When Pebble announced it was selling up to wearables kingpin Fitbit last week, it immediately shut down plans to release more devices.
Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue, but given Pebble’s habit of taking customers’ money before delivering, the situation was a little more complicated.
Now, despite full refunds for Pebble Time 2 and Pebble Core backers being promised via Kickstarter, it appears those loyal backers are being stiffed.
Related: Here are the worst crowdfunding campaigns of all time
Some backers commenting on the campaign page are reporting only partial refunds appearing on their credit card statements, something also experienced by a 9to5Google reporter.
Needless to say, those folks aren’t happy about it.
“I pledged $189 and received $80 back as a refund. Will we get the rest back at any point? :(“ wrote Alec Feather..
ThomServeaux added: “Pledged $179 + shipping and tax, refunded $70. THANKS PEBBLE! Be expecting a chargeback, soon.”
Pebble nor Kickstarter are yet to officially comment on the refund issues. We’ve reached out to both companies for comment.
After its early successes, it always seemed a little bit cheeky of Pebble to go panhandling to customers over and over again to support new projects.
Now it looks like the company is leaving this mortal coil with one final insult for its most loyal supporters. We’ll keep you posted.
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Do crowdfunding sites and the upstart companies who frequent them require more regulation to protect backers? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
