Raise Marketplace Inc

We were able to further review [redacted] complaint as well
as the three orders provided in her statement. We regret that we were unable to respond to [redacted]
support email in a timely manner, and we are actively working to get our
response times back to a level we find acceptable....

Each order mentioned in this complaint has been refunded per
[redacted] request and our 100-Day Guarantee. An email was sent detailing the
refunds she has received as well. Additional compensation has been credited to [redacted]
Raise account for the inconvenience she has experienced in this matter.
Overall, we are pleased to have assisted in this matter and we thank [redacted]
for her patience and cooperation.

Complaint: 11018641
I am rejecting this response because: 
I, as a consumer, am purchasing a product from you, as a business establishment.  I cannot understand why you are accessing a consumer's personal information. I am fortunate to know that you accessing this personal information should be on a need to know basis, in the event of a loan or a line of credit, neither of which I was requesting from your business establishment.  I go to the store or order items online, never have they asked me to verify my name, date of birth, social security number, and previous addresses in which I have lived. It appears as though you were fishing for personal information to run a credit report on me or to gain access into my credit history. 
If this is your policy, then so be it, but I encourage anyone who reads this complaint to be aware that with all the personal identity theft occurring, this type of information should not be required from a reprobable business establishment to purchase a single item.
Sincerely,
Autumne [redacted]

We were able to further review case 11102877 as well as the customer’s Raise account. Overall, we are pleased to have reached a resolution for the customer. Order R747477183 was placed on September 30, 2015 and contained three [redacted] Restaurants gift cards. On January 7, the customer emailed our...

Member Services Team to inquire about the gift cards not having a balance. On January 9, our Member Services Team replied to the customer letting them know that their order was being sent to our Refund Team for further review. After further review, we were able to submit a full refund to the original payment source. A follow up email was sent confirming the refund on February 5. We regret that we were unable to resolve this in a quicker manner and we are continuing to provide resources that minimize our response times. We encourage the customer to contact us by phone should they have any other questions or concerns and we look forward to serving them again in the future.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10987896, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. They did not mention the threats however, which I find disappointing. Thank you Revdex.com.
Sincerely,
Jared [redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/06/04) */
Contact Name and Title:[redacted] Manager
Contact Phone:[redacted]
Contact Email: [redacted]
Dear[redacted]
I have read the following case inquiry in regards to order number RXXXXXXXXX. In light of the situation and...

circumstances of your case, I would like to apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced.
We do our best to deliver gift cards that are in good order, and we do strive to make sure all transactions are secure and satisfactory for the buyers and sellers on our marketplace. I am sorry your experience was substandard.

After speaking with my associate [redacted], I am delighted to hear we were able to add a credit to your account to solve this problem. We always seek an excellent buyer experience and value you as our customer very highly.

We appreciate your business.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Raise Member Services Manager
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2014/06/07) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
I think it's a win-win solution.

After receiving complaint number [redacted], we were able to review the order and offer a solution to the customer that was already being worked and processed before the complaint was received.The customer purchased two orders from Raise.com. The first order [redacted]90 was purchased on March 5, 2016...

for four [redacted] gift cards. Two of the gift cards had a value of $200.00 with a purchase price of $182.00, one of the gift cards had a value of $100.00 with a purchase price of $92.00, and the final card had a value of $50.00 with a purchase price of $46.50. The second order [redacted] was purchased on March 8, 2016 for two [redacted] Store gift cards, one with a $200.00 value for a purchase price of $182.00 and the other with a value of $100.00 for a purchase price of $92.00. On March 7, 2016 the customer contacted Raise Member Services regarding redemption trouble for order [redacted]90 and again on March 9, 2016 regarding the same trouble for order [redacted] Both times the customer called in, they were notified that the orders had to be escalated to the Gift Card Support Team due to the volume of gift cards having an issue. Currently the Gift Card Support Team does have a response time of 10-14 business days, and while we do understand that this is a lengthy time for a response, the member has heard back within that timeframe and been fully refunded for both of the orders. The refund has been completed as a courtesy as the Gift Card Support Team was able to confirm that all of the gift cards from both orders do still contain the full balances and were not attempted to be applied to a [redacted] eligible order. This member has previously been provided with detailed instructions for redeeming [redacted] gift cards. Because the member continued to struggle to redeem these and proceed to ask for refunds, we had kindly suggested that this member no longer purchase [redacted] gift cards. At this time the customer has been refunded in full for both orders and this refund should been seen on the customer’s original payment source within a few business days. Overall, we are pleased to have resolved this issue for the customer and look forward to serving them again in the future.

After receiving and reviewing Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] we are happy to offer the customer the requested...

resolution.
On August 15, 2016 the customer listed six [redacted] eGift cards on the marketplace for sale. Then on August 16, 2016 the customer requested payment for these gift cards. Due to the high value of the cards sold, all being $500.00, the Seller Support Team reached out to the customer for further information regarding these gift cards. Trust and safety are top priorities on the Raise marketplace. The customer was asked to provide personal verification as well as information regarding the purchase of the gift cards.
After this information had been received, as not all of the pieces of information corresponded to one another, the customer was asked to wait until successful use of the gift cards by the buyers had been confirmed over a week’s time before the funds could be requested again. As that time frame has past and the sales have been successful, the customer’s funds have again been requested for direct deposit and will be processed within the normal payment processing time of 3-5 business days.
We would like to apologize for any inconvenience this process caused for the customer, and are happy to have been able to offer the requested resolution.

After receiving and reviewing Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] and the corresponding order number, it appears that...

the current resolution is warranted.
On September 23, 2015 the customer purchased three [redacted] gift cards of varying balances and purchase prices from Raise.com. The customer then contacted Raise Member Services via email on July 16, 2016 and expressed to the serving agent that two of the gift cards did not work in store. At that time, the serving agent informed the customer that the order had fallen outside of the 100 Day Money-Back Guarantee and the purchase would not longer be covered. Within the email communication between the agent and the customer, the customer was offered a $25 Raise Rewards credit to use towards the next order on Raise.
The Raise Guarantee is in place to protect the customer’s purchase price for the first 100 days from the date of purchase. All refund requests must be received within this time period, as outlined in the Raise Guarantee, to be honored. Unfortunately, the Raise Guarantee for this order lapsed as of January 1, 2016 For this reason no further action can be taken on the order.
We will continue to ensure that Raise policy is adhered to and properly communicated.  We feel that this issue has been resolved in accordance with the Raise guarantee and apologize for any inconvenience.

After reviewing the customer’s response in regards to complaint number [redacted] and the correct order in question, it appears that a similar resolution is warranted.
As an order number was not provided with the customer’s initial complaint, we had reviewed the account with the email address provided ([redacted]  Our initial response was regarding an order for a [redacted] eGift card.  It appears that the customer had created an additional account using her [redacted] email address to place the order [redacted].  In accordance with Raise policy, each user is limited to one Raise account.  
The order in question was placed on November 25th for an [redacted]y eGift card with a value of $25.00 and a price of $24.98.  The customer applied her $5 reward and her credit card was charged the remaining $19.98.  This order was processed immediately and delivered to the customer’s Raise account associated with her [redacted] email address.  
Shortly after, the member emailed Raise Member Services stating that the order was placed by accident, and she would like it refunded.  An agent responded to this support ticket on December 14th to explain that the order had already been processed and we are unable to cancel or provide a refund. At this time, we cannot provide refunds for gift cards with a valid balance once delivered to a member’s account.  We would like to sincerely apologize for the delay in response time that we are actively working to bring to a more acceptable timeframe.  
Within the email communication between the agent and the customer, the customer was also offered a complimentary promotional code to use towards her next order.
The Raise return policy specifically states that “Buyer’s remorse or change of mind” is not covered. This guarantee will protect a buyer’s purchase price should an issue arise with the redemption of any gift cards purchased from Raise.
While we appreciate the customer’s business, we are unfortunately unable to provide a refund for this [redacted] gift card that she has already been given access to.  We will continue ensure that policy is adhered to and properly communicated.  We feel that this issue has been resolved in accordance with policy.  Taking into account the $10 credit that has been added to the customer’s account, the $5 complimentary promotional code offered,  the $5 reward redeemed, and the $10 promotional code used, we feel that the customer has been generously compensated for this issue.  
We apologize for any inconvenience and welcome the customer to redeem her credit and promotional code on Raise.com.  We look forward to serving her in the future.

After again reviewing Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] the originally requested resolution has already been provided to the customer.We understand that this has been a frustrating situation for the customer, and it never should have been that way. All physical gift cards are sent directly from the seller to the buyer, similar to other marketplace purchases. While the gift card numbers are confirmed multiple times before the transaction is completed, in these particular cases, the gift cards no longer had the full value when they reached the customer via USPS. All sellers that have an issue, whether it be a balance issue or otherwise, have a review with the Seller Support Team. This team reviews the issue or issues at hand, and in some cases fees will apply and in others, sellers may be permanently banned from the website. We want to assure the customer that his purchase price is guaranteed by the 100 Day Money-Back Guarantee, and that the sellers of the two gift cards that he purchased will be, if they have not already been, dealt with by the Seller Support Team.At this time, we would like to consider this issue resolved and are happy to have provided the customer with the requested resolution.

After receiving complaint number [redacted] we were able to review the order and offer a solution to the customer.On October 28, 2015 the customer purchased two Whole Foods gift cards each valued at $25 with purchase prices of $21 totaling $37 charged to the customer’s credit card after the $5 in...

Raise Rewards was applied. The customer contacted Raise Member Services on February 11, 2016 via email and was responded to on February 13, 2016 with notification that the order could have no further action taken as the order falls outside of the 100 Day Guarantee. Within the email communication between the agent and the customer, the customer was offered a promotional code to use toward a future order. Upon further review by the Gift Card Support Team, we are able to provide a different resolution for the customer than initially offered when they first contacted Raise Member Services. Because one of the Whole Foods cards has since been deactivated by the brand, Raise is able to offer a full refund of the $21 purchase price for that gift card. The other Whole Foods gift card however, is unable to be refunded as it does still reflect a full balance but is unable to be used due to the change in policy by Whole Foods. As this change was not at the discretion of Raise and is outside of the 100 Day Guarantee period, we are unable to provide any further resolution for the gift card that still contains the full balance. While there is no expiration on the gift cards, the Raise 100 Day Guarantee does only guarantee a refund for the purchase price for the first 100 days after the date of purchase.In a situation like this we encourage the customer to contact the brand to see what further action they may be able to take to further assist. We have also returned the $5 in Raise Rewards back to the customer’s account for the trouble and confusion related to this order. We would like to consider this issue resolved at this time and hope that the customer finds a partial refund for the order and credit a suitable settlement.

After receiving and reviewing complaint number [redacted]  and the order number in question, it appears that the current resolution is warranted.The customer purchased an [redacted] eGift card from Raise.com with a value of $1500 for a purchase price of $1492.50 on March 11, 2015, which the customer...

paid for by credit card. On December 16, 2016 the customer contacted Raise Member Services via email stating that the [redacted] eGift card had come up with a $0 balance and he had not used any of the balance. After this inquiry was addressed by the Member Services Team it was escalated to the Gift Card Support Team for further review due to the length of time that had passed since the order was placed. Regrettably, our Gift Card Support Team was unable to respond in a timely fashion and this inquiry was resolved and the customer was notified via email on March 5th, 2016. Upon review the Gift Card Support Team did determine that a refund would not be provided as the order falls so far outside of the 100 Day Guarantee. Raise is a member to member marketplace, so all gift cards are coming to members having been used or partially used. Whatever did take place with the gift card that did cause the balance reduction outside of the 100 Day Guarantee will be looked into further by our Seller Support team to ensure that any necessary steps are taken with the seller. While there is no expiration on the gift cards, the Raise 100 Day Guarantee does only guarantee a refund for the purchase price for the first 100 days after the date of purchase.While we appreciate the customer’s business, we are unfortunately unable to provide a refund for this [redacted] eGift card as it is so far outside of the 100 Day Guarantee. We also want to extend our sincerest apology to the customer for the delay in a resolution, and we hope to better serve him in the future.

I'm writing in response to the most recent communication received from [redacted]. I had previously been communicating with [redacted] about this case and provided her with a detailed response regarding the case [redacted] after numerous rejections. That email was sent on March 23, 2016 and was as follows: 
"After further investigation, we still firmly believe that the Walmart gift cards in question were either used by the purchaser ([redacted]) or were resold in their area. She and her husband have purchased a large amount of Walmart gift cards and subsequently used them at multiple stores in the state of Texas. 
The three Walmart gift cards mentioned in the Revdex.com complaint were successfully redeemed in [redacted], Texas. We understand that this location is further than she normally travels to Walmart and we also investigated the sellers. The cards come from two separate sellers in different states, California and Florida. The cards were also activated in these states, which tells us they have no immediate ties to the Texas area. Further investigating was done, but for privacy purposes, we cannot share all of our member's personal and business details. 
Our Gift Card Support Team further confirmed that their official conclusion was that these gift cards were not compromised. For this reason, we will not be providing a refund for the orders in question.
I hope this clarifies any outstanding questions. Of course, please let me know if I can be of any further help."
She had sent me an email outside of the Revdex.com portal and I was told we could conduct our communication that way. On March 24, she asked if she could use my response as a business response and I said yes and asked for more details on the next steps. I did not receive any further reply from [redacted] or the Revdex.com until this letter from [redacted] threatening to revoke our accreditation. I called [redacted] today and left a message asking him to give me a call so we could discuss the details of this case and why exactly we are being threatened with revocation. Raise has no intention of resigning our accreditation and we look forward to resolving whatever we need to in order to be in good standing.

After receiving and reviewing Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] and the corresponding order number, it appears that the current resolution is warranted.On June 4, 2016 the customer made a purchase on Raise.com for a [redacted] (In Store Only) gift card with a balance of $30.89 and a purchase price of...

$27.96. The customer then contacted Raise Member Services on June 12, 2016 and expressed to the serving agent that she could not check the balance of the gift card without going into the store. The serving agent expressed apologies to the customer but informed her that [redacted] (In Store Only) gift card balances must be checked in the store and a refund cannot be provided for a gift card that has not incurred an issue.The customer is correct in that this information is not disclosed about the particular listing as all of the gift cards have different means to check the balances, so it is not particularly mentioned for this brand, nor is balance check information listed for any of the other brands on Raise. [redacted] (In Store Only) is not the only brand of gift cards that requires other means than a balance checker online to check the balance. The Raise Guarantee covers all gift cards that have an issue within 100 days from the purchase date, but as this gift card is still fully valid, and the customer is dissatisfied with the means of checking the balance, we sincerely apologize, but under the 100 Day Money-Back Guarantee, we are unable to provide a refund for a valid gift card. If the customer were to experience any kind of issue when redeeming the gift card, we would be happy to resolve the issue at that time. As it stands, we would like to sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused the customer, and would like to consider the issue resolved at this time.

Revdex.com:
The following is the only written response we received from Raise:JUN 10, 2016  |  01:19PM CDT [redacted] replied:  Hello [redacted]Thank you for contacting Raise Member Services.I see where you previously called in about order [redacted] and spoke with one of my coworkers and a supervisor. Unfortunately, the order date falls outside of the 100 days specified in the Raise Guarantee, but the supervisor went ahead and applied $75 in rewards credit to your account for this inconvenience.At this time we’re unable to do anything further about this order. We sincerely apologize and hope you’ll accept the $75 in rewards as a token of our appreciation for you as a member.If you need assistance with anything else, feel free to contact us.Regards, [redacted]I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and based on my past exceptionally good experience with them, find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

After receiving Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] and the corresponding order number, we were able to review the order...

and offer a solution to the customer.
On January 1, 2016 the customer placed an order through the Raise marketplace for a [redacted] (In Store Only) gift card with a value of $100.00 for a purchase price of $82.79. The customer then contacted Raise Member Services on August 28, 2016 and expressed to the serving agent that the gift card did not have the balance upon attempted redemption. At that time, the serving agent informed the customer that the order fell outside of the Raise Guarantee so no further action could be taken on the order.
The Raise Guarantee is in place to protect the customer’s purchase price for the first 100 days from the purchase date. Once this time frame passes, unfortunately, we are unable to provide the same kind of resolution that we would within the first 100 days.
We would, however, like to offer the customer a courtesy and refund the order outside of the Raise Guarantee. The purchase price the customer paid, $78.65, has been returned to the customer’s original payment source and will be available in that account within 1-3 business days.
We are happy to have been able to provide the customer with a resolution and look forward to serving them again in the future.

After reviewing the customer’s response in regards to complaint number
14.6667px; font-family: Arial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[redacted]  and the order in question, it appears that a similar resolution is warranted.
On November 30th 2016 the customer placed an order for a Sephora gift card valued at $100 for a purchase price of $94.69 that was charged to the customer’s credit card. The customer contacted Raise on February 22nd 2016 and notified the Member Services Agent that they had only been able to redeem $25.20 from the gift card. During the phone call the customer also provided the information that the gift card had been used for an online purchase, made by them, on February 2nd 2016 for $25.20 and another two online purchases for $38.97 and $35.83 on the same day which the customer claimed as not their transactions.
Per Raise policy this specific inquiry was escalated to the Gift Card Support Team for further review. During this review process it was determined that the merchandise confirmed by the customer to be their purchase was sent to an address in Florida whereas the purchases the customer claimed to be unauthorized were also delivered to the same address in Florida. For this reason we are unable to process a refund. We apologize for any confusion and look forward to serving this customer again in the future.

After receiving Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] we were able to review the order in question. On November 12, 2016, (Raise Order Number [redacted]) the customer placed an order for 10 Apple gift cards each with a value of $50.00. The customer contacted Raise via live chat on November 21, 2016 stating...

that there were three cards in this order that were not working properly, as well as four other cards in a separate order placed on November 11, 2016. (Raise Order Number [redacted]) The serving agent then requested a screenshot of the error message the customer was receiving when attempting to redeem these 7 cards. As Raise was able to verify the full active balance on all 7 cards, we needed correspondence from the brand as to why the cards were not working properly.The customer sent a screenshot of the canceled order from Apple on November 23, 2016. Unfortunately, based on this screenshot, we were unable to determine that the cards were the issue as to why the order was canceled. Raise reached back out via email on November 28, 2016 asking for more information from the brand as well as an additional screenshot showing that the cards were the issue with the order. The reasoning for this was, as stated under the Delivery & Redemption details for Apple gift cards on Raise, only eight gift cards may be used per order. By purchasing through Raise, the customer agrees to Raise’s Terms and Conditions, and by redeeming the cards through Apple, the customer agrees to that brand’s Terms & Conditions as well.We are more than happy to continue working with the customer in resolving this issue and look forward to hearing back from them with the appropriate information. We are happy to answer any further questions that the customer may have via email.Tell us why here...

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Thanks for your assistance in resolving this matter.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:1. Access to my account has been denied since I complaining about an fraudulent purchase. I lost access to all cards I had to the account.2. I did make the purchase, and called the company within 5 min of seeing the charge on my credit card . I was notified about this large purchase place to my account by my credit card company, while trying to use my wallet (on my phone) at [redacted] bread that did not work either.3. Your company failed to notify customers, that [redacted] Bread cards from Raise are not accepted. I lost another $40 there.4. Not to mentioned that I have purchased gift cards multiple times and orders were canceled, but only after a month of using my money.5. The women (Lovely-name of manager) was rude by calling me irrational, stupid and threatening to hang up the phone. She was unprofessional, and made rude comments regarding my accent  6. In their terms they guarantee a refund for purchased where cards are incorrect upon purchase. Thus this should not even be a questions of whether to award me my refund.
Sincerely,
[redacted]