UP to 1,200 customers may be left out of pocket following the closure of the Northern Electric store chain.

Northern Retail Ltd, which owns 25 stores in the North-East and Yorkshire, went into administration in October.

Administrators KPMG yesterday announced that about 1,200 customers who had pre-ordered white goods from the troubled firm will not receive them and many are unlikely to get their money back.

Richard Fleming, joint administrator from KPMG Corporate Recovery, said: "We understand that this has been a frustrating time for customers and we would like to thank them for their patience over the last couple of weeks.

"Unfortunately, those goods that are either not in stock, or are in stock but have not been appropriated to a specific customer cannot be released."

About 600 pre-paid orders that are in warehouses ready to be sent out will be honoured, he said.

The administrators have written to all 1,800 people waiting for goods to inform them of the situation.

Customers who ordered by credit card could be able to claim back the cash through their card provider, but those who paid by cash, debit card or cheque stand little chance of seeing their money.

"For those customers who paid using a credit card or by a credit agreement, we strongly advise them to contact their credit provider to inform them that the order has not been completed," said Mr Fleming.

"The provider will discuss the position with the customer in terms of the credit incurred.

"Customers who paid in cash, or by Switch, Delta, Solo, or by cheque, will have an unsecured claim for the goods that they have paid for and not received.

"Their details are held in the company records and while the administrators are aware of their claims, it is unclear at this stage whether or not there will be any money available to people with unsecured claims."

Earlier this month, KPMG sacked 117 workers from the domestic appliance retailer's stores in the North-East and Yorkshire. A further 285 workers in Northern Ireland were also made redundant.

Some workers still remain at Northern Retail's Gateshead headquarters.

Some staff have also been kept on at a handful of the bigger outlets, with the administrators keen to sell them as going concerns.

These include one on the Team Valley and another at the Silverlink retail park, on North Tyneside.

The business was formerly the retail arm of electricity distributor Northern Electric, which sold it in June last year.