Raise Marketplace Inc

We have further reviewed Revdex.com complaint number [redacted] as well as the Raise account and order associated with...

this complaint.
The order R705887503 was placed on July 20, 2015 for a $25 [redacted] gift card. Like all Raise purchases, this order was protected by our 100 Day Guarantee (https://www.raise.com/return-policy). If an issue should arise with a gift card within the first 100 days, a refund will be issued.
This customer called into Raise Member Services on December 28, 2015 regarding the [redacted] gift card. They were told by the restaurant that this gift card had no balance. Because this order was outside our 100 day guarantee, the Member Services agent sent it to our Gift Card Support Team for review. Unfortunately, our support team was unable to provide a timely response. On February 1, a supervisor followed up with the customer to let them know that we were unable to submit a refund because it was outside policy.
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 both Member Services and Gift Card Support.
A total of $21.14 has been added to the customer’s account in the form of Raise Rewards. This is a credit that will automatically apply to the next order. A confirmation email has been sent with further instructions as well.
Again, our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience this has caused and we hope to serve them again in the future.

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 an an order for three [redacted] Coat Factory gift cards on May 21, 2016. After this order processed he called into Raise Member Services and spoke to an agent regarding an order placed on his account on May 20, 2016, that he expressed was not his order. There are very strict procedures for unauthorized purchases here at Raise, so the customer’s account had a hold placed on it until it could be reviewed by our Compliance Team.
Once under review by the Compliance Team and after a thorough investigation, it was determined that the gift cards were indeed purchased by the customer. This was determined by the location of the order being placed and the device it was placed on had been used to place previous orders on the customer’s account. While Raise does not refund for valid gift card purchases, if the customer not longer wants to keep the gift cards once they arrive in the mail, he is welcome to call into the Member Services Team again or send in an email to [redacted] and the agent will provide him with a return shipping label. Once the gift cards arrive back in the Raise office, the customer will be refunded for the purchase.
In cases when an account is claimed to have an unauthorized purchase, as mentioned previously, it is taken very seriously. The account is placed on a hold so that no future purchases can be made until the investigation has been completed. While the customer was trying to access the [redacted] gift cards, the account had this security hold. This particular kind of hold does still allow access to prior purchases for the customer, but not through the mobile app. As the customer was told by all of the agents he spoke with on May 21, 2016 as well as on May 24, 2016, he still had access to his purchases but would need to use either the website from a computer or even on the mobile browser, but just not through the app.
At this time, the customer is in the process of having the hold taken off of his account as the investigation has been completed. Once he completes the steps asked of him by the Order Processing Team he will have full access to his account on the mobile app and again able to make purchases.
We are happy to offer the customer a resolution for the gift cards that he may no longer want, and would like to consider the issue resolved at this time.

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 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.

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 11959294, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
Jered [redacted]

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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]

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.

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.

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

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

customer.
On January 7, 2016 the customer purchased a [redacted] gift card through Raise for a purchase price of $400.00 with a balance of $500.00. The customer then contacted Raise Member Services on August 8, 2016 and expressed to the serving agent that he had checked the gift card and the balance was $0. At that time, the serving agent expressed to the customer that the order had fallen outside of the 100 Day Money-Back Guarantee so a refund or replacement card could not be provided on the order. The serving agent was also able to offer the customer a $50 Raise Rewards credit as recompense for this issue.
The Raise Guarantee is in place to protect the purchase price of all orders through Raise for the first 100 days from the purchase date. After that time, we are happy to look into an order but cannot guarantee a refund or replacement in the same way we would within the Raise Guarantee period. The Raise Guarantee for this purchase lapsed as of April 16, 2016. Had the customer contacted us on or before this date, we would have been able to offer further assistance on the order.
As of today, the customer has before utilized the Raise Guarantee and is aware of the 100 Day Money-Back Guarantee. While that is the case, we would like to offer the customer an additional $150.00 in Raise Rewards credit, for a total of $200.00, to use toward a future purchase on the marketplace. We appreciate the customer’s business and want him to feel comfortable using the marketplace.
The credit is now available in the customer’s account and will automatically apply to the next purchase made on Raise.
We would also like to assure the customer that the seller of this gift card has been temporarily removed from the marketplace as they are reviewed by the Seller Support Team due to the gift card issue that has occurred.
At this time, we would like to offer the customer our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience this has caused and look forward to serving him again in the future.

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]

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.

I ordered over $4,500 in gift cards for a home improvement store. It was a total of 9 cards but only 8 arrived. The Post Office attempted to deliver but it required a signature so they left the card to come pick it up. I went to pick it up twice from the post office and long story short, the Post Master at the local office said it was just lost and since the sender (raise.com) did not insure it that they were not liable even though they know they lost it (that's a whole other complaint!). I paid almost $700 for the missing card which I figured I would not recoup. After a pretty brief conversation (8 mins) with a raise.com customer service rep they said I would be refunded the full amount since it falls under their 1 year money back guarantee. I got off of the phone with her less than 10 mins ago and have already received the email confirmation. I know people usually only speak up when they have bad experiences which I expected to have but am now so happy with the outcome!