Kanti's raffle/ silicone tails

[Mermaidmechanic]

It's been a long while since this has been brought up, but I wanted to make sure there was a thread for this now. I've tried and tried to give her a chance but she no longer answers phone or email and I feel like she's ignoring me at this point. I payed $1,500.00 for a silicone tail which she never delivered upon. I've officially filed a claim with IC3, and any other people who have been taken from have a chance to speak up. Now, before you ask, I had talked with her in length about this. Exchanged email, phone numbers, addresses, and had her write up a contract. She proved her sculpting abilities and for a while she was making progress, but after she made scales everything stopped. I for one, feel very betrayed as I had trusted her with a good amount of money and had given her a chance to make a tail by giving her my financial backing. I'll be updating the status of this and I'll be going to my bank as well to report it as theft.

[Winged Mermaid]

There's a thread with several others who had given her money for the raffle and/or full tails here: http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?4515-Raffle-Custom-Full-Dragonskin-Silicone-Tail-1-500&p=108236&viewfull=1#post108236

Some managed to get refunds, others have not. How did you pay her? If you paid with PayPal or credit card, you can go through your credit card company and/or bank to get your money back. With Kanti, Fish Butts, Emily Angelfish, and Merberry, some have managed to get their money back by going straight to their bank with the complaint.

Really sorry to hear more people have had their money taken by her :( She's still updating her FB fan page and selling other items through etsy. It looks like she's ignoring most people and just took their money :thumbdown:

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Ugh. She owes me $50 bucks. It's not a lot, but it's annoying (and still theft). She decided one day (and told me as much) that she thought I had betrayed her or something and hasn't said a word to me since, even after I've contacted her. Urf.

[AniaR]

Yes A lot of people were told that if they agreed with me in the drama thread where she was arguing with me (the betrayal thing). The whole thing we argued about was Stevi doing this (though granted it was when Stevi was on the very start of her downward spiral, and I did not defend her actions or agree with them, simply pointed out a few things I had observed) , but then she does the same thing. It's really lame.

I suspect she simply can't afford to refund people all at once. I am hopeful that she's simply earning money slowly and paying people off one by one, but who knows. I'm sorry you paid 1500$ for a tail. I'm really shocked at how much money she received. I hadn't realized people had given her so much

[Mermaidmechanic]

I wouldnt be so angry if she would just answer emails and let me know whats going on. My bank is usually pretty good about this sort of thing and so I'll be talking to them some time this week or next.

[Patches]

I paid 1500 dollars in full in cash in person as well. I msged her a few weeks ago and gave her almost a month to respond. Can someone please tell me how to file a complaint? I dont even know what IC3 is or how to do this. ):

[Winged Mermaid]

Did you keep proof of the transaction at all? Like a transaction receipt? You could take her to small claims court, and if you win she'll have to pay your legal fees as well. If you just handed her cash from you to her there's no protection and no proof there, so you may be out of luck :(

http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

[jvry8c]

wow... I put in $100 into the "raffle" and have long given up ever seeing it again despite trying to contact her multiple times. I'm shocked that she was brazen enough to take money in person and run with it. There are two possibility in my opinion. In one she is a artistic thief who did this deliberately and knowingly. I prefer the other possibility that she bit off more than she could chew (From reading this page alone she received $3000+ in a few months), paniced, and ran. In both cases she ran off with alot of peoples money and trust. I would hope she feels some guilt but I doubt it.

[Patches]

Yes I did! I saved both the receipts from me putting money directly into her account. I can also provide the design she drew and other things as proof that she had every intention of making the tail for me before she blatantly took my money.

[Winged Mermaid]

Sounds like you have a case! http://www.flcourts.org/resources-and-services/family-courts/family-law-self-help-information/small-claims.stml

[Mermaid Lilium]

I still haven't heard back from her. She owes me about $75 for the raffle and I also pledged on her horn kickstarter... And have not recieved a penny back from her for either (or the actual horns like she promised we would recieve alongside the refund she promised before) and I've been the one who's been polite, supportive and patient. I just want a f*cking answer as to what is going on and I'd be a lot happier but I'm starting to accept I got ripped off and won't get a penny back. Both payments were made through paypal but too much time will have passed by now to sort it out via them, and I'm in a different country so there goes the idea of the small claims court or anything =/

I feel more betrayed by the fact that I basically tried to do everything I could to be nice and supportive and to a certain extent defend her in the hope that everything would be sorted out eventually. So it's more the breach of trust that pissed me off, though the money has me bloody angry too.

[AniaR]

I keep getting people emailing me about this too :( I just keep redirecting them to this thread. I wish more people would post. It sounds like she took just as much money from people as fishbutts did.

I think I need to make a FAQ video or something about reputable tail makers and when to be concerned etc or something. Too many people getting scammed in the community.

[Mermaidmechanic]

I think tomorrow will be the day that i take my complaint to my bank. I have a great bank and so hopefully they'll help me out with this (especially since I have her full name, paypal, address, and emails/ PMs). I'll let you all know how this goes. If anyone else needs it, I can PM them her info if you dont have it to help with a potential case.

[Patches]

I think tomorrow will be the day that i take my complaint to my bank. I have a great bank and so hopefully they'll help me out with this (especially since I have her full name, paypal, address, and emails/ PMs). I'll let you all know how this goes. If anyone else needs it, I can PM them her info if you dont have it to help with a potential case.

Can you please PM me her info? I might be speaking to a lawyer soon about this because that website Iona sent me is so vague and I feel like I might get somewhere quicker with a lawyer xD

[Winged Mermaid]

Yes, if you can get a lawyer it will go a lot quicker! Good luck to both of you.

[AniaR]

keep us posted

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Mermaid Harmony]

Take her to Judge Judy, I'm sure the producers would love that.

[Patches]

Lol Judge Judy. People would go apeshit over it and think I was insane. I'd be the butt end of everyone's joke for a month. xD However, I'm the type of person who would actually go through with something like that. I officially filed my IC3 complaint. Anyone else who was victimized and would like a copy of my report may private message me. IC3 can take a while. Thinking about stopping by the police station within the next few days for a follow up just to try and take further action. Thoughts?