Raise Marketplace Inc

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 receiving and reviewing Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] we are able to offer the customer a resolution.The customer purchased three [redacted] gift cards from Raise.com on November 8, 2015 for varying values and prices. These purchases were made across three different orders all placed on...

that same day. The customer contacted Raise later in November expressing that the gift cards were not working for the purchase that he was attempting to make. The serving agent informed the customer that the gift cards still had a valid balance and that we would be unable to issue a refund. Raise terms and conditions express that we are unable to issue a refund for a gift card with a valid balance.[redacted], like all retailers, have restrictions for how a gift card is used, and all gift cards purchased are subject to the terms and conditions of the individual retailers. When the customer called again in January, still seeking a refund, he was told by the serving agent again that a refund could not be issued but that if he would like, he could resell the gift cards on the marketplace to regain some of the funds. Shortly after the agent notified the customer of this, the customer issued a dispute through the bank. When a dispute is issued the customer’s account is placed on a hold until the dispute has been resolved. In this case, the customer sold the gift cards while the dispute was active so he was unable to request the funds from his Raise account for selling the gift cards, as he could not be refunded for them and also paid out for selling the same gift cards.The disputes have been resolved in the favor of Raise and the customer’s account is no longer on hold. To retrieve his funds he will need to log into his Raise account and go to My Account > My Listings > Available Funds. From there he can withdraw the funds back to either a physical check, paypal or direct deposit. We encourage the customer to call back in or send us an email to [redacted] if he has any questions regarding the withdrawal of his funds.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.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/10/02) */
Dear Mr. [redacted],
I was able to further review your case and your Raise order. We were sorry to hear that you were unhappy about your experience with Raise.
I understand that your Denny's card was not delivered in a timely fashion and so...

you contacted Member Services for more information. Your order was placed on 9/5/2015 and our Shipping Policy states that you should receive your gift card by mail in 3-14 business days.
We received your first inquiry on 9/12, seven days after you placed your order. One of our agents informed you of our shipping policy and that we would refund you if there is no tracking after fourteen days. Unfortunately we cannot issue a refund until those fourteen days have passed, per our policy.
We were able to make an exception to this policy for you and issue a refund after only twelve days. A refund confirmation was sent to you on 9/17 when the refund was fully released by Raise. This refund was applied to your original form of payment.
Overall, I am glad we were able to resolve this for you. I apologize for the inconvenience, but we would be happy to serve you again in the future.
Kindest regards,
Serena
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 8, 2015/10/02) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
NOT HAPPY WITH THE WAY RAISE CONDUCTS THEIR BUSINESS?

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

the requested resolution has been provided to the customer.
The customer sold two gift cards on Raise.com and when payment was attempted to be requested, the customer was unable to do so. There was a discrepancy in the customer’s address which caused a disconnect in the payment withdrawal function which prevented the customer from requesting payment. As this is not something that we are able to change on our end, an agent from our Seller Support Team reached out to the customer to rectify the situation. The customer disconnected from the agent and the team was unable to connect with the customer again to work through the issue.
The Seller Support Team worked on our end to address this discrepancy to make sure that the customer was able to receive payment for the gift cards that were sold. As of July 13, 2016, the payment was confirmed as successful on our end and the customer should have received his payment at this time.
We sincerely apologize for the trouble and would never want to keep a customer from accessing their funds. At this time we would like to consider the issue resolved and are happy to have provided the customer with the requested resolution.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Sincerely,
[redacted]

After receiving and reviewing Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] and the corresponding account information, it appears that the current resolution is warranted.The customer has been selling cards on Raise.com since August 8, 2017. The customer had completed all verification processes and had received...

all payments as intended. The customer had requested two payments, on August 16th and August 18th, 2017, respectfully. The payment that was requested on August 16th was for $89.52, and the payment requested on August 18th was for $128.12. As the customer chose [redacted] as a payment option, the funds take between 2-3 business days to officially transfer. The payment requested on 8/16 was scheduled to go out and officially process on 8/18 and the payment requested on 8/18 was scheduled to go out and officially process on 8/22.After confirming with our Seller Support Team, these payments did process as expected, but we would like to address the concern that the customer had in regards to not being able to request a payment between 8/16 and 8/18.At some point in this process, there was a demo requested for our Bulk Seller Program that automatically assigned the customer to one of our Sales Representatives. When this happened, the ability to withdraw funds was removed until either the Bulk Seller Enrollment Form was completed, or the customer decides that the program was not a good fit. Our Director of Bulk Sales had reached out to the customer, and spoke with the customer’s husband on 8/18 and confirmed that the customer was not interested in the Bulk Seller Program. Once this information was provided, the Sales Rep was removed from the customer’s account, and the ability to withdraw funds was available once more. The customer then proceeded to request their funds for $128.12 on 8/18.At this time, we would like to consider this case resolved as the full amount of $217.64 has been paid out to the customer via [redacted]. These came in two separate payments, with $89.52 being processed on 8/18 and $128.12 being processed on 8/22. We are pleased to have resolved this issue and we also want to extend our sincerest apology to the customer for the delay in a resolution and any confusion this has caused. We hope to better serve this customer in the future.

After receiving Revdex.com complaint number [redacted]  we were able to review the order in question. On August 15, 2015 the customer purchased from Raise.com a [redacted] gift card with a value of $250.00 for a purchase price of $225.00 which was paid for by credit card. Raise Member Services was...

contacted by the customer on January 5, 2016 and informed the serving agent that $16.07 from the gift card had been used by her and that the remaining balance of $233.93 had been compromised. At that time the order was already outside of the 100 Day Guarantee period so the order had to be escalated to the Gift Card Support Team for further review. Regrettably, our Gift Card Support Team was unable to respond in a timely fashion and the customer called in again on February 12, 2016. During that phone conversation the customer was informed by the serving agent as well as a supervisor that because the order falls so far outside of the 100 Day Guarantee, Raise would be unable to provide a refund. The supervisor offered to continue to have it reviewed in the case that anything would change, and the customer was ultimately still given the same resolution that Raise would be unable to assist as the order is outside of the guarantee range. During further review completed by the Gift Card Support Team it was again determined that no refund could be provided outside of the 100 Day Guarantee and the customer has been notified via email. We understand that this is an unacceptable time frame for a customer to wait for a resolution and we are actively working to minimize our response times for the Gift Card Support Team.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.

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.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

After receiving Revdex.com complaint number [redacted], we were able to review the order and offer a different solution to the...

customer.
On January 25, 2016 the customer purchased a [redacted] gift card from Raise with a value of $225.00 for a purchase price of $144.00. The customer then contacted Raise Member Services on August 8, 2016 and expressed to the serving agent that she had been unable to use the gift card until then, and when she attempted to use it in store, the card only had a total of $6.00. At that time, the serving agent informed the customer that the order fell outside of the Raise Guarantee and for that reason, could not be refunded.
The Raise Guarantee is a guarantee for the purchase price of the gift cards that spans 100 days from the date of purchase. Any issue the customer has with the gift card, as outlined in the Raise Guarantee, such as an incorrect balance, will be fully covered within the first 100 days from the purchase date. After that 100 days, Raise does not resell the gift cards, and the gift cards do not expire. Once the Raise Guarantee lapses, the only change that occurs is that the order is not fully covered if there is an issue. All of the gift cards coming across the marketplace are previously owned by other members and some are partially used. This being the case customers are encouraged to utilize the full balance of the gift card within 100 days so that any issue that may occur can be fully covered.
In this particular case, due to the hardships that the customer has faced that caused the Raise Guarantee to lapse before the customer was able to utilize the funds, we are happy to offer the customer a courtesy refund for this purchase. As the order is being refunded the credit offered in place of a refund has been removed from the customer’s account as the refund has been completed at this time. This is a one time courtesy refund and has been issued back to the customer’s original source of payment. The refund should be available back on that payment source in 1-3 business days, depending on the card issuer.
We are happy to have been able to resolve this for the customer and look forward to serving her again in the future.

After again reviewing the customer’s response in regards to complaint number [redacted] and the orders in question, we can confirm that a resolution has been provided. Order [redacted] was refunded in full as of February 4, 2016 through our payment processor and would have shown on the customer’s account within 1-3 business days. The second order [redacted] was only refunded for one of the gift cards that also had a purchase price of $154, the same amount refunded for order [redacted]. Because of the total purchase price for order [redacted], the refunds appear differently. Since the refunds occurred on the same day as the purchases order [redacted] will appear to have been charged for $154 and then also refunded for $154. Order [redacted] was initially charged for $308, but because the funds had not been captured from the customer’s bank by our payment processor before the refund was completed it shows as a reversal for the payment processor. What this means for the customer is that they will only see one charge for $154 instead of a charge for $308 and then a refund for $154.This information was confirmed with our payment processor as of February 15, 2016 when a supervisor from the Member Services Team contacted them regarding these orders initially.We hope this information has been helpful in explaining how the refund is reflected in the customer’s account and feel that this issue has been resolved in accordance with the Raise guarantee and apologize for any inconvenience.

Complaint: [redacted]
 
I am rejecting this response because: The business' response, while partially factual, is quite disingenuous.  I requested more information regarding their bulk seller program and without warning my ability to withdraw funds from my account was suspended.  I sent several support requests via email and received automatic responses from Raise.com indicating that they had received my requests.  However, they failed to respond.  Finally, my husband received a call from a gentleman at Raise that was trying to push the bulk seller program on us.  My husband indicated to him that not only did I never apply for the program (only requested more info), but that I was also no longer interested at all due to all of the problem that arose with withdrawal of funds.  The gentleman stated that he had to speak to me and my husband passed me the phone.  At this point, the caller from Raise muttered some obscenity and hung up on me before I could even say a word.  I contacted Raise about this issue via Facebook and was given some bogus response indicating there was a "technical issue" with the phone call.  False.  He hung up on me intentionally for no reason other than my husband's indication that I did not want to participate in the bulk seller program.  In any case, I did eventually receive all funds owed to me.  I received the last payment on 8/22/2017.  I simply wanted to clarify the facts before you marked this issue as closed.  I would caution other sellers to avoid the bulk reseller program due to the problems with withdrawals and the nasty attitude of the the gentleman in charge of that department. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Bought a subway gift card for $50 and I transferred the funds to my existing subway card. Week later, I got a call from subway stating that the $50 card was bought using a fraudulent credit card. They froze my account which had over $70 in funds before the transfer. Now, I lost $70 + $50 .. a total of $120 .. I need my money back immediately otherwise am going to go to small courts for claims.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
the $100 was a courtesy that was given because raise.com said they wouldn't refund my $450.00.   After I did extensive hours of research I found that raise.com did indeed sell me a card that was bought with a stolen credit card and sold me a gift card for $450 that indeed had a value of $0.00
upon contact with raise.com they claimed to have checked it before sending to me and that it had a proper value on the gift card of which I paid $450.  They said they wouldn't and couldn't refund due to hey sold me a valid gift card and it was past their "100 return" policy   I spent countless hours on the phone and sent numerous examples emails with no success but to hear the same answer from raise.com.  That hey couldn't refund me.
I still haven't received any flee fund that they claim they processed and they took my $100 in rewards that had nothing to do with the $450 that they owe me . I proved them wrong and they claim they have refunded me but this is yet just another lie.   
Not only does raise.com owe me $450 for the card which they now admit they sold me and was stolen and had a zero balance but they owe my an additional $1000.00 for the accrued time that I spent in research, phone time and all the above.  I spent over 70 billable hours in attemp to get a refund that should have been processed from the beginning   
Sincerely,
[redacted]

After receiving Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] we were able to review the orders and offer a solution to the customer.The customer contacted Raise Member Services May 7, 2016. During this conversation a [redacted] gift card was addressed directly. This gift card was purchased from Raise.com on...

December 18, 2016. While the gift card is outside of the Raise 100 Day Guarantee, the agent forwarded the request to the Gift Card Support Team for further review. The Gift Card Support Team has a 10-14 business day response time, and this order was addressed in the order in which it was received. The [redacted] gift card was refunded in full as of May 10, 2016, and the customer has been notified via email that it could take 1-3 business days to see the refund on the original payment source.The other two orders in the complaint have also been addressed. These two orders each contained two [redacted] gift cards. The first order was placed on December 22, 2014 for two [redacted] gift cards, each with a balance of $25.00 and a purchase price of $20.00. Unfortunately, as of today, the order is 504 days old and so far outside of the Raise 100 Day Guarantee that further action cannot be taken on this order.The second [redacted] order was placed on January 24, 2016 for two $50.00 gift cards, each with a purchase price of $35.98. While this order was also outside of the Raise 100 Day Guarantee, the Gift Card Support Team further reviewed the order and has completed a refund for $71.96, the full purchase price of the two gift cards. The customer was notified via email as of May 10, 2016.Overall, we are pleased to have resolved two of the three issues for the customer, and apologize that we are unable to refund the third order outside of policy. We look forward to serving the customer again in the future.

Purchased (5) $100 gift cards from Raise.com. They only delivered (3). I contacted Raise.com several times to refund the (2) gift cards that I paid for and they didn't deliver. I ended up having to do a charge back with my credit card company. Becuase of the chargeback, Raise.com suspended my account.

This company has no concern for its customers! I purchased $1000 worth of gift cards for [redacted] from them. I specifically made sure they were e-gift cards because I didn't trust the by mail option. I used the first one and all went well. However the next time I went to use the card it said it would be shipped via [redacted]. I figured I would give them a month to send me the cards. The cards never came! I attempted to call their customer service to find out what happened to my cards but I was 25th in line! I did not have all day to sit on the phone in order to speak with someone. After that experience I completely forgot to call back as I was 7 months pregnant and had other things to worry about. I just called today and was told by customer service that because it is past their 100 day policy there is nothing they can do! What happened to my money?! Clearly someone has it, therefore I should receive the product I paid for! This is the worst customer service I have ever received!

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2014/12/09) */
In Response to Revdex.com complaint # [redacted]
Dear Ms. [redacted]
I have read your complaint in its entirety and explored all details to ensure I understand the issue you have dealt with. I'm sorry you had to experience this...

situation. I sincerely apologize, and ultimately I was glad to come to a great resolution with you.
We do ask that when Members purchase [redacted] gift cards, that the Members don't merge them with any other cards or accounts. This is because due to the secondary nature of our marketplace, there is always a small chance an issue may arise with a gift card. If it does, keeping cards separate help resolve any issue quickly and simply. I am sorry that [redacted] refused to give you your funds back, but I was happy to be able to help restore the funds you lost from them.
Again I am very sorry about this, but I am glad in the end we could help resolve it.
Sincerely,
[redacted]Member Services Manager

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:1. They have initiated a refund, yet to get that.2.  The fundamental issue is the card registered to someone should not be sold to someone else. I consider this fraud, and there is no way someone can tell me this is not fraud. If this is a clean transaction, the gift card must not be registered to anyone else.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

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 help.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

After receiving and reviewing Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] and the corresponding order number, we are glad to...

provide the customer with a different resolution than initially offered.
On December 24, 2015 the customer purchased an [redacted] gift card with a value of $200.00 for a purchase price of $150.00. The customer contacted Raise Member Services on August 21, 2016 and expressed to the serving agent that she had tried to use the gift card for the first time, and it did not work for placing an online order with Aerie. At that time, the serving agent informed the customer that the order fell outside of the 100 Day Money-Back Guarantee so no further action could be taken on the order. The serving agent did offer the customer a promotional code as well as a $15 Raise Rewards credit as recompense for this issue.
At that point the customer requested to speak with a supervisor on the Member Services Team. The request was met and a supervisor reiterated to the customer that the Raise Guarantee no longer covered the order due to the amount of time that had passed since the order was placed, so the $15 credit and promo code were again offered.
While there is no expiration on the gift cards, the Raise Guarantee does only guarantee a refund for the purchase price for the first 100 days after the date of purchase. Though that is the case, we are happy to offer the customer a one time courtesy of $75.00 in Raise Rewards credit to use toward a future purchase as well as a $75.00 refund back to the customer’s original payment source. A combination of Raise Rewards and refund are being offered due to the Raise Guarantee having already lapsed for this order. This credit will automatically apply to the next purchase made on Raise without the use of a promo code, and the refund will be back on the credit card within 1-3 business days.
We would like to apologize for any inconvenience this order has caused and are happy to have been able to provide a resolution for the customer.