Warnings in the bitcoin community. They usually come from some sort of central banking entity. Not this time.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) — a not-for-profit organization that focuses on business trust (and is not affiliated with the government) — has issued a warning against Austin, Texas-based CoinTerra, a crypto-currency mining hardware manufacturer.
According to the report:
Consumers who complained to BBB say they spent over $6,000 per unit for the devices. Many consumers sought refunds when the company stated in February that the machines they pre-ordered late last year would not perform up to the specifications it advertised. Complaints about the business are coming in not only from U.S. customers, but from other countries as well, including the United Kingdom and Australia.
The BBB says that some customers have received refunds, but adds that many customers have not after weeks of waiting — even alleging that the company hasn’t returned calls and emails.
BBB confirmed via phone and email as well as a visit to the business that it has been receiving BBB correspondence. However, the company has not yet provided an explanation for the wave of complaints, nor provided BBB with responses to the majority of the complaints.
One of the company’s customers was Isaac Ware of Alvin, Texas. He says he purchased a miner from the company for $6,500 rated at 2 TH/s of power, but a company announcement in February stated the machine would only have 1.6 TH/s of power.
“It is very important that specifications for a miner are accurate,” he said. “They advertised a 2 TH miner at a specific number of kilowatts of electricity to keep within the amount of expense for electricity. Theirs was the best price at $3 per GH.”
“I chose them over several competitors who have been able to deliver machines according to specifications. If it had come in within specs, I wouldn’t have requested a refund. I put in for a refund due to their lack of updates. They emailed back about their updated design and asked if I wanted to reconsider my refund request and upgrade to the new design. I saw the release information and said no.”
Another customer to order was Song Smullen of New York City. He paid $6,000 on December 1st and was expecting a 2 TH/s machine. When the company had announced the actual specifications, he asked for his refund. He has yet to receive it.
“I would be using much more electricity,” he told the BBB. “I pay 38 cents per KWH for electricity in New York. The original specs called for $250 less electricity and 30 percent more earnings per day per machine.”
“Without them meeting specs, I could not make back my investment.”
CoinTerra isn’t the first company to be the subject of consumer complaints.
Kansas-based Butterfly Labs has had issues maintaining a clean image in the bitcoin community, with severely delayed products and false promises.
So much so, in fact, that Federal Trade Commission has received over 300 complaints on the company.
The reality is that the mining business is fast-paced and challenging, and many of the companies in the space aren’t prepared to handle the downfalls and set backs that are expected to happen.
After all, this is a new industry.
[textmarker color=”C24000″]Source[/textmarker] Better Business Bureau