Textbook store closes; students with credits may get help

A local franchise of a popular college textbook re-saler closed its doors without notice, leaving many customers, along with their in-store credit, hanging.

National franchise owners of Beat the Bookstore, whose University of Utah location closed unexpectedly sometime in late October, were unaware the store would be closing and are taking legal action to obtain customer lists and financial information.

"We only recently learned of this matter ourselves," said David Monk, Beat the Bookstore president. "It is common for a store to close for a period of time during the off-season to conduct physical inventory, and in the beginning we were informed that this was the case."

The store did close temporarily for inventory, but Monk said it did not reopen its doors in the time stated on a sign in the door. Later, the corporate office learned the store's phone had been disconnected.

It is unknown how many customers are affected by the store closing its doors, but Monk said the number was "significant." Financial information is stored electronically and will likely be accessed sometime next week.

Word of the store closing hadn't yet reached the University of Utah Bookstore Friday, but associate director Shane Girton said it was definitely odd.

"It's still a very busy time of year," he said. Beat the Bookstore's presence made a small impact on the campus bookstore's business when it opened, but Girton said it improved the way books are sold in the campus store.

"It made us re-look at our business and find ways to be more competitive," he said.

Students who have outstanding credit with Beat the Bookstore are entitled to their money, and Monk said the company is doing everything possible to preserve the integrity of its name.

"We're working for a fair resolution for our customers," he said. He's been in contact with the franchisee and at last word, there was mention of an issue with an employee and the store's cash account. Details of any incidents were not released and an investigation, including possible legal action, is ongoing.

"Our intent is to make every effort to make sure that no customer loses money related to their in-store credit," Monk said. "We are working to reopen this store as soon as possible and that should resolve many of these problems."