🏪 A shop has gone bust: your gift cards, refunds and orders snapshot
your rights · page updated 9 Nov 2026
What happens to your gift cards, returns,
refunds and unpaid-for orders when a shop goes into administration, how to get money back through your card,
and who to ask.
Is my gift card still valid if the shop goes into administration?
Only while the administrators choose to accept it — so spend it now
NOT PROTECTED
Nothing in law makes administrators honour gift cards or vouchers. Many do at first, but they
can stop at any point and without notice. If yours is still being accepted, use it
straight away. If the chain is sold, ask the new owner whether it takes the old cards; it does not have to.
Once cards stop working, the money on them is a debt the shop owes you, and you join the queue of
unsecured creditors (see below). The Law Commission proposed giving shoppers' prepayments some
priority in 2016; the Government decided against it in 2018, and the law has not changed since.
If you paid for the gift card by card
A gift card bought on a credit card for more than £100 may be claimable from the card
company under Section 75 (below). For smaller amounts, or a debit card, ask your bank about a
chargeback; it may be refused for a voucher, but it costs nothing to ask. A gift card bought from
another seller (a supermarket, a gift-card website) is still a debt of the shop that issued it; the seller
has no duty to refund you, though some do.
Can I still return something or get a refund?
Faulty goods: yes, while the shop is trading. Change of mind: only if the shop says so
While a shop in administration is still open, your Consumer Rights Act rights on
faulty goods still apply, so take them back with your receipt as soon as you can. Returning something simply
because you changed your mind was always a shop's policy, never your right, and administrators may suspend
it; ask in store or check the shop's website. If the shop has closed, use the manufacturer's guarantee,
or ask the administrator for a repair or replacement, which is unlikely to be granted.
I paid for an order, or a deposit, and it hasn't arrived
Ask the administrator first; your card may be the better route
If your money was held in a separate account or on trust, as some furniture and kitchen
firms do with deposits, it should come back to you. Otherwise an undelivered order is another unsecured debt.
A made-to-order item you have paid for in full is more likely to be released to you. In practice, how
you paid decides how likely you are to get the money back, which is the next question.
How do I get my money back through my card?
Credit card, over £100: Section 75 YOUR RIGHT IN LAW
Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act the credit card company is jointly liable if
an item or service costing more than £100 and up to £30,000 is not delivered or is faulty, even if you
paid only a deposit on the card. It is the price of the item that counts, not how much went on the card.
Claim from the card company in writing; the administrator does not have to be involved.
Debit card, or a credit card under £100: chargeback A SCHEME, NOT A LAW
Card schemes such as Visa and Mastercard let your bank reverse a payment for goods not received. It is not
a legal right and each scheme has its own rules, but where the shop has failed the time limit usually runs
120 days from the date of the insolvency or the date you expected the goods, and up to 540 days from the
payment. Ask your bank for a chargeback by name; if the first person does not know about it, ask for someone
who does.
Buy now, pay later
Buy now, pay later loans taken out on or after 15 July 2026 are regulated by the
Financial Conduct Authority, and Section 75 can apply when the lender and the shop are separate businesses.
For loans taken out before then it does not; try a chargeback through the card you make the repayments
with, and tell the lender what has happened.
What about warranties and guarantees?
Check who stands behind it
A manufacturer's guarantee is unaffected: the maker, not the shop, owes you the repair. For an
extended warranty bought from the shop, the paperwork names the provider: if it is an insurer or another
company, claim from them; if it is the shop itself, the warranty is likely to become another debt.
How do I claim from the administrator?
Register as a creditor, but expect little or nothing
The administrator's name and contact details are usually on the shop's own website. Tell
them what you are owed; you may be asked to fill in a proof of debt. In England and Wales, GOV.UK has a
page for registering as a creditor; in Scotland, use the Accountant in Bankruptcy. Shoppers are
unsecured creditors: the costs of the insolvency and secured lenders such as banks are paid first, and
if little is left, you get nothing back. The first report can take up to 12 weeks, and the whole process
years. If your card company refunds you in full, you are no longer a creditor.
Who can help?
Poundland: where things stand
Still open and trading; a decision is due around 11 to 12 November
AS AT 9 NOV 2026
Poundland, owned by Gordon Brothers, filed a notice of intention to appoint
administrators on 29 October 2026, which gives a company ten working days' protection from its creditors;
it is not yet in administration, and its stores remain open. Bidders for the whole chain and other
retailers interested in some of its roughly 600 shops have been reported. Neither Poundland nor any
administrator has said anything about gift cards or returns. Everything above applies if an administrator
is appointed: spend any Poundland gift card while it is accepted, and take faulty goods back now.
i
Three things to do, in order. Use any gift card or voucher while it still works. Keep every receipt,
order confirmation and card statement. If the item cost more than £100 and you paid on a credit card,
claim from the card company under Section 75; otherwise ask your bank for a chargeback before you try the administrator.