CUSTOMERS of collapsed electrical goods retailer Empire Direct will not receive outstanding orders and cannot get their money back from the firm.

Thousands of people placed orders and paid for items which never arrived.

Empire Direct, which had 14 stores across the UK, including one in Chingford, entered administration on January 19.

Administrators KPMG have since confirmed that outstanding orders will not be filled and refunds will not be issued because of a lack of funds.

Joint administrator and KPMG restructuring partner Mark Firmin said: "The customer phone line we established on Tuesday has received a thousand calls a day from concerned customers and so I am very aware of how regrettable this situation is for many customers of Empire Direct.

"Those who have paid by card should contact their card provider to establish whether they are entitled to a refund. We will be working with the card providers to facilitate refunds."

About 4,800 people paid by card but KPMG estimate that only about 4,000 of these will be able to claim a refund from their card issuer.

Those remaining will become "unsecured creditors" and can lodge a claim with KPMG but they are not likely to get their money back.

Customers who paid Empire Direct by card are advised to contact their card issuer or finance provider for a refund.

Where proof of failure to deliver is required, customers can download a letter from the administrators confirming no outstanding orders will be fulfilled from empiredirect.co.uk