Posted on April 23:
This is the part of an email from Kazue's sister, Matsumi, that Denise Travers chose to share:
"Sorry for my late reply. I really appreciate your warm and gentle thoughts for us, and I cannot find words to apologize to the people who trusted Kazu and BIC. All I can do for them is to tell what I know without lies and hiding, but I'm sorry that I do not know how Kazu has managed her business. Both dealing and accounting are completely under her control, and nobody in BIC knows the details. I have nothing to hide, and I don't ask you to hide. I easily can imagine what happens on the discussion boards in internet all over the world., it's completely same as happening in Japan. Of course we know it, but no one can stop it."
I don't believe BIC will re-open, I am not sure how it will be handled but will
let you know when I know anything. I will not hold back anything...
It is heartbreaking to imagine what they are going through. I wish I could be
with them.
Rob had posted that I was in Japan. I was supposed to be but I was here because
my Mom had a heart attack and I was with her. I have not been in Japan since the day of the earthquake. I am hoping to find out more details about Kazue's disappearance and will share when I know anything. Right now all I care about is Kazue's safe return and her families welfare.
Denise
Posted on April 22 by Denise:
Unfortunately I haven't heard anything new. But I need to give more of an explanation on some things. First off all the positive comments about Kazue are totally right on. Thank you for sharing what we all know. That Kazue is an honest, incredibly hard workingwoman who loves her family and her business and has always done right by everyone.
If she is guilty of anything it is of being "generous to a fault" About Kazue and BIC. I am going to be very open and I truly hope Kazue or her family would not mind. This is probably been the most difficult time in Kazue's life right now. 9 years ago Kazue started BIC from nothing and all alone and eventually ended up with 7 employees including family.
Over the last few years Japan was in a horrible economy, (as bad if not worse than the U.S.)
BIC struggled but Kazue just worked harder to stay afloat. Over a year ago her son was struggling with medical problems and after many Doctors and hospital stays and medicines he was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome as one of his problems.
This is very rare in Japan so Kazue had little support. She of course chose more time with her son and less on the business. So BIC struggled and Kazue fell behind more and more.
Kazue's sister Jimmy (who is a true gem herself) stepped up and tried to help Kazue
with the ever mounting emails (at 1 point when I visited the number was over
4000.) One comment was that BIC was turned over to a family member when Kazue's son was suffering but this is not true. Jimmy and her other sister worked more to try to
help but they were already full time. Then 6 weeks ago the Earthquake and Tsunami happened. Many areas were spared a lot of damage including where Kazue's family and BIC were located. But the devastation was and is so large that it has destroyed many lives and businesses. BIC was one. It was fragile and there was no way to save it. It is our complete hope that Kazue had a "meltdown" and ran away from everything and she is safe. But no one has heard a word for 12 days now. Kazue is an amazing Mother and that is the hardest part to imagine her being gone from her children so long.
One comment has been that they kept the business running after she disappeared.
OF Course they did! They were trying to keep it going for Kazue. Wouldn't any family try to do that for a struggling family member?? There was nothing sinister. They weren't trying
to walk away with anyone's money. I know this family, all of them are honest hardworking and kind people. Any other assumption is ridiculously ignorant.
For those who have pre-orders and deposits. If you paid by credit card contact your cc company. Paypal's limitations are 45 days I believe, so I am not sure on this. Of course eventually all will be settled but right now all is on hold depending on Kazue's situation. Many of us are have money involved but please keep this in perspective. Nothing is more important right now than Kazue's safety and the survival of her family. BLUE said it perfectly - It is very sad when a $500.00 doll deposit is more important than a human life. Thank you for BLUE for writing what most of us were thinking.
I will post when I know more but will not be active on the boards for now. Kazue
is very special and it is awful to read negative about her.
Please pray and think good thoughts for Kazue and her family.
Come Home Kazue.
Denise
I haven't seen these negative posts anywhere. All I've seen is wishes for Kazue's well-being. I add mine, again.
For those who have outstanding deposits and did not know Kazue personally, I certainly understand your feelings. Don't let others minimize what you feel or put you down for being concerned about your money. It's a loss and you need to do anything you can to recover your money.
Thank you for understanding that Terri. People who have lost money are being made to feel like monsters who care about money instead of human life, but we have lives too. I don't understand why Kazue is considered more important than we are. I hope she is found & is returned to her family safe & sound, but if there was fraud committed, I don't see why she should get away with it just because she is liked by a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing. The negative posts are on the GoGoMomoko board, but in order to stop people from saying anything bad about Kazue, they have started moderating all comments. You are only allowed to say nice things about what a good person she is, & that is all they will post now.
ReplyDeleteHi Terri. I'm Eric. I have never posted here, but Marna directed me to your blog. Like Marna, I paid for dolls on pre-order and just days ago discovered that my $400 was stolen. The main Kazue supporters on GoGoMomoko are Larraine, Denise and Rob, who keep posting "a human life is worth more than $500" and how Kazue was such a "good friend." They don't seem to care that hundreds of thousands of dollars has been stolen from hundreds of people, most of which cannot afford to lose large amounts of money. Kazue was taking money from people and not ordering the dolls. I don't know how it could be more clear that she had an agenda and knew exactly what she was doing. The Kazue supporters are acting like I am the devil incarnate for speaking out against their "good friend." But what kind of person steals from innocent people and then runs away? Thank you, Terri, for understanding the frustration and anger that many of us are feeling.
ReplyDelete@Marna and Eric:
ReplyDeleteA few years ago when Doll Dreams and Cuddly Things went down, many doll collectors had pre-orders pending. In that case, Integrity Toys took over their orders and assisted collectors in getting their dolls. Perhaps the same will happen with the manufacturers now. I don't know who they are or what business was or was not transacted. I am guessing that no one really knows except BIC.
I am fond of Kazue, too. If I had pre-ordered with a deposit and this happened to me, I would do everything I could to regain my funds. I don't think bashing is productive. I'm not accusing anyone of that and as I said before, I haven't even seen any so-called negative posts about Kazue.
I can only guess that Kazue must feel desperate, ashamed and possibly worse. For sure she did not intend for it to end like this. She does need legal and financial assistance and hopefully she will find it.
Doll boards are rarely the place for open self-expression of dissatisfaction or accusations. It's rarely welcome unless you are the owner of the board. Ultimately scams will be published and people will talk. But if you are the first, you might get hit by the stones. One often has to walk a tightrope or find other venues for speaking out.
Larraine, Denise and Rob are good people with strong ties to Kazue and I can totally understand where they're coming from. It's a very serious situation and I empathize with all. I can't judge right or wrong because you are all entitled to how you feel, no matter what.
I wish you a peaceful evening.
Terri
Wow this is serious. I am glad in some ways that I didn't pre-order anything recently from BIC, however I've had nothing but great experiences with Kazue in the past. It seems that her business was more like a one woman show, so quite a bit a challenge. If I were one of those individuals who've made pre-orders I would be angry too, however we don't really know the situation here. It would be sad if someone is in serious danger/missing and all we are already making other accusations. I do feel for those who've pre-ordered, I am hoping that Petwork or doll company can resolves it.
ReplyDeleteI feel for both sides. Her family must truly be beside themselves.. but, the customers also have a stake in this story. It's terrible for all.
ReplyDeleteALL I can think about is her well-being.. I STILL don't know if she is literally "Missing" and no one knows where she is, or if her absence from her business is what they are calling " Missing".
ReplyDeleteI know that apparently the Japanese language phrases difficulties differently than we do in many cases.. IF Kazue, a mother to two young children, is a missing person who was not missing after the natural disasters, then are search and rescue people looking for her? Is anything being done to find her? Is anyone in her family alarmed? I know the part about her being missing has made me very sad and upset and I am half a world away.
I wish they would simply clarify if she is a missing, endangered person. I am so hoping that some of the words aren't quite correct...
@Anonymous: You make several very good points. I have read that her family is very concerned/alarmed.
ReplyDeleteT
Terri, thanks for the reply.. Just more reasons to worry so about this beautiful lady, with a smile a mile wide and so much love in her heart. I really had hoped it was perhaps a matter of semantics between the two languages.. I wish there was some way to reach her. To find her, to tell her not to ever be ashamed. Hugs!! Lilly
ReplyDeleteI paid $400 to Kazue, and neither Paypal nor Integrity will do anything about it. Integrity wouldn't even direct me to another seller to pay another $400. Now I'm out all that money and my dream dolls, and I feel I can't say a word. What happened is still theft, whether it happened for mental health reasons or not. Many of us have our own tragedies, with only our dolls for comfort, and have worked many long, hard hours with many sacrifices to pay for these dolls. I don't want to buy any more Integrity dolls because of this.
ReplyDeleteI'm really distressed to hear this news. I've made many satisfactory purchases from Kazue in the past and I've found her lovely to deal with. I appreciate the concern of those that have made deposits and I hope they will be able to receive reimbursement. Even more, I hope Kazue is found safe but I'm extremely worried.
ReplyDelete