|
Furniture store files for Chapter 7
(New Haven Register (New Haven, CT) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 9--MILFORD -- Milford Home Interiors LLC has shut down after nearly three years of operating and the owner has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.
Owner George Benedetto registered the furniture store at 1565-1571 Boston Post Road with the state in June 2005.
A customer contacted the Register anonymously, in fear of losing $1,200 that was paid for living room furniture. The customer reported being told the items would not be delivered.
No one answered telephone calls to the store's listed number.
State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Thursday his office is investigating the matter and any consumers who prepaid for merchandise are entitled to delivery of their orders or reimbursement.
"He told us that the store has been taken over by his son-in-law, who has closed it because business was slow and the economy was bad," Blumenthal said.
Benedetto filed for bankruptcy protection back in March. Uniform Commercial Code filings, which occur when one business provides a product to another business on credit, show liens recorded by Merchant Cash and Capital and JR Finance Co., both of New York, and Dell Financial Services LP of Austin, Texas.
The Merchant Cash and Capital lien is shown in the amount of $117,300, with a lapse date of Oct. 4, 2011.
The tax collector's office has placed a lien on the business for $405.21 in taxes and interest due for the latter half of 2007 and the first half of 2008.
Benedetto and attorneys listed in court records could not be reached for comment this week.
The bankruptcy filing does not erase the store's responsibilities to consumers, Blumenthal said.
"They have obligations to deliver products if they've taken money for it," he said. "George Benedetto said he would repay any customer or deliver the product. We're investigating and we're going to hold him to that promise."
Blumenthal said any customers who are owed furnishings or reimbursements should call his office at (860) 808-5318.
Milford Home Interiors is the latest in a series of furniture stores to leave the Boston Post Road in recent years.
Drexel Heritage shut its doors at 506 Boston Post Road in Orange in March 2007. It was owned by Benedetto and a partner, Andy Piekarski.
In May 2007, Porch & Patio Inc., which sold outdoor furniture, filed for bankruptcy and held liquidation sales at its two locations -- at 363 Boston Post Road in Orange and in Wethersfield.
Company officials announced plans to reorganize and revamp the business model, and hope to reopen stores.
In January 2006, Hitchcock Chair Co. Ltd. of New Hartford announced it was closing its four Connecticut retail stores, including one at 185 Boston Post Road. Levitz Home Furnishing announced in December 2005 it was closing 35 of its 121 stores nationwide, including a location at 1799 Boston Post Road.
A company that broke the trend was Pilgrim Furniture City of Southington, which opened an 80,000-square-foot store at 1755 Boston Post Road in April.
To see more of New Haven Register, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.nhregister.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, New Haven Register, Conn.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ Back To Homepage ]
|
Home
Featured Article Archives
eNews
RSS FEED
