Kitchen purchases safe as houses as Homebase introduces free prepayment insurance

Homebase is aiming to boost consumer confidence in the kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms market by becoming the first UK retailer to provide customers with free prepayment insurance on these investment purchases and is encouraging other retailers to follow suit.

One year on from the collapse of MFI, which left thousands out of pocket, Homebase is this week announcing that customers who buy a kitchen, bathroom or fitted bedroom from them will automatically receive independent insurance cover, completely free of charge. The move comes following independent research carried out for Homebase which shows that more than a third of people are less confident about making prepayments than they were 12 months ago, likely influenced by the administration of high profile retailers in the last year.

A recent report by Consumer Focus* has shown that one in ten people have failed to receive goods they had paid for. The insurance is aimed in particular at reassuring financially vulnerable customers who are often hit the hardest through prepayment losses, which can be much greater in proportion to their disposable income. The Homebase research also shows the average amount lost on major purchases was close to £2,000. Now the retailer aims to encourage consumers to have more confidence in investing in larger home improvement purchases by providing this peace of mind for free.

John Boumphrey, Big Ticket Trading Director at Homebase says: “We know our customers are concerned about paying for expensive items before receiving them and we want to put their minds at rest. The government, trade bodies and consumer protection organisations are putting a major focus on this area and we urge other retailers to protect their customers in this way to help restore consumer confidence in this market. We already offer free insurance with installation services and we know it has given our customers real reassurance. We now want to offer this to customers on all kitchen, bathroom and fitted bedroom purchases.”

* From ‘Pay Now, Pay Later’ a report by Consumer Focus, the government’s consumer body