As Bad Boy Furniture Warehouse Ltd. seeks to restructure its business, customers who have paid deposits for furniture that has yet to be delivered could be left in the lurch.
Court filings have indicated that the famed Ontario furniture retailer won't be able to refund its customers' money. So, what happens next? Here's what you need to know.
How do I get a deposit refunded?
In a notice to its customers included in its court filings, Bad Boy said it is not in a position to fulfill uncompleted orders or return customers’ deposits.
"The company does not have the funds available to repay customer deposits," reads a factum submitted on Nov. 15.
Kitchener Chris May who paid $900 last month for a couch at Bad Boy Furniture said he asked for a refund but a store manager handed him a memo informing him of the restructuring and that his purchase won’t be honoured.
“They just outright lied, took my money,” he told CTV News Kitchener. The couch was scheduled to be delivered on Oct. 31 but it never arrived.
Bad Boy is urging customers to contact their credit card company to attempt to get a refund. In its notice to customers, the company provided them a copy of their filing as credit card companies may require evidence of Bad Boy's insolvency.
Customers who have questions regarding their deposit are encouraged to send an email to customers@nooobody.com or badboy@ksvadvisory.com.
According to the court documents, Bad Boy has received customer deposits totalling approximately $4.5 million. The company has about $25 million in assets, including inventory and store fixtures and roughly $26 million in liabilities.
Bad Boy said it intends to try working with customers to complete orders if the cost of the merchandise is less than the balance owed or consider if other arrangements can be made with the customer.
Will there be a liquidation sale?
The company, which also sells appliances and electronics, is seeking approval for a liquidation sale at select or all of its 12 retail stores.
At this time, Bad Boy has not been granted the liquidation approval order.
“The immediate commencement of the sale is in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders. The company is generating significant negative cash flow and it is critical to proceed with the sale on an expedited basis in order to generate revenue and ultimately reduce the company’s retail footprint and cost structure,” reads the factum for the motion for the liquidation approval order.
“In the circumstances, the sale is the most practical path forward to realize value for the company’s stakeholders.”
Bad Boy filed a notice under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act earlier this month, citing a slew of economic conditions that have weighed on consumers' shopping habits and its business forced it to make the "very difficult decision" to re-examine its operations.
- with files from The Canadian Press and CTV News Kitchener's Tyler Kelaher.
