Artists beware: I would be *extremely* cautious doing any sort of business with this organization. I decided to cancel my earlybird purchase of a membership NINE weeks ago, was ignored and brushed off, lied to my face, only to receive a refund cheque less than what I had initially paid. Below are the details if interested:In mid-November I realized with my financial situation, I could not afford the membership fees for Launchpad. I called early November to make sure I could get my money back and was told as long as I did so before December, I would. I cancelled mid-November and followed up with them, via email and calling 2-3 times per week, to find the status/situation/when I could anticipate receiving my refund. I was given fluffy answers each time, taking my message and never receiving a call back. I was told because the payment was taken on EventBrite, they were trying to figure out how to issue the refund. That was fine, but that was the last update I had received. Seven weeks pass before I finally spoke to Leesa over the phone, in which she told me they would be processing my refund as a cheque and would mail it out. This entire 7 weeks I was patient and tried to be understanding. I even gave 2 weeks for the cheque to arrive, even though I live in the same city. 9 weeks after the initial refund request, I had not received my cheque, or a phone call/email letting me know the status. I resorted to going to the location in person to get a straight answer. I was told the same thing all over again, but she refused to tell me if the cheque had been physically mailed. She then told me I could leave my credit card information, and they would refund my card within 24 hours. Exactly what they said could not be done for the last 9 weeks. I was surprised this was now a possibility, left my information and waited. The next day I receive an email saying that she physically had my cheque in hand and could pick it up or they would mail it to me. Basically, I handed over sensitive information that was never needed, was never going to be used, to diffuse the situation, to appease me and have me leave thinking it was sorted out. Today I received a cheque less than what my Eventbrite receipt shows I paid, with the excuse that they couldn't refund the Eventbrite fees. That technical issue is not my problem, and regardless if that is true, they should have honoured the situation and given me my full money back, as I was told via email and in person. They lied to me, to diffuse the situation. So many red flags went off in the last 9 weeks, I have needed this money and feel like this is such a scam, as if they were waiting for me to forget and then keep my money. This organization claims to understand the financial situations of artists but unfortunately their actions went in the complete opposite direction. I was excited for this opportunity, but considering how this was handled and how I was treated, I would never do business with them and I would caution any artist I knew to read the fine print and really think twice before handing over any money.Hope this is helpful for anyone contemplating business with Artscape Launchpad.
