The European Consumer Center informs that a well-known street fashion online store has gone bankrupt. If you have purchased products from the online store that have not been delivered, here are instructions on how to proceed.
Screenshot of the Finnish version of the online store.
The German street fashion online store DefShop GmbH has been declared bankrupt at the beginning of December. This also affects Finnish consumers who may have receivables from the company, warns the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority.
During the past year, the European Consumer Center and the Competition and Consumer Agency have received more than 30 contacts related to DefShop, especially regarding cancellations of purchases and the functionality of customer service.
If you have a claim from DefShop, for example the product you paid for has not been delivered, act quickly, the announcement advises.
You should primarily contact your credit provider, card company or payment intermediary if you have paid for your purchase with a credit card, debit card or used a payment intermediary that offers buyer protection such as Klarna or PayPal.
Creditor liability according to the Consumer Protection Act can enable you to receive compensation from the creditor.
If these means do not produce results or are not possible, the claim must be presented in bankruptcy proceedings. This takes place electronically in DefShop’s bankruptcy estate creditor portal at def-shop-inso.de.
The administrator sends known creditors by e-mail instructions for using the portal. Claims must be notified to the administrator in Germany no later than January 15, 2026. It is good to remember that bankruptcy proceedings can take a long time.
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Submitting a claim to a creditor, card company or payment intermediary:
- If you have paid for your purchase on credit, you can claim compensation from the creditor based on the creditor’s liability according to the Consumer Protection Act. You can find more information about creditor liability on the website of the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority.
- If you have paid for your purchase with a debit card, check with your bank if you have the possibility to get your money back.
- If a payment intermediary has been involved in the store, which offers extra security for purchases, you can submit a payment refund claim to this entity as well. For example, Klarna and Paypal have such buyer protection.
Source: KKV’s announcement.
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“In temporary bankruptcy”
Defshop’s it seems that it is still possible to do business on the Finnish pages. The website presents discounted branded clothes and encourages you to buy them.
The website seems a bit clumsily made, because for example the name of the men’s section is New: New for men and the women’s New: New for women.
On the website, on the company information page, it says that the Finnish ID ending in fi is owned by the German Defshop GmBh, and that DefShop GmbH is temporarily bankrupt.
The latest publication of a Finnish online store on Facebook is from 2023.