Don't give up - my son got his money in the end...
Back in Feb 2025 my son started a Makeachamp campaign, finding the features on the website provided just what he needed. He had an ambitious target of £10,000 but was thrilled to raise £2,827 over six weeks. This would give him the funds to represent the UK at International windsurf wave events in the Canaries.
He ended the campaign and received an email saying money would be transferred to his bank in 5-10 days.
Two weeks later, no money…
So he sent an email to Makeachamp customer services.
Two weeks later, no money, no reply…
So I started looking into Makeachamp and discovered some harrowing reviews on Trustpilot. Checking out their Facebook and Instagram it was clear something happened in 2021. Before that there were loads of uplifting stories of athletes raising money. And after, no posts, nothing… And on Trustpilot, pre 2021: rave reviews, after 2021 a whole stream of people complaining they could not get their money…
What an ingenious scam I thought! Build a great reputation, then get “marks” to raise money and just keep it all for yourself. Maybe the founders were in on the scam, or maybe they had sold it to some Russians. It all looked plausible… I did a bit of digging:
I had to sit my son down and explain that he wouldn’t be getting any of the £2,800 he was relying on. Actually he took it really well, but the bit that really hurt was how the generous people who had donated would feel. Devastating…
My son is not a quitter and looking through the Trustpilot reviews, some people suggested they got some money back by threatening legal action, or getting the police involved. So digging around we decided to sent this email to their support email.
"I received the “Your campaign is over!” email on 8th April saying the transfer of funds can take 5-10 working days. On 21st April I sent a follow up email but as of now I have received no funds.
I have received no reply to my email and today I left a message on your answering machine.
I am concerned that your organisation may be committing criminal fraud and I will report this to our local law enforcement agency to ask that the RCMP is informed of your activities.
I will also be lodging a report with the National Cyber Security Centre here in the UK.
This will also be shared on Trust Pilot and I shall try to inform athletes with active campaigns.
I look forward to a speedy transaction of my funds."
To our astonishment, half an hour later, we received a reply from Michael Shpigelman (mshpigelman) promising to transfer the funds straight away. And the next day my son received £2,710.87. Not quite all he was owed but what a HUGE relief.
So if you are struggling to get your money - huge sympathies, but don't give up!