Raise Marketplace Inc

We were able to further review Revdex.com Complaint number [redacted] as well as the customer’s Raise...

order.Order [redacted] was placed on November 26, 2015 and contained three [redacted] gift cards valued at $100 each.
On November 26, the customer emailed our Member Services Team regarding the [redacted] order he was trying to place with his gift cards. [redacted]’s policy stated that only one gift card could be used per transaction on their website. This would prevent the customer from using all three of the gift cards purchased from Raise. Previous policy had stated that two gift cards could be used on [redacted]’s website and unfortunately our website was not updated to reflect this. However, as a member to member gift card marketplace, we are not responsible for communicating the policies of other brands.
In a message written on December 22, the customer wrote, “What I think is fair in this case is that you issue a refund and take back 1 of the $100 gift cards since the raise.com site is falsely advertising that 2 cards can be used.” Although our return policy states that it does not cover misinterpretation of how a particular gift card can be redeemed, our Member Services Team agreed to refund one of the [redacted] gift cards outside of our policy. A refund of $93.71 was refunded to the customer’s credit card. After the refund was complete, he responded asking about the whereabouts of his second refund. The agent explained that we were only able to refund for one gift card outside of our policy and suggested that he list the other unwanted gift card for sale on the marketplace.
Unfortunately we are still unable to process a second refund for Mr. [redacted]. However, a credit of $10 has been added to his Raise account to alleviate commission costs. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused and we hope to be able to serve Mr. [redacted] again in the future.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:This is what Raise does. If you look at other similar complaints they are all treated the same way. Raise stalls you until the 101 day warranty is up. There are to many complaints of Raise selling ** cards that are either used up already or partially used. I would like my credit card credited back. I promise I will never do business again with Raise.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

After receiving complaint number [redacted] we were able to further review this case and the payment involved.On August 27, 2015, the customer listed a [redacted] gift card for sale on the Raise marketplace.  This gift card sold on August 29, and the customer’s earnings were $20.00 for this...

sale.  To receive payment, a seller must request payment via [redacted] ACH direct deposit to his or her bank account, or a physical check.  The physical check option would be paid to the name and address on the credit card used to verify a seller’s account.  This verification is a mandatory process completed at the time a seller lists a gift card on Raise.com.At the time of this customer’s seller verification, the credit card used for verification was in the name of someone other than the seller..  He proceeded to request a physical check on August 30, which was made out to the name on the aforementioned credit card.  This check was sent out via [redacted] three business days later.  The customer emailed Raise Member Services on October 9, 2015, stating that he has not received his check in the mail.  Our Seller Support team reached back out to him, confirming the address to which the check was sent.  After confirming the correct address and that this check had not yet been cashed, our Accounting team was able to cancel payment.  It was suggested to the customer to take advantage of a quicker, more convenient method of payout.  After several days, the customer had not entered banking or [redacted] information.  He was informed that we would proceed with sending another physical check to ensure that he was paid for the card sold on the site two months prior.The second physical check was sent out the following day using the same information as the first attempt.  The customer emailed Raise on November 25 that he had yet to receive his check.  In accordance with Raise policy, we must wait 45 days before a check is considered lost in the mail and cancelled.On January 12, 2016, our Accounting team was able to confirm that the second check had not been cashed.  The customer was informed that either a [redacted] shipping issue or the name in which the payment was issued was preventing him from receiving this check.  The customer was again urged to choose another method of payout, as we would not be able to issue another check after the two failed delivery attempts.  We would like to thank the customer for connecting his [redacted] account for more immediate payment.  He was informed that his second check payment has been cancelled, and that the funds would be available immediately within his Raise account for re-request.  Shortly after, we received the customer’s payout request.  This transaction has been approved, and will be accessible in the customer’s [redacted] account within 24 hours.We would like to offer a sincere apology for the length of time it took for the customer to be paid for his sale.  Overall we are pleased to have resolved this issue for the customer and look forward to serving him again in the future.

After receiving and reviewing Revdex.com complaint number [redacted], and the corresponding order number, it appears that the current resolution is warranted.On February 2, 2016 the customer purchased three [redacted] gift cards from Raise.com. The customer reached out to Raise Member Services on June 3, 2016...

and expressed that two of the three gift cards had not worked as expected. The Member Services agent explained to the customer that the order fell outside of the Raise Guarantee and no further action could be taken on the order.The customer later spoke with a supervisor on the Member Services Team who also explained that the order fell outside of the 100 Day Money-Back Guarantee. During the same phone call, the customer was offered $35 in Raise Rewards credit as recompense, as the order could not be refunded outside of the policy.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. For this reason, we are unable to provide further assistance on the order. The $35 offered by the Member Services supervisor is in the customer’s account to be used on a future purchase of the customer’s choice.We would like to sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused and look forward to serving the customer again in the future.

After again reviewing Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] we are unable to offer the customer a different resolution. We were able to confirm with the Gift Card Support Team that the customer has in fact been able to redeem $22.29 of the gift card before the brand had the gift card deactivated. While this is the case, the customer was refunded as if he had only been able to use $20.00 of the gift card. This information was obtained through contact with the brand regarding purchases, the locations at which they were made, and the dates on which the purchases occurred. As gift cards are treated as currency, the customer was refunded for the amount of currency, prorated by the discount at which it was purchased, that he was unable to redeem in the restaurant. This is the way a partially used gift card is returned in the form of a refund, and we apologize for the inconvenience in this.

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 and reviewing Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] it appears that the current resolution is warranted.Throughout the months of July and August of this year, the customer collectively listed four different eGift cards onto the Raise marketplace. Gift cards were listed by the customer on...

July 31, August 10, August 18, and August 21. On August 1, after the customer had listed the first gift card,  the Seller Support team here at Raise reached out to the customer with a seller questionnaire asking for information regarding how the seller had obtained the gift cards and some information about them. At this time, the seller was not asked to produce any documents, only answer the questions in the email.After the customer listed the remaining three gift cards, the questionnaire had remained unanswered, so on August 21, the Seller Support Team sent the email to the customer a second time. As the email remained unanswered after another 48 hours, the Seller Support Team was forced to cancel the requested payment. After the payment was canceled, the customer emailed back, still without answers to the questions, but informing the team that she would use the gift cards because her payment had been canceled. As this would be a breach in the contract that the customer entered when she acreed to the Raise Terms and Conditions and sold the gift cards on the marketplace, the Seller Support Team put a hold on the customer’s account. In order to receive payment for these gift cards, the customer will need to respond to the questionnaire, and we will also be reaching out to the buyers to confirm that the gift cards were successfully redeemed by them and not the seller. Once these two items have been completed, the customer will be then be able to request payment again. The customer can reach back out to the Seller Support Team or reach back out to us at [redacted] if there are any further questions. At this time, we would like to consider the issue resolved.

At this time, we are unfortunately unable to continue reviewing complaint number 10997097.On January 4th, 2016, the customer filed a dispute for Order R370695256 with his financial institution. Due to this dispute, we will no longer be able to provide a refund for this order.  The customer’s refund will now be processed and provided by his credit card company.  We would like to suggest that if the customer should have any more questions regarding his refund, to please contact his credit card company for further support or information.We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused.

After receiving complaint number
rgb(255, 255, 255);">[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.
On February 17, 2016 the customer placed order [redacted] on Raise.com. This order was placed for a Walmart gift card with a value of $1000 for a purchase price of $975, which the member paid for by credit card. On February 17, 2016 the customer placed order [redacted] for two Walmart gift cards, each with a value of $1000 and a purchase price of $975. The total purchase price for this order was $1950. On February 16, 2016 the customer placed order [redacted] for another Walmart gift card with a value of $1000 for a purchase price of $975 which the customer paid for by credit card.
The customer contacted Raise Member Services on February 18, 2016 and notified the serving agent that all four of the gift cards across the three aforementioned orders all had $0 balances and that the customer had not redeemed any of that value. Per Raise policy these three orders were escalated to the Gift Card Support Team due to the high value of the gift cards. Currently the Gift Card Support Team does have a 10-14 day response time for all high value gift cards requiring further review.  
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 2, 2016 that we are unable to refund for these three orders. This was determined by further review from the Gift Card Support Team. They came to this conclusion after reviewing the customer’s buying history on Raise as well as the locations where other Walmart gift cards were redeemed from their account. 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.

After receiving and reviewing Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] and the corresponding order number, it appears that the current resolution is warranted.On November 6, 2015 the customer made a purchase for a [redacted] gift card through the Raise marketplace. The customer then contacted Raise Member...

Services on August 19, 2016 and expressed to the serving agent that he had not previously used the gift card but was told by [redacted] that it could not be used. At that time, the serving agent informed the customer that the order had fallen outside of the 100 Day Money-Back Guarantee, and no further action could be taken on the order. The Raise Guarantee is in place to protect the purchase price of all gift cards for the first 100 days from the purchase date. After that time, we are happy to look into any gift card that has an issue, but as the Raise Guarantee has a strict time frame, a refund or replacement card cannot be offered in the same way it would be within the first 100 days from the purchase date. This order’s guarantee period lapsed as of February 14, 2016. Had the customer contacted us on or before this date, we would have been able to offer further assistance on the order.As a one time courtesy we would like to offer the customer a Raise Rewards credit of $43.84, the purchase price of the [redacted] gift card. This credit is now in the customer’s Raise account and will automatically apply to the next purchase made on Raise through the customer’s account.We are happy to have been able to offer a resolution to the customer and look forward to better serving him again in the future.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:The response from the business was not acceptable and many consumers could suffer similar damages from their business model.  Actually, a review on the internet had indicated that many people were already complaining about their losses to this identical problem.  I'm not sure why Revdex.com or a consumer protection group could not do anything to shut down their business for future consumer protection.They should have advised the consumers that their products are only good for 100 days.  Beyond this time limit, the card could become invalid.  This will give protection to the customers.  A gift card without an expiration date is a false claim from the Raise.  As a consumer I don't think I dare to buy anything from them again.  Regards,
Sincerely,
[redacted]

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

the current resolution is warranted.
The customer purchased four [redacted] gift cards from Raise.com on November 13, 2015, all containing a value of $200.00 for a purchase price of $166.34 each. At the time the purchase was made, the gift cards were confirmed as each having a full $200.00 balance ready and available to use.
On June 23, 2016 the customer reached out to Raise Member Services and expressed to the serving agent that the gift cards had not worked when redemption was attempted. The serving agent explained to the customer that the order fell outside of the 100 Day Money-Back Guarantee period and that a refund could not be provided. After speaking with the agent, the customer was transferred to a supervisor on the Member Services team who also explained the Raise Guarantee to the customer and offered $50.00 as recompense for the issue.
While we understand that this is an unfortunate situation, as the order falls so far outside of the Raise Guarantee, we are unable to provide the customer with a refund for this order.
We would like to sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and look forward to serving the customer again in the future.

We have received complaint number [redacted] and reviewed the order in question.  Each customer complaint is taken seriously and we want to assure the customer that the problem brought to our attention has been addressed.The customer placed an order on Raise.com for a [redacted] physical gift card...

on December 2, 2015.  The value of this card was $14.13 for which the customer paid $12.25.  A $10 credit was redeemed, charging $2.25 to the customer’s credit card.  This card would be shipped from the seller and expected to be received within 14 business days.  Raise Member Services was notified via email on January 1, 2016 that the customer has not received her gift card.  Regrettably, an agent was not able to update the customer with a resolution until January 15, 2016.  We sincerely apologize that the customer did not receive her gift card, and that she was not contacted in a timely manner.  After reviewing the [redacted] tracking information provided with this order, we were able to determine a shipping issue that prevented the seller from sending this card within the specified timeframe.  Because the Raise 100 Day Guarantee covers instances of “Gift cards not received within 30 days from the date of purchase,” we have issued a credit of $10 to the customer’s Raise account, and her credit card has been refunded $2.25.The company aims to consistently deliver a professional and timely service to our customers and I would like to state that on this occasion the level of service received was unacceptable.  Raise is actively working to improve service levels and feedback has proved to be invaluable.  We would like to consider this issue resolved at this time and hope that the customer finds a refund and credit a suitable resolution.  We hope to provide her with exceptional service in the future.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:It is not my desire to extend this complaint, however, I have contacted my credit card company and their policy is for the dispute not to be complete for 90 days after the dispute was filed. It will be resolved if there is no correspondence from Raise during that time. I filed the disputes around the week of 3/20, so it will remain open with them until approximately 6/20. Because I contacted Raise in regard to these orders on Feb 24,25,29 , Mar 4, 9, 17 I have no guarantee of receiving correspondence from Raise other than maintaining this open dispute. I would like for this case to remain open until 6/20 when the 90 days have been completed.Other than that I am satisfied with the response from Raise.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

After receiving Revdex.com complaint number 11954010, we were able to review the issue at hand and provide the customer with an explanation. On November 25, 2016, the customer listed a [redacted] gift card for sale at a purchase price of $280.00 and a value of $350.00. Typically, cards listed on Raise are...

officially active on the marketplace within 24 hours but may be subject to further verification. Because this gift card was a travel card (any card associated with hotel stays, airline travel, cruises, etc.), Raise has an internal policy stating the card must be active and/or held for 45 days before we are able to officially list it on our marketplace.On December 1, 2016, our Seller Support Team reached out to the customer via email asking for further verification of the gift card. The customer responded to the questions asked and also uploaded an image of the gift card via their Raise account on December 7, 2016. Unfortunately, since the image of the card showed the card being activated on the same date it was listed, the card could not be approved until the 45 days had passed, which was January 9, 2017.The card was officially listed and approved on January 9, 2017 and it sold in Order Number [redacted] on January 10, 2017. The customer requested payment via ACH Direct Deposit on January 19, 2017. As our Seller Support team approves every single payment requested on Raise, a supporting agent reached out on January 23, 2017 asking for further verification as the name on the account and the name on the credit card used for verification did not match. Per our Terms of Use, Section 3(e), Raise may require additional verification, including, without limitation, a copy of a valid driver’s license (or other form of identification) prior to or after listing Gift cards for sale. (https://www.raise.com/terms) The supporting agent requested valid forms of ID for both parties on the account, due to the mismatch in information.The pending payment was canceled due to no response from the customer in regards to this request. On January 24, 2017, the supporting agent reached out again to the customer via email further explaining what was needed before Raise was able to process the payment. The customer then uploaded an image of their ID later that day. Unfortunately, our Seller Support Team was not able to verify this image and requested additional information, which included an image for the other party on the account, as previously stated.On January 26, 2017, the customer contacted Raise via phone inquiring why they could not process their payment and why there was a temporary hold placed on the account. The supporting agent informed the customer the hold was placed due to failure to verify in accordance with our terms and policies. The supporting agent also informed the customer that our Seller Support Team would be reaching out to the buyer to ensure there was no issues in redeeming the card.After further review into the card, our Seller Support team found an issue with the gift card and confirmed that the buyer was not able to redeem the card successfully. The buyer has since been refunded and the customer’s seller’s account has been debited. Due to the debit, there is no funds available for withdrawal for the customer and we encourage them to reach out to the brand for redemption history/activation issues.Overall, we would like to consider this issue resolved and we feel this has been resolved in accordance with our Terms and Conditions. If the customer has any further questions, or correspondence from the brand, it can be communicated via email at [email protected].

After receiving Revdex.com complaint number [redacted], we were able to review the customer’s account and offer a solution to the customer.On January 26, 2017, the customer listed a $856.56 valued gift card for sale for a purchase price of $820.00. That card sold in order [redacted] on February 2, 2017. The...

customer requested payment via check that same day (check number [redacted]) and after verifying the gift card information, our Seller Support Team was able to process the payment and the check was officially sent out on February 6, 2017. Typically, physical checks will arrive to the billing address on the credit card used for seller verification in 3-14 business days.On February 14, 2017, the customer contacted Raise inquiring about the status of their physical check. At that time, the check had been sent out and was still within the 3-14 business day time-frame Raise has in place. The supporting agent informed the customer that if the check was not received, Raise would have to wait 45 days to issue a stop payment. In accordance with Raise policy, we must wait 45 days before a check is considered lost in the mail and cancelled. We do have it stated under our terms and conditions that a fee may be assessed to reissue a new check ([redacted]). This can be found in Section 3(h) under “Sellers”. Unfortunately, at this moment, we are unable to waive this fee.The customer did indeed speak to a manager from our Seller Support Team on February 15, 2017. The supporting manager relayed the information of the 45 day wait in order to issue a new check. We would like to apologize to the customer if there was any information provided to them that did not reiterate this fact.As of February 24, 2017, our Seller Support Team has submitted a request to our finance team for check number [redacted] to be stopped on the 45th day, which is March 19, 2017. At that time, the customer may request the full payment of $721.60 for the card sold on February 2, 2017 via check, direct deposit, or [redacted]. This request is already in our Finance Team’s queue, so no further steps are needed from the customer at this time.We’d like to sincerely apologize once again for this inconvenience and we are actively working on improving the seller experience to minimize situations like this from occurring in the future. We would like to consider this issue resolved and would be happy to follow up with the customer on the 45th day. We welcome any further questions the customer may have via email at [redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
As I have stated several times for each time you have reached out to me, this is not what your guarantee is.  When I said that I had used "about $20", I have no idea how accurate that is.  Since the card was reported fraudulent (JITB's words, not mine), I should be refunded the entire amount of my purchase, as it clearly states in your 100-day guarantee:
 
For 100 days from the date of purchase, the Raise Guarantee covers:
Gift cards that are not active
Gift cards with an inaccurate balance
Gift cards received as a different brand than ordered
Gift cards not received within 30 days from the date of purchase
and
The Raise Guarantee covers the purchase price of the gift card, not any savings or discount the buyer received.
 
As I had explained to one of your customer support agents, if you had, even in good faith, sold me car that turned out to be stolen (which is tantamount to what happened here), would I be expected to pay a "rental fee" for the time I used it?  That idea is preposterous, but that is what you are expecting here.  You cannot rewrite a contract that you failed to follow through on after the fact.
At the end of the day, I just do not want to buy from a company that sells stolen gift cards and then does not honor the guarantee that is sets forth before purchase.  You can "spin" it however you want to but those are the facts of this situation.  
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: Raise failed to approved earlier adequate action for their customers.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

After again reviewing Revdex.com complaint number [redacted], we are happy to offer the customer a different resolution.
As a courtesy, we would like to offer the customer a refund for the [redacted] gift card. We value all customers and would like them to feel confident and protected when using the marketplace. The Gift Card Support Team was able to determine, through contact with the brand, that the customer was able to utilize the gift card for the amount of $165.36 on August 23, 2015 in Florence, KY. A partial refund of the out of pocket purchase price the customer paid for this gift card, $113.15, has been refunded back to the customer’s original payment source and will be available on their next statement within 3-5 business days. This partial refund was calculated by subtracting the amount used by the customer from the value of the gift card and then the percentage of savings the member received on the original purchase price was applied to the new value to determine the new purchase price. Since the refund has been issued, the Raise Rewards, that were given as recompense, have been removed from the Raise account.  
We would like to remind the customer that this is courtesy and that the same resolution may not be offered if a similar situation were to occur in the future.
We do hope that the customer finds a refund an acceptable resolution, and we look forward to better serving her again in the future.