I recently bought a £650 mattress from Eve Sleep using a 12-month repayment plan with Klarna. It arrived on 4 October but I quickly realised it was not for me and requested a return. However, the mattress company has gone bust, and I don’t know what to do.
After I requested a refund I received an email on 10 October, and again two days later, asking for patience as it was very busy. When I heard nothing, I tried to phone on 19 October but the number was no longer obtainable.
I sent an email and received an automated response that Eve Sleep was in administration and that I should email the administrators, Kroll.
I contacted Klarna on the same day to request it approached the administrators.
After several more attempts to contact Klarna, it has informed me that it has gone to its dedicated team, which is looking into the situation.
However, it has taken the first payment of £54 from my account. Who am I paying if the company no longer exists? Is Klarna responsible under the Consumer Rights Act? I requested a return before Eve Sleep went into administration.
Of course, I still have the mattress but I’m not using it and don’t want it. I don’t know what to do with it. As Bensons for Beds has bought Eve Sleep, and is offering a “one year at home trial”, will it accept the return?
FF, West Wickham
More often I am asked for help by people who did not get the item they paid for after a company fails, as opposed to being left with something expensive they don’t want.
I asked Bensons for Beds, which bought Eve Sleep on 17 October only hours after the online mattress specialist called in administrators, if it could help, but it said no because administrators were responsible for customer purchases made prior to the change of ownership.
Bensons says: “We’re really sorry we can’t help – it goes without saying any customers who now purchase from our reopened Eve Sleep website will be fully covered by the guarantees we offer.”
But there was some good news from Klarna. As the mattress was bought with one of its regulated financing products, section 75 protections apply. A dispute claim has been raised, and no more payments will be taken while it is investigated, although Klarna could not say how long this would take.
• The headline of this article was amended on 24 January 2023 to clarify that the first payment was taken by Klarna but it did not subsequently take any more
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