Over the course of the past four weeks, it has become clear that Dough, formerly known as Eve, is not a company that can be trusted with handling people’s money. Despite initially gaining favorable reviews for its monitors and tablets, Dough has developed a notorious reputation for disappearing with customers’ money and failing to deliver products or issue refunds for extended periods of time. Although Dough promised to rectify this situation by offering rapid refunds and improved customer support, my investigation reveals that this promise has not been upheld.
In an effort to put Dough’s claims to the test, I invited Verge readers who had experienced issues with the company to reach out and share their stories. The response was overwhelming, with 42 current and former Dough customers coming forward, representing almost $50,000 in sales. The majority of these customers stated that they had been completely ignored by the company, even after filling out Dough’s so-called rapid-response form. This form was supposed to be a solution for customers who had fallen through the cracks, promising speedy assistance and the issuance of refunds or the shipment of missing monitors within hours.
However, out of the 42 respondents, only eight reported receiving their money back. Four of these refunds were forced credit card chargebacks, which are not a positive reflection on the company’s reputation. The genuine refunds that were issued were mostly $100 deposits that were returned because the customers never followed through with their full orders. One person received a refund for two deposits, which seemingly came directly from the Dough founder himself, Konstantinos Karatsevidis.
Only one person confirmed receiving a full refund for a monitor after filling out the form. However, it should be noted that this individual had only placed the order a month prior and had changed their mind within a week. Dough clarified that orders placed after March are refunded immediately, as they are able to process the refunds directly to the customer’s payment method.
Meanwhile, 11 people reported receiving no response at all after submitting the form. I followed up with each of them this past week to double-check, and they all confirmed that they had not received any communication from Dough. So much for the promised “very soon” resolution.
Out of those who did receive a response, nine customers provided Dough with their personal bank account numbers but are still waiting for their refunds. Some were promised refunds by the first or second week of September, which has already passed, and when they inquired about the status of their refunds, they received no reply.
It is clear from the emails I received from customers that this behavior from Dough is not surprising to them. Many of them have been ignored by the company for months or even years, and they provided a substantial amount of old email correspondence as evidence. Common phrases in these emails include “please allow up to 20 business days for the refund to process,” which were broken promises from months ago and, in some cases, years ago.
There is a reason why Dough’s refund promises stretch back years. The company failed to fulfill orders for its original Eve V tablet from 2017 and did not issue refunds. It blamed a related entity called Fortress Tech for absconding with the money. However, emails from Eve customers demonstrate that the company had also promised refunds to these customers and estimated potential shipping dates, even after shifting blame to Fortress Tech and creating a new rapid response refund form. So when Dough claims it is not responsible for these customers, it is important to note that it had previously promised to make amends.
Of the 11 customers who were newly ignored after filling out the form, there are a couple of common themes. Many of them purchased an Eve tablet rather than a monitor, while others sought support for monitors that they claim were shipped broken or rendered useless by a firmware update. Dough is fully aware that it is ignoring V tablet customers, stating that it received 18 form submissions from “V customers from Fortress” who will not be refunded at this time.
However, this does not mean that Dough refuses to ship out new products. One grateful customer reported receiving a replacement monitor after experiencing severe issues with their original screen. Another customer finally received their Spectrum 4K monitor a year and a half after ordering it and after seven months of arguing for a refund. They were previously promised a refund in just “20 business days,” but it was only after filling out the form that the monitor was finally shipped.
In some cases, customers attribute the eventual resolution of their issues to media coverage. They believe that if their stories had not been brought to light, they would have never received the products or refunds they were owed. One customer expressed disappointment that they received a refund but no apology or explanation for the delay, suggesting that Dough only acted once the media got involved.
While some customers have had positive experiences with Dough, such as receiving replacement monitors, it is clear that many others continue to suffer from the company’s poor customer service and delayed refunds. These issues are not new and stretch back several years, indicating a pattern of behavior that should give potential customers serious cause for concern.