Casabu daily deals website closure highlights benefit of paying by card

Website aimed at parents ceased trading in December, leaving many parents out of pocket as they paid by Paypal.

Dozens of parents have been left out of pocket and without Christmas presents for their children following the closure of a daily deals website called Casabu.

We were first alerted to this via the lovemoney Facebook page by customer Raynette Diaz. She had bought various Christmas presents for her children on the site but had received no goods and had no communication from Casabu.

What is Casabu?

Casabu offered ‘flash’ discounts on children’s toys and clothes and maternity wear. It was founded by marketer Rachel Oxburgh, daughter of peer Lord Oxburgh, and part-funded by entrepreneur John Heseltine.

Heseltine previously founded and sold off the Lovejuice chain of juice bars and then launched juice company Cherrygood, which is itself in the process of being liquidated.

Casabu’s closure

However, Raynette is not alone in not receiving goods she’d ordered for Christmas.

The last post on the company’s Facebook page on 6th January apologised for “intermittent communication”. It continued: "We will be issuing everybody who hasn't received their goods with a full refund on their order and our most sincere apology. We will be starting on this process tomorrow and expect to have it complete by early next week at the latest."

However, Casabu subsequently took down its website and Facebook page.

Suppliers, who are still awaiting payment, told me they were informed the company closed on 23rd December.

I’ve now received confirmation from administrators Cork Gully that it did indeed cease trading at the end of December.

There is a meeting of creditors on 12th February at Cork Gully’s office in Central London.

Anyone, whether a customer or supplier, who is owed money back should submit their claim to casabu@corkgully.com. Depending on the sale of the company’s assets, there may a slim hope for some money back.

Paypal versus credit card

Many customers, including Raynette, paid for their order by PayPal.

If something goes wrong, such as a company ceasing trading, you have a 45-day window from the date you make your purchase to claim a refund on PayPal, Unfortunately many parents waited for some communication from Casabu, by which point it was too late.

This situation shows, once again, why it’s better to pay for anything over £100 by credit card.

That’s because, under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, your credit card issuer is jointly liable for paying out a refund in a situation such as this.

And you have six years from the date of the ‘breach of contract’ to apply for a refund.

If you paid for goods using a debit card or less than £100-worth on a credit card, you may also be able to claim it back under what’s known as chargeback.

However, in this instance, the card provider isn’t jointly liable. Instead, it will make a claim to the company’s bank, but if there’s no money there you’re not likely to get anything back.

You typically have 120 days to claim a chargeback. Which? has a good template letter on its website.

Unfortunately if you paid via PayPal using your card, neither of these protections apply, as the payment is deemed to have gone to PayPal.

So sadly, for customers such as Raynette, they will now have to wait and see if anything can be salvaged from the wreckage of Casabu.

Get protection and earn money on your spending with a cashback credit card

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Beware recurring payments and Continuous Payment Authority

Online ticket sellers agree to display fees upfront

The new Consumer Rights Bill: what you need to know