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KANOA


Country United States
State California
City San Mateo
Address 55 E 3rd Ave
Phone 650.362.8501
Website https://www.getkanoa.com/

KANOA Reviews

  • Jan 4, 2018

I ordered and have proof both from screen shots of their website when it was operational and also from my bank on the statements from the card I used for all 3 preorders. Each order was $150-$159 and I ordered 3. Kanoa kept sending emails and saying they ran into this problem or that problem and kept on delaying and doing that for over a year until their last email basically said they no longer have funds to keep their website operational, let alone to continue manufacturing the product so no one, not even the people who preordered, will be given the product they paid for.

They also said they have no money for refunding anyone. I’ve searched and there’s some class action lawsuits that are trying to get off the ground. The most irritating thing is that if you look into Kanoa earphones, there’s a few articles that name the founder, Cival van der Lubbe (I’m not sure if he’s an American citizen or is from the Netherlands) and he also owns or started a company called Seaval and others as well, and one other company he started in particular is offering or "developing” earphones that look IDENTICAL as the ones I had preordered from Kanoa.

This Cival guy is a con-man and his assets and whatever ownership stakes he has in legitimate companies (if any) need to be confiscated and liquidAted to refund those of us who paid money for nothing. There was no "fine print” when preordering mentioning that there was any risk, they assured us that we would recieve the product or be issued a refund at any time we wished. I’m assuming his business model was to delay and delay and delay and hope that most of the people who preordered would forget about it and not follow up.

But $150ish x 3 is a fair amount of money and I’m refusing to just roll over and be taken advantage of, even if I have to come after him personally in civil proceedings, just based on principle. I would like to see him punished, ordered to pay restitution, and not allowed to create businesses in the United States if he is not a legal citizen, and if not, have him deported. America is great because businesses are accountable and there’s laws against tactics like what Cival van der Lubbe.

  • Nov 21, 2017

I ordered and have proof both from screen shots of their website when it was operational and also from my bank on the statements from the card I used for all 3 preorders. Each order was $150-$159 and I ordered 3. Kanoa kept sending emails and saying they ran into this problem or that problem and kept on delaying and doing that for over a year until their last email basically said they no longer have funds to keep their website operational, let alone to continue manufacturing the product so no one, not even the people who preordered, will be given the product they paid for.

They also said they have no money for refunding anyone. I’ve searched and there’s some class action lawsuits that are trying to get off the ground. The most irritating thing is that if you look into Kanoa earphones, there’s a few articles that name the founder, Cival van der Lubbe (I’m not sure if he’s an American citizen or is from the Netherlands) and he also owns or started a company called Seaval and others as well, and one other company he started in particular is offering or "developing” earphones that look IDENTICAL as the ones I had preordered from Kanoa.

This Cival guy is a con-man and his assets and whatever ownership stakes he has in legitimate companies (if any) need to be confiscated and liquidAted to refund those of us who paid money for nothing. There was no "fine print” when preordering mentioning that there was any risk, they assured us that we would recieve the product or be issued a refund at any time we wished. I’m assuming his business model was to delay and delay and delay and hope that most of the people who preordered would forget about it and not follow up.

But $150ish x 3 is a fair amount of money and I’m refusing to just roll over and be taken advantage of, even if I have to come after him personally in civil proceedings, just based on principle. I would like to see him punished, ordered to pay restitution, and not allowed to create businesses in the United States if he is not a legal citizen, and if not, have him deported. America is great because businesses are accountable and there’s laws against tactics like what Cival van der Lubbe.

  • Nov 7, 2017

I ordered a pair of Kanoa Earbuds on July 2016. I made contact with the company earlier 2017 to get a status of the order. I was told the batch with my order was being shipped and I was made to believe I would receive my earbuds in the coming days. At some point later in 2017, the company issued a notice on their website indicating they would not be shipping any orders and there would be no refunds. The company’s notice made it seem like they were shutting down. The company has not refunded my money or contacts me regarding a refund. They have engaged in wire and mail fraud.

  • Oct 14, 2017

I bought 2 pair of earbuds frim Kanoa...guarenteeing me we would get our earbuds in the spring... u emailed them 6 months later asking them how much longer... they replied w sorry but we will get it out in srping of 2017.... still jo word so i emailed the not sending the oriduct i paid for

  • Sep 28, 2017

I pre-ordered their headphones almost 2 months ago. When the ship date was pushed back initially, I emailed asking to cancel and refund. I was told I would only be able to cancel when I received shipping confirmation upon my ordering being filled so I waited longer. A few days ago I saw on their reddit page that they were offering full refunds and cancellations so I requested again (almost a year later) for my refund. Today I was greeted with an email explaining that the company was shutting down. There is no mention of a refund. Their website has been taken down and replaced with a copy of the email I got. They have blocked all forms of social media. This company has completely scammed every one of their supporters. I am in the process of filing a complaint with the FTC as well.

  • Sep 6, 2017

Cival Van Der Lubbe of Kanoa, Inc. scammed and defrauded thousands of customers through his Kanoa 'Pre-order' website. From 2015 to 2017 Cival took pre-orders for headphones through his website www.getkanoa.com - Cival Van Der Lubbe claimed he was in the final stages of production and that the headphones would be shipped within a month. Cival Van Der Lubbe then proceeded to lie about Kanoa's progress via email newsletters over the course of 2 years, misleading his customers in order to prevent them from requesting a refund. Cival Van Der Lubbe failed to ever deliver the product and subsequently hid from the public, closing all social media sites, and failed to refund anyone their money. Whether Cival Van Der Lubbe ever intended to deliver the earbuds or not (evidence points to them only ever creating 25 units with Flex in a preliminary manufacturing stage) he is certainly a terrible businessman and dishonest person. Beware when dealing with him.

  • Sep 4, 2017

So Kanoa has come to be a complete scam all along. When the word of new true wireless headphones were coming out, I found out about this and pre ordered the moment I saw it........2 years ago. Around the release date they originally had, it was pushed back over and over and up to this point now they sent an email to all stating that they were unable to continue their product. Also they shut down all sites and pages tied to this fake company. I heard people tried to get refunds way before this happened and got no response from their so called customer support

  • Aug 31, 2017

I paid $159.00 in April 2016 for KANOA wireless earbuds. After two delivery extension dates with promises to deliver, I received a notice 8/23/17 essentially saying I would not be receiving my headphones, yet there was no mention of a refund. The company kept updates of their progress the whole time and then a single email to give all the preorderers that the product would not be a reality. The company also deleted all of its emails and shut down its customer service portals.

  • Aug 30, 2017

Kanoa has defrauded thousands of people. They were selling headphone's and taking peoples hard earned money. After several shipping extensions they emailed the customers and in short told them that they had stole there money. They would not be shipping any headphones that we paid for! I want criminal charges brought against these criminals and yes I would like my 150.00 back.

  • Aug 28, 2017

I purchase earphones as a pre-order from Kanoa, Inc. on 4/26/16 after seeing a Facebook ad. I researched the site and combed through all the details. Everything seemed legit as I was hesitant about dropping $150 on a pair of earphones that were still being produced. I was under the impression from all the marketing that these were on the way to the manufacturer or already there and they needed the pre-order to finalize everthing. They had endorsement, and what seemed to be in-hand products.

I received a confirmation email stating that the Batch 1 orders would ship no later that July 2016. While Batch 2 would follow a few weeks after.

Low and behold that time came and went as the company continue to provided updates on the status and said there were delays because they were aquiring better hardware, etc. Much to my dismay I was upset because I was not under the impression these were R&D mockups/concepts.

..... They then provided a timeline diagram of the process on the user portal and it basically looked like they were starting from scratch and this was all just a concept rendering. But each employee always touted a pair in their ears as if they were using them regulary.

After giving them the benefit of the doubt I gave them more time as they pushed the delivery date back another couple of months, then they pushed it back a third time saying ALL order will ship Spring 2017 us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=5b29f517109b4d56adcd85f4c&id=7c36e9b921.

They would show videos of the progress and testing phases (aquiring more pre-orders). I believe there were at least 3-4 Pre-order batches starting all the way back in Sept 2015 where they were still taking them up until 1 day before they closed.

I was blocked on their social media as I expressed my disgruntled concerns to others. I then contacted them (which I had no problem with in the past). I heard nothing. After 5 days I tried again. Then I saw a Facebook page about a scam. I looked in to it and there was a review basically saying that they were junk earphones and didn't work an that the company folded. I requested a refund as many other did with no response. Others requested, but were denied. I then get a notice email and a link to their site stating that they lost "backers" and investers and closed shop. Nothing about refunds, or anything. Saying they could not produce the product.

So 15 months later and I'm out $149 and no earphones. I aslo referred a friend through their program who also lost his money.

  • Aug 28, 2017

I have emailed them several time requesting information and requesting refund and they keep saying we are sending out and will be shipping out first batch soon and please be patient. Now I just find out, website shut down, no refund, no way to get a hold of this scumbag. $150 gone.

  • Aug 28, 2017

Cival Van Der Lubbe has been in the pre-order phase for Kanoa for the past three years. Today, all of their pre-order customers received a notice saying that the company was shut down. Each person has paid between $130-$165, leading to nothing but a loss of money . Cival Van Der Lubbe has no intention of refunding anybody for their pre-order purchase and has done nothing except post Luxurious vacations on his social media profiles. There is talk of a class action lawsuit. Cival Van Der Lubbe & Kanoa we're taking pre-orders up to a week before the company shut down

  • Aug 28, 2017

Company took funds for development and purchase of their bluetooth headphones. After waiting over 2 years for release, I asked for a refund and was given excuses. Now company has stopped responding, closed down all forms of communication, its social media pages, and says they are shutdown.

  • Aug 28, 2017

Preordered these 2 years ago and have been “updated” by website and emails for several setbacks. No remedy to get a refund. Class action lawsuit should be filed against the financial backers of this operation.

  • Aug 28, 2017

I paid $159.00 in May 2016 for KANOA wireless earbuds. After two delivery extension dates with promises to deliver, I received a notice 8/23/17 essentially saying I would not be receiving my headphones, yet there was no mention of a refund. The company kept updates of their progress the whole time and then a single email to give all the preorderers that the product would not be a reality. The company also deleted all of its emails and shut down its customer service portals.

  • Aug 28, 2017

After so many delays, I emailed Kanoa's Support Team on May 2, 2017: When will I receive my ($149) order? The next day I received this response: MAY 03, 2017 | 01:48PM PDT

Kyle replied:

Hi,

Thanks for reaching out.

Our spring window for release was March – June 20th. We worked out the necessary calculations to see this project into completion and we've narrowed down that pre-orders begin shipping in June.

You can follow along with our weekly updates here – getkanoa.com/blogs/news

Know we are here EVERY step of the way to make sure that any and all concerns are met with an answer from a caring team member here at KANOA.

Kyle

Customer Experience

Now, I found out a few days ago they're out of business. This has been a SCAM. Thousands have been conned

  • Aug 26, 2017

WIth my original investment and order of $129, I knew there was a risk, and the delays in production and delivery continued for two years. The company finally shut down without notice, without refunds, and without any product delivery. This was 2 full years after order placement, and countless delays. They finally got called out, threatened with lawsuits, etc. It seems they realized time was short, so they finally stopped taking pre-orders and simply shut down and disappeared. There are no means of contacting them anymore.

  • Aug 26, 2017

Prepaid ordered a set of wireless rechargeable waterproof bluetooth earbuds. Waited patiently for new model developments. Very patiently. After over a year received an email stating in a creative nature they "hit a wall" and witgout a capitol investor stepping in to save the day, they let everyone go and would not be filling my order.

  • Aug 26, 2017

I ordered my earbuds in February of 2016. The company truly seemed legit: They sent email updates on a regular basis for a few months and had a slick customer portal. They had professional athlete endoresments. So many review sites were excited about these promising, truly wireless earbuds. Hell, they even sent me a high quality Kanoa hat just for being patient! They promised orders would ship in April of 2016, then summer of '16. They then said they had issues with their current product and wanted to "provide the best quality earbuds possible", so they said they were going to start over and that their product would be delayed until spring of 2017. So patiently I waited with my $139 already paid. Spring came and went. They then said it would be June. Here we are now in August without a product. A few days ago they put a notice on their website saying they filled their first batch of pre-orders and are unable to continue due to lack of funding. There is no way of contacting them. I emailed an address that assisted me before and I got a reply saying that the address is not being monitored. I can't find a single person onlilne who's actually got a pair of these in their hands for a review. What a dissapointment! Now all I want is my money back. Please assist.

  • Aug 26, 2017

Kanoa offered pre-sales on their wireless bluetooth earbuds. They kept delaying, but continuing to promise, delivery of pre-sold earbuds. In their final "tough luck, we're not sending it to you" letter of August, 2017 (https://getkanoa.com/password) they make it sound like their customers were "backers," i.e. investors. No, we are not. They promised an actual PRODUCT for the money spent. It wasn't an investment in a hypothetical. It was, "by now so we have the capital to build this product you're pre-ordering." Extremely misleading. Pissed off they stole my money.

  • Aug 26, 2017

I pre ordered the Kanoa headphones in September of 2015. The product was never produced/delivered and the company has put up a splash page saying they lost an investor and fired all employees and closed their doors. They have taken down all their social media pages and have no way to contact them.

  • Aug 26, 2017

This company has defrauded all of its "investors," people like me who bought into their fraudalent claims. I invested almost 400 dollars, buying two of these units, and received nothing in return. Now, they have gone dark--laying off all employees and shutting down social media/website. I want my money back immediately. This is sickening.

  • Aug 25, 2017

Pre-ordered wireless earbuds online in Feb 2016 for US$150 (CAD$197). Product never shipped. Company shut down. Persons in charge disappeared. Refund not possible.

  • Aug 25, 2017

Kanoa is a scam. I bought a pair of their wireless earpieces (May 2016) and they have not delivered on their product.

I also have contacted them many times about my concerns and I still have not got any proper response from them.

Please do not waste your money of time with this company, they are frauds and they only want your money.

Any help to resolve or get my money back would be greatly appreciated.

  • Aug 25, 2017

This company promised a state of the art pair of wireless headphones and they weren't cheap to the everyday person. The guys at kanoa asked you to shell out $150 or more to help design and produce this product. However, they were promised in the fall of 2016 and kept getting pushed back. When people ask for refunds some were given and some were not, getting told they would receive refunds closer to the date of product shipment. Now out of nowhere those who pre-ordered get a notice saying that this company has lost its initial backers and could not afford to stay in business and provide us with what they promised, even though they had gotten all these pre-orders to fulfill those requirements. It's almost as if they knew they were never shipping over a year ago and kept pushing the date back as more people placed orders. Apparently they ran all types of contests for merchandise, one of which I was a "winner," but never actually sent anything to anybody.

This leaves me to wonder if they even ever had a plan to develop their product, or if they were just trying to put off a "shipdate" until they had all this money. Nobody online has ever seen this product out in the open and nobody has commented about it except for those that supposedly worked for the company.

  • Aug 25, 2017

Pushed delivery date. Promised delivery in email upon shipping address confirmation days prior to shutdown. No way to reach customer service for refund. $159.00 stolen from my bank account.

  • Aug 25, 2017

Kanoa was making new ear pieces as Bluetooth headset. They are not out of money, and can't give the products they owe me and many others. I want my refund of 280 because I ordered 2.

  • Aug 25, 2017

Got in on the pre-order campaign almost 2 years ago bc for $150. They kept putting up apparently fake videos showing the product "working". Kept pushing back the date, for us to refer more people, said they started shipping two weeks ago. Now, they have supposedly gone out of business...

  • Aug 25, 2017

Purchased a pair of Kanoa wireless eaphones on 1/18/2016. Waited as they kept pushing the release date, explaining that "they wanted to make sure consumers get the quality we deserve". They kept pushing release date, originally was promised to fulfill orders by May 2016.

After over a year of from purchase date, it was unsure on when the product was going to release. A weekly update was available as it seemed like the product was fully completed then all the sudden, I received an email stating that the company has laid every employee off without any information on whether our funds were going to be returned to us. An attempt to contact them via email but an auto reply stated that this email is no longer monitored by kanoa.

All I am asking for Kanoa is to return our funds, a failure to deliver a product is not on the fault of the consumer as the company failed to fulfill its promise numerous times and convinced early backers to stay with their product.

I have all the emails regarding their updates saved for reference.

Min, Philadelphia Pennsylvania

  • Aug 25, 2017

Did not get promised product after over 1 and 1/2 years

  • Aug 24, 2017

Pre ordered wireless ear buds back in 2016. Despite false claims of set backs and pre production ramp ups, they promised to have ear buds delivered by June 2017.

Now if you check their website, it is shuttered. Reddit is set to private. All social media is unmanned and defunct. No email, nothing to warn the customers they are not getting anything. I am out $160.

Whats worse, they kept the preorder offer going the entire time knowing they were not going to produce ANYTHING up until the last second.

  • Aug 24, 2017

I pre-ordered a pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones for $149.99 from Kanoa Inc. 2 years ago, and after countless times of pushing back the ship date and discontinuing their weekly updates they wrote a post on their website saying they are not continuing production. When you try to contact the company, they say all social media and contact is unmanned. The letter says all employees were laid off and that there is no way to contact them. This company took my money 2 years ago, promised me a product for my money while also taking pre-orders from other consumers, then shut down all communication. Kanoa did not give me a refund, nor did they deliver a product.

  • Aug 24, 2017

Back in 2016 i saw these headphones and paid 160$ to preorder,waited a year for them to ship,than i get a email saying there company is gone,i cant contatct them,there website dosnt help anymore,im down 160$ with no way of getting that money back

  • Aug 24, 2017

On Sep 3 2015 I pre ordered Kanoa headphones. Despite bad reviews during initial releases and pushing the ship date for over two years, I stuck with them because in 2016 when most of the bad press was released they claimed to be fixing the bugs. They were in good communication with me through E-mail and just seemed to be struggling to finalizing a design. Last week they sent out an E-mail announcing they are officially shipping. Today, August 23 2017 they sent out an E-mail stating "they had lost investor support" and all capital required to deliver their product was gone. In a flash their website, YouTube ads, Facebook, instagram, Twitter Erased. This was not a donation to a kickstarter, this was an order for a product. This company must be held accountable.

  • Aug 3, 2017

Kanoa is a Ponzi scheme. Their MO is to solicit orders baiting customers with a "reduced price" prior to shipping. They have failed to produce anything except flashy internet videos, some weak 3D printed knock-up ear buds, and a social media footprint which seeks to validate their scheme. The truth is they are stealing real money from real customers, and silencing any dissenting voices on their Facebook page. I have consistently asked legitimate questions about their "product" and eventually when the questions became impossible for them to defend their conduct, they blocked me from their page. Real "transparent" don't ya think? I am consulting a lawyer about filing a suit with the FTC, and will not stop until these criminals return every cent they stole from innocent customers.

  • Oct 26, 2016

Bought these headphones 6 months ago initially being told they will ship in October. That date has been shoved back several times. Have contacted them and once I asked for money back they completely stopped responding. Have done some research online and haven't came across one person who has recived there's. I just read several people who are in batch 1 orders haven't recived them yet without. But I get emails from kanoa saying they are all done shipping batch 1

  • Jul 7, 2016

This company promises you a pair of wireless bluetooth headphones as part of what appears to be a fake kickstarter for about $150.00. they contantly move the ship date to out even further, and if you refer people with the referral code they remove the referral the next day. whats strange is they answer emails, but you will never see the promised product....

no person i have heard about has even received anything from this company. They also appear to have no address information on where their company is located. checking the SSL certificate it appears to be for dozens of other domain names, this looks like a scam all day long after a lot of research.

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