Hi guys, my name is Jose Borges some of you know me by my name, some of you know me as Escanore. I’m doing this post to ask for donations.
On November 9 I bought two gift cards from bitpay using XRP (one for 15$ and another one for 1285$ total =1300$) and I redeemed them on Amazon. Then I proceeded to pay for a laptop that I need so I can keep working for 1hive.
The next day I got an email saying that my account was closed and that my order was cancelled.
Here is the email I got:
So I proceeded to amazon.com and followed the instructions (the page asked me to share my address and information about the giftcard) I shared the invoice that I got from Bitpay.
A day later I got another email:
I also got in touch with bitpay support, they told me that they can’t refund the giftcards.
And I talked with John Harrison, Amazon’s Account Manager for BitPay, and he told me that Bitpay is a client of amazon incentives and is an authorized issuer of Amazon Giftcards.
Again, I bought both gift cards from an authorized seller using crypto currencies (in this case XRP) so I can’t provide any VISA information. Also the guys from bitpay told me that their invoice should be enough for you to help me.
So for the last few days, I have been calling Amazon, and trying to get my case going, but I don’t think that they are going to give me the money back since they closed my account and close the case as soon as I call and try to open it again.
Also, I searched for some info on twitter, and apparently this is a common MO for Amazon with accounts from Venezuelans.
Here is a thread about it https://twitter.com/marcyavilatw/status/1323765916740554752?s=21
Some news about it
I’m not the only one going through this… So yeah, congrats Amazon for stealing from people from a poor country. (If you want to know more about my country’s situation I could talk for a long time about this, but probably a simple Google search will give you a general idea).
I can’t afford to try to get a new laptop again, and after draining my chances to solve this horrible situation I humbly come to the community to ask you guys for donations as a last resource measure. I’d be very blessed if I can raise 1K USD.
I bought this laptop so that I could keep working with and for 1hive. I need this laptop to:
- Keep doing translation work for 1hive
- Keep learning javascript to help 1hive in other ways
- Also, I need the computer to render, since I’m a mechanical engineering student (Maybe I could so some cool designs for 3D printing 1hive logos)
- To Game, I love gaming, I need to beat @D0SH playing CS
Why did I chose a laptop:
I’m planning to leave Venezuela, so it’s easier for me to take it with me, than trying to get a desktop out of this country. I want to keep involved in 1hive after this life-changing decision.
I’m very sorry for asking this to you guys, but at the same time I can’t think of any other solutions against this corporate bullshit. I appreciate whatever you can help with, and I really, really thank you deeply for taking the time to read about this. I would also like to add that if for some reason my situation with Amazon is solved, I give you my word I won’t have any issues with giving donations back to those who kindly helped me.
Thank you everyone that donated! You don’t know how happy I am to belong in such a wonderful community!
Thank you @chuygarcia92 @pab and all the fauna team for helping me emotionally
Sincerely,
José Borges “Escanore”