Artist Beware: byronbae

I paid for a custom Cinnadog from byronbae on 1/18/2019, which were $40 base price + extra for other trait add-ons.  The total transaction was $45 after adding 1 $5 trait to the custom base price.  They mentioned there would possibly be a long wait time due to taking multiple slots.  deviantART journal, claim proof, and payment proof below.

I waited with no update until I received notification on 5/3/2019, where byronbae let everyone still pending know that they were having IRL issues, but should still expect sketches soon.  Hearing nothing for several more months, I messaged them again on 9/15/2019 asking for status updates.  Byronbae replied that they would be able to potentially get their queue done in October.

On 11/28/2019, with no other updates in October and November, I asked for a refund.  I received a reply that byronbae was willing to refund me but had no income, so I would need to wait until January.  I let them know what I paid and waited for an update.

I do not follow byronbae directly on deviantART but checked their page to see if they were active, and noticed they posted a journal on 1/3/2020 mentioning the outstanding commission issue.  They claimed that they would be working on refunds and pinging people involved.  As of 1/27/2020, no communication has occurred and no refund has been issued.  I commented to ask status updates, but it has now been over 1 year since the initial transaction.