– I don’t understand why they think people are fools. Why can’t they just say it’s lost money, wonders Janne Elin Alexandersen. She is in full swing with the renovation of her new home at Vega in Nordland. But certain parts of the renovation have been delayed. In February, Alexandersen ordered four sliding doors from Garderobe-Mannen. She paid NOK 24,000 for the doors, and expected them to be delivered at the end of April, as the company wrote in the order confirmation. Over five months later, she still hasn’t seen anything about the sliding doors. She is not alone in that. news has gained access to a number of e-mails which show that Janne Elin Alexandersen has repeatedly asked the company when the sliding doors will be delivered. Photo: Janne Elin Alexandersen Bankruptcy after bankruptcy Several thousand Norwegians were at risk of losing large sums when Fredrikstad-based Garderobe-Mannen AS went bankrupt in the spring of 2020. The company had showrooms in several locations in southern Norway, including in cities such as Trondheim, Oslo , Bergen and Stavanger. The customers had paid in advance for wardrobes which they had not received, and demanded a total of 36 million from the bankruptcy estate. This claim has still not been paid. In May 2020, customers queued outside a warehouse to try to get the goods they had bought from Garderobe-Mannen. Photo: Elisabeth Sundling Petersen Shortly after the bankruptcy in 2020, owner Erik Bøckmann bought up the warehouse and started a new company, GM Showroom. This is the company Alexandersen ordered from in February this year. – It was a simple page and it was easy to get in touch with the seller. You could book an online meeting, and there was no particular waiting time, she says. But in May, this company was also declared bankrupt. The company owed NOK 8.4 million to the Tax Agency. In a report to the Søndre Østfold District Court, trustee Ole Magnus Karlsen estimates that at least 1,600 customers are in the same situation as Alexandersen: They have not received the goods that they have fully or partially paid for to the company that went bankrupt in May. news has not succeeded in getting in touch with the executor. – There is enough lost money Despite two bankruptcies, Garderobe-Mannen is still operational. Shortly after the second bankruptcy, a new company was started, this time with the name GM Proff AS. The chairman is Fredrik Solhaug Bøckmann, who is the son of Erik Bøckmann. The new company again bought up the warehouse and recently changed its name back to Garderobe-Mannen AS. At the end of June, Janne Eli Alexandersen received an e-mail from the new company with an offer that they could take over her order. “In that case, we will guarantee that customers who want delivery from the new company will not lose anything from the bankruptcy,” the email said. Chairman of GM Showroom, Erik Bøckmann, states in an SMS to news that over 1,300 customers have agreed to this. – In such a process there will always be a few customers who feel dissatisfied or have another negative reaction, writes Bøckmann. Stacked warehouses Chairman of the new Garderobe-Mannen AS, Fredrik Solhaug Bøckmann, writes to news that the warehouses are now jam-packed with goods for customers. – The factory has a lot finished which will be sent as soon as there is free capacity in the warehouses. During the public holiday, the customers are away from their homes, and this means that we cannot deliver as quickly as we would like. Although Alexandersen has received personal promises from Garderobe-Mannen that her sliding doors will arrive at Vega, she feels that her hope is dwindling. – It’s probably lost money. It’s bitter to think about, she says. There should have been a sliding door that Alexandersen bought from Garderobe-Mannen in February this year. So far, she hasn’t seen anything about the goods she ordered. Alexandersen says that she can’t bear to put up a cupboard in this entrance area until the sliding doors arrive. Suspicion of criminal offenses When the first company went bankrupt, it was proposed that Erik Bøckmann be suspended from bankruptcy. But the court doubtless found no basis for that, since he had not been involved in bankruptcies in the last ten years. Now trustee Ole Magnus Karlsen believes that the case is different, without him taking a final position on it. “There is a suspicion of a criminal offense relating to a breach of basic public law duties for a company and its management”, he writes in the report. – In the first probate meeting yesterday, the executor said that it has not yet been concluded whether something punishable has happened or whether they want to demand the bankruptcy quarantine, claims Erik Bøckmann. The investigation by Økokrim Økokrim was connected to the case after the first bankruptcy and is investigating Bøckmann for breach of the obligation to tender. In autumn 2021, they received permission from Søndre Østfold District Court to search Bøckmann’s home, workplace, cabins and cars. According to E24, Økokrim secured assets worth NOK 40 million. First State Attorney Bård Thorsen in Økokrim tells news that they are in the final phase of the investigation. – We have conducted several interviews and have gone through the evidence we have obtained. We aim to finish the investigation some time after the summer, says Thorsen.
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1,600 new customers must have paid for goods they have not received – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
