{"id":16757,"date":"2024-11-09T13:08:15","date_gmt":"2024-11-09T13:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/purnells-750-vouchers-useless-after-restaurant-closure\/"},"modified":"2024-11-09T13:08:15","modified_gmt":"2024-11-09T13:08:15","slug":"purnells-750-vouchers-useless-after-restaurant-closure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/purnells-750-vouchers-useless-after-restaurant-closure\/","title":{"rendered":"Purnell’s \u00a3750 vouchers useless after restaurant closure"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"ThereseTherese Roberts<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Therese Roberts (right) had bought one of the vouchers for her daughter Lindsay <\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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A woman who spent \u00a3750 on vouchers for a Michelin-starred restaurant before it closed fears she may have lost her money. <\/p>\n

Purnell’s in Birmingham, which became famous for contemporary seasonal food, shut in October. <\/p>\n

But more than a dozen people contacted the BBC to say they had been told vouchers, sometimes worth hundreds of pounds, would not be refunded or redeemed. <\/p>\n

Glynn Purnell, who ran the restaurant, said he was “heartbroken” by the closure and apologised for what he called a “difficult situation”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Therese Roberts, a retired marketing worker from Coventry, said she bought \u00a3500 worth of vouchers for her children last Christmas, before also spending money on a \u00a3250 voucher for a friend. <\/p>\n

She said she didn’t find out the restaurant had even closed until she read the BBC’s report on it<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"ClaireClaire Lishman PR<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Glyn Purnell, who ran Purnell’s, has been criticised over vouchers that now appear to be useless<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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After contacting liquidators, Ms Roberts was told the vouchers were irredeemable and it was not possible for refunds to be issued. <\/p>\n

Her request to use them at another of Mr Purnell’s restaurants was also rejected. <\/p>\n

“I’m really disappointed,” the 58-year-old said. “He classes himself as the ‘Yummy Brummie’. He blames greedy chains taking his business but he didn’t want to communicate or come to a compromise with me.<\/p>\n

“I thought he was a better man than that. It’s left a rotten taste in my mouth.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"ThereseTherese Roberts<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Ms Roberts previously ate at Purnell’s and wanted others to experience it<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Ms Roberts previously visited Purnell’s with her husband, describing it as a “great experience”. <\/p>\n

She said she really enjoyed dining at the premium establishment and wanted her loved ones to be able to try it too. <\/p>\n

“He’s come across as a down to earth boy from Chelmsley Wood,” the mother added of Mr Purnell. <\/p>\n

“I thought he would understand what it was like to be an ordinary person in the street.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"SeanSean Devlin<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Retired head teacher Sean Devlin<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Ms Roberts was among multiple customers who were told to contact their banks to try and secure a refund, but many received them as gifts and in some cases up to a year ago. <\/p>\n

Sean Devlin, 72, from Malvern, Worcestershire, said he held a \u00a3110 five course lunch for two ticket, which he can no longer use. <\/p>\n

The retired head teacher received the voucher as a Christmas gift last year, but was told Purnell’s was closed when he tried to book a table. <\/p>\n

“I have had no information at all from them,” he said. “It makes me cross really. <\/p>\n

“They have had a difficult time, but so have many other people. I’m sure they have made good money over the years.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"AngelaAngela Blacker<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Angela Blacker has also been left stuck with vouchers she can’t use<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Angela Blacker, from Broseley in Shropshire, received the same voucher as Mr Devlin, as a present for her 60th birthday. <\/p>\n

The retiree was surprised when she discovered the gift would not be honoured.<\/p>\n

“I’m shocked at the level of customer service,” she said. “We have had absolutely nothing at all. <\/p>\n

“It’s not our fault he’s closed the restaurant. I was really looking forward to going somewhere posh, but it’s not going to happen now.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"ClaireClaire Lishman PR<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Purnell’s gained a Michelin star <\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Speaking after the restaurant closed, Mr Purnell said the eatery had been going through “a really tough time” and seen bookings fall by more than 20%.<\/p>\n

“Things have moved on and times have changed,” he said. “In this current climate, no-one is bulletproof.”<\/p>\n

But he hinted there could be more to come, adding: “I\u2019m excited for the future and the next steps in my journey. This isn\u2019t the last you\u2019ve heard of the ‘Yummy Brummie’.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On Saturday, Mr Purnell issued a statement saying the closure was in the hands of liquidators and questions regarding vouchers must legally be addressed to them. <\/p>\n

“I have been very grateful for the support in the unfortunate and unforeseen closure of the restaurant after 17 years,” he said. <\/p>\n

“We have been advised that refunds can also be requested via customers own banks and credit card companies. I can only apologise for this difficult situation.” <\/p>\n

The BBC has also contacted liquidator Butcher Woods for comment. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Therese Roberts Therese Roberts (right) had bought one of the vouchers for her daughter Lindsay A woman who spent \u00a3750 on vouchers for a Michelin-starred restaurant before it closed fears she may have lost her money. Purnell’s in Birmingham, which became famous for contemporary seasonal food, shut in October. But more than a dozen people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[763,6681,3447,6683,6682],"class_list":["post-16757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk","tag-closure","tag-purnells","tag-restaurant","tag-useless","tag-vouchers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16757"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16759,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16757\/revisions\/16759"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}