Thousands of customers of the troubled homes and garden retailer Rathwood have been contacted by the company over the weekend to say every unfulfilled order placed before April 24th has now been cancelled and no refunds will be issued. The warning comes weeks after the court-appointed examiner contacted as many as 7,000 people who had paid the retailer based on the Carlow-Wicklow border for products they never received, telling them they were only likely to get “a nominal sum” back.That letter prompted the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) to call on those impacted by Rathwood’s financial difficulties to act immediately to try to secure refunds through their credit or debit card provider via the chargeback process.However The Irish Times understands that only a small percentage of people have sought a chargeback from their bank, with many hoping orders might still materialise. It is now clear that is not going to happen. In April, Rathwood, which is run by brothers Thomas and James Keogh, announced it was seeking the appointment of an examiner to try to secure its financial future and said it would continue trading through the process, which is set to reach its conclusion in the coming weeks.An examinership is a legal process that gives a financially struggling company a period of court protection to allow it to restructure itself, negotiate with creditors and seek new investment.Last month provisional figures provided to the High Court as part of the process suggested Rathwood had liabilities totalling €18 million, including €10 million owed to trade creditors, €1.4 million to the Revenue Commissioners and €2.5 million in customer deposits and vouchers.“We’re writing with an important update about your Rathwood order,” the latest WhatsApp message being sent to impacted customers said. “Because of the Company’s financial position, we regret that orders placed before 24th April 2026, including your order, cannot be fulfilled and are now cancelled. We are also not in a position to issue refunds, and we understand how frustrating that is.”[ Tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s ‘secretive’ gathering of US elites comes to WicklowOpens in new window ]It said people “may be able to get your money back from your bank or card provider if you paid by debit or credit card”. Rathwood was “genuinely sorry for the disappointment and inconvenience this causes, and we thank you for the support you have shown Rathwood”, it said.On foot of the fresh communication from the retailer, the CCPC has also started reaching out to people who had contacted its helplines looking for advice.The correspondence is reminding people with outstanding orders to act fast to ensure they do not miss out on refunds through the chargeback process as time limits apply for people to make such claims.