Customers who placed furniture for sale in Colleen’s Consignment Stores are disgruntled at the fact that the stores have declared bankruptcy – leaving their belongings in limbo, yet to be rightfully returned. Las Vegas bankruptcy lawyers agree that this situation is less than ideal for customers of Colleen’s Consignment.
Las Vegas Bankruptcy Leaves Customers in The Dark
Last week, customers met with Colleen Aiken, the owner of Colleen’s Consignment Stores, Colleen’s attorney James Leavitt, and a group of creditors during a meeting at the Foley Federal Building in Las Vegas. The attendees were informed that they may or may not receive money back for their belongings and that they must first provide a “proof of claim form” that shows ownership for each piece of furniture they entrusted to Colleen to sell at the now-closed consignment store. This form must be filed before March 6th.
Though a notice had been sent to customers with instructions for customers to follow to retain their belongings, the enraged customers believe Colleen or an employee should have telephoned them. Colleen claims she called many customers but could have reached out to more.
Customers Shocked And Confused After Bankruptcy Filing
One such customer, Tim Asher, reported to Channel 13 Action News that he never received a phone call from Colleen. “None of the consigners were notified or called,” Tim said. “[Colleen] said she tried calling us; I call that [BS].” Channel 13 attempted to discuss this, and other complaints, with Colleen Aiken after the meeting; however, she refused to answer the reporter’s questions.
Other comments overheard at the meeting include: “she took my stuff”… “it’s not their property; it’s our property”…and “I feel like they’ve stolen something from us.”
Rocky Parks runs a furniture staging business and has been doing business with Colleen for almost 25 years, according to his estimation. He was upset at the way the situation played out at Colleen’s store and stated: “To come out to my house with [trucks] and pick up $18,000 worth of goods, and ten days later file for bankruptcy?”
Customers Advised to Retain Legal Council
It was clear that customers did not feel Colleen acted ethically in the way she handled the entire situation. Her attorney, Levitt, stated that he empathized with creditors’ situations and that Colleen’s company intended to “equitably pay everybody on a prorated basis.” Levitt also encouraged customers to obtain their own attorney for the ongoing and upcoming bankruptcy proceeding.
That suggestion did not fare well with many customers who feel they’ve already lost too much time, energy, and money over the situation to invest further.
Best of luck to all.
