Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bankrupt

What happens if a company you have an outstanding order with goes bankrupt?

csimpkins — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:21:57 -0800

A company we ordered flooring from filed for bankruptcy while we were waiting for our stuff to come in. What now? We ordered $140 worth of flooring from iFloor on 11/22. Thirteen days later they filed for bankruptcy. They never contacted us to let us know. So today, I called to find out if our stuff arrived and am greeted with a notice that the store is closed - permanently - and I should leave my info after the prompt to be contacted regarding the issue.

I'm pretty livid. But even more so, I'm unsure of what happens now. Do we get our money back? Do we get our stuff? Are we screwed? How long does a resolution, if there is one, for these things generally take?

Is Alitalia Dead?

brandman — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:26:08 -0800

What's the latest news on Alitalia? I know they've been struggling badly over the past few years, and there appears to be some new developments in the past day or two. My interest in this is that my parents are currently in Italy, flying back to the US next week. One of their flight segments is on Alitalia, so I'm wondering what the likelihood is that the airline will cease operations (or at least ground some flights). Any thoughts?

What the hell do I do with this Vespa?

bukharin — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:42:06 -0800

What the hell do I do with this Vespa? In October 2007, I purchased a Vespa with high interest financing. I had a nice job, I justified it as a work-related purchase, but really I just wanted a sweet toy. Also I'm young and stupid. So - through a misunderstanding I won't go into, I got fired. I could no longer afford the monthly payments, let alone the insurance. I haven't been able to make even a minimum payment since May 2007. Meanwhile, because I lived in a crappy neighborhood, a bunch of street kids beat the Vespa up, knocking off a mirror and scratching and denting it. I tried selling it at a must-sell-now discount, significantly less than I paid for it, but I couldn't do that because I owe too much on the loan, and you can't transfer a title over without the lienholder releasing it - which means I have to pay off the loan. But I can't pay off the loan. So, I'm spiralling further into debt, I have a Vespa I can't get rid of or even drive (it doesn't even start anymore), and - and - here's the catch - my best friend (also young and stupid) co-signed the loan because I have no credit. So, if I have it repossessed, I ruin her credit for 7 years. And mine. She's also poor, and I have no way (as far as I know) of raising the cash to pay off the loan to sell it at a loss.

What do I do?

They have money to build my house, right?

PFL — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 07:02:10 -0800

How concerned should I be about my builder's finances? So I'm thinking about buying a townhome in a new development. I like the location, design, and the price is outstanding, but I'm concerned about my builder. It's a Centex home, and they seem to have an OK reputation as far as builders are concerned, but they lost 975m last quarter and are slashing prices all over the place.

The place I want to buy is pretty well below market, but their actions reek of desperation a little bit and I'm concerned I'm going to throw down my $2k deposit, sign some paperwork, and watch them declare bankruptcy next month while I wind up out 2 grand.

Should I be all that concerned, or am I making too big a deal out of this?

What happens to a membership contract when the gym unexpectedly closes?

45moore45 — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 18:50:29 -0800

The gym I joined 6 weeks ago went belly up over the weekend and locked their doors. Supposedly a different gym not affiliated with the bankrupt gym is buying all the contracts, but nothing is clear at the moment. What are my rights in this situation? The gym I joined 6 weeks ago charged a membership fee and my contract was for monthly "no hassle" payments charged to my credit card with a with 60 days notice cancel policy.

I went to the new gym supposedly buying our contracts and they immediately tried to up sell me a different type of membership that cost more than what I was paying although they said they'd honor the current rate of my membership. What are my rights in this situation? I have notified my credit card company and I am going to dispute the membership fee I paid 6 weeks ago since the company has reneged on the membership by closing shop.

I had a good deal at the first gym and while I'd like to think the new gym really will honor it, they are under no obligation to do so and as this situation unravels I suspect they will decide not to honor certain terms I had with the original gym and will want to upgrade me to a more expensive type of membership. My membership was to be a month to month I could cancel at with 60 days written notice. How does a consumer protect themselves in such a situation? I had an automatic credit card deduction with the other gym and I question whether they have the right to transfer that information to a new gym I am not even sure I want to be part of since the location is not as convenient. The old gym did not notify members of their abrupt closing and the new gym seems unaware of the terms of the agreement or if there really is an agreement--they are allowing us to use the facilities for now while they figure out what is really going on. There are several hundred displaced members and no one really seems to know if they should go with the flow or not. My credit card company said they cannot block future automatic payments but that I could cancel my card and get a new one to stop the transactions. Am I obligated to continue a membership at the new gym? Am I in breach of the contract if I just cancel my credit card and refuse to pay? I don't really understand my rights under a contract when the company issuing the contract flies the coop and hands the contract and my credit info off to some third party without my permission or consent.

Going for broke

Joe Invisible — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 09:35:43 -0800

Why are subprime mortgage lenders in trouble? If a borrower fails to make payments on a mortgage, the lender can foreclose and recover the amount loaned by selling the property. I understand that subprime lenders deal in riskier loans, but as long as they can take the property, why are the lenders going broke?