HMV going into administration

e_e

Hogzy wrote: »

CD is a digital format so the quality of an MP3 can easily match a CD.

This is just false, there will always be bitloss and compression no matter what form of mp3.

Hogzy wrote: »

Where as Vinyl is analogue.

Yes, and?

starviewadams

Got a €50 gift card off my elderly aunt over Christmas that's now useless,would never buy vouchers myself.

The last thing I can remember buying in HMV was a Black Books boxset,probably 5 or 6 years ago.

Can pretty much satisfy my music,tv and movie needs between itunes,the different variations of Netflix through VPN,and Spotify.

jaxdasher

I hope they do something for people with gifrcards. I feel so terrible I got one for my friend and she tried to use it today. I'm really embarrassed and furious.

Smashius_Clay

Allyall wrote: »

I think they said on the radio today that today was the last day...

EDIT.. They are not redeeming vouchers..

http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0115/hmv-administrators.html



http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/hmv-gift-vouchers-worthless-as-music-giant-collapses-into-administration-3353762.html

http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/local/hmv-not-accepting-gift-cards-vouchers-1-4683194

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/hmv-confirms-stance-on-redeeming-gift-vouchers-581224.html

Ah, for fuck's sake. This is ridiculous. The vouchers were bought for money which they pocketed, I should be able to use it to buy something. This is theft, pure and simple.

Custardpi

Smashius_Clay wrote: »

Ah, for fuck's sake. This is ridiculous. The vouchers were bought for money which they pocketed, I should be able to use it to buy something. This is theft, pure and simple.

Sadly not, buying a gift voucher is basically the same as giving a loan/credit to someone. There's a good reason why most businesses will do a credit check on firms they trade with. You're basically just another creditor & not a high priority one.

Allyall

It is horrible though.

However, i doubt much will come of this, but..

The association said it plans to contact the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement to see what might be done for out-of-pocket consumers.

Some confusing writing from the Independent

It is not usual for administrators to honour gift vouchers and they do not normally give refunds for them either.
But experts have started to question why consumers have no rights in this area, and say that urgent change is needed as more former heavyweights of the high street collapse.
Dean Dunham, the founder of youandyourrights.co.uk, said: “We've got to see some changes in this area. It's almost theft.
”A gift voucher should be as good as a banker's draft. You should be guaranteed that you'll either be able to redeem it or

Also

Mr Dunham urged consumers to fight administrator Deloitte's decision not to honour vouchers and gift cards.

”When Comet went in to administration, the first thing they said was that they wouldn't honour vouchers. There was a massive customer backlash and they changed their minds.

“I would urge people with HMV vouchers to kick up a fuss. They may get a reversal.”

Custardpi

Don't think it's looking too good for the voucher holders really. I wonder will any other music/video retailers step up & help them out. If say Tower or Golden Discs were to have an offer whereby HMV voucher holders could get a discount (20% maybe) on their goods it could be a good way of attracting new customers to their shops that maybe would only have gone to HMV before. Bit of a gamble it's true but it would be good for the firm's image & could pay off financially in the longer term.

monkeysnapper

I blame that friggin dog, i never liked him and i'm a animal lover . But still I hope they find a home for him . Id hate to see him on that tv3 show with the blond whos always crying.

guttenberg

Would credit card companies be able to retrieve the money for the giftcards via chargeback or do they themselves absorb the loss in the hope they may eventually be able to recover it from HMV? (not affected, just always wondered about this)

books4sale

Custardpi wrote: »

MP3 is a lossy format, by definition it's inferior to a CD. Whether or not you'll actually hear the difference or not depends on various factors but it's definitely not the same thing.

I'm getting older, i'm getting deafer.

I couldn't give a fiddlers, bring on the mp3!

books4sale

Smashius_Clay wrote: »

Ah, for fuck's sake. This is ridiculous. The vouchers were bought for money which they pocketed, I should be able to use it to buy something. This is theft, pure and simple.

This format of business for film music & video games is / was finished.

Its come up countless times on threads over the past few years but there are always a section of people who can't seem to get anything through their thick skulls. I remember being on here when 'GAME' closed, the number of deniers who couldn't or didn't want to believe that a new age of digital is upon us. What century do these people live in?

Then when they finally do get caught out, it's 'boo hoo' time.

Sorry but my sympathies lie elsewhere.

Rory1

Smashius_Clay wrote: »

Ah, for fuck's sake. This is ridiculous. The vouchers were bought for money which they pocketed, I should be able to use it to buy something. This is theft, pure and simple.

No it is not theft. You bought a piece of paper/plastic and the company now does have the ability to pay you back legally.

Frank Bullitt

If they knew before Christmas that this would happen, yet still sold vouchers and gift cards etc, and now fail to honor them, is that not wreck less trading? Or even fraud to a degree?

sink

e_e wrote: »

True, and I doubt many realize that vinyl and CD are far better quality than mp3 rips as well.

It really depends on what you're listening on. High fidelity speakers/headphones and a high quality amp are necessary to distinguish the subtle difference. But how many people own equipment of that caliber? I have a fairly nice mid range setup and I can barely tell the difference between CD and 320 Kbps mp3. On your average pair of earphones or mini-system forget about it.

Custardpi

books4sale wrote: »

I'm getting older, i'm getting deafer.

I couldn't give a fiddlers, bring on the mp3!

Personally I use both physical & digital as they each have their advantages. MP3 for when I'm out & about, CD/Vinyl for when at home. Hopefully they continue to coexist in some form.

Amirani

Gintonious wrote: »

If they knew before Christmas that this would happen, yet still sold vouchers and gift cards etc, and now fail to honor them, is that not wreck less trading? Or even fraud to a degree?

No.

Rory1

Gintonious wrote: »

If they knew before Christmas that this would happen, yet still sold vouchers and gift cards etc, and now fail to honor them, is that not wreck less trading? Or even fraud to a degree?

It is unlikely that they were recklessly trading and it is certainly not fraud.

Allyall

Rory1 wrote: »

No it is not theft. You bought a piece of paper/plastic and the company now does have the ability to pay you back legally.

Whatever about the legality of it all, The Company must have known they were F**ked at Christmas, and they Definitely would've known yesterday, and were still selling vouchers. That has to be some sort of theft. Getting the general public to pay off their debts..

Suppliers including Universal Music came to HMV's rescue in January 2011 with a deal which helped the retailer shed some of its huge debt pile.
But according to the Financial Times, they balked at a request last week from HMV for about £300m (€360m) in additional financing to pay off its bank debt and fund an overhaul of the company's business model

It may not be in the eyes of the law.. But it sure as hell is from here.

If someone takes money off me with no intentions of paying it back.....

books4sale

Custardpi wrote: »

Personally I use both physical & digital as they each have their advantages. MP3 for when I'm out & about, CD/Vinyl for when at home. Hopefully they continue to coexist in some form.

I rarely use my cd collection anymore, I just use 'Youtube' now when i'm working or other sources to get an album.

My cd collection has become a mark of stupidity, squandering of my money over a period of 20 years.

I think the record companies and hight street stores have done well out of me but in recent years I have been balancing those tables,

...and I don't feel one bit guilty about it, thieves the lot them. It's nice to get payback!

books4sale

Gintonious wrote: »

If they knew before Christmas that this would happen, yet still sold vouchers and gift cards etc, and now fail to honor them, is that not wreck less trading? Or even fraud to a degree?

It's not really but it is kind of immoral.

Its said, what goes round comes round in this world.

You have the internet ....now help yourself dear sir!

Allyall

books4sale wrote: »

I rarely use my cd collection anymore, I just use 'Youtube' now when i'm working or other sources to get an album.

My cd collection has become a mark of stupidity, a waste of my money money over a period of 20 years.

I think the record companies and hight street stores have done well out of me over the years but in recent years I have been balancing those tables,

...and I don't feel one bit guilty about it, thieves the lot them. It's nice to get payback!

In fairness that's more to do with the record companies than the music stores..

You have to laugh when Artists speak out against piracy, like that clown Corr.

"My record is worth €XX"..
B****CKS - it wasn't worth free. - Like a cr@p plumber offering to wire my house or tile my floor for €2,000.

And that twat from Metallica. Lars records may be worth money, but not the millions they make, and then expect everyone to buy them when they have an option.

Also, Actors wages could do with a reduction, it might bring down cinema costs globally.. Reducing Piracy.

Rory1

Allyall wrote: »

Whatever about the legality of it all, The Company must have known they were F**ked at Christmas, and they Definitely would've known yesterday, and were still selling vouchers. That has to be some sort of theft. Getting the general public to pay off their debts..

They have been in serious trouble for a long time, there had to have been a development yesterday that meant they had to call in administrator. HMV issued a public statement before Christmas to say that they may breach covenants in January. The company effectively told the public that they were a risk, some consumers decided to take risk and buy vouchers.

Allyall

Rory1 wrote: »

They have been in serious trouble for a long time, there had to have been a development yesterday that meant they had to call in administrator. HMV issued a public statement before Christmas to say that they may breach covenants in January. The company effectively told the public that they were a risk, some consumers decided to take risk and buy vouchers.

They didn't tell someone earlier on in this thread when he was buying vouchers yesterday. They were effectively selling him scraps of paper. Not worth sh*t.

They have the law to protect them, but if i went out on the streets selling scraps of paper that weren't worth anything, to pay off my debts, i bet you €7,539,215.59 that i would get arrested, and some court time.

Rory1

Allyall wrote: »

They didn't tell someone earlier on in this thread when he was buying vouchers yesterday. They were effectively selling him scraps of paper. Not worth sh*t.

They have the law to protect them, but if i went out on the streets selling scraps of paper that weren't worth anything, to pay off my debts, i bet you €7,539,215.59 that i would get arrested, and some court time.

There is alway a cut-off when company is in trouble. One minute they are selling vouchers and accepting credit from suppliers, the next minute they are not. This is life. Something happened yesterday which meant they had to stop.

You cant be arrested for just selling worthless paper. I'll take the bet

BobbyPropane

Shame really as this affects local economies and towns/cities. Will only lead to more people shopping online and the decline of retail shopping but of course all this is understandable as goods are undoubtedly cheaper online however I think we are heading down a bad track both economically and socially in the long run as we become more detached as communities and continue to spend money abroad.

Allyall

Rory1 wrote: »

There is alway a cut-off when company is in trouble. One minute they are selling vouchers and accepting credit from suppliers, the next minute they are not. This is life. Something happened yesterday which meant they had to stop.

You cant be arrested for just selling worthless paper. I'll take the bet

....Well, the thing is... I have to first convince them some how that the paper is worth €50/€25/€100 etc..

I think it happened last week. They were refused €360million or something, and that's when their trouble started.

CEO Trevor Moore - who previously ran bankrupt photography store Jessops - admitted that he had been aware of the possibility of cheating customers, but defended the company's actions over the past few weeks.
‘We were aware as directors of this very issue and we have been monitoring both sales and redemption of gift vouchers,' he said.

‘When we made the announcement about not meeting our banking covenants, we still had a chance to address the issue with the banks so it’s not at all any form of mis-selling and we’re very clear what our obligations are.’

el dude

When are they going to close these tax loopholes that the likes of Amazon, Google etc. are exploiting?

Rory1

Allyall wrote: »

....Well, the thing is... I have to first convince them some how that the paper is worth €50/€25/€100 etc..

I think it happened last week. They were refused €360million or something, and that's when their trouble started.

Yep, you would have to convince them but the act of selling the piece of paper is not against the law.

The whole process has been going on for a long time but there must have been one last chance that collapsed yesterday.

murpho999

All these people who say they prefer CD & DVD over digital media make me wonder if people over 100 years ago refused to use new fangled electric light bulbs and would stick with their candles and oil lamps as:

They never broke down
Gave nicer quality light
Did not need wires and switches.
Could be carried anywhere.
Could be paid for as you went along.
Also it was nicer going around putting candles out rather than hitting a switch.
You can't light a cigarette off a light bulb.

I'm sure people said this at the time but we all know what happened in the end.

Allyall

Rory1 wrote: »

Yep, you would have to convince them but the act of selling the piece of paper is not against the law.

The whole process has been going on for a long time but there must have been one last chance that collapsed yesterday.

Yeah, but if they found out it wasn't worth it...

Yeah, they probably did try and do something yesterday, but they should've put voucher sales on hold or something.

They may pull out of it, and plan on remaining online. But they were daft not to enter more markets in the last few years. Namely digital.