The news that more than 200 Carpetright stores will close after the chain went bust has left worried customers and staff across the UK shocked. While Tapi has rescued 54 stores, it says it won’t fulfil outstanding customer orders at shops that have shut, and around 1,500 staff who lost their jobs will not be rehired. Sian Bowers, 40, from Dagenham spent £681 on a new carpet for her home earlier in July and fears she has lost her money. The mother-of-two has already called the company and has been told her order won’t be sent. Despite Sian’s bank saying they cannot do anything because she paid with chip and pin, she’s not in a position to repurchase until she receives a refund.
Colin Dakers from Glasgow has been trying to contact Carpetright about his carpets, which he paid for in full at the beginning of July, spending £1,630. He has even been to his branch in Uddingston where he found the doors locked and no-one there. He had asked the branch to store his carpet while he completed renovation work and arranged to have them fitted in early September. But yesterday the store closed for good. Colin felt “let down and disappointed” that no-one from Carpetright contacted customers like him after the firm announced its intention to appoint administrators earlier this month – something he wasn’t aware of at the time.
Carpetright, founded in 1988, ran into trouble in April when sales slumped following a cyber attack that put its online ordering system out of action. But it had been struggling with slowing consumer demand for some time. On Tuesday the boss of Tapi, which is taking over part of Carpetright’s operations, said he was “desperately sad” not to have been able to save more customer orders and jobs. Some workers have reacted with dismay at the short notice they have been given. Hundreds of workers at Carpetright’s head office in Purfleet, Essex, and across some shops will only be kept on for a short time to wind down operations.
However, it’s not just staff directly employed by the company who face uncertainty, with the independent fitters used by Carpetright also hit hard. Wayne Wadsworth, who runs Finest Floors in Waterlooville, says he’s been working with Carpetright for 20 years and the company gave his business five days of work each week. Yesterday, his local branch in Fareham was among the more than 200 that closed. Mr Wadsworth did his last job for Carpetright on Tuesday and has taken to social media to promote his business – saying he was reassured by enquiries after he posted about his situation yesterday
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
