Zaycon customers say company closed without reimbursing them

Dozens of customers from around the country have complained that Zaycon, a Spokane Valley meat delivery company, took orders in the months leading up to the company’s unexpected closure and gave them no indication how to get a refund for their hundreds of dollars in purchases.

Zaycon, which required customers to order a minimum of 40 pounds of meat, which they would pick up at community drop-off locations, notified customers that their orders were canceled and the company was suspending operations Monday. Zaycon replaced its website with a notice that said the company had put forth “monumental efforts to endure recent challenges,” but that it could not continue business operations. The company also removed its Facebook page and disconnected its phone line.

Zaycon is based in Spokane Valley, but delivers main course meats all over the continental United States. One customer, Barbara Como of Shawnee, Kansas, said she is a retiree on a fixed income and can’t afford to lose her $300 order. She said she originally purchased meat in March and her order was canceled several times. After her orders were delayed and canceled, she said a Zaycon representative told her she could purchase more chicken at a discounted price, which she has also not received.

“I’m retired,” she said. “I cannot afford to lose this money.”

Theresa Weddell of Mukilteo, Washington, said she’s been a customer since Zaycon began eight years ago. She said she has a large family and has always loved the quality of the company’s chicken and orders it regularly. She added that she has waited all month to pick up a $136 order of poultry and has heard nothing from the company.

Diane Duttymore of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, said as soon as she heard that Zaycon was suspending operations, she asked her husband to call their credit card company to refund their $160 order.

Zaycon did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but an employee at the company’s office, who declined to give her name because workers are not authorized to speak about the closure, recommended customers get in touch with their bank or credit card company and ask for their money back.