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According to Fred Bramante, you need to contact them at the Manchester location it looks like.
I would do so by phone with a copy in writing to preserve any claims and rights you have to your amp as an unsecured creditor at this point. I would also send that claim certified, receipt requested. That way, you have a paper trail. Also be sure to keep any paperwork you received on your repair such as a receipt.
If he files for Chapter 11 reorganization or Chapter 7 liquidation, you want to have the claim on file and documented with the Court Trustee and this paperwork helps you document your claim. A sales receipt for the amp showing where you bought it and the serial number would be very good to have as well. If he has a secured creditor, such as a bank, they can sell any of his assets to cover any money he owes. If you can prove you own the amp, you get it excluded from his assets.
This ain't gonna happen overnight.
If Fred hasn't filed, and says 'Come get it,' then get in your car and go get it. Now.
Fred doesn't sound like a bad guy. I am sure you aren't the only one whose stuff is in for repair. You need to be sure he knows what is yours as that info may not be readlily available to him. Sounds like he has a bunch of issues to deal with though.
Good luck.
Edit: Just saw Pablomigraines post up there. Note the possible 3rd party liquidation. All the more reason to document your claim to the goods. A third party can't liquidate something they can't legally claim as an asset in their favor. However, the fact that it is sitting in Daddy's warehouse will allow them to presume ownership unless there is a claim to the contrary. Usually a legal notice is required calling for the claims. Not something you would see in Western MA, so see what info you can dig up on it.
Third party liquidation is usually farmed out by the Trustee or Receiver who is an agent of the local court. If his bank forced him into liquidation, there will be a Receiver involved.
If there is not a bankruptcy yet, there can't be a forced liquidation. Fred can voluntarily liquidate and pay any notes and settle without bankruptcy proceedings if his bank agrees. Another reason to DOCUMENT YOUR CLAIM.
I am a reporter at a business newspaper and have covered a lot of bankruptcies, and I have to second this poster's advice.
A company can very easily be forced into default when times are tough -- oftentimes, agreements with its lenders have certain cash-flow covenants that govern when the lender can "call in" a loan. If the loan can't be immediately repaid, the lender has the right to foreclose on any real property that has been pledged as collateral.
Now, the plain English translation. You have to understand that businesses largely run on credit in our economy. Daddy's would take out a line of credit from a bank to buy a whole bunch of guitars. The hope is that, by charging about 30 percent above the cost of those guitars, Daddy's can pay rent, pay its people, pay back the credit and interest used to buy the guitars, and then have a little left over (i.e., profit).
Typically, if you take out a line of credit to buy inventory, the inventory is used as collateral -- that is, the lender gives you money to buy the guitars, but if you mess up and don't pay the lender back, he can seize the guitars.
Often the lending agreements will say that Daddy's has to have a certain amount of free cash flow on hand. It's kind of the lender's way of taking the temperature of its borrower. If Daddy's is busted on its last dime, there's a good chance it can't meet its loan payments.
So, imagine this: You use a credit card to buy a guitar. The credit card firm says, hey, we'll loan you money, but the guitar is our collateral. If your checking account balance falls below the minimum monthly payment of the credit card, the credit company has the right to demand that you pay back the entire balance immediately -- or else it can seize the guitar.
I suspect that's what happened here. Daddy's was on the bring, and it only took a week or two of bad sales to trip the trigger. The lender's patience ran out, and they foreclosed.
The said thing is that now you are not dealing with the folks at Daddy's. You're dealing with soulless money people. They technically own all that inventory now and all they care about is getting their money back. They have ZERO incentive to please any of Daddy's former customers.
In these situations there's even the possibility that the lenders will change the locks on all the stores and bar the Daddy's people from entering. If you know someone at the shop, get everything in writing and get it AS SOON AS YOU CAN. The Daddy's people probably did their best to save the company, but you may soon be dealing with their soulless lenders rather than the people who tried to serve musicians for years.
