FURNITURELAND
Customers of collapsed company Furnitureland have just two days to get in touch with them if they want a chance of getting their goods - or lose their money.
There are 20,000 customers with outstanding orders since the firm collapsed 10 days ago.
Furnitureland, which has 28 stores nationwide, said they would be open until October 5 for customers to discuss collecting furniture or arranging alternatives if an order could not be met.
Furnitureland is the third major furniture retailer threatening to leave customers out of pocket after Courts and Allders collapsed earlier this year.
It is difficult to avoid this sort of dilemma - there is just no way to tell which firms are about to announce they are closing their doors.
Our advice
Paying by credit card is the best way to protect yourself when making big-ticket purchases because credit card issuers are required by law, under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, to refund your money when a supplier breaches a contract or misrepresents its products - the price must be between £100 and £30,000.
This law means if you can't get a refund from the company that sold you the goods but failed to deliver them, your credit card lender is responsible.
Paying cash leaves you much more vulnerable as you are classed as an "unsecured creditor", which means your money is included in the company's frozen assets. The only option is to wait until the administrators decide who gets paid.