hols.   The date August 13, 2026, in other words, now separates a routine returns query from a claim against an insolvent company. Why the new owner is not simply responsible Frasers acquired Harvey Nichols through a pre-pack administration, taking the six UK stores, the online business, inventory, international franchise agreements and more than 1000 staff. The old company’s debts, including money owed to customers, stayed behind. Alex Harvey, Head of General Litigation at HCB Widdows Mason, said the instinct to chase the new owner is understandable but usually misplaced. “Customers awaiting refunds from Harvey Nichols may understandably assume that its new owner must honour purchases made before the takeover.,” Harvey said. “However, where a business and its assets are acquired from a company in administration, the buyer will not automatically inherit all the former company’s obligations. The precise position will depend on the terms of the acquisition.” According to the litigator, anyone affected should first check how they paid.  “Customers who used a credit card may be able to claim against their card provider under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act if the cash price of an individual item was more than £100 and no more than £30,000. This protection can apply even if only part of the price was paid by credit card, although eligibility will depend on the circumstances of the purchase,” he said.  The £100 threshold applies to the cash price of an individual item rather than to the order total, so a £400 basket of four £100 pieces may fall outside it while a single £400 coat sits comfortably inside. And because part-payment can be enough, a deposit put on a credit card may bring an entire purchase within scope even where the balance was settled another way. For everyone else the route is weaker, and it closes faster. “Those who paid by debit card, or whose purchase does not qualify for Section 75 protection, could ask their bank about chargeback. Unlike Section 75, chargeback is not a statutory right and is governed by card-scheme rules. Strict time limits can apply, so customers should act promptly and retain order confirmations, receipts, correspondence and evidence of any refund they were promised,” Harvey added.  Gift-card holders are the most exposed: a gift card is a promise from a company that no longer trades. “Customers who cannot recover their money through their card provider may need to register as unsecured creditors in the administration. Unfortunately, this does not guarantee that they will receive all, or any, of their money back, and the process can take time. Gift-card holders should follow the instructions issued by the administrators and also ask their card provider whether any recovery option may be available.” A dark site is a strategic signal Frasers has been explicit that Harvey Nichols will get smaller before it gets better. Chief executive Michael Murray said the turnaround “will require tough choices” and that the group is prepared to accept a smaller business in the near term. Frasers said it would rationalise the store portfolio, operating model and cost base. Louise Déglise-Favre, lead apparel analyst at GlobalData, expects the six-store estate not to survive intact, with the likely endpoint a more concentrated proposition centred on Knightsbridge. Taking the site down early fits that logic. It suspends the most cost-heavy channel while integration decisions are made, and closes the surface on which pre-13 August obligations would keep appearing in front of customers. The trade-off is that Harvey Nichols is now invisible to any shopper who does not live near one of six buildings, in a season when luxury demand is already soft.