– I will not get the money back, and none of the furniture has arrived. In July, Ingunn Leirdal went to the furniture store Home at Home to buy furniture for her son, who lives in a care home. She paid a sum of NOK 51,800 and left the store empty-handed as she wanted the furniture delivered. The delivery time was long as the bed and headboard she ordered had to be produced first. Bankruptcy Recently she found out that the furniture store had gone bankrupt. The bed and headboard have not yet been produced, and the son will therefore never get these in the room. And the 18,000 kroner this cost, Leirdal will not get back. – This takes a toll on health. It has been absolutely horrible, she says. Leirdal ordered the furniture for his son, who lives in a care home. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news But the rest of the furniture that Leirdal ordered is ready in the warehouse. She just hasn’t gotten it yet. – I feel most sorry for my son who has waited so long for this furniture. – Regrettably NOK 51,800 is a lot of money, but it is even more for Leirdal. She is on disability benefits, and that is more than two months’ benefits. – This is deeply regrettable for Leirdal and the other customers who are affected. This is not a desirable situation, says the general manager of Home at Home, Finn Arne Roald. He says the situation is beyond his control. – The vast majority of customers are taken care of, he says. – She is weak Nora Wennberg Gløersen is a consumer lawyer at the Consumer Council. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have good news to share. – If you have paid something in advance to a shop that has gone bankrupt, you must start by checking how you paid, she says. Consumer lawyer Nora Wennberg Gløersen. Photo: Leirdal Consumer Council paid by bank card. – If you have paid via online banking, invoice, giro and cash, you are unfortunately in a weak position, as these payment options do not offer any protection in the event of bankruptcy, says Gløersen. But if you have paid with a credit card, you can get the money back through a card complaint. Gløersen explains that a bankruptcy estate will take over management when a company goes bankrupt. Trying to dissolve Autotech Varebørs has bought the goods for Home at Home on bankruptcy estate. Managing director Morten Svenningsen says they have called all the customers affected by the bankruptcy. – We try to do our utmost to make people happy. I understand that people get angry about losing money, says Svenningsen. Morten Svenningsen is general manager at Autotech Varebørs. He says they are working hard to solve the customers’ problems after the bankruptcy. Photo: Privat So far he says that they have solved the situation for more than half of the 60 affected customers. But for Leirdal it is not yet resolved. – I am in despair, she says. She herself has no idea how she is going to get the furniture that is ready in the warehouse delivered to her son. Svenningsen in Autotech says they can help. – We can assist with transport. We try to be solution-oriented, he says. Leirdal thinks the situation she is in is absolutely terrible. Leirdal says she has physically felt bad after she found out about the bankruptcy and the problems it brought. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news – If I had only paid with a credit card, I would have got the money back, she says despairingly. She now hopes that her son will receive the furniture as quickly as possible.
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Lost money when the store went bankrupt – credit card could have saved her, according to the Consumer Council – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
