Net gift firm leaves couples in lurch

SAM and Steve Howard came home from honeymoon to find they hadn't had the perfect wedding after all. Their presents, bought by friends and family through an internet gift company, had not been delivered.

The couple, who had lodged a wedding list with The Gift Registry, were left empty handed after the firm collapsed with losses of £300,000.

The company went into administration last weekend, leaving 350 couples without their gifts and scores of wedding guests out of pocket.

'Regrettably we will not be able to make any more deliveries,' it says on its website. 'If any of your guests have paid for goods we have been unable to deliver, they will need to make a claim against their credit/debit card company.'

The Howards, from Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, were expecting gifts worth £1,700 bought by friends and family.

The couple, who married in August, face the embarrassing task of contacting their guests to suggest they try to claim their money back.

That may be difficult, however, because most banks and credit card firms do not guarantee a refund if the value of such a transaction is less than £100.

The Gift Registry allowed couples to make up a wedding list of items from a host of large stores, such as Argos, Bhs, Debenhams, John Lewis and Homebase.

It financed its service by adding up to £4 per item to the price usually charged by the stores.

The company's 20 staff, based in Chessington, Surrey, have lost their jobs.