Kickstarter, Inc.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

 BAUBAX are non responsive through email and the kickstarter site. They only respond on Revdex.com and they didn't tell me if they return the money to you but said I have to go through you. They said they got the jackets back in the waregouse. How does this go, Did they return the funds to you? [redacted] one gave me a provisional credit for the time being but said they can charge it back if you guys don't respond. And baubax keep saying because I got charged through kickstarter that I have to contact kickstarter what kind of fraud is this or is this company try to steal money from people through your site if they returned the 264 to you please respond to [redacted] one so they can close my dispute and fix my credit report
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]
 The answer is incorrect. I have NOT received a refund. The person has stated that he will not refund my money until the book ships. Since there is no guarantee that the book will ship, there is also no guarantee that I will get my refund. And that does NOT solve the issue of the inflammatory comments from him or incited by him. I have multiple graphics showing where he has attacked me and where he has refused a refund. I have brought this up to Kickstarter and they simply say "Oh we will ask him". Time frames are set so that banks will not allow charge backs, processing companies will not handle refunds and Kickstarter "customer service" only helps the people who are actually making them money...the people who put the projects up on the website and the projects that are funded, the projects that they get a percentage of the money from. They do nothing to actually help the person who spends the money. 
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,[redacted]

Hi there,Hi there,Sorry to hear that this backer has not yet received their reward. Section 4 of our Terms of Use specifically provide more information regarding the relationship between backers, creators, and the Kickstarter platform:"Kickstarter provides a funding platform...

for creative projects. When a creator posts a project on Kickstarter, they’re inviting other people to form a contract with them. Anyone who backs a project is accepting the creator’s offer, and forming that contract.Kickstarter is not a part of this contract — the contract is a direct legal agreement between creators and their backers. Here are the terms that govern that agreement:"[redacted]We do our best to maintain an ecosystem that gives project creators the support and freedom necessary to bring their creative ideas to life. This often means that when projects launch on Kickstarter they’re still in the early stages of development. We expect that creators will make every effort to complete the project as promised, but we are sorry to hear the finished product was ultimately different than what the creator originally presented.If the backer would like a refund, they will need to reach out to the creator directly. Kickstarter does not issue refunds on behalf of a creator.Best,Kickstarter

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

They charged my credit card on 8/**/2014 for $200.  They have taken my money and I have received nothing but their promise, per the emails you mentioned, that I would receive my order first before they began fulfilling non-backer orders.  This is not the case.  I want my order fulfilled immediately and as originally promised. Otherwise I want my money back, PLUS interest over the past 16 months they have kept it.  
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Hi there,
Sorry to hear that you've had a frustrating experience on Kickstarter. That said, despite any setbacks that a creator might encounter while fulfilling their project's rewards, we do ask that all users on our site adhere to our Community Guidelines when trying to come to a...

resolution: [redacted]Please keep our Community Guidelines in mind going forward. For more information on backing a project on Kickstarter, see our Trust page: [redacted]
Best,
Kickstarter Support

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

 l
 This was changed in Kickstarter by Kickstarter (pledge level).  I went to the company I backed and got told to be patient.  I didn't know companies had access to Kickstarters data and could change pledge levels ????
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

This is not acceptable
 
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Thanks for reaching out and for taking the time to send along your feedback. At Kickstarter we are constantly working to improve the experience for both our backers and project creators. We take your input seriously, and we hope to leverage your feedback as we continue to develop the policies and procedures of our platform. Thank you for being a thoughtful member of the Kickstarter community.

Hi there,
Our Editorial team looks through all projects on the site. We have a whole team of people in our office with backgrounds in all sorts of creative fields. When we spot projects we think are really exceptional, we try to let the world know about them. 
Best,
Kickstarter

Hi there,
We're always looking for ways that we can improve. If you have any feedback or suggestions to how we could improve the Kickstarter ecosystem, please don't hesitate to contact us at [redacted]
For more information on Fulfillment on Kickstarter, see this link: [redacted]
Best,
Kickstarter

Revdex.com:
At this time, I have not been contacted by Kickstarter, Inc. regarding complaint ID [redacted].
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]
 Kickstarter does not follow its own posted rules and guidelines regarding the accountability of the "creators".  Kickstarter is very quick in responding if it regards to them getting funds, otherwise you have to continue to email them or file a complaint with Revdex.com to get a response.  kickstarter ignores fraudulent behavior of the creators as in this case bait and switch shipping...we paid and expected fedex 3 day shipping and now we are getting usps...longer wait time for a tstand that was promised to be delivered in time for christmas 2015 (a selling point for us looking for gift ideas)but cheaper for the creator who is no doubt pocketing a profit off the shipping charges.  
yet, kickstarter does not care about what happens after they get their "fee",  ks says it incubates products but seems to forget the backers like me are paying their salaries through the fees paid to host the products.   because of the risk we take as backers, kickstarter should take more responsive action against "creators" that mislead, fail to deliver on time, more excuses, no responses to questions, fraudulent acts.  i know understand why there are federal investigations going on looking at the kickstarter business model...many folks have been scammed and ks says...oh....sorry.  backers need to be warned of the ks methods and the risks involved in giving funds to promote and build ks products.  you have no recourse, no way to complain according to ks...I think it is time that either ks takes some responsibility and make the " creators" be held accountable with actions with the backers (the folks that invest and support this business)  potential backers need to know there is no added benefit in funding these products as in the tstand I invested there is no discounted pricing (same prices are on the tstand website), other promised thank you's are not the website either...so other waiting months, paying upfront for express shipping that I did not get (i still have not gotten my tstands)..I could have waited and bought online at same price...
the other issue I raised with ks was the fact the creator told me he would not respond to my questions, he wanted only positive comments and no drama.  he gave me a veiled threat that he would "ship" my tstands first...my impression is that he either meant as in broken or not all... and ks would be silent if that was the case. I mentioned this to them and no response.  ks also ignore valid complaints and threats.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Hi there,
It looks like the project creator has posted updates regarding the delays that they're experiencing. You can read it here: [redacted]
For further questions, I would...

recommend that you reach out to the creator directly. Go to the project page and click on the creator's name. A pop-up will appear with the option to contact the creator and send them a message.Best,
Kickstarter

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

This response still does not answer or address the complaint.  Kickstarter financially benefited from this transaction.  Since your company received $4,000 from this project, there is a responsibility to assist the backers.  The project creator is not responsive to backers, however Kickstarter has not attempted to help, though they, along with the project creator, have taken money from the backers.  
 
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Review: I ran a campaign on kickstarter, they shut it down with no communication to me whatsoever, they allowed me to be personally harassed and enabled cyber bullying to people who wanted to back my project, they have not responded to any requests from me for information why my campaign was suspended, they provide no phone number to contact them, they have publicly slandered me and my project with false and vague claims, they allowed backers on my campaign page to be stalked in real life and have their personal information posted online. They refuse to respond to any requests for clarification for their actions from me. They leave me with no recourse other than to file this complaint and /or seek legal council.

They have done permanent and irreparable damage to my personal reputation and the reputation of my business, resulting in losses totaling over half a million dollars in sales pledges by my backers.Desired Settlement: I want them to know there are repercussions to treating people the way they have, I want a letter of apology and I want to know in detail why they saw fit to suspend my campaign with no notice or communication whatsoever. This is their final chance to address the issue before I seek legal action for both punitive and compensatory damages. Please alert them.

Business

Response:

This is in response to Case #: [redacted] submitted by [redacted] on 11/**/14. I'm happy to provide a timeline of actions we took on this project, and our attempts to communicate with the creator. We did notify the creator before we took action on his project and included specific issues that concerned us. We sent a message (1) to the email associated with the Kickstarter account 48 hours before we took action, on October **, 2014. After no response, we followed up 24 hours later on October **, 2014. We sent the same message under different subject lines to try to catch the creator's attention. Only after receiving no response again from the creator did we take the action to suspend his project on October **, 2014. When the project was suspended, we sent a final message regarding the action (2). We do not have a record of the creator writing in to Kickstarter for support, as he claims he did. For your reference, a project may be suspended if our Integrity team uncovers evidence that it is in violation of one or more of Kickstarter's rules, including: — Misrepresentation of support, through self-pledging — Misrepresentation or failure to disclose relevant facts about the project or its creator — The creator provides inaccurate or incomplete user information to Kickstarter or one of our partners — The characteristics of the creator account overlap with the characteristics of backer accounts that pledged to their project — A party related to the creator is posing as an independent, supportive party in project comments or elsewhere — The creator is presenting someone else’s work as their own — The creator is offering purchased items, claiming to have made them Additionally, as stated in our Terms of Use, we have the right to reject, cancel, interrupt, remove, or suspend any project at any time and for any reason. Best, Kickstarter (1) Dear [redacted], This is a message from Kickstarter’s Integrity team. We’re writing to notify you that recent activity on your project triggered a review. This review found discrepancies between information presented on your project page and information surfaced elsewhere on the web, as well as in statements that you made in various publications such as Wired. For clarity, please reply to the questions below by tomorrow, October [redacted] at noon eastern time. We hope that you’ll consider this an opportunity to communicate with full transparency, and assure you that we will not publicly release any information with which you respond. Can you please confirm that the Anonabox router is built on a stock circuit board, and was not an open-source hardware design that you developed through several rounds of prototyping? Can you explain your role in designing the hardware and its encasement? Please provide images of the circuit board prototypes and its final iteration. Please share the open-source documentation for the hardware, specifically the repository where these files are available. If you do not comply with this request, or we find that your project violates Our Rules, then your project is at risk of suspension. To review a list of reasons for why a project may be suspended, please visit our Creator FAQ[redacted]. Thank you for your cooperation, Kickstarter Integrity (2) Hello, This is a message from Kickstarter’s Integrity team. We’re writing to notify you that recent activity on your project triggered a review. This review uncovered evidence of one or more violations of Kickstarter's rules, which may include: Offering purchased items and claiming to have made them yourself Presenting someone else’s work as your own Misrepresenting or failing to disclose relevant facts about the project or its creator Because of this, your project has been suspended. All funding has been stopped and all transactions have been canceled. This cannot be undone. Backers have been sent a copy of this message as well. We take the integrity of the Kickstarter system very seriously. We only suspend projects when we find strong evidence that they are misrepresenting themselves or otherwise violating the letter or spirit of Kickstarter's rules. As a policy, we do not offer comment on project suspensions beyond what is stated in this message. Regards, Kickstarter Integrity

[redacted] Just wanted to follow up on some of [redacted]'s other concerns. While we can and will take action on users who are violating our Community Guidelines ( [redacted] ), we are unable to take action on behavior that takes place off of the Kickstarter website. Best,Kickstarter

Review: Spent $114 in October of 2012 for the Foundation Dock (an iphone dock device) from World of Simple Design (formerly [redacted]) through Kickstarter which was supposed to be delivered in January of 2013. I was so excited about this product at that time; however, I still have not received the product over 1 year and 3 months later. Because of the amount of time that has passed, I now have a different iphone than I had since the product was ordered. I have also stopped receiving updates or any information about the product.Desired Settlement: The business has a responsibility according to all their contracts to either deliver the product or issue a refund.

Business

Response:

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 project. The filmmakers, musicians, artists, and designers on Kickstarter have complete control over and responsibility for their projects. Kickstarter is a platform and a resource. Kickstarter 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 use. Kickstarter is not a party to that agreement between the Backer and Project Creator. We've noted [redacted]'s complaint about this project in our system, but all dealings are solely between users.

Regards,

Kickstarter

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

The creator presented their product through Kickstarter. The creator ([redacted]) 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 2014 which said the product would be delivered in the first quarter of 2014. It was not and since [redacted] 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 $114 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,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

No response from the creator, no product delivered, and no refund received.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

We're sorry to hear [redacted] has had a negative experience with this project creator. We once again urge her to attempt to contact the creator, and remind her that Kickstarter's terms of use provide her with a basis for legal recourse against the creator if she is unable to reach a resolution directly.

Regards,

Kickstarter

[redacted] in now way cares about the consumer they only care about a campaign reaching its goal and collecting their cut. After the campaign closes, per the guidelines posted on their site they do not care what happens to the consumer. They are providing a medium for smart people to collect money without actually fulfilling any expectations. Where else can you be 6 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 **, 12:44 PM

Nov **, 7:42 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,

[redacted].

I supported a project called Radiate Athletics over two years ago. The project was fully funded and not a single backer had yet to receive their merchandise. Kickstarter has been "MIA" and multiple emails to customer service were responded to with a "sorry, not our fault" attitude. The project made hundreds of thousands of dollars. All of this money, stolen from the backers. Kickstarter has done NOTHING to track down the project creator, to give refunds to those who's hard earned money was taken from them, and continue with a lackadaisical attitude. I feel that supporters should be given refunds BY Kickstarter, while in the mean time the Kickstarter team should track down these thieves.

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 $20 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 40 or 50 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.

Review: I backed the Coolest Cooler in August of 2014 and have yet to receive my product. I understand that there have been delays and am understanding of this. My issue is that this product is now selling retail and I have yet to receive the product that I paid $200 for back in August 2014.Desired Settlement: I want the product that I paid for prior to distribution of any retail models to the public.

Business

Response:

Hi there,We understand your frustrations regarding delays with the Coolest Cooler project. At the same time, we also understand that the Coolest Cooler team is equally frustrated by these delays. A backer's desire to examine the validity of this creator's claims are understandable. Part of what makes our community so special is the vibrant backer community that supports creative endeavors and holds creators to the highest standards for transparency and integrity. To that end, we'd encourage backers of this project to keep in mind that this creator undertook a highly complicated project, has provided a detailed description of the path, has admitted to mistakes, and has committed to pursuing a positive outcome.When you back a project on Kickstarter you enter into an agreement with the project creator, as described in our Terms of Use: [redacted]. While Kickstarter is the platform for this agreement, we are not a part of it. A big part of Kickstarter’s mission is to support creative freedom and independence; we don’t step into the actual creative process itself. Best,Kickstarter

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:This product was originally expected in February 2015 and it is now estimated to be available June 2016, although it has been delayed so many times that I am highly skeptical that delivery will even be made by that date. My issue is not with the delay, as stated previously. The product is being sold retail prior to the original backers receiving the product which is unacceptable to me. My concern is that this product is being sold on the internet before the backers ($13 million dollars worth!) receive the product. I am doubtful that I will ever receive the product that I backed in August 2014 and according to kickstarter rules, Projects must honest and clearly presented and I do not believe this has been the case. Although the Coolest continues to send out "updates" they are simply excuses as to why they are not moving forward with the product that was backed and started to be produced and is still not ready to ship. This is unacceptable.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

Hi there,Kickstarter's Terms of Use outline the responsibilities of backers and creators. This information can serve as a basis for legal recourse if a creator doesn't fulfill their promises. We hope that backers will consider that option only in cases where they believe that a creator has not made a good faith effort to complete the project and fulfill. If you believe legal action is appropriate here, please talk to an attorney about how to proceed.Best,Kickstarter Support