Angry customers who gave smart credit card company Plastc $9 million in pre-orders and then abruptly shut down are hoping to sue the company. Venture capital investors had also sunk a reported $4.3 million into the fintech startup.
Plastc promised its card device could store information from up to 20 other payment cards, saving customers the bother of carrying wallets filled with different cards. But the Palo Alto, Calif., company announced yesterday on its site that it was considering bankruptcy, after failing to close two series A funding rounds. It has “let go” all of its employees and shut down its social media channels.
Now Plastc’s customers want to file a class action lawsuit against the company, which they describe as “a scam.” Each card cost $155, and in its terms of conditions Plastc stated that pre-orders were “non-refundable.” It hasn’t said whether it will give money back to customers.
One angry customer has set up a Facebook page called “Plastc Class Action Lawsuit”, and is encouraging others to join the case. According to one update: “A class action lawsuit is being started against Plastc to ensure anyone who pre-ordered will receive their money back.”
A later update advises disappointed backers to keep copies of all their communications with Plastc on file.
One commenter wrote: “I don’t care about the $155 but I want this clown to be held accountable even if the lawyers are the [ones] that get paid. It does seem this was a scam for a while since [CEO Ryan Marquis] was always very evasive. There is no way investors would pull out from this days before shipping but I’m sure they saw something we don’t know about that hopefully would come out in the legal proceedings.”
There is little trace left of Plastc online, except for furious customers commenting on Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit.
The company shut down its @PlastcInc Twitter handle in the last 24 hours and deleted the PlastcInc Facebook page. CEO Ryan Marquis also deleted his personal Twitter account. All that’s left of Plastc’s website is a notice titled “We Regret to Inform You…” and the company’s full statement, which you can read…