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Topic: Got 100+ Bitcoins refunded from Butterfly Labs today (Read 3628 times)

hero member
Activity: 568
Merit: 500
Smoke weed everyday!
I also made a small order back in Nov 2013 (cloudmining). They didn't deliver the service, I considered my small amount of BTC lost, but then in July 2014 I decided to email them and ask for a refund.

Got the following reply:


Quote
Thank you for your information. Refund requests are processed in the order received and paid within 30-45 calendar days. This time is necessary to appropriately research and reconcile requests with payments, vouchers, upgrades, payment methods etc. to ensure that customers receive the full refund they are due. We will let you know when we have sent your refund.

 Thank you for your business. We hope to see you back!

They kept me waiting nearly a month, but I got my refund eventually. They refunded the USD equivalent, so similar to the OP, I did make some profit in BTC terms.

Again, the purchase amount was very small, so it might have been a reason they didn't object to my claim. I understand many people weren't that lucky.
I don't think they would discriminate based on order size. They have thousands of orders totaling millions of dollars so even what you may consider a "large" order would probably not have an overall large impact on their ability to refund everyone. Plus they need to treat all their customers the same
member
Activity: 63
Merit: 10


This who get coins now will be the fortunate ones before BFL house of cards crumbles.

Good luck to those with BTC funds stuck with BFL.

I don't believe everyone will get their refund in full.

Tidal wave is coming
Well I got my full refund I posted this to make sure others are aware that refunds are being sent out and they need to get a move on it quickly as I know they're about to be hit with several new / large lawsuits that will drain their funds. It is fair to note it may not matter how many times they get sued as they were into bitcoin when bitcoin was under $10 they likely have a massive stockpile of them at this point and can afford the legal fight.


Just because you got your refund does not mean that 100% of all BFL customers will get their refunds in FULL as they paid.

BFL operated from day 1 as a $8000 funded company that used customer funds to develop their products.

They operated on the preorder bullshit from day 1 and have not delivered to all of their customers because they have not had new suckers to preorder more of their BS products.

They are insolvent in my view.
Well considering that they spent preorder money on the development of their miners, it is extremely unlikely they will be able to repay all their customers as the money has already been spent.

I am curious to know when in 2013 the OP placed his order, as if it was late in the year then he is not doing so great in terms of ROI, however if it was before octoberish then he would have gotten more then what he paid.

Although thinking about it a little bit, it is possible that BFL was mining on their customer equipment for long enough so that they mined enough bitcoin on each machine to pay the purchase price in bitcoin prior to shipping them out

This question was answered I didn't lose any money.
legendary
Activity: 2436
Merit: 1561
I also made a small order back in Nov 2013 (cloudmining). They didn't deliver the service, I considered my small amount of BTC lost, but then in July 2014 I decided to email them and ask for a refund.

Got the following reply:


Quote
Thank you for your information. Refund requests are processed in the order received and paid within 30-45 calendar days. This time is necessary to appropriately research and reconcile requests with payments, vouchers, upgrades, payment methods etc. to ensure that customers receive the full refund they are due. We will let you know when we have sent your refund.

 Thank you for your business. We hope to see you back!

They kept me waiting nearly a month, but I got my refund eventually. They refunded the USD equivalent, so similar to the OP, I did make some profit in BTC terms.

Again, the purchase amount was very small, so it might have been a reason they didn't object to my claim. I understand many people weren't that lucky.
full member
Activity: 574
Merit: 100


This who get coins now will be the fortunate ones before BFL house of cards crumbles.

Good luck to those with BTC funds stuck with BFL.

I don't believe everyone will get their refund in full.

Tidal wave is coming
Well I got my full refund I posted this to make sure others are aware that refunds are being sent out and they need to get a move on it quickly as I know they're about to be hit with several new / large lawsuits that will drain their funds. It is fair to note it may not matter how many times they get sued as they were into bitcoin when bitcoin was under $10 they likely have a massive stockpile of them at this point and can afford the legal fight.


Just because you got your refund does not mean that 100% of all BFL customers will get their refunds in FULL as they paid.

BFL operated from day 1 as a $8000 funded company that used customer funds to develop their products.

They operated on the preorder bullshit from day 1 and have not delivered to all of their customers because they have not had new suckers to preorder more of their BS products.

They are insolvent in my view.
Well considering that they spent preorder money on the development of their miners, it is extremely unlikely they will be able to repay all their customers as the money has already been spent.

I am curious to know when in 2013 the OP placed his order, as if it was late in the year then he is not doing so great in terms of ROI, however if it was before octoberish then he would have gotten more then what he paid.

Although thinking about it a little bit, it is possible that BFL was mining on their customer equipment for long enough so that they mined enough bitcoin on each machine to pay the purchase price in bitcoin prior to shipping them out

Any profits they got by mining with customer funds will likely not be seen again. I would venture to speculate that BFL and its owners etc bought luxuries that they will not part with to repay their poor customers.

They do not operate on sympathy only greed.
Their assets were seized so if they bought few enough service type luxuries then it would be possible customers could be repaid in full. I would speculate that their owners will end up getting most of their personal assets seized via multiple lawsuits both from the FTC and from their various customers in litigation.

I think the mining market has evolved to the point that people are no longer willing to accept a miner to be shipped at an unknown point in the future, but rather are demanding essentially "immediate" (within 2-3 days) shipping from a manufacturers inventory
legendary
Activity: 2492
Merit: 1473
LEALANA Bitcoin Grim Reaper


This who get coins now will be the fortunate ones before BFL house of cards crumbles.

Good luck to those with BTC funds stuck with BFL.

I don't believe everyone will get their refund in full.

Tidal wave is coming
Well I got my full refund I posted this to make sure others are aware that refunds are being sent out and they need to get a move on it quickly as I know they're about to be hit with several new / large lawsuits that will drain their funds. It is fair to note it may not matter how many times they get sued as they were into bitcoin when bitcoin was under $10 they likely have a massive stockpile of them at this point and can afford the legal fight.


Just because you got your refund does not mean that 100% of all BFL customers will get their refunds in FULL as they paid.

BFL operated from day 1 as a $8000 funded company that used customer funds to develop their products.

They operated on the preorder bullshit from day 1 and have not delivered to all of their customers because they have not had new suckers to preorder more of their BS products.

They are insolvent in my view.
Well considering that they spent preorder money on the development of their miners, it is extremely unlikely they will be able to repay all their customers as the money has already been spent.

I am curious to know when in 2013 the OP placed his order, as if it was late in the year then he is not doing so great in terms of ROI, however if it was before octoberish then he would have gotten more then what he paid.

Although thinking about it a little bit, it is possible that BFL was mining on their customer equipment for long enough so that they mined enough bitcoin on each machine to pay the purchase price in bitcoin prior to shipping them out

Any profits they got by mining with customer funds will likely not be seen again. I would venture to speculate that BFL and its owners etc bought luxuries that they will not part with to repay their poor customers.

They do not operate on sympathy only greed.
full member
Activity: 574
Merit: 100


This who get coins now will be the fortunate ones before BFL house of cards crumbles.

Good luck to those with BTC funds stuck with BFL.

I don't believe everyone will get their refund in full.

Tidal wave is coming
Well I got my full refund I posted this to make sure others are aware that refunds are being sent out and they need to get a move on it quickly as I know they're about to be hit with several new / large lawsuits that will drain their funds. It is fair to note it may not matter how many times they get sued as they were into bitcoin when bitcoin was under $10 they likely have a massive stockpile of them at this point and can afford the legal fight.


Just because you got your refund does not mean that 100% of all BFL customers will get their refunds in FULL as they paid.

BFL operated from day 1 as a $8000 funded company that used customer funds to develop their products.

They operated on the preorder bullshit from day 1 and have not delivered to all of their customers because they have not had new suckers to preorder more of their BS products.

They are insolvent in my view.
Well considering that they spent preorder money on the development of their miners, it is extremely unlikely they will be able to repay all their customers as the money has already been spent.

I am curious to know when in 2013 the OP placed his order, as if it was late in the year then he is not doing so great in terms of ROI, however if it was before octoberish then he would have gotten more then what he paid.

Although thinking about it a little bit, it is possible that BFL was mining on their customer equipment for long enough so that they mined enough bitcoin on each machine to pay the purchase price in bitcoin prior to shipping them out
member
Activity: 63
Merit: 10


This who get coins now will be the fortunate ones before BFL house of cards crumbles.

Good luck to those with BTC funds stuck with BFL.

I don't believe everyone will get their refund in full.

Tidal wave is coming
Well I got my full refund I posted this to make sure others are aware that refunds are being sent out and they need to get a move on it quickly as I know they're about to be hit with several new / large lawsuits that will drain their funds. It is fair to note it may not matter how many times they get sued as they were into bitcoin when bitcoin was under $10 they likely have a massive stockpile of them at this point and can afford the legal fight.


Just because you got your refund does not mean that 100% of all BFL customers will get their refunds in FULL as they paid.

BFL operated from day 1 as a $8000 funded company that used customer funds to develop their products.

They operated on the preorder bullshit from day 1 and have not delivered to all of their customers because they have not had new suckers to preorder more of their BS products.

They are insolvent in my view.

Actually BFL used to sell FPGA's that were used for science and medical applications but you're probably right about 100% not getting a refund who knows either way like i said I posted this so people knew it was worth still asking them for a refund.
legendary
Activity: 2492
Merit: 1473
LEALANA Bitcoin Grim Reaper


This who get coins now will be the fortunate ones before BFL house of cards crumbles.

Good luck to those with BTC funds stuck with BFL.

I don't believe everyone will get their refund in full.

Tidal wave is coming
Well I got my full refund I posted this to make sure others are aware that refunds are being sent out and they need to get a move on it quickly as I know they're about to be hit with several new / large lawsuits that will drain their funds. It is fair to note it may not matter how many times they get sued as they were into bitcoin when bitcoin was under $10 they likely have a massive stockpile of them at this point and can afford the legal fight.


Just because you got your refund does not mean that 100% of all BFL customers will get their refunds in FULL as they paid.

BFL operated from day 1 as a $8000 funded company that used customer funds to develop their products.

They operated on the preorder bullshit from day 1 and have not delivered to all of their customers because they have not had new suckers to preorder more of their BS products.

They are insolvent in my view.
full member
Activity: 574
Merit: 100
Just another Ponzi Roll Eyes

There were actually quite a number of happy BFL customers back in 2012 when they were selling their FPGA products and delivering them fairly quickly (at least the FPGA singles - not sure about the mini-rigs). Things pretty much went downhill after that with their ASIC products, but people still kept ordering from them for a long time which I cannot understand why.
Their target market was newer users/miners to the bitcoin community so their customers were probably not able to navigate various sources to be able to research BFL. You need to remember that most reputable companies have many scam reports against them by people who are essentially trying to extort money/refunds/free goods from them.

They also appeared to spend pretty heavily on advertising which allowed people to be directed directly to their site where criticism of them is minimal
donator
Activity: 1616
Merit: 1003
Just another Ponzi Roll Eyes

There were actually quite a number of happy BFL customers back in 2012 when they were selling their FPGA products and delivering them fairly quickly (at least the FPGA singles - not sure about the mini-rigs). Things pretty much went downhill after that with their ASIC products, but people still kept ordering from them for a long time which I cannot understand why.
hero member
Activity: 518
Merit: 500
Hodl!
Is BFL a cloud mining service?

No, Butterfly Labs is a mining hardware developer or was I should say.

Well initially yes, but with their last product offering, they also brought out "hosted mining" and "mining by the Gh" plans that could be thought of as cloud mining.... which were dependant on large quantities of their latest equipment being manufactured, so don't know status of those at present, whether they've brought significant amounts online or not.

and the "was" I guess, is because it could be doubtful whether they will have the spare funds to develop another generation of hardware. However, they could "race for the bottom" with Antminer, against which I think they are still competitive on W/Gh, so need to get realistic on pricing. Selling from stock, they may just scrape up enough cash for developing another generation.

However, they would actually represent a somewhat tempting target for a venture capitalist to re-invent, presuming that they probably insist on their own management team.
member
Activity: 70
Merit: 10
BtcMarkets - Australian Bitcoin Trading Platform
Is BFL a cloud mining service?

No, Butterfly Labs is a mining hardware developer or was I should say.
legendary
Activity: 1372
Merit: 1014
Did the US government prosecute them and make them send out the refunds?

No, in fact the FTC stopped them making refunds for months, just check the forums or their website! They were already sending out refunds on a voluntary basis (because of all the massive delays) and then a few months ago the http://www.ftc.gov knee-jerked them.

I cannot say BFL are the good guys and FTC the bad guys but they were definitely sending refunds BEFORE FTC or the court did anything.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
Loose lips sink sigs!
Is BFL a cloud mining service?
member
Activity: 63
Merit: 10
These are the orders I was refunded. Some of these were actually converted from 28nm orders though.

ORDER #   DATE   SHIP TO   ORDER TOTAL   ORDER STATUS   
100108346   3/21/14   Ian Dixon   $***   Refunded   View Order
100104726   1/29/14   Ian Dixon   $***   Refunded   View Order
BFL-057468023   1/3/14   Ian Dixon   $***   Refunded   View Order
BFL-127047469   1/1/14   Ian Dixon   $***   Refunded   View Order
BFL-058046149   1/1/14   Ian Dixon   $***   Refunded   View Order
BFL-568027367   12/5/13   Ian Dixon   $***   Refunded   View Order
BFL-578589178   12/5/13   Ian Dixon   $***   Pending   View Order
BFL-169478078   12/2/13   Ian Dixon   $***   Refunded   View Order
BFL-467468014   11/15/13   Ian Dixon   $***   Refunded   View Order
BFL-789047036   11/14/13   Ian Dixon   $***   Refunded   View Order
BFL-279134167   11/12/13   Ian Dixon   $***   Refunded   View Order
legendary
Activity: 1050
Merit: 1000
When did you request refund?
   
I did it early in september'14, right before FTC moved on with shutdown, still waiting...   at the very least your post gives me hope

I don't think you should get your hopes up too much.

actually, my hope is to get my refund sooner than later. 
full member
Activity: 238
Merit: 100
Presale is live!
Well you're really lucky that they payed you, because they're a scamming company.
As the one above said, they would look better in court  Embarrassed

When did you request refund?
   
I did it early in september'14, right before FTC moved on with shutdown, still waiting...   at the very least your post gives me hope

I don't think you should get your hopes up too much.
hero member
Activity: 770
Merit: 500
My original orders with BFL date back to 2013 and I am just now getting refunded. It was a pretty terrible experience with them but I'm glad to finally get my money back.
Just wanted to show people that BFL has at the least sent me out my refund I am in no way endorsing them.

https://blockchain.info/address/1Php37BTskNb3B1xqbwKkdciFNkvD69dV3
Note : I sent the coins from this address elsewhere so the in transaction is the money being sent to me in case anyone cares.

They sent it only because they have to, Butterfly Labs is in deep water atm with the Feds for malpractice, etc. Bascially, Butterly Labs is a scamming company, but because they have the money to repay you, they did(probably to try and look better in court).
legendary
Activity: 1050
Merit: 1000
When did you request refund?
   
I did it early in september'14, right before FTC moved on with shutdown, still waiting...   at the very least your post gives me hope
hero member
Activity: 518
Merit: 500
Hodl!
Even if this was true, your 100 BTC is worth a fraction of what it was in 2013 so you're still down.

Since the money spent on orders in 2013 was refunded in USD equivalent currently on my original orders I factually got the same amount of USD value spent which happens to be worth more BTC since the price is lower now.... Think about it for a little bit and hopefully you'll understand.


Oh in that case if they were tail end of 2013 orders, you probably got more BTC back than the original amount of hash would if delivered on time.

I know someone with a earlier order than you that got refunded JUST before the FTC swooped in, and they got about half a BTC more than the single monarch would have mined if delivered at most optimistic time. i.e. at start of March if delivery was "sometime in March" at order time.
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