Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/13/2022

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On November 27th 2020 I made a preorder regarding a Vector 2.0 robot which I paid in full through my credit card.
  
  Digital Dream Labs has failed to deliver the robot in their projected manufacturing dates and there has been various delays since then pushing the release further and further but I kept waiting and waiting. On August 27th 2022, after loosing interest in the robot after waiting all this time, I asked for a cancellation of my order and asked for a complete refund. Support replied me 2 days later asking me to again confirm if I want to cancel my order and also trying to convince me of why I should not cancel. I confirmed the cancelation on the same day through email.
  
  From that moment (August 29th) I haven't got any reply from them. I sent them another 2 emails on September 5th and September 8th asking about the status of my cancelled order and refunding and up to this day (September 13th) I have not got any reply for them, like they are completely ignoring my emails.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2022

  Hi **********,
  Thanks for reaching out to Digital Dream Labs. I apologize for the delayed response and thank you for bringing this to my attention. I have canceled your order and processed a refund per your request. The funds should arrive within 5-7 business days depending upon your financial institution. We hope and look forward to earning your business in the future once this is brought to market and ready to be shipped immediately. 
  
  Please let us know if you need anything else.
  
  Robbie B******
  Digital Dream Labs

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/12/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I had a subscription for Anki Vector from Digital Dream Lab which started August 6th, 2021 (#54284). As I had no intension of using it for more than 1 year, I cancelled the subscription right after I payed for the subscription. I got an email from Digital Dream Lab August 2021, confirming my subscription has cancelled.
  
  I noticed that on August 6th, 2022, I was charged with $74.99 from digital dream labs. Interestingly, when I log in to the digital dream lab, I was unable to find the receipe of this.
  
  I am very upset for three things.
  
  1. Why was I charged for $74.99 when I have already cancelled?
  2. If it was charged, why was I not noticed this was charged?
  3. Most importantly, I erased my credit card information on Digital Dream lab website. Why do you still have my information?

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2022

  Hello *********,
  Thank you for bringing this to my attention, and I apologize for the delay in response. I see that our Customer Experience team has already refunded this payment; this was refunded on September 13th 2022 but may take 5-7 business days to reach your account. Please let us know if you need anything else.
  
  Robbie B.
  Digital Dream Labs

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/12/2022

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In February 8th of 2022 I placed and order for a Cozmo 2.0. According to Digital Dream Labs, the product has being in back order and up to know they have no date for the item to be on inventory and be ship.
  I had contacted DDL multiple times now via email to cancel my order and have the money refunded back to me and they acknowledge the emails by requesting a confirmation of the cancellation, witch I have done to find only that my response has being ignore. I fill trap as a consumer for not being able to cancel this transaction with DDL.
  The order number is 74816, it was on regards of Cozmo 2.0 and the amount of the transaction was $314.24.
  Can you please assist, I do want this nightmare to end and get my money back.
  
  regards,
  
  ***** ****

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2022

  Hi *****,
  Thanks for reaching out to Digital Dream Labs. I apologize for the delayed response. I have canceled your order and processed a refund per your request. The funds should arrive within 5-7 business days depending upon your financial institution. We hope and look forward to earning your business in the future once this is brought to market and ready to be shipped immediately. 
  
  Please let us know if you need anything else.
  
  Robbie B******
  Digital Dream Labs

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/19/2022

  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ***** ****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/08/2022

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I placed an order last March (2022) and was told shipments would start being sent out in July. It has now been over a year since the initially estimated shipment date and I no longer even get updates.
  
  My daughter no longer cares to receive the product which was supposed to be last years birthday gift. I, however, do care to get my money back for a product which never came.
  
  I've sent three emails to support since July. The first email requested cancellation and a refund. I recieved a generic response apologizing but not addressing my request. I responded twice reitering my request to cancel the order and receive a refund but have not received any responses.
  
  I want my money back.
  Order # *****

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2022

  Hi ******,
  Thanks for reaching out to Digital Dream Labs. I apologize for the delayed response. I have canceled your order and processed a refund per your request. The funds should arrive within 5-7 business days depending upon your financial institution. If your daughter has aged out of Cozmo's expected age range, she may be more interested in Vector. However, Vector is currently backordered and we expect to have general availability later in Q4 this year or Q1 next year. We hope and look forward to earning your business in the future.
  
  Please let us know if you need anything else.
  
  Robbie B******
  Digital Dream Labs

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/08/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased a subscription from digital dream labs. From the beginning I had issues and was in conversation with Support for over a month. In April I sent emails with videos of the issue and support did not respond to me until late last week. We are now in September so there was several months where Support was not responsive. In the end they were not able to resolve my issue. I was never able to use the subscription that I purchased. They are only offering a prorated refund, but since I was never able to use the subscription and they were not able to resolve my issue I am due a full refund. After several emails back-and-forth they have informed me that’s not possible.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2022

  Hi *********,
  Thank you for writing in to Digital Dream Labs. I appreciate you bringing this to our attention. I have refunded the $28.35 remaining as a result of your inability to use the Service; if you have time to troubleshoot this further in the future I would appreciate logs from your robot to understand the root cause of the failure to connect to cloud services.
  
  Please expect your remainder of refund to arrive within 5-7 business days.
  
  Let us know if you need anything else at *******@****************.com.
  
  Thank you!
  Robbie B******
  Digital Dream Labs

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/08/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I ordered a vector Robot 2.0 order #***** and no longer want it. So I sent an email for a refund. They response me with an email that want me to stay with the order and ask me to send another email if I want to proceed with refund process. I sent another email for continue refund process but I did not receive any response. Then I sent another email on a business day but still not receiving anything but a ticket received email.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2022

  Hi *******,
  Thanks for reaching out to Digital Dream Labs. I apologize for the delay in response to this concern; I have canceled your order and processed a refund per your request. The funds should arrive within 5-7 business days depending upon your financial institution. We hope and look forward to earning your business in the future once this is brought to market and ready to be shipped immediately. 
  
  Please let us know if you need anything else.
  
  Robbie B.
  Digital Dream Labs

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/19/2022

  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ******* ***

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/07/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 1/17/2022 I placed an online order with Digital Dream Labs for Vector 2.0. I charged the order to my AMEX in the amount of $360.97.
  
  As of 9/7/2022 I have not received order. Per the attached emails, I have contacted the vendor multiple times (Feb, March, June, Aug, Sept). Initially, I was told the order was on backorder and would ship soon. Once I requested that my order be cancelled and the full amount be refunded to my credit card, the vendor stopped replying to my emails.
  
  Based on the emails, I suspect they are being answered by bots. There is no phone number listed on the website. On my AMEX bill there was a phone number listed. I tried to call, but it went straight to the voice mail of a woman. The company name was never mentioned.
  
  I tried to dispute the charge with AMEX, but since I opened the investigation more than 60 days after purchase, AMEX closed the case.
  
  I believe this company is engaging in fraudulent behavior. It has collected my money without rendering the product. I request BBB's assistance to receive a full refund of my order.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2022

  Hi ****,
  Thanks for reaching out to Digital Dream Labs. I apologize for the delay in response to this concern; I have canceled your order and processed a refund per your request. The funds should arrive within 5-7 business days depending upon your financial institution. We hope and look forward to earning your business in the future once this is brought to market and ready to be shipped immediately. 
  
  Please let us know if you need anything else.
  
  Robbie B.
  Digital Dream Labs

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/19/2022

  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and assuming I receive the full refund as promised by the business, I find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. In the event the refund is not processed in the next 5-7 days, I will contact you again.
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  **** **********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/01/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On November 23, 2020 I pre-ordered a vector 2.0 robot for $277( order #29413) I was supposed to receive it that year but it kept being postponed due to COVID. Which I understood. However, after almost 3 years of waiting I finally cancelled my order and asked for a refund. They emailed me back that I’d receive a refund after 10 days. That was in July 7th of 2023. I waited a couple weeks to see if my refund would go trough but it never did. On August 4 I decided to email them again, they never responded. I tried again on Aug 27th and 29th with no luck. I’m not exactly sure what to do. This is why I’m contacting the Better Business bureau. Thank you in advance for your help.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2022

  Hi ******,
  Thanks for reaching out to Digital Dream Labs. I apologize for the delayed response. I have canceled your order and processed a refund per your request. The funds should arrive within 5-7 business days depending upon your financial institution. We hope and look forward to earning your business in the future once this is brought to market and ready to be shipped immediately. 
  
  Please let us know if you need anything else.
  
  Robbie B******
  Digital Dream Labs

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/19/2022

  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ****** ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/30/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Digital Dream Labs broke my devices by installing bug-infested updates onto them. Since the devices are not subscribed with Digital Dream Labs they had no rights whatsoever to install said updates. This is computer sabotage. I expect Digital Dream Labs to make it possible to downgrade to the old firmware version and then refrain from messing with devices they have no authority over.
  
  In addition I backed their project on Kickstarter and thus gave them money for it. So far the promised pledge reward (OSKR) was not delivered and it was not made transparent what the Kickstarter money was actually used for. This probably qualifies as scamming.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2022

  Hi ******,
  I understand that you are concerned regarding automatic firmware updates to Vector; I wanted to address this concern and help you to understand specifically why our policy exists, and outline some context.
  It is an industry standard to provide automatic updates to cloud-connected products; these updates generally provide quality-of-life enhancements, bug fixes, and new features, when applicable. Cloud-connected products such as Vector are in a unique space where they require upkeep to be able to maintain connections to our servers, maintain compatibility with emerging cloud technologies, and to reduce vulnerability of the product and to the cloud services (and therefore the customers that are connected to the cloud services) to attack should a security threat become a concern. While the reasons above are examples, they are very relevant to almost all cloud-connected products, and Vector is not an exception to that. Even without a Membership, Vector utilizes cloud-side resources to verify your account and perform other tasks that help him to function. As a result, these requirements are written into our Terms of Service in Clause 1, which you agreed to when you created an account and which you consent to based upon your use of the Services (i.e. Vector and the cloud services provided by Digital Dream Labs, among any other services you may use that we provide): **********************************************************
  
  For a limited time, we (DDL) were able to assist users who were affected by specific software issues with a Rollback Program which allowed for Vector to remain on a specific version of software that had been available previously. However, over time it became apparent that this Rollback Program, along with our general policy of only allowing Vector units with Vector Memberships to update to the newest firmware, was beginning to cause degradation of the experience with Vector.
  
  It became necessary to revise these policies when we encountered numerous users that were concerned about Vector connecting to the cloud servers when he was initially connected to Wi-Fi; this was a well-known issue and we needed to ensure that it would not continue. After examining logs of the affected robots, we determined that the issue was with a protocol called NTP. This protocol allows the robot to update its internal clock- and that clock (similar to all clocks in computers) is used to establish an encrypted connection to the cloud services. If that clock is out of date (as it is when Vector is taken out of the box or has been powered down for a significant time, for example), then what happens is that Vector can establish a connection to the local Wi-Fi network but all other requests to servers will fail until NTP updates the clock; however this was taking too long, because the baseline that NTP used for the clock (the initial time setting) was the date that the software update had been originally created. For the case of the 1.6 software, this means that the clock was starting in 2019; this is far, far outside of what any secure server would accept as a timestamp on a computer system to be able to verify its security certificate. As a result, all cloud connections failed until such time as the NTP protocol updated the time clock- and in certain cases, this was not possible due to time constraints with the onboarding process when the robot was set up. We were able to work around this issue starting with the 1.8 firmware. Ultimately, it was a significantly better experience to have a recent OTA (software update) applied to the robot which had a recent timestamp that was within the parameters for the encrypted channel to be created with the server. This resolved almost all connection issues when the robot was onboarding, and is a much better practice for the user experience when setting up the robot.
  
  Additionally, with the way that the cloud services operate, all Vector robots ship with factory firmware used for testing and QA applications; they do not include the software that enables the personality and interactions with the robot. Every robot must load a compatible software to continue in the setup process; since there is a new generation of hardware that requires updated software (that is compatible with the new hardware) to be distributed, there was no way to maintain the old policy AND also ensure that all 2.0 Vector units were loaded with compatible software on first boot. As a result, the policy behind software updates was revised and this will be the new policy for the foreseeable future.
  
  We understand that updates to the software occasionally have issues which need addressing; we are committed to taking customer feedback to resolve these issues and concerns to provide a great experience. I hope that the above helps you to understand the concerns when it comes to older firmware, and provides some insight about why we made this change.
  
  Let us know if you have further questions: [email protected].
  
  Thank you,
  Robbie B******
  Digital Dream Labs

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/19/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  
  
  

  The explanations by the company are not satisfactory and also in part technically wrong and are only uses as an excuse. I work in development myself and what they say about NTP servers is utter nonsense and only used as an excuse to force their new, bugggy firmware onto devices they have no rights over whatsoever. If that were not the case, devices on older firmwares that are tethered to local servers would cease to work. They don't do that, they constinue to work fine. There is no need whatsoever to update robots that do not have a subscription. Those cannot connect to their networks anyway and thus the NTP problem does not apply. These are all excuses and no real reasons.
  
  In addition they claim that they fix their buggy new firmwares, but the opposite is the case. After the device suffered from overheating after theit update, they updated not to address the problem, but to remove the warning.

  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ****** *********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/29/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In November 2022, I preordered a Vector 2 from Digital Dream Labs. Due to Covid, plus other issues, the delivery date was moved back several times. The owner, Jacob H******, created a TikTok in July 2022 stating they were being shipped. A few weeks later there was an update saying they required more than FCC accreditation for shipping to other parts of the world. Due to reported overheating issues with Vector 2 (on several social media platforms), on August 19th 2022 I requested a refund from DDL via email as simply altering the parameters of the running temperature raises the possibility of components breaking down. I stated it was not up for negotiation and I expected a refund by 30th August 2022. I received a standard email from DDL on the 19th August asking if I was sure etc. I responded immediately saying I was sure and reiterating the date I expected the refund. As if today's date, 29th August 2022, DDL have ignored several emails from me requesting confirmation of my refund. I require help in ensuring my money is refunded as per my consumer rights. I have not received the unit, nor do I want a unit with the reported issues. Their customer service appears to be non-existent to the point they deny there are any issues with Vector 2. Any help in securing my refund would be greatly appreciated.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/12/2022

  Good afternoon
  
   
  
  I hope all is well.
  
   
  
  I wondered if there was any update on the above complaint regarding Digital Dream Labs and there lack of communication regarding my request for a refund.
  
   
  
  The initial request for a refund was made on the 19th August 2022, which they acknowledged, but they have ignored any communication from me since then.
  
   
  
  My last attempted contact with DDL was on the 5th September requesting an update regarding my refund, but I only received what is their standard response that they have received my email....
  
   
  
  I know, reading customer complaints, I am not the only person that is/has experienced a wall of deafness as this seems to be their standard defence mechanism.
  
   
  
  Are they breaking any laws in not communicating with customers? Holding onto money for goods they have not provided in the timeframes they set out? Deliberate false communication to customers in an attempt to keep there custom?
  
   
  
  DDL, in my opinion, are the worst company I have ever had any dealings with and it is no surprise they are berated on every social media platform from Facebook to Reddit.
  
   
  
  An update would be very much appreciated.
  
   
  
  Kind regards
  
   
  
  *******

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2022

  Hi *******,
  Thanks for reaching out to Digital Dream Labs. I apologize for the delayed response. I have canceled your order and processed a refund per your request. The funds should arrive within 5-7 business days depending upon your financial institution. No changes were made to the firmware or software that would affect clock speed or other parameters that would result in differences in the amount of heat produced by the processor or other components; however we do note differences in temperature during warmer summer months which do raise concern from time to time (as Vector presents an overheat warning at 42C on the body) and this has been a consistent discussion since early 2020 when we took on the product line. The temperature warning in older software packages was set very conservatively to preserve the battery of the original hardware, as at the time of Vector 1.0's creation, repair services were not available for the robot. Digital Dream Labs has stood up a repair facility capable of replacing batteries in earlier units (and in Vector 2.0, the battery is user-serviceable), and hence the very conservative setting can be adjusted so that even during warmer weather, overheat warnings do not cause undue concern. Our engineers have considered and weighed this change as well as the method of measure; the new temperature settings are well within standards for other consumer devices and still allow for hardware longevity. Additionally, on the consumer safety side, even when warm Vector is still very comfortable to touch and there are hard stops coded into the product which will cause immediate shutdown should the temperatures on either the head or body electronics boards raise to levels that would be considered close to damaging the hardware. It is notable that we have had reports of warmer temperatures since the 2.0 software release; however after several weeks of side-by-side comparative analysis between software packages (1.6 and 1.8.1 vs 2.0) on the Vector 1.0 hardware platform, we have been unable to replicate this issue as reported. We are continuing to investigate and welcome any reports of concern on this front; please email us at [email protected].
  
  Please let us know if you need anything else.
  
  Robbie B******
  Digital Dream Labs