THE STATE’S CONSUMER watchdog is advising Rathwood customers waiting for refunds or deliveries to “take action immediately” – but Rathwood’s examiner warned customers they’ll only be getting a “very small sum” back.

The Carlow-based home and garden store entered examinership earlier this year, after facing significant difficulties in recent times. It faced action from the CCPC in March of this year for failing to reimburse applicable customers, and last year it was second only to Ryanair for consumer complaints. 

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) said today that the examiner appointed to Rathwood has written to around 7,000 customers.

The letter from examiner Padraic Bermingham of Strata Financial said that Rathwood’s records indicate that “a significant number of customers have outstanding claims” relating to unfulfilled orders and/or unpaid refund requests.

He told customers to complete an online form included in the letter before 12 June to establish if they have a claim. However, he said that even if a customer does have a claim, they should expect “only a nominal return”.

“Please note that I expect that only a nominal return will be made to customers with
claims in respect of unfulfilled orders and/or unpaid refund requests. This means that, if
you have a claim against Rathwood, you will only receive a very small sum in respect of
any monies paid by you to Rathwood,” the letter said.

The CCPC said customers who have outstanding orders with Rathwood should request a chargeback from their bank or card provider if they have not already done so, and register their claim against Rathwood using the online form provided by the examiner.

Grainne Griffin, Director of Communications at the CCPC, said: “We advise any affected consumers to review the correspondence from the Examiner carefully and to complete the form provided as soon as possible.”

“Those who wish to request a chargeback should contact their bank or card provider immediately.”

Examinership is a court-supervised process that allows companies in financial difficulty to restructure its debts while being protected from creditors.

Rahtwood, which has been in County Carlow since 1994, has over 100 employees.