Less than a week after Torquing Group announced that it was dissolving, Kickstarter said it is mystified as to how the British startup and its Zano drone raised $3.4 million in less than a year then totally collapsed.
In a statement sent to backers on Monday, Kickstarter wrote that it was "extremely frustrated by what’s happened with this project."
David Gallagher, a Kickstarter spokesman, did not immediately answer Ars’ questions as to what exactly this "inquiry" would entail, nor how often Kickstarter has engaged in such activity previously. [UPDATE 3:19pm ET: Gallagher responded, declining to answer Ars' questions.]We learned the news of the Zano bankruptcy the same way that you did—through a bare-bones project update. We e-mailed the creators as recently as two weeks ago to encourage them to be more communicative with their backers, but received only a cursory response.
You deserve more than that, and we are committed to helping backers get to the bottom of what happened here.
Today we sent an e-mail to the Zano team informing them of their obligations to backers and asking them to share an open and transparent update on what happened with the project. We have asked them to post this update by Monday, November 30.
If they do not adequately brief backers by that time, Kickstarter will independently pursue an inquiry into the Zano project. Should this occur, we will share those findings with you, the backers, once completed.
According to one Zano-owner Facebook group, the Pembrokeshire County Council is also conducting its own inquiry.
For now, Ars is unaware of any lawsuits filed by or on behalf of Zano backers. Some backers have alternatively started a petition demanding a full refund from company founders (including, bizarrely, Prime Minister David Cameron). At this point, it seems unlikely that anyone will see any money returned from Kickstarter or the company itself. Kickstarter's terms of service currently provide only general guidelines if such a project falls apart.
"The creator is solely responsible for fulfilling the promises made in their project. If they’re unable to satisfy the terms of this agreement, they may be subject to legal action by backers," the site states.
Just four percent of drones shipped
Earlier this month, cofounder and CEO Ivan Reedman abruptly left Torquing Group, citing "personal health issues and irreconcilable differences." Neither Torquing Group nor Reedman himself has responded to Ars’ request for comment since his resignation.
In January 2015, Torquing Group concluded its Kickstarter campaign to fund production of its handheld drone. It raised more than £2.3 million ($3.4 million) in under two months.
When Ars visited the company headquarters in May 2015, Reedman promised that the drone would be shipping in July 2015 (it did not). Torquing also declined to demonstrate the drone in flight for us. When the BBC visited earlier this year, the news agency reported notable problems as well.
To date, Torquing Group has only shipped 600 of the more than 15,000 drones ordered.
An American backer, Bill Reeves, told Ars he spent $340.13 for a camouflage drone that he is unlikely to ever receive. "I don’t understand how all of that initial prototype video of the Zano project at the Kickstarter launch—looked like Zano was working just fine—and the updated progress information from the company over the last year has culminated in this totally negative situation," he e-mailed.Reeves also passed along an e-mail sent to backers from Gary Stones, the liquidator hired to formally end the company and repay any creditors. Stones warned that any money that Kickstarter backers spent "are not debts owed by the company nor are they equity investments."
As such, Stones concluded: "Without remotely being inconsiderate, any Kickstarter ‘backers’ that attempt to gain access at the creditors’ meeting on December 4, 2015 will be refused entry."
The Swansea-based liquidator did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment.
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