I read the announcement today on Facebook from Zidware that the company has taken in over a million dollars of deposits, cannot and will not refund one cent of any persons deposits and to be honest, after reading the entire notice from Zidware, I was absolutely disgusted.
This company is a lesson in trading insolvent 101.
In Australia, you now get jailed for doing that. What the USA laws are, I don't know.
But every word of that announcement stank of receivership and the number crunchers are asking people to wait another 2 to 5 years only if they get a signed agreement from the large majority of people who have payed $$.
If you don't agree to their terms, and under duress I feel, then the "entity" stepping in wont be going ahead.
How the bloke who ran Zidware will ever show his face again at a pinball show/event, will be beyond me.
The question is, "where has the million dollars gone" ?
If he has been living off the deposits, and was not in a position to manufacture (which has proven to be correct) then that is fraud in my mind and trading insolvent. The moment you spend one cent of investors money, knowing their is a reasonable chance that you cannot deliver, it's trading insolvent, highly immoral and probably illegal.
The people who have paid deposits, are now creditors.
When all creditors are being asked by a third party to sign an agreement before anything else can happen, with the clear statement that you will not be getting your money back, it looks and sounds exactly what bankruptcy lawyers and governing bodies do right before winding the company up. Just bad bad news, bad bad management and negligence on behalf of Zidware.
The guy from the Predator debacle at least said he was and has been refunding all deposits and he took in far less than Zidware did. But Zidware says NO deposits will be refunded.
So where has all the million dollars gone ?
JJP would be mad to go anywhere near this catastrophe.
Also, who would pay $17,000 USA for a unproven, unseen pinball machine. ?
It's another massive black eye for the pinball industry worldwide.
I sincerely hope no Aussies lost a cent.
I hope all the current pinball companies survive, but the pre-order days have been murdered by people who should have known better.
Will Zidware open the books to show people where the $ has gone.
Asking people to wait another 2 to 5 years is insulting and I reckon just another stalling tactic. Sad day for pinball.