The Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection is launching an investigation after receiving five complaints as of Thursday afternoon related to last week’s abrupt closure of The Bethesda Water Store.
The complaints come after some former customers of the store said they bought prepaid cards for gallons of water from the water purification business that they no longer can redeem now that the business has closed.
Eric Friedman, the office’s director, said Thursday an investigation is underway to determine if the consumers who hold those cards can be compensated.
“We need a little bit more time to figure out what’s going on,” Friedman said. “Then we’re going to do everything we can to hopefully make consumers whole.”
He encouraged former customers to file a complaint with the consumer protection office if they prepaid the business for water they never received.
However, he cautioned that if the business went bankrupt and the former owner has no money, customers may be out of luck.
“You can’t squeeze water from a rock,” Friedman said.
He added that it’s not uncommon for a business to close without notifying customers that may have items at the business, such as a dry cleaner, or outstanding credit.
Bethesda Beat was unable to determine the owner of the business and Friedman said investigators are looking for information about the owner now. The store closed at the end of August. After the closure the owners of nearby Pescadeli revealed plans to open a new cheese and charcuterie shop at the Bethesda Avenue storefront.
