on This Morning, by offering his expert consumer advice.

Answering general finance questions from a phone-in Martin helped one shopper who asked where she now stands with her furniture guarantee. The viewer asks, 'Can I claim back now Harveys is in administration?'.

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Can I claim money back from a furniture company in administration?

Relaying the caller's question to Martin, Holly Willoughby reads, 'I placed an order with furniture company Harveys in January 2020 for two sofas, a coffee table, a dining table and four chairs. These had a five-year warranty. I paid a deposit via a debit card for £385 and I'm due to start paying a direct debit for £66.97 from July – interest free.'

Holly goes on to read, 'The furniture was delivered in June but some of the items were faulty. I've emailed Harveys but I'm yet to receive a reply. They have now gone into administration, can I still claim my money back?'.

Quick to respond Martin says, 'SO Harveys is in administration, so if you want to claim your rights with Harveys for faulty goods then you would claim as a creditor to the administrators. Which means you'll get pence and the pound back, and is not really going to work,' he warns.

'So what are your other options?'

'You paid something on a debit card. For that amount, you could try and do a charge back for the goods that are faulty. Or at least a proportion of that cost – assuming you're due it.' He details how this would mean your debit card company would go to Harveys' bank to try to get the money from them.

The third option, which he sounds more hopeful about, is the direct debit. 'You said you're paying a direct debit that's interest free?' he rhetorically asks. 'That might be a credit agreement. I don't know, ' he's quick to point out, 'it depends how it's structured.'

'If that is a credit agreement, then the company who's financing that – because it's a direct credit agreement for purchasing the goods – are likely to be liable under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. That means they are jointly liable with the retailer for the goods. So all your rights with Harveys, i.e if it's faulty afterwards you can take it back, you may well also have with the finance company.'

But Martin is cautious to say without seeing the paperwork himself, he can't be 100 per cent. So he advises those in this position to look up section 75 of the T&Cs to double check.

So there is hope, as Holly went on to say. Check the terms and conditions of your financial agreement under section 75 to be sure.

 Related: Martin Lewis' credit card payment holiday warning – taking a break on credit card and loan payments WILL impact your credit

The money expert is the best person for the job when it comes to offering  advice for shoppers caught up in administration nightmares.