After a baby furniture company went out of business, expecting mothers were left trying to get their money back, putting thousands of dollars worth of orders in jeopardy.
Customers claimed the company’s website was down, warehouses were cleaned, and social media sites were erased after Quirky Bubba entered into administration last month.
On social media, a group of mothers have banded together for support and to share advice on how to obtain money back from their banks.
Samantha Turner told the Daily Mail Australia that she spent $2,000 on furniture for her newborn in April and ‘actually felt like throwing up’ when the company went bankrupt.
‘It was incredibly heartbreaking,’ the Perth mum-to-be said. ‘I remember I sobbed all night and the next morning because I couldn’t believe this had happened to us.’
Ms Turner, who is expecting her first child next month, said she attempted to be careful when choosing where to acquire her nursery equipment.
When she read that the brand had gone out of business, she was taken aback.
‘I simply remember panicking because I couldn’t find their website, and then their Instagram and Facebook accounts were non-existent,’ the dental assistant explained.
‘My partner came to sit with me and I just started crying, I felt like I had failed my daughter already – and felt like a useless mother because she doesn’t have any furniture now.’
Ms Turner said she and her partner are waiting on news from her bank, ANZ, which was sympathetic with her predicament – and she hopes they can ‘really help’.
Meanwhile, mums across social media were supporting one another and sharing their experiences with the banks in getting their funds back.
One customer in her third trimester said she was partially compensated after forking out $1,278 on baby goods with the firm, and has hopes for the rest of the money.
‘So shout out to Bank of Melbourne and St George and I hope everyone else has the same success,’ she wrote.
It was more complicated for another who paid for their goods in seven different instalments via Zip Pay – each part payment has to be dealt with individually.
‘Not sure what else to do except wait,’ the mum said.
One consumer stated she filed a complaint with the Commonwealth Bank, but she wasn’t optimistic that they would be able to track down the monies she paid by bank transfer.
Another said she had heard the company was taking orders ‘right up until they went down,’ while another couldn’t understand why the shutdown had not been announced.
‘I was expecting my delivery in two weeks [and] with not a single word they have shut down,’ she wrote.
Mackay Goodwin told 7News the receivers had been appointed for the company.
‘Our investigations are still ongoing and we are awaiting a completed statement from the Director about the company’s business and affairs,’ the statement said.
‘We understand how upsetting the situation is for expectant parents, however without all the information we require from the director, we are unable to speculate on an outcome of our ongoing investigation.’