Already shaken by what turned into a massive scam over Super Bowl commitments, ticket forward market company FirstDIBZ now finds itself seeking to “recapitalize” over the next 45 days to complete its refund obligations.
The company sent out two emails this week apologizing for delays in allowing users to withdraw from their accounts, explaining that due to the unanticipated losses FirstDIBZ accumulated because of the fraud, it was asking users to wait for the company to improve its financial position before taking out their money.
FirstDIBZ officials did not respond to a request seeking comment. The company has issued refunds to most of the people who were victims of the scam, which centered on the fraudulent sale of “uDIBZ,” essentially promises to supply Super Bowl tickets for a fraction of the cost if a certain team made it to the big game.
The scam rocked the company, prompting it to not only issue the reparations to aggrieved customers, but also to overhaul its policies and operations.
In the first email, sent out Tuesday, February 24, the company said it would issue new withdrawal procedures within 48 hours:
We are aware that you have been waiting patiently on your withdrawal(s) for a period of time that has extended beyond our typical 14 business day processing cycle. Thank you for bearing with us as we continue to deal with circumstances that have been, to a large degree, beyond our control. Those circumstances have been addressed, but we will need an additional 48 hours to implement our withdrawal payment procedures.
Once again, thank you for your continued patience and understanding in these difficult times. Please look here for more information.
Best,
The FirstDIBZ Team
PS. Please note that our Customer Support staff will not be able offer any information beyond what has been outlined in this email.
In the second email sent out yesterday, FirstDIBZ reversed itself and said that after careful consideration it would need a month and a half to recapitalize in order to adequately address their financial standing:
Due to a variety of issues at play in the FirstDIBZ world, such as the need for funds to cover the unexpected losses incurred as a result of the fraudulent activities perpetuated in our markets in early January, we have been unable to honor all withdrawals in a timely manner. Because of this, we have had to enter a recapitalization period from which we expect to emerge in 45 days. In short this means that we are asking for your continued patience and understanding over the next 1.5 months as we continue to raise capital and generate enough revenue to process our payment obligations to you.
We ask that you understand that without the time to recapitalize, honoring your requests will take a great deal longer than 45 days. We have considered all options and feel that this is the fastest and safest route to meeting our commitments.
We will continue to operate FirstDIBZ with the singular purpose of honoring your withdrawal requests as fast as we can. We have also taken additional and necessary steps to ensure the validity and safety of all markets going forward. Also during this 45 day period there will be ZERO TRANSACTION FEES as a special benefit to all of our customers.
These are very difficult times for many companies, large and small. In response, we at FirstDIBZ have decided to fight back and rebuild rather than capitulate to market insecurities and negative economic factors. We understand that we can only do this with your continued patience and understanding. As we move forward we will keep you informed.
The FirstDIBZ Team
PS. Customer Support will not have any more information than is presented here. For more information please send email to [[email protected]]