Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Wedding couples and their guests hit by the collapse this week of Wrapit staged an angry demonstration this morning outside the company’s bank.
The protestors handed a petition in to the Canary Wharf, London, branch of HSBC, which Wrapit blames for its having to call in the administrators on Monday and for exacerbating the current situation for customers.
The action comes after Wrapit managing director Peter Gelardi made a direct appeal to customers who have not received their goods to put pressure on HSBC.
In an email, Gelardi told customers that it would cost the bank £4m to refund those who had bought presents with a credit or Visa debit card.
“However, to fund Wrapit to deliver every single gift bought to the couple for whom is was intended will only cost HSBC £3m,” he said.
“As it will… cost HSBC £1m less than the refund option, you would think that this would be the obvious way forward. I’m afraid to tell you that HSBC, true to form, don’t agree. (It’s not ‘banking practice’.),” Gelardi wrote.
The email went on: “So, having precipitated the fall of Wrapit, HSBC now have it within their power to minimise the pain caused to 2,000 couples (and, probably, 100,000 of their guests) and ensure that no Wrapit customer loses any money – and, as things stand, they will not take it.
“The only thing that will get them to change their minds is public pressure. [Wrapit co-founder] Pepita Diamand and I will try and get the media to put pressure on them and, if you agree that sending the gifts to the couples for whom they were intended is the only sensible solution, then you might like to do what you can to let HSBC know.”
