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Amanda Butterfield reporting A new book store has opened near the University of Utah campus that will have to work to earn the trust of some students there. It's a store that buys used text books for cash.
Bucks-4-Books is open for business. So what happened to Beat the Bookstore, the store that was previously at the same location? It gave students credit for their books.
We've learned the Utah Division of Consumer Protection is after the owner of the former store and that the corporate headquarters is defunct.
For six months we've been keeping track of how much money Beat the Bookstore near the University of Utah campus owes students.
Former student Samantha Panos said, "I'm waiting for $67."
Sydney Stoner said, "I should be getting $81 back."
And student Christina Bartlett said, "I'm really disappointed."
The franchise owner, Zachary Neipp, is the one who owes these students and dozens of others, a lot of money. And now the Utah Division of Consumer Protection is after Neipp, fining him $10,000 for allegedly ripping off customers. But he's disappeared.
In January we reported the CEO of Beat the Bookstore, David Monk, was leaving. We were told it was for personal reasons. Today we've learned that corporate has shut down.
Jane Driggs, with the Better Business Bureau, said, "We have mail that is undeliverable, phone numbers that are disconnected. We have no way of reaching the company."
Even with corporate gone, not all Beat the Bookstores are defunct. We called one store in California. It's still open but plans to change its name. The store serving Weber State University students is still open. A manager there told us a local company, UCentive, will be running this store. Bucks-4-Books will be taking over the store near the University of Utah campus and one in Provo.
But for those students owed money by Neipp, Driggs says, "No, customers aren't going to get their money back."
We tracked down Sydney Stoner, the student who tipped us off last fall about Beat the Bookstore's questionable business dealings. When we told her today she is not going to get her $81 back, she said, "Dude, I thought you were going to have good news for me."
I talked to the manager of Bucks-4-Books. He says it never gives credit for books, only cash. That's why so many students were left empty-handed with Beat the Bookstore.
E-mail: abutterfield@ksl.com
