Quebec customers left hanging after furniture store appears to have gone out of business

There are growing questions about a Canadian furniture company whose stores seem to have gone dark, leaving customers in the lurch.

Furniture is missing for some Wazo customers who are out thousands of dollars.

"I believe Wazo was expecting to close the doors, that's for sure," said customer Martin Levesque.

The Sorel resident ordered a bedroom set in August. After several delays he says the company offered a small discount for the $4,000 purchase. But when delivery finally arrived, he only got the bedframe — the other pieces never showed up.

"Obviously, they didn't answer the phone or even the email," Levesque said.

He's not alone.

South Shore resident Camille Demers says she paid $2,000 in November for furniture ahead of a big move but she says delivery promises turned into radio silence.

"Honestly, it's been stressful and it's the first time it's happened to me so I don't really know what to do," Demers said.

While there are options, they are case-by-case, says lawyer Sylvie De Bellefeuille.

"If they do not get a reimbursement, unfortunately they may have to go to small claims court in order to get their money back," she said.

For credit card purchases, customers can try a chargeback request. But for in-store purchases, the process is more complex.

"You have to wait for 30 days if there was indeed a date of delivery that was scheduled," De Bellefeuille said.

The lawyer urges consumers to always use credit cards for online purchases "because the chargeback process can protect your money so that way the burden falls on the bank, not on your shoulders."

Wazo’s website is still up and running but the company did not respond to CTV News' requests for answers. Phone numbers in Toronto and Montreal don’t work.

At Wazo’s Montreal store, some furniture remains but it's otherwise deserted. A sign on the door reads "temporarily closed."

Meanwhile, in Toronto, Google lists the store as "permanently closed."

Levesque says he's gobsmacked.

"It was really a bad one.. I didn't expect that, that's for sure," he said.

Levesque was able to recover his missing furniture from Wazo’s warehouse. But Demers says she’s lost hope.

"At this point, I don't think Wazo is going to help us for anything. I think the money is gone, I think everything is gone honestly," she said.

She’s now relying on her credit card company to refund her as many customers who have also taken their frustrations online wonder how this could happen.