Very disappointing experience with Bondtech Founder (INDX Founders Edition)
I am sharing this because I am truly frustrated by the recent support experience I had with Bondtech regarding my INDX Founders Edition reservation for the Prusa CORE One. I am a customer who was patient with delays, but the way I was treated when I requested a refund was unprofessional and, frankly, dismissive.
The Context:
I decided to request a refund because the project timeline has stretched significantly longer than originally communicated. Given the history of recurring delays and the issues encountered throughout this process, I have lost confidence in the final product. As a consumer, I did not want to proceed as a "guinea pig" for a brand new product launch that has already demonstrated such instability.
The Issue:
While Bondtech did refund the main order amount via Stripe, they are refusing to refund the "Founders place" deposit. This directly contradicts their own terms, which state that the deposit is fully refundable on request up until two weeks before the shipping date.
The Communication:
What shocked me the most was the response from the founder, Martin Bondéus. Instead of handling a standard refund request, the dialogue became personal and confrontational.
When I first asked to cancel, the founder’s immediate response was to question my integrity for cancelling:"Ok, i think it is quite unfair to cancel when we have started shipping, I can assure you that we have been working our asses off during the whole time., and if you did not want to test new products why did you sign up in the first place?"
When I pointed out that the deposit should be refundable **per their own terms (**https://web.archive.org/web/20251129142639/https://www.bondtech.se/indx-by-bondtech/pre-order/), the response was a flat refusal, ignoring the policy entirely:"We are now closer than two weeks from shipping it is not an option." (Note: This "two-week" deadline is a claim based solely on the founder's statement. Given the history of delays and the lack of transparent communication throughout this project, I remain skeptical about the validity of this shipping timeline.)
I am sharing this because I believe companies should be held accountable for the policies they publish, especially when a founder chooses to make a simple refund request personal. Has anyone else encountered this type of pushback when dealing with Bondtech support?
(Screenshots of the very rude exchanges available on request)
Update: Following this post, Bondtech reached out and ultimately agreed to refund me in full. I'm pleased with this outcome, even though some of you believed I wasn't entitled to a full refund. The purpose of my post was never just about the money. It was to highlight the company's blatant lack of respect in our interactions and my disappointment with its nonexistent customer service. This situation could have been easily avoided if Bondtech had been upfront about forfeiting my deposit upon cancellation, or had simply communicated with professionalism and respect.