Rocky Start For Art Van Liquidation

The liquidation sale at the soon to close Art Van Stores around the region has been rocky at best. A Detroit area store, in the suburb of Warren, was ordered closed by police because of unruly crowds this weekend. The city’s Mayor reports along with feisty crowds, there were some fights at the store and traffic jams in the area. Closer to home, the Portage Art Van’s store near Crossroads Mall closed earlier than first expected on Saturday and was not open yesterday. The company website indicates all stores plan to reopen this afternoon.

Hundreds, if not thousands of customers, with orders held by deposits or full payments, are wondering what’s going to happen with those orders. There seems to be some confusion about what to expect and if the furniture isn’t delivered as originally ordered, what kind of refund, if any, will be coming from the business which is now seeking bankruptcy protection. The normal store web site was pulled over the weekend and replaced with a few lines of text, including, “All requests for deposit refunds will be given as a store credit”.  That alone may see some customers with large pending, unfilled orders, considering finding an attorney.