Homebase administration – your shopping, installation and refund rights

Homebase fell into administration earlier this week

Homebase fell into administration on Wednesday 13 November, with consultancy firm Teneo appointed to oversee the process.

CDS Superstores, which owns homeware retailer The Range, has bought 70 stores, saving around 1,600 jobs. It said that these will continue to trade as Homebase stores "over the next couple of months" before reopening as The Range stores.

Teneo said it's seeking a buyer for Homebase's remaining 49 stores. Around 2,000 workers are currently facing redundancy.

Damian McGloughlin, chief executive of Homebase, said the last three years had been "incredibly challenging" for DIY stores, blaming "a decline in consumer confidence and spending" after the pandemic.

You can still shop in-store and online for now – but be wary of doing so

You can still shop at Homebase in-store and online for now, though no new orders for kitchen, bathroom or bedroom installations are being taken.

Currently, Homebase isn't accepting returns for unwanted goods bought in-store – regardless of whether you bought the item before or after it went into administration. Your right to ask for a refund or return if items are faulty still apply, as does your right to return items purchased online within 30 days for an exchange or refund.

However, be warned: if Homebase were to stop trading in future, you may struggle to get your money back if you need a refund or if goods turn out to be faulty – for added protection, it's best to pay on a debit or credit card if you can.

Gift cards will continue to be accepted both in-store and online for now. We'd recommend spending these as soon as possible in case Homebase stops trading. If this were to happen, you would need to register to claim your money back from Teneo or via your card provider and there are no guarantees this would work.

Got an existing order with Homebase? This should still be fulfilled

Teneo has said that orders placed prior to Homebase going into administration will be fulfilled "subject to availability". This includes installations for kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms, so if you have one booked, this should still go ahead.

However, if your order can't be fulfilled for any reason, you'll be contacted and issued a refund, including a deposit if you paid one.

If you no longer want your installation to go ahead, you may be able to cancel by contacting Teneo – it told us it would consider cancellations on a case-by-case basis.

If your Homebase goods are faulty, here's how to enforce your rights

Teneo and CDS wouldn't tell us whether they'll honour the one-year warranties that were offered by Homebase. However, you still have options if your item or installation turns out to be faulty...

First, know your consumer rights

All goods must follow what we call the 'SAD FART' rules. In other words, they must be: Satisfactory quality, As Described, Fit for purpose, And last a Reasonable length of Time.

If your goods fail to meet any of these criteria, you're entitled to a full refund within the first 30 days. After 30 days, you should be offered a repair or replacement – then, if those don't work, a partial or full refund.

Note: If it's been more than six months since you got the goods, it'll be on you to prove that they were faulty (or prone to developing a fault) when you bought them. In practice this could involve, for example, getting a report from an expert to show there was a design or manufacturing defect with the product(s).

Then, check how to enforce your rights

To get a refund, replacement or repair, here are the steps you can try:

1. In the first instance, contact Teneo. Homebase has confirmed that it will refund or exchange faulty items returned within 30 days. For installations, it will repair, exchange or refund goods "as appropriate". To find out more about this, you can get in touch with Teneo via email.
   
   However, if you're struggling to get anywhere with the administrator, you can also try:

2. Enforcing your rights with your card provider or lender (if you paid on plastic or using a credit agreement you took out through Homebase). Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, if you pay for something costing more than £100 but less than £30,000 using credit, the credit provider's equally liable if something goes wrong. This applies even if you only paid for part of the purchase on credit.
   
   In other words, you have the SAME rights as you do with the retailer. So, your credit card provider or lender has to step into the role of Homebase and it becomes responsible for helping you with a repair, replacement or refund. You can typically file a Section 75 claim within six years of purchase – contact your card provider or lender and it should guide you through the process.
   
   Paid on a debit card? You have some protection under the chargeback rules. This is where your bank asks for the money back from Homebase's bank, but it's much more limited – for example, you normally only have 120 days from the date of purchase to make a claim.

As a last resort, you can try getting a repair, replacement or refund by filing as an "unsecured creditor" with Homebase's administrator. This means you'll go on the administrator's list of people it owes money or services to. However, you'll be at the back of the queue, so there's no guarantee you'll get anywhere. You can do this by contacting Teneo.

For more on your rights when firms go bust, see our Company administration guide. Our Redundancy help guide, meanwhile, details your rights if you lose your job.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.