Gift firm leaves couples in lurch

The Gift Registry has left hundreds of newlyweds disappointed

Hundreds of couples could be left without their wedding presents after the collapse of an online gift company.

The Gift Registry went into administration after suffering losses of more than £300,000.

But the decision has left more than 350 couples without their gifts and many wedding guests out of pocket.

Anyone hit by the collapse will have to make a claim though their credit or debit card company, a notice on the firm's website says.

Refund fears

However anyone who does decide to make a claim faces a difficult time as most banks and credit firms will not guarantee the refund if the value of a purchase is below £100.

The guests' claims are a real palaver, lots of credit card paperwork, and we'd rather not give them that headache Heidi White, Gift Registry customer

All 20 staff employed at The Gift Registry's offices in Chessington, Surrey, have been made redundant, administrators said.

The company allowed couples to make up a wedding list from a large number of stores - including John Lewis, Debenhams and Argos - which it would then organise and deliver.

According to reports it financed its activities by adding up to £4 per item to the price usually charged by stores.

'Embarrassing'

Customer Heidi White told BBC News Online she used the service for her wedding gift list for the big day of 11 September.

On 21 September The Gift Registry got back in touch to finalise the list and said it would be in touch about delivery dates, which it expected to be in two weeks' time.

"A month later we're going back to the invites and having to write to guests and tell them 'thanks for the thought but you're going to have to go back to the credit card company to get your money back'. Its embarrassing really," Ms White said.

"The guests' claims are a real palaver, lots of credit card paperwork, and we'd rather not give them that headache."

Ms White added that she faced further problems as she had taken up its flexible list option - which meant she could chop and change her gift list - so they had not yet bought any of the items.

As administrators we are endeavouring to find buyers for the assets Administrator Chris Heron

The firm, which was set up in June last year, had been dogged by negative press recently - it was the subject of a report on the BBC's Watchdog programme.

Customers had complained to the show that deliveries were taking an unusually long time or items they had expected were not turning up.

At the time, The Gift Registry apologised saying demand had outstripped capacity to deal with the orders and new warehousing and software should solve the problem.

But three days later, on 8 October the firm called in administrators Begbies Traynor which opted to close the business rather than sell it as a going concern.

"As administrators we are endeavouring to find buyers for the assets, which include the order book, a customer database, office equipment and some high quality computer hardware," administrator Chris Heron said in a statement.

There was some good news for people who bought gifts for under £100.

HSBC told News Online that as a result of Chargeback - an agreement with Mastercard and Visa across the industry - it may be possible to recover the amount paid back.

However, it did stress that claims could not be guaranteed in every case.