It’s not uncommon for a project’s expected timeline to change, and it’s important to remember that when a creator is behind on fulfillment that this does not mean a project is over. In instances where a project is experiencing delays we recommend taking a look at our “What happens if a project is delayed?” article for more information on next steps.
However, unfortunately, not every project will go as planned. When this happens we expect all members of the Kickstarter community to act with honesty and openness. For creators who have acknowledged that they are unable to finish their project as they had initially hoped, we ask that they bring their project to a satisfying conclusion by sharing an update that details how the funds were used, and what it is that’s preventing them from completing their project.
Our Community Support and Trust & Safety teams monitor Kickstarter's system and review reports received from users. In cases where a creator isn’t fulfilling their rewards, and are not keeping their backers informed on the status of their project, some actions we may take include:
- Sending an email to the creator, using the contact information they provided when they launched their project, to encourage them to post a new project update, as well as reminding them to take some time to respond to any unread messages in their Kickstarter inbox.
- Revoking creator privileges, including the ability to run another campaign on Kickstarter, until they’ve made a good faith effort to bring their project to a satisfying conclusion for their backers.
- Suspending or restricting account privileges, if there is sufficient evidence of abuse against our system or trust of others. That being said, please note that projects are never completely deleted from the site for transparency reasons.
How does Kickstarter monitor the health of its system?
Our Trust & Safety team is always watching over the Kickstarter platform. They review reports from the community, proactively screen for potential problems, and use complex algorithms and automated tools to identify and investigate suspicious activity.
We also track creators' fulfillment histories as comprehensively as possible - from snags to more serious complications - to help ensure creator accountability.
While we can't speak to the nature of all actions taken by Kickstarter, we are actively reaching out to creators when they are falling short of our expectations, and, when necessary, placing restrictions on their account.