Carpetright customers are owed nearly £8m

About 21,000 customers are owed nearly £8 million for outstanding orders at the flooring chain Carpetright, which fell into administration in July, and most of them will not be refunded.
That is according to the directors’ statement of affairs, but sources close to the situation suggested that the final sum of money owed is likely to be “considerably” higher.
Carpetright collapsed into administration in July, resulting in the closure of 273 stores and 1,500 job losses. The company’s remaining 53 stores were bought by Tapi, its main competitor.
Carpetright’s owner was Nestware Holdings, which is owned by Meditor, a British hedge fund headed by Talal Shakerchi, the asset manager and poker player known as “Raidalot”.
Shakerchi has come under fire for transferring the Carpetright brand and intellectual property (IP) rights to Nestware in December, in exchange for a cash injection of £12 million. Tapi had to pay £5 million to Nestware for Carpetright’s IP.
The retailer’s owner has come under fire from sources close to both Carpetright and Tapi for not using some of the funds to pay customers and other creditors. One executive said it was “disappointing” and said the UK needed to stop allowing “controversial” restructuring deals that enable companies to “leave customers, employees and suppliers out of pocket”.
Another senior source questioned why Shakerchi had not opted to use some of his poker winnings to pay some of the creditor debts. Shakerchi took home a record $3.25 million last year from the Triton Poker Super High Roller Main Event. Trade poker publications estimate that he has made more than $18 million in live tournament earnings and millions more from online sites.
Gurpreet Chhokar, a Which? consumer rights expert, said it was “shocking that Carpetright customers could still be owed £7.6 million after the business fell into administration over the summer”.
“Many of these customers will have been saving for months to make these home improvements and at a time of huge cost of living pressures, it may be impossible for them to get the funds together quickly to go ahead with a different firm.”
Chhokhar said that customers who bought flooring worth more than £100 on their credit card can claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act if the item is faulty or not delivered.
Newly filed documents show that the total level of debts owed to unsecured creditors, which comprise customers, floor fitters, suppliers and landlords, has swelled to £373 million. The majority are to be left almost entirely out of pocket.
A total of 298 landlord creditors, including the retailers B&M, B&Q, Furniture Village and Asda, as well as the property companies British Land and CBRE, are owed £148 million.
Debts owed to trade creditors, which include carpet fitters and suppliers, amount to £226 million.
Nestware is owed £175 million, but sources close to the administration said the company had not received any money owed and was unlikely to in the future.
The retailer was forced to file for administration after HM Revenue & Customs hit it with a winding-up petition for failing to meet VAT and Paye payments.
Meditor and Shakerchi were contacted for comment. PwC, the administrator, declined to comment.