CINCINNATI — Imagine paying thousands of dollars for a new living room or dining room set, then learning a few weeks later you are getting no furniture — and no refund either.
Several Cincinnati-area families are discovering their furniture orders from Value City Furniture will never arrive due to a bankruptcy filing, and that getting their money back has become very complicated.
Rick and Jen Housner of Union are among the affected customers. They recently ordered a couch from Value City Furniture for $1,900, hoping to have it delivered to their home by Christmas.
"So at the beginning of December, we started to wonder where the furniture was," Jen Housner said.
When they called the Florence store, they received disappointing news: their order would not be fulfilled, and the store could not process a refund.
"They said unfortunately we can't deal with the refund here at the store, you have to go online and file a claim," she said.
WATCH customers describe learning they will not be getting their furniture:
The Housners later learned that Value City Furniture and its parent company, American Signature, had recently filed for bankruptcy.
The company is closing its Eastgate and Centerville, Ohio, locations, while the Springdale and Florence stores remain open with no visible signs of financial trouble.
Jen Housner said no one informed them of the company's financial difficulties when they placed their order.
"If you buy furniture from them, are other customers gonna get a call in a couple of weeks that they are not getting it either?" Jen Housner asked.
Four other families have contacted WCPO with similar complaints about missing furniture and money.
Kyle Robinson of Western Hills said he is out almost $2,200 for a dining room set that never arrived.
"We got a call two weeks before delivery telling us that you're not getting your furniture, all orders on back order have now been canceled, and you now have to contact this third party to request a refund on your money that has now been put into bankruptcy filing," Robinson said.
Rick Housner attempted to file a claim online, but discovered he was dealing with Verita Global, the bankruptcy supervisor handling the case.
"It was a very complicated form, and seemed like it was for creditors that were owed tens of thousands of dollars, not for regular customers," he said. "At that point, I was like, we are not seeing this money back."
What impacted customers can do
We called Value City Furniture's Florence store, but a customer service agent said no one there could speak to media and hung up without further comment.
A call and email to Value City's parent company, American Signature, sent us to Verita Global. An email to Vertita has not yet resulted in a response.
The chain has provided only a FAQ sheet stating:
- Gift cards will no longer work after December 22
- All sales are final
- No refunds will be issued if an item is no longer available
Kyle Robinson and the Housners are now filing disputes with their credit card companies, hoping to reverse the charges.
If you ordered furniture from Value City and have not received your items or refund, consider these options:
- Contact the store directly to see if they can provide any assistance
- File a claim with Verita Global, which is handling claims from all creditors, including customers
- File a dispute with your credit card company, which may be able to reverse the charge
Learn more at this FAQ sheet for affected customers.
For the Housners, this is tough news to swallow during the holiday season.
"To look at that and say we've lost almost $2,000 is definitely a struggle," Jen Housner said.
Hopefully, they and others will eventually be able to recover some funds, but it won't happen quickly.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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