Complaints

This profile includes complaints for GoFundMe's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  GoFundMe

  855 Jefferson Ave Redwood City, CA 94063-9992

  
• 

  GoFundMe

  815 E St Box 121270 San Diego, CA 92101-6426

• 

  GoFundMe

  PO Box 1329 Redwood City, CA 94064-1329

  

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/19/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My son is terminal and his vital machine broke. Someone at my school created a gofundme to get a new one. I have attempted 6 times to get the money from this organization and they are holding It. They claim they could not verify me since I go by **** and my bank statement said ******. Then my last on August 17 correspondence with ***** she claims she personally verified everything. Still no transfer is set and they are refusing to give me the money raised for my son all the while he is the one suffering. I just want the money so we can purchase the new vital machine. I have several emails saying I am good to go then It keeps saying needs verification and try again. I have "tried again" SEVEN different times. I just want my money and then nothing to do with them again.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/23/2023

  Hello ****,
  
  Our sincerest apologies for any trouble you experienced. Wishing you and your family peace and strength as you navigate these uncertain times.
  
  We see that the ************* team has been able to help clarify the issue with your banking information via email ticket #********. It looks like you were able to successfully update your transfer details moving forward, and all funds have been sent as of 2023-08-22. Please note that funds take 2-5 business days to arrive in the bank account on file, excluding holidays and weekends.
  
  If you have any further issues or questions regarding your bank transfers, please reply directly in that ongoing email thread and the team will be standing by to assist.
  
  Kind regards,

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/24/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/11/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  A ******* posts he needs help and sets up a GoFundMe ************************************************************************************** I went to make a donation of $200.00 using PayPal and the moment I hit the send button, I caught it actually showed $2000.00 with an additional $300 in fees. I immediately, immediately reached out to GFM (and the beneficiary) stating the mistake, I received confirmation from GFM and still GFM allowed the beneficiary to pull the funds out and tell me I am out of luck and to chase the funds from the beneficiary, while they keep the $300 commission. When I responded that its their obligation to get my funds back and return it in its entirely, I was completely ghosted. This happened over the course of THREE days. I dont have an account with GFM, I donated as a guest which slowed the process of the back and forth, but still this was immediate and over the course of three days. This isnt small change. $2300 is a lot of money. The way GFM handled this is unacceptable. I refuted this with PayPal and Chase, ***** will give me back my funds but then will show a negative on my PayPal account. Im working with PayPal now. The moment GFM received a notice from me the error, they should have frozen the funds from the benefactor account until they allows to gather the right information needed. I asked for a refund minutes after the wrong amount was charged.Thank you for your time.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/19/2023

  Hi ******,
  
  Thank you for reaching out to our team regarding this matter.
  
  We're truly sorry for the negative experience you've had thus far. We agree that our specialist could have handled this better.
  
  Our Escalated Support team has provided additional coaching to the specialist and a member of our team has already reached out to you in the existing email thread to assist with a mutually-satisfactory resolution.
  
  We'll be sure to make this right for you and should you have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to submit those via the existing email thread and our Escalated team will follow up with you as quickly as possible.
  
  Warm regards,

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/20/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  

  Actually quite impressed how my situation was handled. Thank you!
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/07/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I've been in contact with gofundme customer service to have a fundraiser removed from they're website, I get an automated email but it hasn't gone any further than that. I tried chatting with a customer service representative about this matter & they just instructed me to report the fundraiser even though I have done so ******* with no response. The woman that set up the fundraiser intentionally poisoned her children & the fundraiser was created in an attempt to get her children back. There is a pending court case regarding this matter along with case sensitive information that has been posted publicly on this website as I have informed gofundme yet they still haven't replied to ant emails I have sent.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/16/2023

  Hello,
  
  Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us with your concerns.
  
  Our team has opened an internal investigation into the account based on the information that was provided.
  
  At that time, we found no evidence that the funds were used contrary to the intent on the fundraiser. If you have more information on anything related to this case, please submit any additional evidence within a new report through this claim form (************************************************************) for our Trust and Safety team's review.
  
  Thank you for your understanding.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/31/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I started a gofundme and on Monday of last week my goal was met. I set up for transfer and submitted everything to verify my bank. They stated they needed to email me for more information. They have not. I reached out to them many times and no one contacts me

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/01/2023

  Hi ******,
  
  Thank you for reaching out to GoFundMe and alerting us to this issue. We apologize for any delay in the review and transfer of your GoFundMe donations.
  
  It appears our Payments team was conducting a normal review of the incoming donations, which led to a delay in your transfers initiating.
  
  We're glad to report that the precautionary review is complete and the hold on your transfers has been lifted.
  
  A member of our VIP support team has reached out to you via the on-going email thread with additional details related to your fund transfers. We're confident you'll have the funds in-hand very soon.
  
  We hope this offers some peace of mind and should you need any further assistance, please do let our team know.
  
  With kindness,

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/29/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  An organizer took the funds raised and used the money on themselves and have only transferred outside of gonfund me 30% of the 36k raised. We have reached out to gofundme and gotten one response purely asking for identification. I read the entire terms of service and found 2 key areas that have been violated. They have not even asked what happened yet or responded since we sent a front and back photo of the *** Its been 3 weeks and consider that the money is probably gonna for the over 300k (after insurance) hospital bills. We have taken every propper step in filing a complaint and even were able to file a police report because the individual put their personal account number and routing number on the victim/beneficiary disability form and stole 2 checks from that too. The police can't do anything about the gofundme money essentially. It would be nice to see if they haven't withdrawn all the money and to freeze the account and transfer it to the intended beneficiary. We have texts threatening from the organizer to victim, recorded phone calls saying he used the money and is keeping some to taxes, and transaction records to show only about 27% of the money raised was given. We have been ready on our side for a while and just receive nothing back when gofundme claims that it should be timely and prompt on these issues. All false

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/01/2023

  Hi ****,
  
  Thank you for reaching out to our team and alerting us to this fundraiser.
  
  GoFundMe takes fund misuse seriously and has a formal reporting procedure in place to ensure all claims of fraud or thoroughly investigated.
  
  While we were unable to locate any outreaches to our team with the email you've provided, one of our specialists has sent you a follow-up email with additional questions and instructions for reporting the fundraiser in question.
  
  Here is an article with more information on that process: ******************************************************************************************
  
  We hope this helps and look forward to hearing back from you on the related support outreach.
  
  Best wishes,
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/03/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is mediocre at best. Just because I used a different email address in this complaint doesn't mean I didn't have a bad experience. Instead of asking me what happened they simply looked up my email and sent a response saying "I don't recognize this email in the system. If you'd like help, please fill out this form." I have been forwarded yet again to another person. The 4th different (*************************, *****) person in 5 e-mails. I'm still recieving responses telling me to go through the website to fill out forms that I did a month ago instead of asking me for reference numbers. I don't understand how you can request a phone call then just never get one. I appreciate the help the BBB did to at least raise an eyebrow. I only had 5 days to acknowledge whether I accept or reject the response and unfortunately i can't do either in that time frame because nothing has been settled.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/27/2023

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  The fundraiser "Help replace their home" organized by *************************** in May 2022 to benefit ******* "*****" ******** appears fraudulent. The beneficiary has never received the funds raised.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/02/2023

  Thanks for reaching out about this fundraiser, ******.
  
  If you believe that this fundraiser is fraudulent, we recommend that you report it to our Trust & Safety team by selecting the "Report fundraiser" button that can be found by scrolling down on the fundraiser page.
  
  Once that report is filed, our Trust & Safety team can continue working with you as needed to ensure the appropriate actions are taken.
  
  Additionally, if the beneficiary of the fundraiser did not receive the funds from this fundraiser as intended, we recommend that they file a beneficiary claim through our GoFundMe Beneficiary Guarantee.
  
  If you have additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact our support team directly: ******************************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/26/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have made a donation to a fundraiser on www.gofundme.com, specifically to a fundraiser titled "Special Needs Stroller for Torin" ( **************************) After making the donation, I contacted the organizer multiple times requesting for a photograph of the stroller, however no evidence was provided to indicate that the donation was used for its intended purpose.Due to the organizer's inability to confirm the fundraiser objective has been met, I have proceeded to submit a refund request under the GoFundMe Giving Guarantee.This statement of guarantee states that " GoFundMe protects your donation.We guarantee you a full refund for up to a year in the rare case that fraud occurs." and "Your donation is protected by the GoFundMe Giving Guarantee" is mentioned under each fundraiser page and payment screen which has gives a false sense of security to the donor. Upon submitting the claim, i have received the following rejection email which gives no indication on why the claim is not covered under their guarantee nor have they clarified what steps they have taken to assess my claims and concerns on this fundraiser. "After reviewing the fundraiser in question, we have determined that your donation is not covered under our Guarantee, so we will be unable to refund it. For complete details and limitations, please review our full GoFundMe Giving Guarantee Policy. In addition to the report you have submitted, we encourage you to contact law enforcement officials in your area if you believe this user is committing fraud or breaking the law in any way. We will cooperate with any investigation that law enforcement deems necessary." I believe this statement of guarantee displayed across their website clearly misguides the donors on their rights. Based on the highlighted experience, GoFundMe applies this guarantee at its own discretion which does not constitute as a "guarantee" and therefore infringes on donors rights. The donor claim was made under Donor Claim Ticket #********

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/02/2023

  Thank you for getting in touch.
  
  Please know GoFundMe takes these claims very seriously, and we work incredibly hard everyday to keep our platform and users safe throughout the fundraising process.
  
  Our team has followed up through the existing email thread so we can gather additional information and best help support a resolution here. If you haven't already, please check your email for that message and reply at your earliest convenience. 
  
  We appreciate your patience and understanding, and look forward to working with you on this matter. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/06/2023

   
  Complaint: 20379062
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  As communicated via email, the proposed solution is to either refund the donation i made or for you to verify and share proof that the raised funds were actually used towards the intended charitable purpose. 

  Sincerely,
  
  *****************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/23/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I started a campaign for a dear friend of mine who is in dire need of help. Unfortunately, I was the only one to make donations. I tried sharing the issue and nobody I thought would care to help ended up helping in the end. I made several donations using my credit cards and every single one of them has gone through. None of them are in pending status any longer, they have been fully charged to my account. ********************** is now accusing me of running a fraudulent campaign and they are holding $1,600 of my money. The money that was taken from MY credit cards. I do not appreciate this kind of treatment. I am legitimately trying to help a friend and unfortunately I cannot pay her rent with credit cards, so I had to make the donations myself since I had no help from anyone else, and neither does my friend. I feel for GoFundMe to accuse me of such actions and hold my money at the same time is just criminal. I don't know if they realize that it's called Defamation of Character. Regardless of what they think it's called, I sincerely do not appreciate it. I want the funds that are rightfully mine refunded back to my credit cards. I will never use this service again to help anyone out. They are basically stealing from me at this moment since I cannot access the funds in my bank account, since they are refusing to take my account off hold, and I cannot access the funds because they have already been deducted from my available credit. So basically, I'm out $1,600 right now. I also expect sincere apology from GoFundMe, as their accusations have now screwed me financially and prevented me from helping my friend.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/06/2023

  Hi ******,

  Thank you for reaching out to us. 

  To clarify, our team's outreach to you did not reference or make an accusation of fraud. Due to payment processing GoFundMe doesnt allow donations to your own fundraiser as this can be seen as a cash advance. GoFundMe is not able to facilitate a cash advance, and we recommend that you work with your issuing bank if you need assistance with this. 
  
  As a result, two of your most recent donations were refunded on July 24th. You should see those amounts reach the card used to donate 3-7 business days from that date.
  
  The precautionary hold on your bank transfers has been lifted. Your funds have all been sent out as of July 21st, and funds should be deposited to your account on file in 2 to 5 business days from that date.
  
  Please get in touch with us through the ongoing email thread if you have additional questions or do not receive your funds.
  
  Take care,

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/17/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I'm trying to find my daughter, I'm trying to find out if my daughter set up a GoFundMe account. (GoFund.Me/********** called a number "my daughter" sent me through her email address ************************* the phone number is *************) called that number the person said hello, who is this, than I said hello who is this than they hung up on me. My daughter would not hang up on me. So there's a GoFundMe account in my daughter's name and I'm wondering if she has made GoFundMe account. I'm trying to help my daughter, and I'm trying to make sure it is my daughter I'm talking to. If my daughter needed help she would not hang up on me, that was not my daughter on that number.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/18/2023

  Hello ********,
  
  Thank you for reaching out to us regarding this. A member of our support team has looked into the provided email address and has sent you a follow-up email with additional instructions and options.
  
  Please check your inbox for that message and if you have any additional questions or concerns, our team will be happy to assist you there.
  
  Warm regards,

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/26/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/12/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  A GoFundMe was established for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization for at risk inner city youth. The purpose of the fund was to send youth to summer camp. Over $5000 was raised for this purpose. As the Executive Director of the 501 (c)(3), I am the designated recipient of the funds. I have been trying to receive our donations since June and have been unable to complete the process in spite of many emails and communications to GoFundMe by me and also by the originator of the campaign. Their web site is riddled with glitches that will not allow you to complete the necessary forms required to receive the donations. As I said, I have emailed GoFundMe on many occasions and have a record of every communication. I was contacted and given information only once or twice but in following the instructions I was given, I again ran into glitches on the web site, including being sent to pages that were non existent. Many times I am not even allowed to sign into the site because it tells me to recheck my password, which I know is correct.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/16/2023

  Thank you for getting in touch with us today, ****. After investigating this, we do not see any records of a GoFundMe fundraiser or communication with our team. It looks like you may have set up a ******** Fundraiser instead. Since we're separate platforms, we're unable to assist you with this on our end.
  
  If you have a GoFundMe fundraiser (one where the *** contains www.gofundme.com), we are more than happy to help with that. Please reach out to our team at support.gofundme.com and provide the fundraiser link and our team will follow up with you as soon as possible.