Bliss Soaps in Seattle is owned by a guy whose family has been making soaps for three generations. The four-year-old business recently had to shut its doors — allegedly over a bank error that froze its accounts during the holiday season. Now there is a goodbye sign on the door and a possible lawsuit pending against Chase.

From the Seattle Times:

Chase has formally acknowledged that it made a mistake with the store’s account, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a banking regulator, also found Chase had committed an error. “Recently the Bliss Soaps accounts at JPMorgan Chase bank were inadvertently restricted by the bank,” Phil Stark, the bank’s financial-center manager, wrote in a letter for Bliss Soaps to distribute to upset customers. “These accounts were blocked by mistake.”

A spokesperson for Chase declined to comment, saying a lawsuit is pending. Al Donohue, the attorney for Bliss, said he has not yet filed a lawsuit, though he plans to.

The error apparently came at the worst possible time for the business, preventing them from buying enough raw materials to make soap for the Christmas rush. Consequently, they sold out of the stock they had and then had nothing more to sell.

Those few weeks account for 35-50 percent of the store’s income, the owner said.

Bliss Soaps on Capitol Hill closes its doors [Seattle Times] (Thanks, James!)

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