'They just outright lied': Bad Boy Furniture refuses to honour purchases, customers demanding answers

Kitchener resident Chris May is out hundreds of dollars after Lastman’s Bad Boy Furniture told him the couch he paid for wouldn’t be delivered.

“They just outright lied, took my money,” May told CTV News.

May paid $900 for a couch at Bad Boy’s Victoria Street location last month. The couch was scheduled to arrive on Oct. 31, but never did.

He said when he asked for a refund a store manager handed him a memo saying the franchise is restructuring and will not be honouring his purchase.

“They just fished me along this whole time,” May said.

In a public memo to customers, Bad Boy Furniture Warehouse Limited said in part:

“Bad Boy made the very difficult decision to commence restructuring proceedings by filing a Notice of Intention to make a proposal (NOI) under the bankruptcy & Insolvency Act (BIA).”

The furniture giant went on to say it is unable to refund deposits made on future delivery of furniture and appliances and purchases made by customers cannot be completed.

Bad Boy Furniture advised paying customers to “contact their credit card company to obtain a refund.”

A Lastman's Bad Boy Furniture location is seen on Nov. 16, 2023 in Kitchener, Ont. Despite filing under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and telling some customers it won't honour purchases, the store remains open. (Tyler Kelaher/CTV Kitchener)

In a statement to CTV News, credit card provider Visa said “cardholders who have experienced an issue with a payment to a merchant are encouraged to contact the bank that issues their card to investigate the issue.”

May tells CTV News he used a debit card to complete his purchase.

“I contacted my bank and they said unfortunately through debit they can’t do anything,” May said.

Heidi Popovic is a lawyer for the law firm Reinhard Popovic in Kitchener. She said it could take a while for customers to be reimbursed, and there is a chance they won’t get any money back at all.

“Employees, unpaid employees, employees waiting for their pensions, suppliers, first and foremost are paid out first before purchasers,” Popovic said. “If Bad Boy isn’t liquid enough to make good on these payments, there’s not much purchasers can do.”

In the meantime, Bad Boy remains open for business with plans to potentially commence a liquidation sale at certain locations.

CTV News attempted to contact Lastman’s Bad Boy Furniture for comment, but the contact site was offline.