VanMoof administrator in talks with financiers about compensation for customers

The curators managing the VanMoof bankruptcy administration are in talks with a major financier of the e-bike brand about an agreement that would allow a group of disadvantaged customers to get their money back. The lender promised VanMoof that customers who ordered bikes shortly before the bankruptcy would be compensated in the event the company went bust.

This arrangement is for customers who ordered the SX4 and SA5 e-bike models, but never received them. The American financier who put a lien on the company was meant to pay up to a certain amount for claims from these consumers. By placing the lien, they were permitted to sell off VanMoof assets to collect debts.

However, the curators and the financiers disagree about how those agreements were meant to be interpreted. “We differ in our vision on how this should be interpreted,” curator Jan Padberg explained in the latest bankruptcy report. He would not share the specific reasons for the disagreements between the two parties.

Many disadvantaged customers who had ordered a bike were still unlikely to receive their money back. They are among the creditors at the back of the queue with their claims, behind other organizations, like the UWV benefits agency and the Belastingdienst, the Dutch tax office. There are 2,600 creditors, among them suppliers who are still owed money.

These creditors are owed a total of over 35 million euros put together. The Belastingdienst alone is owed 12 million euros, the bankruptcy report showed.

Padberg said it is “painful” that consumers who spent between 1,500 and 3,000 euros on the bicycles will probably not get their money back. “Most customers have never had to deal with a bankruptcy, and expect to get their money back. We are informing them about the progress of the claims they have filed and trying to manage their expectations.”