Kickstarter, Inc.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
The creator presented their product through Kickstarter. The creator (*** ***) of World of Simple Designs has left the company without issuing a refund or delivering the product. According to the terms, a refund or delivery of the product MUST occur. Neither of these have happened. The last update that I received about this product was in January of which said the product would be delivered in the first quarter of 2014. It was not and since *** *** has left his endeavor; getting in touch with this company has been impossible. They've run off with the money and haven't delivered a product. Clearly, this creator has violated ALL of Kickstarter's terms yet the backers are left with nothing. It is clearly Kickstarters responsibility to follow through with companies to be sure they are holding up their end of the bargain. None of this has been done. A year and a half ago, I paid $for this and have yet to receive it OR be issued a refund. This complaint has clearly NOT been resolved
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
[This is the same canned "refer to our website" response they provided beforeIt is unsatisfactory and does not resolve the dispute.My resolution is for Kickstarter to remove my project and discontinue unauthorized use of my logo and other company images from their website. My logo and company name are trademarked. Kickstarter is not authorized to use them indefinitely, nor for any purpose they wish. Kickstarter is acting with blatant impunity, retaining my suspended project on their website with innuendo generating comments of “violations of integrity” for anyone to seeThis is libelous. Yet they offer no explanation and will not specifically respond to you or meWho do these guys think they are?]
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
[Your Answer Here]
kickstarter is not following its owns rules...creators not held accountable and can have backers accounts locked for daring to question the creator over misleading actions, fraud, lies, etc my account was locked because I kept asking for the creator to respond to legitimate concerns...yet, he would not and said he would not...wanted happy comments only plus he gave me a veiled threat to ship my tstands first...in other words either broken or not at all I still have no tstands..others are complaining again on the sitebut ks sits back and does nothing, ks got its money..so move on backers great business model..no responsibility
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
[Your Answer Here]
The video is clearly advertising of a product that kickstarter promoted
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***

Hi there,We hate more than anything when a project doesn't come to fruitionAllowing creators to take risks and attempt to bring something new to life is the backbone of what we doHowever, we also understand that there is an inherent level of risk in any creation
process.Kickstarter is built around minimizing that risk through all-or-nothing funding, which allows the collective voice of the people to decide which projects reach their goalOn our end, we review projects, uphold [our rules](***), practice careful governance, and use anti-fraud filteringThe foundation of the entire system, however, is the collective wisdom of the people who back projects.Still, despite a creator's best efforts, some projects won't always come together as plannedIn these situations we make ourselves available to creators to help however we can, and we encourage them, as we have in the case of this project, to be as open as possible with their backers about the obstacles they faceBut no matter our efforts, projects will sometimes fail to come together as planned and backers will sometimes be disappointed in outcomesWe strive to constantly learn from this, and to make sure that expectations are appropriately set for backers (like on our [Trust & Safety page](***))Ultimately, however, the outcome of a project is the responsibility of its creator, as our terms of use state: "The creator is solely responsible for fulfilling the promises made in their projectIf they’re unable to satisfy the terms of this agreement, they may be subject to legal action by backers."Best,Kickstarter

I would highly recommend that people steer clear of Kickstarter and similar websites When a project reaches it's fundraising goal, the credit cards of those who pledge are charged, with some of the money going to the project creators and Kickstarter taking it's own cut Then, if project creators go missing in action and/or don't deliver as promised, even for reasons entirely within their control, and even if they promise something in writing during fundraising that they later say, also in writing, that they never planned to deliver, and don't deliver, the Kickstarter website takes no action against them
When you complain to Kickstarter, they direct you to complain to the people who are doing the project, even if you've spent months doing that Most emails get answered with form letters referring you that way When you get to the top of the heap they sometimes say they will also try contacting the project creators themselves, but that is as far as they go
Ultimately, they simply imply that if the project creators are operating in bad faith or up to something that may be fraudulent, once the money is paid, Kickstarter washes it's hands of the whole thing, and your only option after talking with the project people doesn't work, is to sue
Keep in mind here that Kickstarter gets a cut of the money from every project that's successfully funded, which they don't give back, and that the reason that people fund projects on Kickstarter versus handing people $bills or mailing them checks is that they are relying on the Kickstarter name and the Kickstarter reputation to protect their investment But Kickstarter does not protect your investment
Since most people aren't going to actually hire a lawyer and sue project creators, and that is really the only option Kickstarter leaves you when things go wrong apart from you simply doing nothing and writing off your investment, investing with Kickstarter is about as safe as buying a watch from a guy in a trench coat in a back alley Actually, in the case of the guy in the alley, he probably will hand you a watch of some kind for your cash (It is just probably not a genuinely Rolex or whatever and actually a cheap knockoff that has problems with it) With Kickstarter, you can be left completely empty handed
If we had decent consumer protection laws in this country, this sort of thing would be illegal Kickstarter should have a legal obligation to protect people's money, but apparently do not have one (Or at least they have not been successfully sued), which means what they fail to do protection wise may be legal, but is not ethical, and does not make it a sound place to give your money
Can an individual Kickstarter campaign with the right project creators turn out well? I'm sure it's possible, although I've never personally been part of that campaign But if the project creators go rouge, Kickstarter will not protect you- something I *do* have personal experience with having had happen to me
And don't be so sure the fact that one of your favorite musicians, inventors, game creators, authors, or whatever with a long track record being behind the Kickstarter means they will come through The problems I experienced were with two musicians who've been in the music industry for something like or years each with songs that have been radio hits and best selling albums and so on and so forth Take them out of the system of having a label baring down on them with lawyers, and take the middle man of a retailer who will not sell to you until the product is in hand and who may refund your money even if they don't get a refund from the people selling a defective product in the interests of being able to keep a good reputation and sell you more products in the future, and suddenly formerly somewhat reliable people are not reliable in many cases
Also, when you have somewhat famous people with cult followings, a certain percentage of people will just sit there and make excuses for them until the end of time because they are "big fans" I've seen people say about one project that they'd still be happy even if they were just paying for the musicians to take a vacation and got none of what they were promised for pledging I don't fall into that category- I expect that when I pay for something that the people I am paying will do everything, and I mean everything, possible to deliver on what they promise But not everyone does
Never again

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
You didn't even take the time to respond to my complaintThe answer you posted was copied from your terms of service as well as your business planI'm not saying you have responsibility for the entire projectInstead I'm concerned that you continue to host a project which is a scamYou took 5% of all funds collected by the project ***, yet you will not keep after the *** *** to complete the projectYou write in your terms of service that ***s are responsible to deliver me the product I ordered or a refund, yet you have absolutely no consequences for failure to do soYou recently achieved a billion dollar milestone for projects hosted on your websiteWhile you didn't collect billion dollars, you did collect 5% of that moneyWhen projects do not deliver and you continue to host these projects, these scam artists will continue to prey on your member communityYou occasionally update your terms of service to help protect yourself from liability, but not that of your backing membersWe don't have a voice, and it's about time we start to get one
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
I reject this business response since they are continuing to host a project which is a financial scamI have contacted the Attorney General of Vermont in regards to the situationKickstarter continues to say it's solely up to the project ***, in this case *** ***, but I still feel they are responsible for their 5% cutBy not refunding that amount or removing the project from their website, they continue to side with a known scamAt the very minimum they should step in and post a message on behalf of the staff in the comments section that restates their position, terms of service, as well as actually responding to complaints sent to their support staffThey have a F rating on Revdex.com because they are NOT responding to users submitting complaintsIgnoring our submissions does not serve as a proper answerIt's time to stop ignoring scam projects and start standing up for the community who got you to where you are today
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***

Hi there,
Our Terms of Use outline the steps a backer can take in the event that the creator cannot fulfill rewards
Our Terms of Use can be found here: ***
Best,
Kickstarter

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved
Sincerely, *** ***

Revdex.com:
thank you for respond me back and I am dissatisfied with Peeblebee: stone and how we CAN slove problem? PeebleBee: Stone had problem inside device like slow respond. why I should accept? why you cant prove to refund? did you notice that many people were complain about thatwhy you not care of client's sataisfed with produce?
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved
Sincerely,
*** ***

Hi there,We're sorry to hear that backing this project has become such a frustrating experienceWe expect creators to fulfill rewards, offer refunds if they’re unable to complete their project, and communicate with backers at every step along the wayWhile Kickstarter is the platform
for this agreement, we are not a part of itWe do not investigate a project creator’s ability to complete their project, nor do we facilitate refunds or the fulfillment of rewards.While in most cases you’ll find that rewards are delivered as promised, it’s also important to realize that some projects might not fulfill as plannedWhen you back a project on Kickstarter you enter into an agreement with the project creator, as described in our Terms of Use: *** . We do our best to keep backers aware of the risk involved when backing a project, even linking to more information about this in pledge pages, but we do recognize there is still more work to be done, and we will be sure to pass your feedback about this along to the rest of the team here. Our Terms of Use outline the responsibilities of backers and creatorsThis information can serve as a basis for legal recourse if a creator doesn’t fulfill their obligations under the agreementWe hope that backers will consider using this provision only in cases where they feel that a creator has not made a good faith effort to complete the project and fulfill. Best,Kickstarter

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
[Your Answer Here]
This is an automated Macro response from the business and a little useless regarding this caseI do understand the concept of the webpage and its policy, however the following I must remark and question:
The money was collected by the business itself and not by the project creatorIf that is not the case, please let me knowIf this is the case, then your part of the contract is overdueIf number is not true, then I assume the actual business relationship is between the project creator and KickstarterIs there no policy to prevent the misuse of the service, in other words that the project creator is obligated to fulfill the founders/sponsors rewardIf there is no such thing then please let me know
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***

Hello,
We're sorry to hear about this user's negative experience with this specific creatorKickstarter is a platform where one party, the Creator, runs a campaign to raise money from other parties, the Backers, to fund a creative projectThe filmmakers, musicians,
artists, and designers on Kickstarter have complete control over and responsibility for their projectsKickstarter is a
platform and a resourceKickstarter is not involved in the development of the projects themselves.
When users back a project, they enter into an agreement with the project creator, as described in our terms of useThough we encourage backers to make every attempt to resolve issues directly with creators, they have the right to seek legal recourse against a Creator who does not fill their obligations on the basis of that agreementKickstarter is not a party to that agreement between the Backer and Project CreatorAll dealings are solely between users
We hope this answer helps
Regards,
Kickstarter

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
Kickstarter is responsible for all projects Have you accepted money from the project and profited from non delivered items? You have taken money from other backers and myself There has been no service, nor product provided, your site has numerous complaints of fraud against *** *** and Kickstarter has not properly dealt with the issues of Backers
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***

Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out and bringing this to our attentionWe're sorry to hear that backing the Kapture project has been an underwhelming experience, and that you’re dissatisfied with the backer reward you received.Kickstarter does its best to maintain an ecosystem that
gives project creators the support and freedom necessary to bring their creative ideas to lifeThis often means that when projects launch on Kickstarter they’re still in the early stages of developmentThis gives backers an opportunity to be a part of the creative process from the beginningIt also makes backing a project on Kickstarter very different from purchasing an item in a store. We expect that creators will make every effort to complete the project as promisedWe apologize that in this case, the finished product was ultimately different than what the creator originally presented or what you expected to receive.As a backer of the project, you played an important role in its developmentIn cases like these, we encourage backers to contact a creator directly with input regarding the reward receivedWhile Kickstarter is the platform for the agreement made between a backer and a creator (as per our Terms of Use), we are not a part of itEach project is the responsibility of its creator, and it is ultimately it is up to a creator to determine whether or how to approach refunds and complaints about their productAgain, as per our Terms of Use, while we do reach out to creators and encourage them to follow up with backers, as we have in this case, Kickstarter cannot force a creator to issue refunds, respond to messages, or ship replacement rewardsIf there are issues with refunds or rewards, it's up to a creator and a backer to come to a resolution on their ownThank you for your understandingBest,
***

Hello,
Kickstarter is a platform where one party, the Creator, runs a campaign to raise money from other parties, the Backers, to fund a creative projectWe’re a home for everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology
The filmmakers, musicians,
artists, and designers on Kickstarter have complete control over and responsibility for their projects. Kickstarter is not involved in the development or execution of the projects themselvesThe contract created when someone backs a project is between the Backer and Project Creator; Kickstarter is not a party to the agreement, and all dealings are solely between the users
Regards,
Kickstarter

Hi there,
Kickstarter is a platform where creators come to launch new ideas, with the support of backersCreators on Kickstarter have a remarkable track record, but there are no guarantees that a project will work outIf a creator can't complete a project as promised, their contract with
backers requires them to bring the project to the best possible conclusion, as detailed in our Terms of Use (***).Best,
Kickstarter

*** in now way cares about the consumer they only care about a campaign reaching its goal and collecting their cutAfter the campaign closes, per the guidelines posted on their site they do not care what happens to the consumerThey are providing a medium for smart people to collect money without actually fulfilling any expectationsWhere else can you be months behind a on delivery and the website which you paid your money though just responds with "I will try to reach them" or They should refund though we are not going to do anything about it because we already received our money
I've lost hundreds of dollars from trusting kickstarter while they keep the percentage they received from me
Here is just one of eleven examples I have of kickstarter offering no help at all:
Gary (Kickstarter)
Nov **, 12:PM
** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** ** *** *** ** ** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** ** *** *** *** ** *** *** ** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** * *** *** *** *** ** *** *** * *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** ** ** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** ** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** * *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** * *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Nov **, 7:AM
This creator has made no effort to update its supports and there is no evidence that they will be honoring their obligation
I tried to personal contact well over a month back asking for a refund with no response
Please help,
*** *

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
Kickstarter did not respond to the fact that they benefited financially from this transaction Kickstarter earned $4,from this failed project and has done nothing to ensure that the project creator is held responsible Kickstarter's financial gain gives them a responsibility to see through the completion of the project
Kickstarter failed to address any of the concerns addressed in my complaint and instead copied and pasted the exact same reply that attempts to remove any responsibility from their agency If Kickstarter did not benefit from this, I would agree, however, they were paid, just like the project creator.
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***