A major furniture chain with stores in 17 states has just announced it will soon be closing all stores.
The parent company of Value City Furniture, American Signature Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, citing "macroeconomic headwinds" that have impacted the industry.
The company closed some locations in December, while others continued to operate.
However, on Jan. 9, it announced it will soon begin liquidating all remaining stores.
WATCH: Furniture store customers describe getting no furniture and no refund:
What can customers do?
When a business closes or files for bankruptcy, customers who already paid for goods or services could be left empty-handed.
American Signature's bankruptcy filing left customers Jen and Rick Housner without the furniture they ordered.
"We started to kind of wonder where the furniture was," Jen Housner said.
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The couple learned their orders were canceled and said the store they ordered from would not provide a refund.
"At that point, I was like, we are not seeing this money back," said Rick Housner.
Attorney and author, Danny Karon, who founded the platform Your Lovable Lawyer, explains that customers do have options when a company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Steps to recover your money
A customer’s first step should be calling the company to see if it can remedy the situation with available stock.
"Maybe there's something they needn’t order, but they have on the floor. They can give it to you right off the floor. That could solve the problem," Karon said.
If that doesn’t work, file a claim with the bankruptcy court.
"Now you've got to get to the bankruptcy court's website, file your claim, get the claim date, because you're what's called an unsecured creditor," Karon explained.
Karon warns the process takes time and doesn't guarantee you'll get all your money back.
"But the only certainty is in doing nothing. You'll get for sure nothing back if you don't file a claim," he said.
The third step is calling your credit card company.
"Ask for a charge back to dispute the charge because you didn't get your product, and you didn't get your money back," Karon said.
Company response
Scripps News reached out to American Signature, where an agent simply directed us to the "What's Next" page on Value City Furniture’s website.
On the site, the company states, "We are doing our best to fulfill customer orders for products that are currently in stock."
It goes on to say, "If we are unable to fulfill an order that a customer placed a deposit for, they may be able to file a claim."
Customers can file a claim on America Signature’s Chapter 11 case website.
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The Housners worry that process could take months or even years to resolve.
"To look at that and say we've lost almost $2,000 is definitely a struggle," Jen Housner said.
There's no way to predict when a store will close, which is why you should always keep receipts and other important documents.
Knowing these steps can help protect your money if a business files for bankruptcy, so you don’t waste your money.
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This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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