Amber and Adam Brueckner have a pool-shaped gap of their yard – and their wallets.
“We feel like we’ve been robbed and they’re just getting away with it right now, they are just washing their hands of it,” Amber instructed on Thursday.
The couple mentioned they bought an on-ground pool equipment from Discounter’s Pool and Spa on Manitou Drive in Kitchener, spending almost $23,000.
Among the Discounter’s Pool and Spa bills paid by the Brueckners.
They’d no concept the corporate had already filed for chapter.
Discounter’s Pool and Spa Warehouse Inc. and an related building firm on the similar handle, Building Distribution & Provide Firm Inc., each filed for chapter on February 29, 2024. Based on insolvency information, Discounter’s Pool and Spa is predicated in Harmony, Ontario and has belongings price $773,337.00, whereas owing collectors $10,844,252.00.
Chapter information for Discounter’s Pool and Spa.
The Brueckners started taking a look at getting a pool in Might. They visited the storefront many instances earlier than lastly paying the total quantity on the finish of July.
“They had been around for 28 years,” mentioned Amber. “We had heard good things about their salespeople.” Amber mentioned she did get a nasty feeling at one level when chatting with a employees member who didn’t sound very educated.
“I was uncomfortable with that. So I essentially said: ‘I’m sorry, we’re not paying today.’ And I walked out of the store,” she recalled. “But then they were pressing my husband: ‘You have to pay before the end of the season. You’re not going to get your pool.’”
After handing over the cash, the couple stored getting the runaround after they requested when their pool equipment would lastly get delivered.
To save cash, the household put in their very own pool heater and filtration system, which had been additionally bought from Discounter’s Pool and Spa. Adam, an skilled handyman, mentioned he spent hours digging the outlet himself to comply with the very particular measurements.
What is occurring on the retailer?
As of Thursday, the web site for Discounter’s Pool and Spa is offline. Nobody is answering the telephone and a hand written signal on the entrance door reads: “Closed until further notice.”
was unable to get in contact with anybody from the shop and has not but heard again from the trustee of the chapter.
Behind the Manitou Drive retailer, suppliers had been seen loading up their vehicles. They instructed they had been taking again a few of their gadgets, understanding they doubtless received’t see any of the cash they’re owed.
Outdoors the shop, long-time clients had been nonetheless displaying up, additionally unaware it had closed.
Closed doorways at Discounter’s Pool and Spa on Manitou Drive in Kitchener on Sept. 19, 2024. (Krista Sharpe/)
Guidelines round chapter
Doug Hoyes, a chapter trustee for Hoyes and Michalos with no involvement on this case, mentioned there are a couple of various things that may occur throughout a industrial chapter.
The corporate can shut on the day of submitting, instantly halt enterprise and let employees go. The same scenario occurred with Kitchener’s Hacienda Sarria.
Nonetheless, corporations even have the choice to proceed promoting belongings whereas making clients conscious {that a} chapter has been filed and a trustee is concerned. That’s what occurred when the massive furnishings retailer Dangerous Boy filed for chapter.
“Once a company goes bankrupt there’s a notice that is supposed to be posted on the door, there is supposed to be a notice placed in the media, in the local newspaper, advising that the corporation is bankrupt,” Hoyes defined.
Including that, as a result of the chapter occurred in February, the posting on the door might have been taken down and it’s doable that they may have been operating the corporate beneath a distinct, however comparable, title.
Brueckners left within the lurch
The Brueckners instructed they had been by no means instructed in regards to the closure, nor did they ever see any postings associated to a chapter.
The receipts given to them by gross sales employees had “Discounter’s Pool and Spa” printed on the prime and so they paid for a portion of their gadgets with a cash order, which additionally had the identical firm title.
“It’s just sad that they can do this to people that have worked hard for their money,” mentioned Amber.
The couple had saved cash for years and paid a portion of the invoice with money and the rest with the cash order, after re-financing their mortgage.
Adam and Amber Brueckner stand beside a gap of their yard the place a pool was speculated to be put in. (Krista Sharpe/)
They mentioned it has been tough explaining to their two younger daughters why they aren’t getting a pool.
“Sometimes people aren’t honest,” mentioned Amber. “Sometimes you just have to fight for what you want. And sometimes you’re disappointed in life. But we’re going to do our best to make it right.
It’s been especially hard on their six-year-old.
“I had her in swimming lessons this year so that she could get used to the water, be more comfortable,” Amber defined. “She’s already planned her birthday party mermaid-theme. She’s devastated.”
The Brueckners mentioned they contacted Waterloo Regional Police however had been instructed it appeared like a civil matter.
