Duerden’s Appliance and Mattress store has been a staple in Bountiful since 1957. It began as a general hardware store called Duerden’s Western Auto and was a family owned business until 2013 when it was purchased by Todd Hall. Now it has been shuttered after the store filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy On Oct. 17 leaving customers wondering if they’ll get their money back from the orders they placed.

“We’re doing a small kitchen project and needed a fridge, cook top, etc. It was custom because it’s a littler space,” said Olivia Swalberg, who paid a significant amount upfront to ensure her appliances would come in time. “We always go to Duerden’s. Even though we live in Salt Lake now we always go back there. They have high end, nice appliances. We paid in full because the lead time was insane and we needed to buy them. That was in June and the purchase was finalized in July.”

Swalberg said they don’t typically use a credit card for large purchases but this time they did. “We wanted to put it on the Visa to get the points. They were supposed to store them in their warehouse by Costco until we were ready. That’s another perk to shopping with them.”

When Swalberg didn’t get a receipt emailed out in July she wondered why. “I usually get one. Most people probably don’t but I keep paper receipts and I found it with the reference number. I called on Thursday (the week before the bankruptcy) and the woman I talked to gave zero indication that they were closing. I told her that I had never heard back from them in July and that I hoped they were in stock. She said, ‘Yes, they're in the warehouse ready to be delivered’ with the lead time of two weeks because we were three weeks out getting the appliances put in.”

Swalberg said her mother just happened to go to the store that day. “She was remodeling and wanted to get the same appliances I had in my kitchen. She called and asked me if they take a lunch because nobody was there, the lights were off and the doors were locked.” 

Swalberg said she didn’t think twice about it. “I called and I got the option to press 1 and it said they would text me back for delivery. That must have been before they took everything offline. I refreshed the page to get the phone number again and it said ‘permanently closed.’”

She drove straight to will call. “All the trucks were docked and it was closed,” said Swalberg. “I met people there at the showroom and everybody was stunned.”

Visa’s rule is within 60 days to dispute a charge, she said. “But they seem to be working with us. They will repeatedly try to get a hold of them but if they can’t they’ll credit us back after the billing cycle.”

Swalberg said they rarely put that much on a credit card but in this case it might have worked in their favor. “It breaks my heart for those people who paid with a check or cash. I don’t know how the bank works but at least we have some sense of being reimbursed.”

People in the parking lot hadn’t just paid a down payment they’d paid for the whole thing, she said. “We’re owed the appliances we paid for. They’re in the will call center. We purchased new appliances because we didn’t want to delay. I feel bad for people who put $50,000 into a kitchen. There’s no way to even get a hold of them (Duerden’s).”

It’s disheartening, she said. “I feel for the owners. While my mother was standing there some of the employees told her they had to pack up. It’s a pretty big hit. Nobody wins in this situation.” λ