Gift voucher refunds unlikely following music shop closure

People who purchased or received gift vouchers as Christmas presents from a music shop in Galway City stand little chance of recouping their money.

Head – which opened its doors in CorbettCourt on July 22 with the creation of seven jobs – closed without notice on January 4, with staff being told a liquidator had been appointed.

As well as vinyl and record players, the shop also sold CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray, and also had outlets in Liffey Valley and the Ilac Centre in Dublin, in Belfast, and several shops in the UK.

The company had been promoting special offers following the lucrative Christmas trade period until the evening of January 3 on its social media pages – staff were told the following morning that the shops had to close immediately. (Since this article was first published, a series of posts and photos have been removed from the company’s Galway outlet Facebook page).

A message on the company’s three websites last week informed those with gift vouchers to get in touch with the liquidator.

“If you have any unredeemed gift vouchers from the Head stores and wish to make a claim as a creditor to Head then you will need to send the original vouchers with a covering letter stating your claim to the liquidator. Their address is Wilder Coe, Oxford House, Caxton Way, Stevenage, Hertfordshire. SG1 2XD,” the note reads.

However, it is unlikely that those who hold gift vouchers will be able to recoup any cash.

Vivid Fusion Ltd, which operated Head in Ireland, and Indulge Retail Ltd, which operated the stores in the UK, are owned by Leslie and Jayne Whitfield, who live in Hertfordshire, England.

Records with the Companies Registration Office in Ireland and Companies House in the UK do not yet show a liquidator as having been appointed to the businesses, or that creditors’ meetings have been called.

The most recent accounts available for Indulge Retail – for the year ended March 2017 – show the company had assets of stg£1.5m, but creditors were owed almost £1.3m (leaving shareholders funds of less than £229,000).

A connected UK company, Ehead Ltd (70% owned by Mr Whitfield) – believed to operate five of the Head outlets – had assets of around £365,000 in September 2016, while creditors were owed more than £192,000.

The Irish company, Vision Fusion, has not filed any accounts with the CRO, but Indulge Retail became a secured creditor of the company on November 24 last.

Calls to the company’s outlets in Ireland and head office in the UK went unanswered.

Since this article was first published, the message on the company’s websites has since been changed to read: “Vivid Fusion Limited and Indulge Retail Limited who traded in Ireland and the UK respectively as ‘Head’ have ceased to trade. Both companies are insolvent. Wilder Coe Ltd is assisting with the companies’ affairs and will be arranging to place the companies into liquidation.

Creditor Claims: If you consider yourself to be a creditor of either company, please can you contact Wilder Coe Ltd using the information below and provide details of your claim.

Gift Vouchers: If you have any unredeemed gift vouchers for the Head stores and you wish to make a claim as a creditor for the value of the vouchers, you will also need to contact Wilder Coe Ltd and provide details of your claim.

Wilder Coe Ltd can be contacted on +0044 1438 847200 or at Oxford House, Campus 6, Caxton Way, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 2XD.”