Raise Marketplace Inc

After again reviewing Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] and the corresponding order number, we are, unfortunately, unable to provide the customer with a different resolution.
As previously mentioned, not all gift cards can be checked before heading into the store, and for this we sincerely apologize. This is the choice of the merchant for that type of card, unfortunately.
The Raise Guarantee does not allow for refunds on a valid gift card, but if the gift card were to be of any trouble once redeemed in the store, we are happy to cover that under the Raise Guarantee.
As the customer has been through an extended amount of communication we have placed $10 in her Raise account to use toward a future purchase. The credit will automatically apply to the next purchase made on the Raise account.
At this time we would like to consider the issue resolved and look forward to better serving the customer again in the future.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. [redacted],After receiving your complaint, we were able to further
review your order R255807058 and the Home Depot gift card in question. We are very sorry to hear you had a hard time placing the
order for this gift card in the first place. Please know that our verification
process...

is used for your protection to ensure that it is indeed you who placed
the high value order. Furthermore, our Gift Card Support Team was able to get in
contact with Home Depot in regards to the status of your gift card. Although
you initially encountered an issue when trying to use this gift card online, a
Home Depot employee was able to confirm this gift card was used in full at the
Home Depot in Totowa, NJ. The card was used for the full $1,000 on November, 19
at register number 90. Because this Home Depot location is three miles from the
address you provided us with, it appears you were able to redeem this card
after all. For this reason, we are unable to provide a refund for this Home
Depot card. Again, we sincerely apologize for the initial issues you had
encountered while working to have your order processed. We have sent you an email
detailing our response to your complaint as well. Please do not hesitate to
reach out with any other questions or concerns you may have.

After receiving and reviewing 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 November 16, 2015 the customer placed an order through the Raise marketplace for a [redacted] gift card with a balance of $316.57...

for a purchase price of $299.16. The customer then contacted Raise Member Services in May and expressed to the serving agent that the brand was giving the customer a hard time with redemption. At that time the serving agent confirmed that the gift card had a full and valid balance, and the Raise Guarantee does not honor refunds for fully valid gift cards. Again the customer contacted Raise Member Services on August 30, 2016 and expressed to the serving agent that the gift card would not apply to an online purchase. [redacted] has recently changed they way that a merchandise credit can be applied to an online order and will no longer accept them, so they must be used in store. As the order falls outside of the Raise Guarantee, no further action could be taken on the order and the customer was offered a promotional code by the serving agent. The Raise Guarantee is in place to protect the purchase price for all orders for the first 100 days from the date of purchase. After that time frame has passed, we are always happy to look into an order, but cannot guarantee a refund or replacement card in the same way that we would within the first 100 days.We would, however, like to offer the customer a courtesy, as the issue has persisted for so long. A refund of the customer’s out of pocket purchase price, $294.16, has been returned the the original payment source, and will be available in that account within 1-3 business days depending upon the banking institution. We are happy to have been able to provide the customer with this resolution and look forward to better serving her again in the future.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 11959294, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
Jered [redacted]

After receiving and reviewing Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] and the corresponding order numbers, it appears that the current resolution is warranted.The customer placed two orders on Raise.com that are being referred to in this complaint. The orders were for an [redacted] gift card and a [redacted]...

gift card.The [redacted] gift card, unfortunately fell too far outside of the Raise Guarantee when the customer contacted Raise, and no further action could be taken on the order. 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.The [redacted] gift card, however, was reviewed by our Gift Card Support Team, and a full refund of the purchase price was completed as of July 15, 2016. This refund will be reflected on the customer’s original payment source in 1-3 business days.The Raise Guarantee is in place to protect the customer’s purchase price, but when an order falls so far outside of the guarantee period, we are not always able to provide the requested resolution. A strict time frame is held for the Raise Guarantee, and any requests received outside of this time period will be reviewed, but we do encourage customers to utilize the gift cards within the guarantee time frame so that we are able to fully assist if an issue ever does occur.We would like to sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused the customer and look forward to better serving them again in the future.

After receiving Revdex.com complaint [redacted] we were able to review the Raise account and order in question. The customer placed order...

[redacted] on 12/4/2015 and contacted us on 12/12 after they encountered the issue with their [redacted] gift card. Regrettably, our Member Services Team was unable to respond in a timely fashion. Because she was able to use $43.96, we submitted an adjusted refund based on the discount at which she purchased this $100 card. A refund for $49.88 was credited back to the customer’s original payment source on 12/29/2015. In addition, a $10 credit was added to her Raise account for the inconvenience. We understand that it is unacceptable to have to wait weeks to receive a response to a support ticket and we are currently working to bring our response time back to a level we find acceptable. We apologize for the inconvenience and encourage the customer to give us a call should she have any further questions or concerns.

After receiving Revdex.com complaint number
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[redacted], we were able to review the order and offer a solution to the customer.
On June 8, 2016 the customer purchased three [redacted] Air Lines gift cards from Raise.com. Each of the cards had a value of $50.00 and  purchase price of $46.00. The customer reached out to Raise Member Services on June 9, 2016 and expressed to the serving agent that one of the gift cards had a status of closed and could not be used to make a purchase. Upon receiving this information, the serving agent escalated the customer’s case to the Gift Card Support Team for further review.
Due to the type of gift card and the issue that occurred, the Gift Card Support Team needed to review the order before a refund could be processed. Currently the response time for the Gift Card Support Team is between 10-14 business days, but customers tend to hear back in under a week.
At this time, the customer has been fully refunded the $46.00 purchase price that was paid for the [redacted] Air Lines gift card. This refund will be reflected on the customer’s original payment source in 1-3 business days. A confirmation email will also be sent to the customer, to which the customer can reply if there are any further questions.
We would like to consider the issue resolved at this time and look forward to better serving the customer again in the future.

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.
Thank you
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 12660779, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
Jackie Proctorthey say they check these cards but I’ve gotten at least 20 cards from them that have zero balances right from the beginning. I guess there isn’t anything I can do but never use Raise again.  This is a sham company.

Dear [redacted]We were able to further review your complaint as well as
your Raise account. We appreciate your further communication regarding your
payment as well. A check for $20 was sent to you on 8/29/15 for the [redacted]
Center gift card you sold with Raise. We received an email...

from you on 10/9/15
stating you had not received your check. Unfortunately this alerted us that
your check was most likely lost in the mail. A stop payment has been issued for
this check and we will be sending you a replacement. We also discussed other, quicker payment options for future
reference. The new check will be sent by the end of the day tomorrow. We
apologize for the delay. Kind regards,The Raise Team

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

the current resolution is warranted.
The three [redacted] gift cards mentioned in the complaint were purchased by the customer across two different orders. One order was placed on November 1, 2015, and this order contained the two $20.00 gift cards each purchased for $16.00. The second order was placed on November 24, 2015 for a $200.00 gift card with a purchase price of $150.00.
The customer contacted Raise Member Services in December 2015 in regards to two gift cards from the order with the two $20.00 gift cards, but not the same two gift cards. The gift cards that had a problem were refunded right away. At that time, both orders were within the Raise 100 Day Guarantee so a refund was offered.
At this time, both of the orders are now outside of the Raise 100 Day Guarantee. Outside of the guarantee period, Raise is happy to look into a gift card that has a problem, but cannot guarantee a refund in the same way that we would within the first 100 days.
In this case, the orders fall so far outside of the Raise 100 Day Guarantee period, that no further action can be taken on the orders. We would like to apologize for the inconvenience and would like to consider the issue resolved at this time.

We were able to further review Revdex.com complaint [redacted] and the order in question [redacted]). This order was placed on 11/14/15 and contained multiple gift cards as the customer initially stated. The customer did send multiple emails to our support email regarding his [redacted] card. The gift card was not...

delivered within the 3-14 business days specified in our shipping policy. On 12/17/15, one of our Member Services agents wrote back to the customer confirming a refund for the [redacted] card that he did not receive. At this point, $54.53 was refunded to his original payment method. Unfortunately, were unaware of the balance discrepancy with the [redacted] gift card until reading the customer’s complaint. We have now submitted a partial refund for the balance that was missing from the [redacted] gift card. An email confirmation for this refund was sent on 12/22. We apologize that this matter was not handled in a timely manner and we are actively working to add support staff to ensure that each request is addressed quickly and efficiently.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because this is an unacceptable resolution, nor does the so-called should there be a limit on a "money back guarantee".  If you are offering a service, from a third party, you (Raise) should be held completely responsible.  There is no 100 day statute of limitation on being defrauded by a company, as I have, and neither does an offer of $50 compensate for the amount I spent.  I advised Raise that while they would not be able to get this money back from the third party (for whatever internal reasons they had and didnt advise), that I should have at a credit on my Raise account to purchase other gift cards totaling the amount that I PAID FOR GIFT CARDS.Another acceptable form of resolution would be for Raise to reach out to their member data base and see how many customers like myself have been defrauded by purchasing gift cards and later them having no balance on the card.  Again, this is not my first issue with Raise.  I have purchased many gift cards in the past that have either had no balance (within their money back guarantee time frame) and I have been EMBARRASSED while attempting to use them and then find out they had no money one them (at which point I had to pay for services at a time I thought I had a gift card to cover my expense); or I have partially used a gift card and then later tried to re-use it and was met with the same problem.  Either within or outside of their so-called "guarantee", they have to have a better system in place to protect the consumer - and THEY ARE NOT DOING THAT.  The public needs to be aware and alerted of what is going on - as there may be others out there and dont know how to proceed with getting their matters resolved.Again, if Raise credits my account for the entire amount purchased for the [redacted] gift cards, wherein I can purchase another gift card (for immediate use), then I will be satisfied and consider this complaint closed.  Otherwise, I will continue to pursue this matter, including finding a way to notify other Raise consumers in the hopes of a class action resolution.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

We were able to further review this member’s Raise account and all of the [redacted]’s gift cards in question. Twenty-four [redacted]’s gift cards were purchased by the customer between 1/22/15 and 4/4/15. According to the support ticket submitted by the customer on January 22, 2016, these are...

the gift cards used in the initial [redacted]’s purchase back on April 18, 2015. The customer wrote to our Member Services Department informing us that the gift cards were successfully used at [redacted]s on April 18, 2014. However, they decided to return the item and one new gift card was issued by [redacted]s. Upon checking the balance of this gift card months later, the customer realized that there was a hold on the card. The Member Services Team then informed the customer that we are unable to provide a refund as all of the gift cards involved are well outside our 100 Day Guarantee. As a member to member marketplace, we verify each and every gift card before it is listed for sale. However, should an issue arise after your purchase is complete, Raise is happy to issue a refund within 100 days of the order date. Per our refund policy, we are unable to issue a refund for this gift card.

After receiving and further reviewing Revdex.com complaint number 11954010 , we are, unfortunately, unable to offer the customer a different resolution, but are happy to further address the concerns presented.
As mentioned previously, it is true that the gift card was not listed the same day it was uploaded, as we require a 45 day hold on travel cards. We had mentioned previously that the card would be officially live on the marketplace on January 9, 2017.
In addition, further verification was needed for this specific instance as the information provided with the Credit Card verification was a mismatch with the information provided with the ACH Direct Deposit. We did request IDs for both parties listed for this reason. Due to the IDs not being uploaded, the account was placed on a temporary hold as well. This information is all presented in our Terms of Use, Section 3(e). (https://www.raise.com/terms) The funds were not even able to be withdrawn until January 10, 2017, as the gift card sold in an order on that date. There was no funds available to be withdrawn before that date.
At the initial time the customer reached out to the supporting agent on January 26, 2017, the supporting agent was able to see that the card had officially sold. In order to protect the integrity of the marketplace, our Seller Support Team reached out to the buyer to verify the balance was redeemable. Due to the buyer not being able to redeem the card, as well as the error message that was presented, we had to refund the buyer and hold the seller accountable, which resulted in a seller debit for the customer. Our Gift Card Support Team reached out to the brand to inquire more information about this gift card. The brand informed them that the gift card was canceled due to the original purchaser of this gift card disputing the charge with their credit card provider claiming they did not purchase it.
We take the security of the marketplace very seriously at Raise and due to the gift card being canceled due to the fraudulent charge and the resulting seller debit, there are no funds available to be withdrawn for the customer. As mentioned, if the customer has any additional correspondence from the brand, it can be forwarded to [email protected]. At this moment, we would like to consider this issue resolved and any further questions can be sent to the email address provided.

This the worst company to deal with, they are very unresponsive. Customer service is a joke.

I have used Raise a few times to purchase and sell gift cards with little issue. Last February 5th, I listed a gift card valued at $81.78 to be sold for $78.51. To know the exact amount, I had to verify that the card was still active and had an active balance, which it did. On August 11th of 2016, I received a notification that my account was being debited $66.73 as the gift card had been closed by the brand. I immediately contacted customer service and they assured me this would be taken care of, as it was by no fault of my own that it had closed.

Fast forward to now, when I access my account again to make a purchase and see that I still have a debit on my account. After contacting customer service, I was rudely informed that I was held responsible no matter what, as the only reason the brand would ever close it would be if there was an issue. How am I supposed to know if there's an issue? I was told that the seller is responsible for 180 days after listing the card. That's nice, as I was outside of the 180 day period. That didn't seem to matter, and I was again informed that I was held responsible. This is absolutely ridiculous, as I did nothing wrong to need to pay any amount whatsoever. I was very disappointed in the fact that I was told it would be taken care of, then told that it couldn't be, then be told that I'm held responsible within a time period that had expired. Absolutely ridiculous. Save yourself the time and don't ever use this site.

We were able to further review Revdex.com complaint [redacted] as well as the customer’s two orders and Raise...

account.
The customer placed her first order ([redacted] on January 25 for a $400 [redacted] gift card. She called our Member Services line after she was unable to use her gift card online. The order was then sent to our Gift Card Support Team for further review due to the high value of the gift card.
Her second order ([redacted] was placed shortly after her first order. The customer had also sent an email about this gift card having a zero balance. This order was sent to our Gift Card Support Team as well.
Unfortunately our team did not provide a resolution in a timely manner. We have now applied refunds for both orders, which will be credited back to the original payment source. A confirmation email has been sent for each email as well.
We sincerely apologize for the trouble with both of these orders as well as the delay in response. We are consistently working to improve our communication with members as well as prevent card problems such as these from occurring.
We hope to further serve this customer in the future and encourage her to contact Member Services should any questions arise.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: the gift cards I purchased clearly state " no expiration date". So again you are selling invalid or fraudulent items.  How can you look into something to see if it expired if it states no expiration. To me it sound like you have no clue what's going on.  Again, because you cannot operate your business effectively I am out money. I could have purchased other gift cards at a discount from the establishment itself but always had good luck with raise in the past.  Great customer service.  Apparently all that matters is the bottomline. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

After receiving Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] we were able to review the customer’s account in question. After review were we able to see that this customer has had an extensive number of issues on the Raise Marketplace, and this is absolutely not the norm. All gift card balances and validity are...

verified before they enter the marketplace and a second time before the card processes into an order. As a member to member marketplace, the gift cards are coming to the customer from the possession of another similar individual. In some cases, an issue can occur, but when this happens the 100 Day Money-Back Guarantee is in place to protect the customer’s purchase price. We would like to sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that the customer has faced with the gift cards that have not had valid balances when they were attempted to be used. We would also like to assure the customer that any issue that happens, we will be happy to take care of within the Raise Guarantee. We will continue to ensure that Raise policy is adhered to and properly communicated.  We feel that this customer’s issues have been resolved in accordance with the Raise guarantee and apologize again for any inconvenience.