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Deposits will be honoured

Customers who put money down on furniture at The Living Room and The Bedroom Shoppe before the stores closed will receive their products, says the man overseeing the liquidation.

Customers who put money down on furniture at The Living Room and The Bedroom Shoppe before the stores closed will receive their products, says the man overseeing the liquidation.

The two stores at Liberty Crossing in Gasoline Alley, which are owned by Russell Ventures Ltd., ceased operations late last month. Russell Ventures was subsequently assigned into bankruptcy and Hudson & Company Insolvency Trustees Inc. named trustee.

Ingenious Ideas Inc. of Moncton, N.B., has been contracted to sell the stores’ assets, with the liquidation scheduled to begin Wednesday at noon.

Ingenious Ideas owner Bernie Caspick said on Monday that Russell Ventures’ creditors have agreed and the court has authorized that customers who paid a deposit or the full price of goods should receive them.

That was encouraging news for Susan Munn, who placed a deposit on a pair of couches before the stores closed. She had become worried after telephone calls and even a registered letter to Hudson & Company went unanswered.

Caspick, who said he would call Munn after he learned about her concerns, said he’s been contacted by customers.

“I sympathize with these people. If I had paid $1,500, $2,000, $4,000 up front and not received my product, and then the store went into bankruptcy, I’d be terribly upset.”

He said prepaid customers will be able to complete their transactions if they present proof of purchase and pay the balance owing. However, they’ll have to wait until next Monday.

Caspick explained the list of who’s entitled to product and how much they’ve paid has just been compiled, and it would be too difficult to deal with those customers while conducting the liquidation’s first days.

“Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday it’s going to be a zoo in here.”

Customers will also have to arrange for delivery of their goods or pay an extra fee for it, regardless of what they were previously promised, said Caspick.

In addition to their stores in Red Deer County, The Bedroom Shoppe and The Living Room each operated at two locations in Calgary and at one in Okotoks, and shared an outlet store in Calgary.

With merchandise deeply discounted and in some cases selling at below cost, Caspick doesn’t expect the liquidation will continue very long.

“I doubt I’ll get to mid-August.”

A letter from Hudson & Company sent out to Russell Ventures creditors in late June identified approximately 50 individuals and companies that were owed a combined $3.3 million.

The Bedroom Shoppe and The Living Room, opened at Liberty Crossing in December 2007.

hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com

Todd and Wanda Markin are partners in Russell Ventures.