PerfectHome enters administration

The hire purchase company was a rent-to-own retailer, which lent to customers to purchase household furniture and goods. Temple Finance Limited also offered cash loans.

Rob Harding and David Soden of Teneo Financial Advisory were appointed as joint administrators.  

The company had been in a “controlled winddown guided by management since June 2021,” PerfectHome said. Existing customers have been assured they will receive the same level of service, and all outstanding loans remain repayable.

PerfectHome had been facing financial difficulty for some years. In 2017, 52 stores were closed following poor turnover from 2016. Chief executive Mike Sweetland said at the time that the move reflected that 97% of trade came from online avenues.

"This also marks a new chapter for our customers, who want to shop both online and pay weekly for quality household items, while being protected by fair and appropriate consumer credit regulation,” he then commented.

In 2018, a further 17 stores were closed, leaving just one in Newcastle, where its account management team was based, with the entirety of the rest of the business operating online.

In the same year, a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) investigation found that the firm did not undertake sufficient affordability checks. It also found that some customers were charged late fees or arrears on insurance contracts, despite being against company policy.

Some were charged for insurance before receiving goods, and others were not always given a refund if they cancelled their agreement before the delivery of goods.

The FCA ordered PerfectHome to repay £1.7m to 4,000 customers who were granted unaffordable policies.

A further £400,000 went to those who were incorrectly charged late fees, made to pay insurance prior to their goods arriving, and payments made preceding a policy cancellation before they received the goods.

Altogether, 37,000 customers were paid back.

Jonathan Davidson, then director of retail supervision and authorisations at the FCA, said at the time: "Unaffordable lending is not acceptable in any circumstances. I am pleased that the firm has taken steps to address this and provide redress to those customers affected”.