4/19/2021 FINAL UPDATE:
While the state of Massachusetts could not bring down the scam of Newton Corner Oriental Rugs of Framingham, COVID helped them take their last gulp or air before going permanently to pasture. They won’t be back, and if they do, it won’t be in Framingham. We don’t like to see businesses go, however this one which circumvented all consumer protection laws by claiming a fake “going-out-of-business” sale for years, it is well over due to say goodbye. Keep reading to learn our exposure of the business scam, and the laws that the state could never find a way to enforce
2/13/2020 UPDATE:
Being that the business was forced to file with the city clerk their inventory list, we forced them into compliance with the state law on termination sales as of December 23th. Now that there is a date on file, a certified public record, they must close down FOREVER on Feburary 21th.
They have been out of compliance with the state law on termination sales for years. However, via a FOIA request we have logged the date with the city clerk of a start date for a termination sale. This was logged on December 23th. Termination sales can only run for 60 days and then the sale must end and the business should cease to be.
12/28/2019 UPDATE:
We requested via Freedom of Information Act:
“We are seeking documentation of the filing the following information below with the city clerks office by NEWTON CORNER ORIENTAL RUG CORPORATION, for the purposes of partaking in a Termination Sale. ((text of General Laws Part I Title XV Chapter 93 Section 28A)) “
In order respond to us, the city clerk requested from the Newton Corner Oriental Rug a inventory list, and provided us the list provided to them on December 23rd, proving that Newton Corner Oriental Rug DID NOT adhere to State Laws on Termination Sales, filing with the city prior to the beginning to their sale.
The original post, below, written 4 weeks ago, will indicate numerous violations of Mass General Law. This is a consumer protection issue and this is an unfair competition issue.
WE ARE ASKING THE CITY TO ENFORCE THE LAW OF THE STATE, AND SUSPEND THIS STORE’S BUSINESS LICENSE FOR 2020.
Additional pages can be furnished if requested
ORIGINAL POST SEPT 9, 2019:
The closing of a business affects owners, employees, customers and the public. Owners must unload inventory, equipment and other property, while employees hunt for new jobs and their communities plan for the increased need for unemployment assistance and new businesses to replace the closing one. Discounts from going-out-of-business sales may lure shoppers eager for bargains. These considerations drive government regulations on the closing of businesses. The rules exist to prevent deception of consumers, help displaced workers and their communities prepare to find new employment opportunities, and provide a means for businesses to settle their affairs with debtors and the government.
This isn’t Times Square & the Theater District where electronics stores with shredded newspaper on the floor are perpetually “going out of business” and preying on tourists who want to have a non-refundable memory of scoring a deal in the Big Apple; This is Framingham. After we posted the long list of businesses that chose not to or who forgot to file their business license renewal papers on time, a user mentioned Newton Corner Oriental Rugs and the fact that they have been going out of business for years.
In order to host a termination sale (legalese for a going out of business sale), steps must be taken and laws need to be adhered to as these types of sales are big money-makers. First off, there is a requirement that the business needs to file with the city clerk’s office documentation. We have submitted a FOIA request to the Clerk’s office to verify adherence to the MGL below.
If this has been satisfied by a filing with the clerk, we now look back at the rules on conducting a termination sale below. Excerpt from Mass General Laws >> Part I >> Title XV >> Chapter 93 >> Section 28A – You don’t have to read this now, but may want to make note that you can’t just have a going out of business sale without following the law and sending documentation to the city clerk.
(2) No person shall conduct a removal or termination sale in any city or town at any place, without having first paid the fee provided by clause (69) of section thirty-four of chapter two hundred and sixty-two and filed with the clerk of any such city or town with a copy thereof to the attorney general at least three days prior to the opening of such sale the following:—
(a) A complete and detailed inventory, signed by the owner under the penalties of perjury, which inventory shall include:
(i) A list of all items to be included in such sale which shall consist of only the goods, wares and merchandise actually in the place of business wherein or whereat such sale is to be conducted, at the opening of such sale, describing same by name or kind and the quantity of each thereof, and
(ii) Whether or not previously listed, a listing separately in the same manner of any goods, wares and merchandise to be included in such sale which had been purchased during a sixty day period immediately prior to the filing of the inventory, and
(b) A good and sufficient bond, payable to the city or town, in the penal sum of one thousand dollars, with sureties approved by the mayor or selectmen or by a justice of the district court in whose judicial district is situated the city, town or ward in which such sale is to be conducted, conditioned upon compliance with this section. Every bond given in connection with any such sale shall be kept by the clerk of the city or town until the expiration of three years from the final date of such sale as filed as aforesaid, and shall then be surrendered to the principal if he has so requested, otherwise to one of the sureties; provided, however, that if at the expiration of said three years such clerk has reason to believe a pending action relates to such bond, he shall retain such bond until final disposition of such action.
(3) No person shall advertise a removal or termination sale unless such sale is for the purpose designated in the advertising of such sale.
(4) No person, in the course of a removal or termination sale, shall offer any goods, wares, or merchandise purchased on consignment or not in the usual course of business for resale on bona fide orders without cancellation privileges, nor shall such stock of goods include any items purchased for the purpose of selling same at such sale or any items not listed in the inventory for such sale. Any unusual addition to the stock made within sixty days prior to the filing of the inventory shall be prima facie evidence that such addition was made in contemplation of such sale and for the purpose of selling same at such sale.
(5) No person shall conduct a removal or termination sale if the owner, or partnership or corporation with which he is associated in such business, has conducted a removal sale at the same location within two years prior to the date of the subsequent sale or has conducted a termination sale at the same location or elsewhere in the commonwealth within two years prior to the date of the subsequent sale.
(6) No person shall conduct a removal sale if any means have been established by the owner for continuation of the business at the same location at the conclusion of such sale.
(7) No person shall conduct a termination sale if any means have been established by the owner for continuation of the business by the same owner, directly or indirectly, by partnership, corporation or otherwise under the same name or under a different name, at the same location, or elsewhere within the commonwealth.
(8) No person shall conduct a removal or termination sale for a period of more than sixty days from the opening of such sale.
(9) No person shall advertise a removal or termination sale without prominently stating the final date of said sale and that the sale includes no goods other than those listed in the inventory as required by this section, and all such advertising shall be confined to or refer only to the address and place of business specified in the inventory which is to be discontinued.
(10) No person shall make a sale of any of the goods, wares and merchandise previously offered in the course of a removal or termination sale except in bulk to a new owner.
(11) Every inventory and all other records required by this section to be filed with the city or town clerk and the attorney general shall be a public record as provided in clause Twenty-sixth of section seven of chapter four.
We know based on TV ads, mailers, and merely by driving by that Newton Corner Oriental Rug is presently going out of business per the big yellow “Going out of Business” Sign over the front door.
However we know that they were also going “Out of Business” back in April per their Facebook posting above. We also know that in October a customer posted the announcement below of the “Imminent Closing” sale.
So we know that this store has actively advertised their going out of business sale in April, October, and are doing so currently as seen below, though per Jennifer, they really mean it this time, and if she is correct, they will now be shuttered forever…
Lets take a look at the Mass General Laws and determine how flagrant this business is violating them. Above, see “Excerpt from Mass General Laws >> Part I >> Title XV >> Chapter 93 >> Section 28A”, and starting with blue highlighting.
A termination sale cannot last for more than 60 days from the time it started. In this case, it has, and even if each sale only lasted for 60 days, we will move along to the pink highlighting. No termination sale can occur in the same store more than one time in under two years. If these were separate sales in April, October, and December, that would be three separate sales in under a year. In the green text, laws indicate that all termination sales need a finite end date advertised, in this case, there is no end date.
To ensure that the business has no interest in making sales after the new year, we filed a FOIA request to the licensing board to request the application for renewal for business licensure for 2020.
We get it, having a “going out of business” sale is great for the wallet. You sell more, faster, and those just passing through who see the closing signs are none the wiser after dropping a few hundred bucks. If you have no intention on closing, you are doing any local direct or indirect competition a disservice by employing an unfair advantage, people believing they are getting a deal. The jig is up, if you can’t sell high quality rugs without desperate measures, its time to find a new business model. End the ending of this never-ending story now.