In light of complaints fueled by angry customers, before Bradlees department stores close their doors on Jan. 15, cash cards and exchanges will be honored.
The company has 105 stores and three distribution centers in seven northeast states.
In this area, there are two Bradlees stores, one on Route 36 and Poole Avenue in Hazlet and the other on Route 35 and Twin Brooks Avenue in Middletown.
In a Friday statement from its Braintree, Mass.-headquarters, the company conveys its apologies for inconveniencing customers while "initially attempting to balance the interests of all of its creditors."
The statement also specified that the company would "honor merchandise exchanges of nondefective merchandise during this same period."
"Exchanges will be honored only on merchandise that was purchased before Dec. 26," it states. All returned merchandise must be accompanied by a receipt. Bradlees Inc. announced Dec. 26 that it had filed for bankruptcy. In its petition, the company cited the general economic downturn as the cause, "including rising interest rates, and higher gas and heating oil prices as factors which have reduced the disposable income available to Bradlees’ core customers," the release states.
"In addition, new competition, unseasonable weather in the first half of 2000 and, more recently, the tightening of trade credit and curtailment of inventory shipments had an adverse effect on the company’s ability to continue to operate," the statement read.