ANGRY customers, including one single mother who paid $700 cash for a dishwasher she is yet to receive, have been left without their electrical goods or answers after the sudden closure of Wodonga’s Warehouse Sales store.

The Border franchise, which is part of a Victoria-wide chain, has gone into external administration under the direction of financial services company KPMG.

Last night, operator and shareholder of the Wodonga store, Anthony Cowan, issued a statement in which he said he was overseas on a holiday with his family and had been “completely unaware” of the circumstances leading to the unexpected closure of his store.

“The action, initiated from Warehouse Sales’ head office, came as an unexpected and startling revelation,” he said.

Mr Cowan said he was concerned not only for his staff at the Wodonga store but also for those customers who may have been affected.

Some of those customers were yesterday complaining they had bought goods at the weekend, only to discover they would not be delivered after the store’s closure on Tuesday morning.

Wodonga single mother Danielle McKay paid for her dishwasher on Sunday and visited the store yesterday to get her appliance.

“I have paid for that dishwasher in full but they won’t let me have it,” she said.

“Because it has not left the premises they said it was not mine.”

Ms McKay said she had been attempting to contact administrators at KPMG but had not received a response.

“I want them to explain what the hell is going on instead of avoiding people,” she said.

Chiltern couple Glenda and Ian Charlton spent $1600 on a new fridge on Saturday.

Mrs Charlton organised the fridge to be delivered on Tuesday and said she waited at her home but it had never arrived.

“It got to four o’clock and I still hadn’t heard from them and I tried to ring a dozen times,” she said.

“Nobody was answering so my son went down to the store and that’s when we found out what had happened.”

Corryong resident Rob Wild said he also had trouble reaching the company.

“I bought a gas hot water system and they were supposed to call me but I never heard from them,” he said.

“I’m pretty disappointed — they could at least answer the phone.”

“I think this will become a long, drawn out battle to try and get results from them.”

EDITORIAL:  Store should do right thing

KPMG partner and co-administrator of Warehouse Sales, Damian Templeton, said the chain’s situation was grim.

“Given the position of the business at this time we will cease trading and conduct urgent research on where the business is headed,” he said.

“At this stage it is likely it will not reopen.”

Mr Templeton said the 70 employees across the state would lose their jobs but it was too early to say whether they would receive any entitlements.

He said he expected it would take up to several months before KPMG had answers as to what process would be followed.

Mr Templeton said it was still unclear what might be offered to customers.

“One of the issues we are dealing with is whether people will receive their goods or a refund, but that is something we are still working through,” he said.