A Rotherham woman said she lost £1400 after not receiving a refund from a Sheffield sofa company, Sofalux.
Sarah Dale, 59, who is retired on medical grounds, bought a sofa from Sofalux in January 2023.
Ms Dale said the company agreed to refund her for the sofa after an extra piece she ordered was not delivered, but even though the sofa was collected by the company, she didn’t receive a refund.
She said: “I was ringing them, going down to the shop saying I want my refund.
“I delivered them a letter telling them that if I hadn’t got the money within the next seven days that I would be taking it further. I took out a small claims against them but by the time that had gone through, the shop had already closed.”
The situation was brought to South Yorkshire Police, who launched an investigation.
The shop, located in Crystal Peaks Shopping Centre, was raided and a 46-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of fraud in December 2023.
In a recent statement South Yorkshire Police said: “The investigation has now concluded and, after thorough work by the Economic Crime Unit, no fraud or criminal intent was identified.”
Ms Dale said the stress of losing her money contributed to her stroke in September 2023 which led to her losing her job.
She said: “It’s put me under stress financially, emotionally, physically.
“It’s not just me, there’s pensioners, there’s single parents and people that are disabled as well and we just feel like we don’t mean anything.”
In their statement South Yorkshire Police said: “People who reported allegations of fraud have either received their orders, been refunded, or had gone through small claims court prior to reporting the allegations.
“Sadly, there has been a small amount of people who have not been able to receive compensation due to paying with cash.
“We would recommend when making large purchases paying with secure payments methods which include protection against potentially fraudulent activity.”
Ms Dale said she is in contact with others who say they have lost money from Sofalux, and their next steps are to get in touch with their local MP.