Jim Langan's furniture gone bust

dinjoecurry said:
In future anyone buying furniture should refuse to pay anything untill the goods are available.Why do we have to wait weeks for furniture to arrive ? it does not happen with cars/electrical goods We the consumers must force the furniture trade to have the stock available In the current climate consumers can not be sure of the future viability of any retailer
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In fairness, it is normal enough to pay a deposit for a new car, and wait weeks (10-12 in the case of Audi/BMW even now) for them to arrive.

I don't think it is realistic for furniture stores to take all the risk of non-acceptance of large ticket items (suites etc.).

The lesson is to pay as little as possible upfront and by credit card.

I say this as someone who lost money from paying by cash when 'ID Design' folded/fled.
 
Companies Office Update:
The B10 form (effective of 26th February 2009) where Mr. Walsh was trying to resign leaving one company officer has now been removed from the CRO database. Also, bear in mind that if a company goes into Liquidation, they have 15 days to file the form appointing the Liquidator!

Phoned KPMG (as Auditors) and they are saying they know nothing or have nothing to file
 
I did not buy anything from jim langans but I heard it on the Jerry Ryan store yesterday. Ireally hope everyone gets there money back. I am just woundering why his web site is still up and running? Just say I knew notting about what was going on and bought something from the site should they not close it down
 
CCOVIICH
Whats the difference between a big ticket furniture item and a 60" LCD TV or top of the range Hi Fi I suggest its not price. Many "big ticket" furniture items are less € than the LCD price.The furniture trade have just been let away with taking deposits and letting consumers ,wait more fool the customers to put up with it
As a matter of info I lost nothing with Langans and I don't even know who "ID Design" is/was and I would never pay cash for a large purchase
 
Furniture generally has to be ordered in-if it was in stock, there wouldn't be an issue.

TVs etc are generally in stock, so the issue of a deposit doesn't arise.

And aren't there longer lead times on furniture v. electronics?

I don't know, maybe there is some sort of conspiracy in the furniture trade to rip off customers, but they are not the only trade (motor, travel, etc) that seek deposits from customers upfront. In fairness this sort of issue does seem to arise more often in this trade than in others, maybe some sort of action is necessary to protect customers?

Anyway, I really don't want to drag this thread away from the specifics of the Jim Langan case.
 
I also worked in the furniture trade at one stage. On items ordered specially for customers, it would be impractical not to take a deposit.

People have different tastes in furniture and it is unfair to expect a retailler to be left with a bizarre coloured fabric or leather suite that might never sell on. Goods come in and customer says, no, dont want it any more. Without a deposit or commitment the shop is left with "poison" goods. People buy things on spur of the moment and then change their mind and sometimes even dont tell the shop.

That's not fair either.
Some people have mentioned large electrical items. Correct me if I am wrong, but do Electrical shops not ask for a 10% deposit on "special orders" either.

Only way around it is pay by CC. Shop covered/customer covered.
 
dinjoecurry said:
CCOVIICH
Whats the difference between a big ticket furniture item and a 60" LCD TV or top of the range Hi Fi I suggest its not price. Many "big ticket" furniture items are less € than the LCD price.The furniture trade have just been let away with taking deposits and letting consumers ,wait more fool the customers to put up with it
As a matter of info I lost nothing with Langans and I don't even know who "ID Design" is/was and I would never pay cash for a large purchase
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a sofa for example is alot more expensive to store than a flat screen tv or top of the range coffee maker, they come in many different variations, choices sometimes bespoke.

i pity the furniture trade getting a bad name from all of this as some people dont think of it as jim langans and even just refer to it as furniture shop in liffey valley or carraigmines.

It would be a sad state if people halted buying as a result of this as we already have a recession to cope with.
I understand that this is a shock that a well known company has just dissapeared, i can only feel sorry for the people who have lost money from this and i hope that justice has will be done.

I am in the middle of buying a property and i know that i have to buy furniture soon, I have learnt a lesson from this and will only be paying by credit card and only deal with the more reputable companies like arnotts and clearys who have seen these recessions before and represent high quality customer services whenever i have dealt with them before, This is were i take my confidence and assurances from.

Best of luck all, I hope something positive turns out, If not we can all say we have learnt a valuable lesson, I know i never heard of being protected by my credit card company until this.
 
Liquidator hasn't been appointed yet, I was talking to the Dept. of Consumer Affairs late today. They will make an announcement on their website as soon as the Liquidator has been put in place www.consumerconnect.ie
 
johnebhoy said:
apparently someone from the Gerry Ryan show was there as well (probably egging them on for good radio).
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can't believe I'm defending gerry ryan, but when the disgruntled customers there asked if Gerry wanted them to kick in the door live on the radio, and if they should just 'go for it' (you could hear the door taking a pounding in the background), he consistently said no no no
 
Folks

I have great sympathy for anyone who has lost money due the closure of Jim Langans.

I know it's very frustrating for you and I know that you want to let off steam.

However, I have to delete all defamatory posts.

Stick to the facts and facts only.

Don't use words such as "criminal" to describe anyone's behaviour. It serves no purpose and could compromise a prosecution if there is to be one. It also puts my home at risk.

I have deleted many posts. Anyone else who ignores this guideline will be banned.

Brendan
 
I know nothing about this case, but it's important to point out that, in general, 1% shareholders, whether they are directors or not, can often be victims like everyone else. Eddie Hobbs got tarnished by being a director of Taylor Investments, although he was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing.

If you are a director of a company and you are not genuinely responsible for the management and direction of the company, you should resign promptly, especially if you have any worries about the finances of the company.

Brendan
 
i'm really sorry to all the people that have lost money over this and i hope you are all able to sort this out.

So advice is to pay by credit card if you are purchasing anything at the moment cause you have no idea what state any company is in.

So for someone like me that doesn't have a credit card or a laser card and only uses cash what can i do?

I understand that stores dont want to be left with something they cant sell, that does make sense but people dont want to be out 100's of euros.

Would you be able to sign something with the company saying that when your item or items were available for delivery/collection that you would then pay in full then. Or would the company just refuse that idea altogether. I dont see how they could as if a company told me i had to pay a deposit upfront i just wouldn't buy from them, i'm not prepared to take the risk i'd do without what ever it was i was looking to buy, and i'm sure others would as well. And that will lead on to know one buying, more companies going bust and more people out of jobs.

That shinning light at the end of the tunnel is getting dimmer and dimmer by the day.......
 
I bought a dining set in October, I received my table but 6 chairs are still outstanding. Luckily I paid €125 deposit on the chairs with credit card.

I have heard rumors of ads in a certain news paper from Furniture Depot, that they will honor all Jim Langans customers deposits. Sounds too good to be true.

Can anybody confirm this?
 
JimmyM said:
I bought a dining set in October, I received my table but 6 chairs are still outstanding. Luckily I paid €125 deposit on the chairs with credit card.

I have heard rumors of ads in a certain news paper from Furniture Depot, that they will honor all Jim Langans customers deposits. Sounds too good to be true.

Can anybody confirm this?
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I heard the same but they are not taking any orders without a deposit either, which I think now that peoples fingers have been burnt, will be reluctant to do so....

anyhow, here is a link to the Irish Times article stating that JL has closed. Its sufficent for your cc company when making the claim to them

[broken link removed]
 
JimmyM said:
I bought a dining set in October, I received my table but 6 chairs are still outstanding. Luckily I paid €125 deposit on the chairs with credit card.

I have heard rumors of ads in a certain news paper from Furniture Depot, that they will honor all Jim Langans customers deposits. Sounds too good to be true.

Can anybody confirm this?
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Just to give info on a few posts I've read

1. Chinese New Year at end Jan effectively closes China for 2 weeks.

2. Customs will hold containers of furniture at docks for approx. 2 - 3 weeks as they need to be sealed for approx. 60 days from date of leaving factory.

3. Only deposits paid for with Visa / Mastercard / Amex are covered by cardholder insurance. Laser / cash / cheques / bank drafts are NOT covered by any insurance and those people will have to stand in line with all other unsecured creditors.

4. The way liquidation works is as follows. Company decides it cannot continue to trade due to inability to pay debts. Creditors meeting is called (usually 2 weeks notice) Liquidator appointed at meeting. Liquidator gives forms to cro announcing they have been appointed. Liquidator goes through all documents and must report finding s to ODCE who then decides if directors are restricted / barred or pursued on criminal grounds. (takes up to 2years)


From experience of retail, the big ticket non essential retail style stores are being hit extremely hard world wide. Furniture / cars / carpets / tiles / electrical. Landlords have until recently refused to enter negotiations on rent levels which is the biggest cost of all. - I expect Jim Langan was paying circa €300k a year each for Liffey Valley & Carrickmines.

The plus side of things is there is brilliant value out there at present for those who have the spare cash to upgrade their homes, especially on products that are sitting in warehouses.

Hopefully landlords will start biting the bullet and drop their rents so retailers can drop their prices & customers can buy with confidence.
 
Some interesting information on consumer rights in Ireland:

[broken link removed]
 
Hi everyone,

Has anyone got an e-mail address of Jim Langans?

Just spoke with credit card company they have stated to send an email to Jim Langans or letter, requesting delivery date etc for anything you have ordered with them, even though it wont happen, then they give you a liquidation number and you can claim back money from your credit card company..
 
JY09 said:
Hi everyone,

Has anyone got an e-mail address of Jim Langans?

Just spoke with credit card company they have stated to send an email to Jim Langans or letter, requesting delivery date etc for anything you have ordered with them, even though it wont happen, then they give you a liquidation number and you can claim back money from your credit card company..
Click to expand...

Taken from a letter I received from them a few months ago:
[email protected]
 
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