Kickstarter

Creator Paul North about 10 hours ago

Thought I'd pop in and see what the latest state of play is.... No change then; just the usual from Billy Bullshit.

Creator K.Ridderbos 2 days ago

Still no Limb.al here.
Its obsolete when it finaly arrives.

Creator Frank Talbot 2 days ago

"johnthomas, thanks for the info. I'll file the appropriate complaints over the weekend. As for texting him, I wouldn't lose time doing it. However, phone bombing is always easy to set up for those interested. Google is your friend.

Creator johnthomas 2 days ago

And his email - willmay@gmail.com - worth a shot.

Creator johnthomas 2 days ago

Guys - also consider filing a BBB complaint against Kickstarter. Low probability of resolution, but worth a shot: http://www.bbb.org/new-york-city/business-reviews/professional-fundraiser/kickstarter-inc-in-new-york-ny-137092

Creator johnthomas 2 days ago

Also, would anyone agree Bill's douchey photo looks like Scott Disick?

Creator johnthomas 2 days ago

Wow. Good point, Cedric. Now I know if I buy anything else out there :)

Creator Cedric Girard 3 days ago

And Amazon Payment is limited to 30 days...

Creator johnthomas 3 days ago

Also, no chance of a fraud charge. I bought with Amex and they won't dispute anything more than 65 days old. Total fail.

Creator johnthomas 3 days ago

I'm gonna text him on the hour until he mails a check. Lets all keep
Doing
It.

Creator johnthomas 3 days ago

It's a year since I pre ordered mine. Bill May is a piece of sh*t. Hope he enjoys flipping burgers at McDonalds as a career for the rest of his life.

Creator Devin Donlou 3 days ago

@ Frank

Stuck here as well, got a reply from them, I'll paste it below, and as you can see its something we could already expect....

Hi Devin,

Thanks for reaching out and bringing this to our attention.

If you’re interested in getting refunded for a project that you’ve backed, you’ll need to take that up directly with the project creator. Kickstarter doesn’t issue refunds as transactions are between you and the creator.

While issues like this are between the backer and creator, it's important that we're aware of these situations. We’ve made a note of this, and will take the status of this project into consideration if this creator submits another project.

For more on creator accountability, please take a look at our FAQ, linked below.

http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter+basics#Acco

Creator Dr. med Hank Schiffers 3 days ago

Nothing in germany as well.

Creator K.Ridderbos 3 days ago

Still no Limb.al in the Netherlands.
Feeling very deceived.

Don't think i will ever get the Limb.al.

Creator Frank Talbot 3 days ago

@Devin cool, let us know if you learn more about this. We know the laws for Quebec/Canada quite well as my wife is a lawyer and since I work for the government, I have several contacts there, and everyone told me something similar to what you got.

Right now I have everything to start legal action. My main problem is that by doing it, it *could* lead to blocking Kickstarter for us in Quebec. It's happened several times in the past with other websites who didn't comply to our laws and did nothing about it. That's why I'm REALLY trying to get in touch with KS and explain the situation as it would suck blocking all of our province's IPs (worst case scenario but still, I've been warned it was very possible) because I got scammed out of like $40.

Creator Devin Donlou 4 days ago

I also send an email to KS stating that their terms and conditions would not hold up in both the Dutch and European consumer electronic legislation. We are able to hold KS and limb.al responsible for not upholding the contract (limb.al) and responsibilities as a platform (KS) since they were the one holding the money until the project got funded. As long as KS doesn't take responsibility we can hold them accountable for the damages we endured.

Creator Jeff Ringel 4 days ago

I did email KS about it and have emailed them numerous times about this project.Unfortunately though I deleted it from my phone.

Creator Frank Talbot 4 days ago

@Jeff : Wow, can you screenshot that text and forward it to the KS team?

Creator Seth Stewart 4 days ago

Hey guys,

Lie, lies, lie, another lie, more lies, still more lies, lie, lie, lie, lie, lies, yet another lie, lie, lie, shameless lie, blatant lie, lie, lie, lie. Lie, lies, lie, another lie, more lies, still more lies, lie, lie, lie, lie, lies, yet another lie, lie, lie, shameless lie, blatant lie, lie, lie, lie. Lie, lies, lie, another lie, more lies, still more lies, lie, lie, lie, lie, lies, yet another lie, lie, lie, shameless lie, blatant lie, lie, lie, lie. Lie, lies, lie, another lie, more lies, still more lies, lie, lie, lie, lie, lies, yet another lie, lie, lie, shameless lie, blatant lie, lie, lie, lie. Lie, lies, lie, another lie, more lies, still more lies, lie, lie, lie, lie, lies, yet another lie, lie, lie, shameless lie, blatant lie, lie, lie, lie. Lie, lies, lie, another lie, more lies, still more lies, lie, lie, lie, lie, lies, yet another lie, lie, lie, shameless lie, blatant lie, lie, lie, lie. Lie, lies, lie, another lie, more lies, still more lies, lie, lie, lie, lie, lies, yet another lie, lie, lie, shameless lie, blatant lie, lie, lie, lie.

Bill

Creator Jeff Ringel 4 days ago

@ Frank. I made a typo in my post yesterday but I left numerous messages to the correct number and never received a call back. But I have to admit I did receive a text saying I do not have to give you a refund this is not a store and why would I give a refund to a guy who says he will do everything in his power to make sure any other product I introduced in the future will not be successful. If this was a store and I was talked to like this I would ask you to leave. That is no bullshit. This is the text I received from our friend Bill. He did not have the balls to say that to me over the phone but the big man was OK typing it to me.

Creator Frank Talbot 4 days ago

@ Jeff Ringel, the last digit of the number you have (from his website) and the one he just gave isn't the same. Can you call him on the new number and update us?

Creator Frank Talbot 4 days ago

Also, I don't get that part "In hindsight, managing fulfillment myself, even in part, was a mistake."

If you had managed it yourself, you would've bought envelopes, put the limb.als inside those envelopes, wrote our addresses on said envelopes, then mailed the whole thing. We would've received it by now.

The problem is apparently that you haven't done a single thing for the fulfillment of the orders. Otherwise you would know what's happening, what happened at the warehouse, what's the status of the TSA problem, etc. You NEVER know anything.

In hindsight, it would've been easier if you had done like the rest of the eBay sellers of cheap cables and bought envelopes to do it yourself. You don't have anyone else to blame but you.

Also, who's "we"? I've always thought you were alone on this. I can't believe there's a team behind this and no one had the time to update us, check the status or help taking care of the shipping process. Read other projects here, most have managed to ship much harder to ship rewards (posters, books, game boxes, etc.) for a higher number of backers in less than a week.

Creator Frank Talbot 4 days ago

Bill : I do not care about the TSA delay. We've waited long enough. I am politely, as per Kickstarter suggestion, requesting a refund as I " feel that a creator has not made a good faith effort to complete the project and fulfill."
We've had to deal with excuse after excuse. You're past the 6 weeks delay from last time and you still have no clue what's happening. You're 8+ months late after lying several times that the product was about to ship. It is your fault that you didn't research your 3PL enough before giving them the contract, we backers do not have to be the only ones punished by your mistake.
I've asked several times already and today, on May 15th, 2013, close to 1 year after the end of the project with no hope in seeing the product before the 1 year funding anniversary, I politely demand a refund, to my Paypal address. Feel free to contact me by the end of the week to get my email address, and I'm fine paying the 10% Amazon/Kickstarter cut if it's that big of a deal for you.

Creator Frank Talbot 4 days ago

Bill : I do not care about the TSA delay. We've waited long enough. I am politely, as per Kickstarter suggestion, requesting a refund as I do not " feel that a creator has not made a good faith effort to complete the project and fulfill."

We've had to deal with excuse after excuse. You're past the 6 weeks delay from last time and you still have no clue what's happening. You're 8+ months late after lying several times that the product was about to ship. It is your fault that you didn't research your 3PL enough before giving them the contract, we backers do not have to be the only ones punished by your mistake.

I've asked several times already and today, on May 15th, 2013, close to 1 year after the end of the project with no hope in seeing the product before the 1 year funding anniversary, I politely demand a refund, to my Paypal address. Feel free to contact me by the end of the week to get my email address, and I'm fine paying the 10% Amazon/Kickstarter cut if it's that big of a deal for you.

Creator Jeff Ringel 4 days ago

Come on Bill. You come on here after weeks of ignoring everyone and you do not even have the balls to address one backer after another who is unhappy with you and the Limbal? Come on have some balls. Speaking of balls I have called and left messages on your cell and you never have called back and you never will. You will never man up and take responsibility for your actions.

Creator Marek 5 days ago

@Cedric
I received the same bullshit copy&paste answer...

Ok, I decided that in future I will support no projects here no matter what will be the result of this limb.al project ...- in this "triangle" the backers are the only side that have to do something (pay) but creators and KS don't have to do anything or deliver any result and are fine. Thats ridiculous....

Creator Jay 5 days ago

Nothing received in Perth, Australia

Creator Jam 5 days ago

Nope... nothing received in Australia

Creator Stephen Holinaty 5 days ago

has ANY international backer received their stuff yet?

Creator Jeff Ringel 5 days ago

If you want to contact Bill via his cell phone you can @ 646-450-1946. I know he will not take your call, nor will he return a call but at the very least you can leave him a message or text him and let him know how you feel. It will not do any good in the long run but knowing Bill will get scared each time his phone rings makes it will worth it. The number is from his website so it is there for all to see. (As long as your firewall lets you see it.) He is afraid of everyone here, let's make him afraid every time his phone rings or he receives a text.

Creator Frank Talbot 5 days ago

Wow, I wanted to check his website from work, our firewall flags it as a malicious website. We've got a pretty strong and efficient firewall, not sure why it's flagged but it looks like our firewall knows more about Bill than we do :)

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/starforsaken666/2013-05-14_145409.png

Creator Frank Talbot 5 days ago

Yeah but like I said earlier, their Terms of Use aren't legal in some countries. I know that here they aren't. I can write on a contract that you're not allowed to have babies if you want to use my product, and you can agree to it by signing the contract, but it's not a valid clause and has no legal value.

If Kickstarter expect us to deal exclusively with the project creators, they should at least give us their whole contact info (name, address, phone number, etc.). Right now Bill's Facebook seems to have been deleted and it doesn't look like he'll come back anytime soon. As much as I want to contact the creator for a reward, if he doesn't come back here anymore, there's not much we can do.

Kickstarter cannot just stay out of this without helping. If that's their stance, I am never using this website again and will loudly warn everyone to do the same.

Creator Cedric Girard 5 days ago

@Robert Wilson: I got the same answer from KS. After giving more details, here the answer I got:
"[...]
When you back a project you enter into an agreement with the project creator, as described in our terms of use (http://www.kickstarter.com/terms-of-use#fundraising_and_commerce). This agreement establishes a legal requirement for creators to follow through on their projects, and gives backers a recourse if they don't. We hope that backers will consider using this provision only in cases where they feel that a creator has not made a good faith effort to complete the project and fulfill.

While Kickstarter is the platform for this agreement, we are not a part of it. Kickstarter itself cannot force the creator to fulfill rewards, offer refunds, or communicate with backers (though we encourage them to do so). It's the creator's responsibility to complete their project as promised.

While issues like this are between the backer and creator, it's important that we're aware of these situations. We’ve made a note of this, and will take the status of this project into consideration if this creator submits another project.

For more on creator accountability, please take a look at our FAQ (http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter+basics#Acco).
[...]"

Basically they say they can't/won't do anything...

Creator Robert Wilson 5 days ago

I have contacted KS and they told me to contact Bill May, so if he does not answer here or emails what would be the next step ?

Creator Frank Talbot 5 days ago

Yes I've started legal action here in Quebec, Canada like I said earlier and here you have to open a file against both Kickstarter (because they're the ones offering the service and making/enforcing the rules. It would be different if it was non-profit but it's far from it) and Billy May for not delivering. Like Marek said, you could even skip a step and just file a claim for KS and let them deal with Billy.

Kickstarter's Terms of Service, at least here in Quebec, aren't valid in court. You can't offer a paid service and take no accountability when problems happen. The 5% fee they charge project creators should be used in part to solve disputes. At this point, I'm sure most of us only want a refund for the amount that we paid, no damage and interests, so the smartest move would be for KS or Billy to just give the refund and sell the Limb.als to other customers. Kickstarter isn't a store so Billy had to have some kind of business plan to sell those to the public once the rewards had all been fulfilled. Those Limb.als aren't lost, they're probably still in Billy's possession. He could even ship them to those with DOA products as shipping products not fit for purpose is also against the law in the USA.

There are tons of smart ways to solve this problem, but KS or Billy will have to get back to us soon. Otherwise I'll continue what I've started here, and I'm also in for a class action lawsuit. Meanwhile, I've stopped backing projects here and keep spreading the word about KS practices when problems like this happen.

Creator Marek 6 days ago

@Gary Honestly I'd go and open a file against the KS itself as its Kickstarter/Amazon who charged our cards - Its up to the KS to deal with Bill afterwards.
The KS only took their margin but are absolutely not helpfull when there are any problems. They are saying that they stand beside of this all but the fact is that there is "Kickstarter" on my bank statement, Amazon is the processor, the web is not Bill's etc.
If there is anyone against who we should take a legal action its a Kickstarter in my opinion because its the institution to who we paied....

Creator Gary 6 days ago

Hi backers,

i do a lot of business in NY and US, i´m located in german and my company knows some good lawyers in N.Y. Are we not at a point now to tackle a class action against Mr. Bill May?

He can not get away so easy...What you think?

Creator Dr. med Hank Schiffers 6 days ago

Bill do you still intend to finalize this project?

Creator Jay 6 days ago

I've done the same. This is project is a total joke!!

Creator Cedric Girard 6 days ago

I have just opened a ticket as well.

Creator Robert Wilson 6 days ago

I have reached out to KickStarter this morning. Will see if this helps at all. Thanks for providing the suggestion.

Creator Marek 6 days ago

@Robert Wilson
Don't bother to ask here Robert - noone will respond.... I sent a question to Bill using the mail,FB and KS more than month ago but still no answer.
The creator is completely ignoring all attempts for contacting.
Instead of spending time by contacting Bill, please invest your time to contacting the Kickstarter and explaining them the current situation...

Creator Frank Talbot 6 days ago

@Robert Wilson, I'd recommend warning Kickstarter about your situation. There's a contact link at the bottom of the main Kickstarter page, or you can also report the project from it's main page. It doesn't look like Bill will bother updating us anytime soon, and he's apparently been ignoring emails and all negative comments.

If you still need a Limb.al, I'd suggest buying it from eBay. Here's the one I bought : http://www.ebay.com/itm/251236361218… and there are others available too. From what I've seen it's the same exact product. I've been using one for a week now, took about 3 weeks to get here (not bad for a HK -> Canada free shipping $4 product). I have the same complaints as most people here (wobbly, hard to move, etc.) but for $4 it's hard to complain.

I'd recommend it while we wait for our Limb.als refunds.

Creator Robert Wilson 6 days ago

Robert Wilson 5 days ago
Can I get some type of verification as to if I will be receiving my Limb ? Seems no one can get a reply to emails or a reply to comments as to the status of ones order. Can I have an Update ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Creator Marek 7 days ago

@Cedric btw. maybe you should add DOA option to split dead and only crappy units...