After RadioShack filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the weekend, Connecticut's attorney general and consumer protection department commissioner are advising residents with gift cards, certificates or store credits to use them and make any returns as soon as possible.
The electronics company, which has been in business for 94 years, plans on selling to up to 2,400 of its stores after filing for bankruptcy on Saturday, Feb. 7. There are about 59 RadioShack locations in Connecticut.
Stores will likely close between Feb. 17 and March 31, state Attorney General George Jepsen and Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Jonathan A. Harris said in a press release.
"The rule of thumb with gift cards is to always use them as soon you can after purchase or receipt as a gift because, if a store closes or goes bankrupt, there may be little to no recourse to recover an unspent gift card balance," Jepsen said. "If you currently have a RadioShack gift card, you should use it immediately to avoid losing what credit it may contain."
RadioShack is accepting returns until March 7. Gift cards will be accepted for 30 days after the bankruptcy filing date and must be used before March 7 to ensure they won't lose their value. Items will be sold "as-is" during store closing sales, but can be returned seven days after purchase if they have "latent defects," according to a news release from Jepsen and Harris.
"As the Attorney General advised, use your gift cards immediately,” Harris said. “While Connecticut gift cards don’t expire, businesses can and do fail unexpectedly. In fact, I lost the value on a gift card after a company closed its doors. Also, if you plan to return a Radio Shack item that you recently bought, bring it back immediately to the store where you made the purchase. Finally, inspect any items you’ve bought from Radio Shack to ensure that they work; otherwise you may miss the opportunity to return them if they don’t function as they should.”
RadioShack has approval to begin "immediate closing liquidation sales," according to Jepsen and Harris.
