Godfreys loses Auckland woman’s $800 robotic vacuum then goes into receivership

Godfreys has gone into voluntary administration with all New Zealand stores closing by May 31. Photo / Andrew Warner

A woman who took her $800 robotic vacuum back to Godfreys for repair claims she has been left empty-handed after the specialist store lost the expensive appliance.

With the chain of stores now in voluntary administration, Auckland woman Tegan Ramka said she has been left with an apology - but no vacuum.

In January, Ramka took her faulty Wertheim robot vacuum cleaner to the Godfreys store in Botany.

She said she paid for the fault to be diagnosed by the in-store repair team but never heard back.

Auckland woman Tegan Ramka invested in an $800 robotic vacuum to save time as a parent of two pre-school children but it has now been lost by Godfreys. Photo / File

“I ended up emailing and was told staff would check on the progress of the repair,” she said.

“I followed up again and they eventually came back and said, ‘Sorry - we’ve lost it’.”

An email from Godfreys to Ramka confirmed the vacuum had indeed been misplaced.

“After exhausting all avenues and conducting thorough internal communications and follow-ups, we regret to inform you that we have not been able to locate your machine,” the email reads.

“Regrettably, it is now deemed lost.”

Godfreys entered voluntary administration in January in a last-ditch attempt to save the 90-year-old business.

Ramka said she was not offered a replacement or refund and instead received an apology and a referral to the administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

“I am really busy with a 2 and a 3-year-old and we invested in the vacuum as something to save me time.

“They are now having big sales and I look at all the vacuums and think surely they can just replace the one they had lost.”

Consumer NZ agreed, saying Godfreys has an obligation under the Consumer Guarantee Act.

“Voluntary administration or not, we think it’s pretty shoddy if Godfreys has lost a customer’s $800 vacuum cleaner,” Consumer NZ said.

“If the company has possession of a product for repair and goes into voluntary administration, the customer is entitled to get their product back.”

Consumer NZ encouraged Ramka to lodge a claim with PwC as an unsecured creditor.

Godfreys apologised and said Ramka should apply to become a creditor.

“This will be resolved once the business finishes the voluntary administration.”

A spokesperson said the administrators would follow up directly with the customer.

PwC has been approached for comment.

Kirsty Wynn is an Auckland-based journalist with more than 20 years’ experience in New Zealand newsrooms. She has covered everything from crime and social issues to the property market and has a current focus on consumer affairs.