Hi, I paid by Visa debit card as well, and gave my bank the transaction dates & amounts, and emailed them a copy of a letter from Leather Lords stating "they were sorry that on this occasion I had not received their usual standard of service" - pause for laughs - which did the trick. My full amount was refunded on Friday.

Hear hear! I agree completely - I certainly would have no contact whatsoever with anyone from the ELS/Leather Lords sector, and yes, everyone please protect your own identity except to those official bodies who require it.

I just watched the report, LOL! I contacted ITV Central news to point out exactly that, and offered a whole shed load of other info too. They got back to me straight away, seemed v interested. So it's always worth a try.

Hi Farley, if you purchased from LEATHER LORDS, Bham, you should contact Sharma & co, 257 Hagley Rd, Birmingham B16 9NA, tel 0121 454 2700. If you purchesd from ELS (Exclusive Leather Sofas) Bham & Cannock, you should contact KJD Freeth Ltd, Churchill House, Regent Rd, Stoke On Trent, ST1 3RQ, tel 01782 202 020. Good luck.

BRAVO SittingOnTheFloor! Love all the info, love the humour, love the fact that this thing is rolling and rolling like a big fat snowball - I wish it would squash the LORDS! I have today had an email from my local paper who are interested in the story, so maybe at last we will get some real publicity for these scumbags. CAN I KEEP STRESSING TO ANYONE AFFECTED - CONTACT YOUR LOCAL PRESS & RADIO, YOUR LOCAL TRADING STANDARDS (if outside of Birmingham), ACTIONFRAUD.GOV.UK, AND ANYONE ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF.

Hi oldchurch, just cancel your credit agreement, stop your payments. The way I understand it is - the store fraudulently advised the finance copany that your goods had been delivered. The crime is with them not you. Put it in writing to the finance company, and to the store - even tho they are not there - that you are stopping the payments becuase the goods were never delivered. I am sure that the finance company will already be aware of what's been going on. Good luck.

Hi haylou - thanks very much for that info - I have just rang Sharma & Co, & got added to the long list of creditors. They did say that Leather Lords has NOT YET gone into liquidation.... but ELS has, hence the Manchester notice. Thanks again.

Hi amck, great job on speaking to the landlord, and thanks for all the other info. Will you find a few minutes to report to Watchdog as well? I did, it takes literally 5 minutes online, and as other victims have said, the more poeple who do so, increases the chance of an item on the programme. I would just LOVE to see these guys get some real hassle......they deserve it!

Hi all, information here from one of the other threads on this site regarding ELS/Leather Lords. (exclusive leather sofas) It's been posted by Sharma & Co, who were supposed to be deaing with the insolvency. They are NOT, as per their posting below: We were approached by the Directors to assist in placing Exclusive Leather Sofas Limited (Company Number 04290207) into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation but we are no longer instructed in this matter. A winding-up petition has been presented and is due to be heard at Manchester High Court on 20th September 2010 at 10.00am. Our understanding is that this petition will not be opposed. Please refer to the Notice placed in the London Gazette on Tuesday 7th September 2010. Date:7 September 2010 Issue Number:59538 Page number:17280 Publication Date: Tuesday, 7 September 2010 Notice Code: 2450 Petitions to Wind Up (Companies) In the High Court of Justice (Chancery Division) Manchester District Registry No 1812 of 2010 In the Matter of EXCLUSIVE LEATHER SOFAS LIMITED

Hi Jennifer, - sorry to hear you're another victim. Please take a look at two other threads on this site, "exclusive leather sofas" and LEATHER LORDS (e.l.s) BIRMINGHAM. You will see that this family has been at it for years, there are many of us who are in the same boat as you. I have lost £3000. My bailiffs have been trying to collect my money but they closed the store before they could get access. It appears that finally they have gone into liquidation, there is a notice giving details of proceedings in Manchester. Not sure myself yet what I need to do to register my debt, but I will post on the other threads. If I were you, I'd keep checking the other 2 threads, most activity regarding ELS/Leather Lords goes on there. If anyone else reads this thread and is also a victim, please go to the other threads and read. It is quite sickening how they have managed to get away with it for so long. Not such a good start to your married life, but we have all learned a valuable lesson. Best wishes.

"at this moment in time" gives the impression that you WILL know where it is, and WHY is that? and WHO will you tell?

Here's some info from the other thread, (exclusive leather sofas) from another disgruntled soul; "Hi all, The Company has gone into liquidation and to make a claim you need to use the following information Sharma & Co 257 Hagley Road Birmingham B16 9NA 01214542700 tel 01214558254 fax These are apparently the company dealing with the liquidation, hope it helps" Will be giving them a ring tomorrow....... we will see.

The back door is probably open because they hope that the stock remaining will be stolen, this will then reduce what they have in assets, they can say - it was all stolen from Cannock!!!!!! My God, the stuff that these people will do, they are more slippery than a bucket of snails, and much more repulsive!

JIPCUS - No, nothing dodgy about it all except Vikki has got swindled, like the rest of us. And as for your so called "belief" that the directors will open up somewhere else under a new name being just a "belief" - come off it, you must have been a part of what was going on, and to do nothing to stop it then, and probably nothing now to help, just goes to show that you are as bad as the rest of them.Perhaps you're actually one of THEM, trying to get information from all of us. Paranoia setting in? Maybe. If that's not the case, then prove it, you must have imformation that Trading Standards, etc would love to have. GO ON.....DO THE RIGHT THING!

JANE - by reading all the other blogs so far, both stores have been emptied out and abandoned, you will not be able to go and get your missing bits. And I have a sneaky feeling that this company/companies have not officially been declared insolvent, I think they have just packed up and cleared out while the going is good. (for them). I doubt if we will ever see an insolvency notice or liquidators appointed, because no one will know where they are???????? They will, as the very "helpful" ex member of staff explained, simply set up under a new name somewhere else. But I will not give up on this, I am passing everything I have to the Birmingham bailiffs, as well as to Trading Standards and fraud agency. Not to mention local press & radio. You guys over in the Cannock area, you need to do the same, as over here our people have no jurisdiction over Cannock area. Lets all do as much as we can to get these bastards - excuse my language.

Hi Vikki - where did you get these sofas from in Derby? Is there yet another branch of these [problematic] that we haven't heard of yet??????? What was the name of the store, the address, and why did you contact Cannock? Was it ELS in Cannock that you called?

Yes, as I have also replied on your other thread - if you are genuine, please do the honorable thing and help out all of s who have been ripped off by these fraudsters? I do apologise if I sound a little mistrustful, but as anyone with any dealings with - Leather Lords/ELS/Exclusive Leather Sofas whatever they are called at the moment - will say, it's not surprising. We need , where the furniture is - and the delivery men who emptied the store WILL KNOW THIS! We already know the main players in all this - So, how about doing the honourable thing?

Hi - if you paid by debit card, some of them offer a chargeback service, much like credit cards companies do - but you have to claim within 120 days. Please check with your debit card provider, they don't like to advertise this service, but nevertheless it exists, so please try. I found this out too late, well over the 120 day limit. good luck!

Forgive me if this sounds rude, but if you recently worked for them , and still have a set of keys, what position did you hold? It makes me wonder what part (if any) you took in this [problem]. The bailiffs acting on my behalf are very interested in any information that I can obtain regarding the whereabouts of anyone connected with this company, so if you are genuine in your offer, what about starting with the names of the people involved, where they have gone, where is the furniture hidden away? There are many many people in this area who have been ripped off, and I am determined to do all I can to prevent the perpetrators from getting away with it, and even more, as you quote - "the directors will open up again somewhere else under a different name." I do believe that is an abuse of the phoenix law, and therefore these swindlers need to be charged with fraud. So please, if you are genuine, do the honourable thing and share your knowledge with all of the victims of these fraudsters.

Hi, yes they are both still live on Companies House - Leather Lords at Bham and ELS Cannock, I am monitiring both companies. There was recenty a director change at leather Lords, to .... Both companies seem to swap secretaries & directors etc on a fairly regular basis.

Not sure if this is appropriate for Lether Lords/ELS, am not an expert, but on actionfraud website, there is a section on "Phoenix companies" - companies who go bust, undervalue the amount of their assets to reeuce liabilty, then set up as a new company with same directors. Worth a shot reporting them.

As someone else has mentioned earlier, we should all contact Trading Standards - though what they can do now they have disappeared I'm not sure - and also actionfraud.org.uk. They will surely be interested in this company. Though I have a sneaky feeling that these people operate to within a hairs breadth of the law, and know exactly what to do to get away with it time after time. I will continue to update as and when I have news to report.

Hi, I am not in the least surprised that they have done a flit, I was dreading and expecting it. My claim against Leather Lords/els had got to the Warrant of Execution stage, on 25th August - this means that bailiffs were due to call and collect the debt owed to me (£3000), or seize goods. Not aware yet if they managed to call on Leather Lords before they cleared out...... I will let you know as son as I hear. But yes, everyone has to do what ever to publicise these shysters, do contact Trading Stanards, do post items on consumer forums and contact your local paper, MP, radio station. These fraudsers have been doing this for years and years, how can this be allowed???????

Hi Gary, I would say you are well over due cancelling this orer under the Sale Of Goods Act - not that they will take any notice! Contact your local Trading Standards and take advice, you will prob have to put in writing giving 28 days for delivery or you will demand refund. Then my guess is you willl have to go down small claims as I have - Leather Lords no doubt hoping that you will give up before then. But please get hold of Trading Standards, they will advise you of correct process. Good luck, let me know how it goes. If more of us got round to suing these scumbags, then maybe we will put them out of business!!!!!!!

Sorry Baxter - meant 14 days cooling off, not 4.