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Since the shutters came down on the Commercial Road branch on Monday, March 9, customers have worried about the fate of the valuable items they had pawned and hoped to buy back, as they feared that the franchisee had fled with them.
Conrad Stevens rang us to report that he had temporarily given the pawnbroker his late father’s wristwatch after struggling financially due to losing money to a funeral planning firm that went bust.
He had planned to collect the watch before the contract’s expiry date at the end of this month but was then shocked to read about the store’s closure.
He said: “It’s the last thing I have of him, it has a lot of sentimental value, and I don’t want to see it disappear.
“People are struggling with the skyrocketing costs of living and are forced to pawn heirlooms until they can get their finances in better shape.
“It should be a legal requirement that pawn shops give notice to customers well before they close so they have a chance to get their items back, as we’re now left up a river without a paddle.
“This has caused so much stress, aggravation and worry, and is a very poor reflection on Cash Converters, even if they try to wash their hands of it and blame the franchisee.
“They should do an amnesty month where it’s reopened so customers can show their ID and contracts and get what’s rightfully theirs.”
WSIE Limited, registered at an Edinburgh address, ran the Swindon branch and was wound up on February 10, though staff reportedly did not know about this until a HMRC representative visited the site in March.
A Cash Converters spokesperson said it is working with the liquidators to see if buyback items can be returned to customers.
Anyone affected by the closure can email customerservices.uk@cashconverters.com After using the general contact form on the business’ website, the Adver received a slightly different response with slightly more detail.
It reads: “We appreciate your patience and will be in contact as soon as we have received any further information, which we anticipate by the end of next week.
“In the meantime, it is our understanding that your buyback item remains in secure storage at the Swindon store.”
