Screwfix is the UK’s largest trade tools and hardware retailer, with more than 935 stores and a customer base spanning both tradespeople and DIY enthusiasts. Many customers are sole traders, small construction businesses, or regular trade buyers who hold open credit accounts, have Click & Collect orders waiting in store, or use the retailer regularly enough to accumulate gift cards and loyalty rewards.
When a Screwfix customer dies, the executor or next of kin may need to deal with several distinct elements: the online account, any outstanding Click & Collect orders, a Trade Credit account (which is a genuine business liability if the balance is outstanding), and gift cards or Screwfix Rewards vouchers that form part of the estate.
This guide works through each in order of priority. The Trade Credit account, if the deceased held one, is the most time-sensitive item and should be your first call.
Quick reference:
- Screwfix customer service: 03330 112 112 – Mon–Fri 8am–8pm, Sat–Sun 8am–4pm
- Screwfix Trade Credit (Trade UK): 0330 678 3041 – Mon–Fri 8am–6pm, Sat 9am–1pm
- Email: online@screwfix.com
- WhatsApp: 0330 678 4720 (24/7)
- No dedicated online bereavement form – phone is the primary channel
How to notify Screwfix
Screwfix does not publish a dedicated bereavement page or a separate bereavement team. All estate-related enquiries go through the main customer service line.
Phone: Call 03330 112 112. Lines are open Monday to Friday 8am–8pm, and Saturday to Sunday 8am–4pm. When you connect, explain that you are calling following the death of an account holder and ask the agent to note the death on any accounts linked to the deceased’s name or email address.
Email: Send to online@screwfix.com. Include the deceased’s full name, date of birth, date of death, and their account email address if known. Email is appropriate for non-urgent correspondence; Screwfix aims to respond within two working days. For anything involving outstanding orders or a Trade Credit account, calling is faster.
WhatsApp: Screwfix offers WhatsApp support on 0330 678 4720, available 24/7. This can be useful for asking quick questions outside of phone hours.
By post: Write to:
Customer Resolutions
Screwfix Direct Limited
Trade House
Mead Avenue
Yeovil
Somerset
BA22 8RT
What to have ready
Before calling, gather:
- The deceased’s full name and date of birth
- The date of death
- The email address registered to their Screwfix account, if known
- Any order reference numbers for outstanding or recent orders
- Their Trade Credit account number, if applicable
You do not need all of this before making the first call. A name and date of death is usually enough for the customer service team to locate accounts in the system.
What documents you will need
For a standard account closure with no outstanding balance, Screwfix will typically ask for:
- Death certificate – a photocopy or scanned copy is usually sufficient for initial contact. You do not need to send an original. A certified copy may be required before the account is formally closed.
- The deceased’s personal details – full name, date of birth, date of death, and usual address.
- Your own details – your name, relationship to the deceased, and contact information.
If the deceased held a Trade Credit account with an outstanding balance, you should expect to provide:
- A certified copy of the death certificate
- A copy of the grant of probate or letters of administration, once obtained, if the outstanding balance is substantial
The customer service team will advise on exactly what they need once you have made initial contact.
Screwfix Trade Credit accounts
This section matters most for estates involving tradespeople. The Screwfix Trade Credit account – operated under the name Trade UK, a trading name of Screwfix Direct Limited – is a business credit facility offering up to 60 days’ interest-free credit. It is designed for sole traders, small businesses, and any trade customer who wants to manage purchases across multiple Screwfix, B&Q TradePoint, Plumbfix, and Electricfix stores on a single account.
If the deceased held a Trade Credit account with an outstanding balance, that balance is a liability of the estate. It should be treated the same as any other business debt: it does not pass to surviving family members unless they were joint signatories to the account.
An important distinction: not a regulated consumer credit product
The Trade UK credit account is not a regulated consumer credit product under the Financial Conduct Authority’s consumer credit framework. It is a business-to-business credit facility. This means the protections that apply to personal credit cards and retail finance – including FCA guidelines on how lenders must treat bereaved customers – do not apply here as a matter of regulation. In practice, Screwfix and Trade UK are expected to act reasonably, but there is no statutory framework requiring them to freeze interest or follow a specific bereavement protocol.
What to do
Contact Trade UK directly on 0330 678 3041 (Monday to Friday 8am–6pm, Saturday 9am–1pm). You can also email customer.service@contact.trade.co.uk or access the account management portal at credit.trade.co.uk.
When you call:
- Explain that the account holder has died and ask them to note the death on the account.
- Request a statement of the current balance and any recent transactions.
- Ask about the process for settling or formally closing the account as part of the estate administration.
- Confirm whether any direct debits are set up for monthly repayments, and ask for these to be suspended pending estate administration.
Outstanding balance
If there is an outstanding balance, this becomes a debt of the estate. It is paid from the estate’s assets before any distribution to beneficiaries. Check the deceased’s bank statements for Direct Debit payments to “Trade UK” or “Screwfix Direct” to confirm whether an account exists before calling.
Direct debit repayments
Trade UK accounts may have a monthly direct debit set up for the previous month’s credit purchases. Once notified of the death, Trade UK should suspend the direct debit pending a formal settlement of the account. If you are also the administrator of the deceased’s bank account, notify the bank separately to pause any Trade UK direct debits while the estate is being wound up, and confirm with Trade UK what the correct settlement process is. Our guide on what to do about direct debits when someone dies covers the bank-side steps in more detail.
Online account and active orders
Closing the online account
Screwfix online accounts can be closed by contacting customer services on 03330 112 112 or emailing online@screwfix.com. Account deletion requests can also be submitted through the account settings section of screwfix.com.
Once the account is closed, the order history and personal data will be anonymised. Before requesting closure, ensure you have noted any outstanding order references, as you will need these to track down any pending refunds.
Click & Collect orders in progress
If the deceased placed a Click & Collect order that had not yet been collected from store at the time of death, this is a straightforward estate asset to recover.
Screwfix holds Click & Collect orders in store for 21 days. After the 21-day window, the order is automatically cancelled and the value is applied as a customer credit to the Screwfix account – not automatically refunded to the original payment method. To recover the money, you must actively contact Screwfix.
Call 03330 112 112 and explain that you are the executor or next of kin, that the account holder has died, and that there are uncollected orders or a customer credit balance on the account. Ask for a refund to the original payment method. This is standard practice and there is no reason for Screwfix to refuse once you have confirmed the death.
If you become aware of an uncollected order before the 21-day window expires, contact Screwfix promptly to discuss whether the order can be cancelled and a direct refund processed, rather than allowing it to convert to store credit.
Gift cards
Screwfix gift cards are bearer instruments – they hold a monetary value and belong to whoever possesses them, regardless of who purchased them. Any Screwfix gift card found among the deceased’s possessions forms part of the estate.
Expiry
Gift card balances expire after five consecutive years of non-use. A top-up, purchase, or balance enquiry counts as use and resets the clock. Additionally, a card with a zero balance expires after one year of inactivity. Promotional gift cards may carry shorter expiry dates.
Where they can be redeemed
Screwfix gift cards can only be redeemed at physical Screwfix trade counters in the UK. They cannot be used for online purchases or phone orders. This is an important practical point for executors: if you cannot attend a store in person and the estate includes Screwfix gift cards, you will need to arrange for someone to use them on behalf of the estate, or for a beneficiary to receive them as part of the estate distribution.
Cash redemption
Screwfix gift cards cannot be redeemed for cash. The balance can only be used to purchase goods in store. Executors can use the balance to buy items needed for property clearance or estate administration, or pass the card to a beneficiary.
Check the balance by visiting any Screwfix store with the card. There is no published online balance-checking tool.
Screwfix Rewards vouchers
The Screwfix Rewards programme is an account-linked loyalty scheme. Members earn coins for every pound spent, which accumulate monthly toward milestone rewards – discount vouchers that appear in the account’s Rewards Hub.
Rewards vouchers have a strict 14-day validity period from the date they are issued. Given this short window, any outstanding rewards at the time of death are unlikely to have retained value by the time probate is granted.
Coins do not carry direct monetary value and reset monthly. Any unredeemed coins at the time of account closure are forfeited. Unlike a gift card, Rewards coins and vouchers are entirely account-linked and cannot be transferred to another person or exchanged for cash.
If there is an active reward voucher in the account that is still within its 14-day validity window, contact Screwfix customer services promptly to discuss whether it can be applied to a final purchase or otherwise credited to the estate. There is no published policy on this, but it is reasonable to raise at the time of initial notification.
Things to watch out for
The Kingfisher Group separation
This is the single most important practical point for estates involving tradespeople who used both major DIY retailers.
Screwfix and B&Q are both owned by Kingfisher plc, the FTSE-listed home improvement group. They are entirely separate retail businesses with separate customer databases, separate account systems, and entirely separate processes. Notifying Screwfix of a death does not notify B&Q, and notifying B&Q does not notify Screwfix.
The Trade UK credit account can be used across both Screwfix and B&Q TradePoint stores – but the credit account itself still needs to be notified as a single independent entity at credit.trade.co.uk, separate from both the Screwfix retail account and the B&Q retail account.
Many sole traders and small businesses use both retailers: Screwfix for fixings, tools, and trade consumables, B&Q or TradePoint for larger or bulkier materials. A tradesperson’s estate may therefore have open accounts at both. Contact each separately. See our guide to notifying B&Q when someone dies for the B&Q-side steps.
Trade accounts vs personal accounts
A sole trader who used Screwfix regularly may have held two distinct relationships with the business:
- A standard personal online account for general purchases
- A Trade Credit account (Trade UK) for business credit
Both need separate notification. The personal account is closed through customer services. The Trade Credit account is handled by Trade UK directly on 0330 678 3041. Assuming one notification covers both is a common oversight.
Screwfix as a sole trader’s business debt
If the deceased was a sole trader, their Screwfix Trade Credit account is a business debt – but for sole traders, business and personal finances are legally the same. There is no separate legal entity. The outstanding balance on a Trade Credit account is a liability of the deceased’s estate in exactly the same way as a personal credit card balance.
If the deceased operated as a limited company director, the position is different: the company continues to exist after the director’s death, and the Trade Credit account may remain the company’s liability rather than the personal estate’s. Take legal advice if the situation involves a limited company with an outstanding credit account.
Searching for accounts
If you are unsure whether the deceased held a Trade Credit account, look through:
- Bank statements for Direct Debit payments to “Trade UK”, “Screwfix Direct”, or “credit.trade.co.uk”
- Email inbox for correspondence from screwfix.com or contact.trade.co.uk
- Paperwork for any Trade UK account cards or monthly statements
Summary
The key steps for a Screwfix estate are:
- Call 03330 112 112 to notify Screwfix of the death and ask for accounts to be frozen. Have the deceased’s name and date of death ready.
- If a Trade Credit account exists, contact Trade UK separately on 0330 678 3041 – this is the most time-sensitive action.
- Check for uncollected Click & Collect orders – contact Screwfix to request a refund rather than allowing value to sit as store credit.
- Locate any gift cards – these are bearer instruments and form part of the estate. They can only be redeemed in store.
- Notify B&Q separately if the deceased also used that retailer. Same parent company, entirely separate process. See our B&Q bereavement guide.
For a full overview of the steps to take in the weeks after a death – including priority notifications, probate, and managing the deceased’s finances – see our complete guide to what to do when someone dies.
For more on probate – including whether you need it and how to apply – see our probate guide.