BOUNTIFUL — Customers and employees of a longtime Bountiful appliance business that abruptly closed and filed for bankruptcy are left scrambling to figure out their next steps after their Duerden appliances malfunctioned. There is.
For former employees, that means a sudden job search, and for customers, it means desperately trying to recoup up to tens of thousands of dollars spent on appliances they say they never received.
Melody and Eric Holbrook were looking to build their dream home in Cache Valley and wanted to splurge on custom appliances.
“This is kind of our forever place,” Melody Holbrook said. “So we thought, let’s invest in a good product.”
The couple, who live in Providence, specifically drove to Duarden’s Appliances in Bountiful earlier this year because Eric is from the area and Duarden’s is a “very reputable company here, especially in Davis County.” I explained that I went there.
The Holbrooks have made Duerden’s a one-stop shop for “everything you can think of” for their kitchen, laundry room and in-law apartment basement.
In total, he spent $40,000.
After making the final payment a few weeks ago, the couple said an employee drove up to do a final on-site inspection on Oct. 9, but the handover date was Oct. 17.
On Wednesday, the day before delivery, Melody Holbrook said she got a call from an electrician who told her the installer had learned that Duerden had closed.
“Once we found out, all lines of communication were cut off,” Melody Holbrook said. “I sent an email and was told I was blocked. I tried to look at social media and couldn’t write anything.”
The couple said the Bountiful family personally drove to Duerden’s home and found the door closed and locked.
“I’m just standing there wondering what the hell just happened,” Melody Holbrook said.
Millions in debt with home appliances as assets
On Thursday, the day the Holbrooks were supposed to welcome $40,000 into their new home, Duerden’s Appliance filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The company had more than $7.5 million in debt, according to the 158-page filing.
One section of the list of owed creditors states that “various customers” are non-priority creditors with unsecured claims and that the amount owed is “unknown.”
The company’s lawyers outlined assets worth more than $10.7 million, including more than $8 million in like appliances and products, and a list of more than 100 pages of internal inventory.
A search of the page shows that the same make and model of appliances that the Holbrooks ordered and scheduled for delivery are listed in the warehouse’s inventory.
Although many of the appliances are multiple, the list of inventory assets includes only one stove and dryer with the exact model number and description that the Holbrooks ordered.
Initially, the Holbrooks still wanted a way to obtain appliances.
“We were suggesting things like, “Why don’t you just buy a U-Haul and come pick up your stuff?” Melody Holbrook said.
The couple’s thoughts quickly changed to the possibility that they would never receive their appliances and might not get their money back.
“It’s just a gut punch,” Melody Holbrook said. “It almost brought tears to my eyes. It was almost a shock for him.”
“I left it high to dry.”
Other customers, like the Holbrooks, told KSL TV they spent a lot of money on appliances but had no products to show for it.
Rebecca Baum said she spent $15,000 on a sub-zero refrigerator that was supposed to be delivered on Wednesday, the day her business was closed.
In Alison Paul’s case, the $5,000 washer, dryer and beverage refrigerator she purchased on Oct. 8 were not delivered on Wednesday.
Mike Lieber said he ordered the appliances for $2,700 two weeks ago and the delivery date was Saturday, Oct. 19.
Ryan Giertson explains that even after the appliances he ordered for a basement kitchen renovation arrived at the warehouse, the Duerdens still had $2,600 worth of appliances in storage due to renovation delays. did.
Duerden’s Appliance files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Robynn Kirkham and Olivia Swalberg of CK Builders both spoke to KSL NewsRadio about the purchase. In Kirkham’s case, she said CK Builders posted deposits totaling more than $40,000 on behalf of her clients. Mr. Swarberg expected $10,000 worth of appliances to be delivered this week.
“I felt like the businesses in this community were leaving a lot of people high and dry and a lot of employees without jobs,” Melody Holbrook said. “And there’s nothing that anyone can understand.”
Employee: “We have families to support.”
The Holbrooks said they tried to contact the company in any way they could and called the employee who went into their home to investigate. Melody Holbrook answered and said he told her he suddenly lost his job.
“He was just distraught,” she said. “He said, ‘I got a call this morning that we’re closing.’ If I wanted my last paycheck, I had to be there by 10 a.m. because my bank account would be frozen.”
“We were never informed that the company would be closed,” said Kirill Lasoshko, another employee. He was also fired Wednesday. “After they paid us our last paycheck, they wished us luck.”
As a result, he said he will be looking for a new job.
Another person who worked at Dwellden’s but did not want to be named because he has another job told a similar story, saying that at 7 a.m. that Wednesday, employees were put into the warehouse and set up. He said he could see everything. Cars are parked and lined up inside.
He said the company’s owner, Todd Hall, “opened the door with a stack of envelopes in his hand and announced, visibly nervous, that the company was not doing well and he had chosen to close it permanently. “Ta”. The person explained.
He went on to say that Hall then began handing out envelopes and “kept saying he was sorry and that he had until 10 a.m. to cash them in.”
“We were given no choice or explanation as to why the company had to close,” he said. “When one of us started saying this isn’t right and we have families to support, (Hall) started telling us how he lost his home and car.”
The man, who identified himself as a former employee, said he was relying on his wife and family and was now looking for another job.
“Our only hope”
KSL TV reached out to Hall, who is listed on the Chapter 7 filing as the president of Duerden’s Appliances, and was referred to the attorney listed on the bankruptcy filing.
Two emails sent to the attorney Thursday and Friday asking about the bankruptcy and money spent by clients went unanswered. After receiving no response, KSL called the attorney’s office on Friday afternoon and was told that the attorney had already left for the day.
As they scrambled, the Holbrooks said they contacted police, the city of Bountiful, the Better Business Bureau and their credit card companies.
Most of the other customers KSL spoke to also disputed payments with their credit card companies.
Kirkham of CK Builders said he couldn’t do a chargeback because he paid by check. She filed a complaint with the Utah Attorney General’s Office.
“Our only hope right now is a credit card,” Melody Holbrook said.
The couple plans to move into their new home in the coming weeks, but said they won’t be able to get a certificate of occupancy without appliances.
The couple explained that since their payments were several months apart, the credit card investigation was expected to take some time, and they had no choice but to dip further into their savings to buy appliances from another company.
“We had to buy the exact same package again,” Melody Holbrook said. “So I had to spend money again.”
They wonder if they’ll ever get their original $40,000 back, or if there’s simply no salvaging.
“I really feel like consumers should be more taken care of and more protected,” Melody Holbrook said.
“We win the fall,” Eric Holbrook said. “And we are the ones being punished in this whole situation.”
