CUSTOMERS who lost out when a Southend baby goods shop closed suddenly have been told they won’t get their money back.

Zebedee, based in Alexandra Street, Southend, closed, leaving many customers without goods they had ordered and paid for.

DKF Insolvency was appointed to wind up the businessess at a creditors’ meeting on Friday, and confirmed customers would not get any money.

Darren Wilson, director of DKF, said: “An investigation into the company’s affairs and the directors’ conduct will be undertaken.

“In the meantime, if customers have paid by credit or debit card, they should contact their card providers immediately. If they paid cash, they will become unsecured creditors – but unfortunately, there is no prospect of recovering their money.”

After the meeting Zebedee director Paula Williamson, from Ashingdon, apologised to customers and added: “After today’s creditors meeting, I’d like to express my sincere apologies again, to all those impacted by the closure.

“Despite some suggestions otherwise, I’m very aware of the impact this has caused to customers and suppliers in the buildup to Christmas, let alone the births of their children/grandchildren.

“I very much care about their situations. No business owner has the desire to go into liquidation.

For those who attended and those who did not, I’d like to say the failure of a business is not a sign of theft.

“Unfortunately, many retailers go into liquidation, owing customers money. Indeed, many businesses, such as Comet, Woolworths, Phones 4 U have all closed down in Southend in the past few years, where they too have found it impossible to continue trading.”

Ms Williamson had previously blamed the sudden withdrawal of an investor for Zebedee’s demise.

She added: “When the investment I was seeking was withdrawn, I stopped trading straight away and contacted the liquidator that day. He immediately took over the responsibility of the business and arranged the swift clearance of the shop and continued delivery of some customer orders.

“Contrary to some suggestions, this is how liquidation works – it was not pre-planned.

“The creditors’ meeting was an extremely distressing occasion for me and I’m very mindful it would have been likewise for the parents and grandparents involved today.

“I sincerely hope as many customers as possible have been able to reclaim their payments from insurance or somehow complete their purchases elsewhere.”