Groupon Review - Is Groupon a Scam?
76Groupon is an international deal-of-the-day website which claims to offer the best deals on a range of leisure activities through group buying. This is my own personal review of my Groupon experiences; in which I say whether I consider Groupon to be a revolutionary way of saving money or just a scam. But first a (very) brief overview of Groupon.
History
Groupon was founded by Andrew Mason in early 2007 as The Point. In 2008 the site changed it's name to Groupon and this was how the company grew. Groupon started in the US but quickly spread to Canada and through the acquisition of MyCityDeal got access to European markets. It is now the largest website of it's type worldwide and continues to rapidly expand.
How Does Groupon Work?
This gives an overview of how Groupon works, in a deliberately factual way - the review section follows!
Groupon has a daily deal which gives massive discounts on a wide variety of leisure activities, for example in the London there have been savings of about 75%-90% on cinema tickets, spa treatments and meals out.
There is one deal a day and each deal lasts only one day. Each deal is for a local leisure activity. To see the deals there is the need to sign up to Groupon. When signing up there is the need to provide an email address and password for signing in to the site. In addition there is the need to say which city you are located in - this is to allow the deals for that city/region to be shown (this is because in many cases the deals are city specific).
Once registered for Groupon it is possible to see the daily deal for the desired location. If this takes your fancy and you wish to take part in the deal there is the need to purchase it from Groupon. This is done within Groupon - there is no need to transfer to any third party webpages unlike with cashback sites. The purchases are made using a card, like on any other webpage. Once the deal has been paid for it is then delivered. Whilst this can be in the form of a physical delivery, in the vast majority of cases it is through the form of an emailed voucher.
Have you used Groupon Before?
See results without votingIf you have used Groupon before, what are your opinions of Groupon?
See results without votingMy own personal Groupon Review
My initial reaction when discovering Groupon was this must be scam. Discounts which sometimes exceed 90% surely is too good to be true. However, I have since determined that this isn't the case. There is still some question marks over how Groupon gets such good discounts and still manages to make money but I can see three reasons why. Firstly Groupon can presumably get discounts through bulk buying, secondly many companies must offer to give discounts to Groupon in exchange for the publicity and finally some money must be made from people who purchase activities off of the website and then don't use them.
I persevered though, registered, and found the Groupon website to be surprisingly easy to navigate. This is possibly due to the unique way in which the website is run - there is only ever one thing for sale on Groupon! I found the purchasing process to be quick and quickly received my voucher. From then all I needed to do was take the voucher along to the business and get my discounted product.
There are a few bits of advice I would give before purchasing items on Groupon. Never purchase items in a hurry - always think about it for 5 minutes or so. I should imagine the company hopes to get large numbers of impulse purchases. Always read the terms and conditions linked to any deal - many dictate that the activity can only happen at certain times or with certain conditions attached eg phoning up the business at least 24 hours in advance. In addition it may be worth considering who you are going to go with - many items are only for one person and who generally wants to go for a meal on their own? As such, whilst it may seem like a good deal - if a partner has to pay full price it isn't as good!
I would also recommend signing up for Groupon email alerts and/or if you are active on Twitter or Facebook signing up for Groupon alerts through these social networks as this means there is no need to check the site every day and it also ensures you are less likely to miss a deal!
If you haven't used Groupon before, has this article made you
See results without votingHave you used Groupon? If so how would you review it? Use the handy boxes to quickly rate Groupon or write a longer review using the comments section below! I am sure that it will be interesting to those who are yet to use Groupon!
Useful links
- Sign up for Groupon here
This is a useful link to take you straight to the sign up page for Groupon. - Review of Groupon UK
- Groupon Wikipedia's page
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BrianS I have found Groupon to be very good and hopefully others will as well and so you will manage to earn a lot. I have heard their affiliate scheme is also quite generous so good luck to you!
I've done 3 purchases through Groupon and had no issues with them or the companies they were presenting. I have seen occasional offers that do extend past a day such as offers for B&Bs.
TechViaggio that is very useful feedback on Groupon - I am sure people will appreciate you spending the time to provide your brief review. I didn't know of the offers which extend past a day - maybe it is something which is not done by me in London!
To be honest I've never used Groupon, had no idea of what it was but saw it regularly served up via adsense on my website. So many thanks for giving me an insight into what it is in a very useful and factual hub.
Andy Webb thanks for commenting. I am glad you found this hub to be useful! I also believe I linked to one of your hubs as well!
I am a Groupon affiliate. They pay between 2 - 10% in commission. Their program is ok but I found 2 other companies that pay much better than Groupon.
The cheap girl, thanks for that information on bing a Groupon affiliate - I am sure it will be useful for those who are considering becoming a Groupon affiliate but for those who are just intending to use the site to purchase items it probably isn't all that useful!
It is new for me. really helpful to understand how I can take part in as member. whether it is saving money or just a scam. let me know after signing up, and running. thanks a lot.
nbbatt.com. In my experience Groupon isn't a scam - as I said in the article itself!
I have seen these ads running, and never checked them out. Thanks for the review, perhaps I will give them a try.
I think Groupon is great. I thought I'd try it out on a whim, and as a result I'm finally going to the dentist (for which I am overdue, no longer having dental coverage) for only $60.
Some other details a new user might be interested in: if you purchase a groupon, your card is only charged once the deal "is on" (i.e. enough people have agreed to purchase the deal). And the groupons are good for a decent amount of time so no need to use it right away (I think my dentist groupon is good for a year). Also, if it does expire, you can at least use it for the amount you paid (e.g. if you paid $40 for $80 worth of goods, but the groupon expired, you can still use it for $40 worth of goods).
You can sign up for it without any credit card info, so if your curious, I think it's worth a try just to see what sort of deals they have.
Thanks for commenting puter_dr and shastawriter. I am sure the informaton on Groupon (and your extended Groupon review/advice, shastawriter) will be useful to other visitors to this page!
Yeah, Groupon is definitely legit, and a great site to check routinely for great deals.
I have noticed this site but automatically passed it off with my 'spidey spam sense' :-)
I will go give it another look, thanks BristolBoy!
I do promote their products, and I am really glad about your review. You are also getting very positive feedbacks. Now I know where to refer prospects for an insight should they have second thought
karmaloop, Gymfroggy and coolhubs I am glad that your found this hub to be useful! Will be interesting to know how you get on in the future!
I was also suspicious when I read about Groupon but I've done a successful trial of buying and using a voucher:
Wow, this IS news. THanks for the heads up.
Thanks for commenting Karen Bryant, it is good to know you also found Groupon to be useful. Gift Experts, it is good that you found it useful!
Ditto - -news here, too. GOing to dig further, BristolBoy - -and hey, love your hat and style :)
Does anyone know anything about scams that have popped up on the groupon discussion boards, in which people are posting about past 'high dollar' deals that are now no longer posted, but are offering to 'sell' you their groupon and 'transfer' the groupon through the groupon network to you.
Their story is usaully they are relocating, or something along those lines.
I've seen lots of it, so I'm wondering if these are scams or can they really be transferred?
Will never try to use GroupOn again! A spammer which deserves no business!
Groupon needs to seriously screen the businesses it advertises. Not only is this "deal" absolutely ridiculous (after groupon takes it's cut (half), the photographer is left with absolutely nothing once she takes out her expenses of doing business), she will be working for almost 3 years to fulfill all 1200 she sold.
That was a big red flag that she was not a legit business in and of itself... but then look what ensued.
Groupon needs to seriously screen the businesses it advertises. Not only is this "deal" absolutely ridiculous (after groupon takes it's cut (half), the photographer is left with absolutely nothing once she takes out her expenses of doing business), she will be working for almost 3 years to fulfill all 1200 she sold.
That was a big red flag that she was not a legit business in and of itself... but then look what ensued. (please delete my first post that had the wrong link)
I recently purchased a heavily discounted spa day - as soon as I received the voucher code I called the spa company and booked myself in. There were no problems at all. I would definitely use the site again and have recommended it to many friends.
I've purchased three items so far, mostly as gifts. I reviewed the restaurants and called the places I bought stuff from and it is legitimate. Just do your homework before buying on impulse. I think it's a great way to buy Christmas and birthday gifts.
I recently purchase two vouchers for the Ashoka at the Quay the voucher states a 3 course meal for 2 plus 2 glasses of wine to the value of £50.00. However, on contacting the Ashoka at the Quay to book a table I was informed that there was lots of condtiond i.e. set menu, couldn't get specials or tandoori despite voucher stating you could. 1 starter, 1 main curry if rice/nan is required we would have to pay more for it. I complained insisting the vouchers value was for £50.00. they would not honour it and stated this was all we could get and said that I should contact groupon. I have and have requested that I am reinbursed for the two vouchers. I will update outcome of my complaint soon.
I used them and the business did not live up to the description at all. Groupon said that I used the voucher so there was no refund. How else would I find out about the deal?
I was very disappointed with Groupon, having paid for a dental whitening kit at £50. I did get a response to say the supplier was having some problems but that was weeks ago. I emailed the customer service department at Groupon and received zero response. So no kit and £50 taken from me. Not a happy chappy !!
We used Groupon last week, now I am receiving some strange emails which my security software is flagging as junk and Groupon.com is mentioned in the header. Also receiving another message which appears related but doesn't mention Groupon which is flagged as phishing.
Groupon is a scam.
I recently purchased a meal for 2 at a fancy Italian restaurant.
The Groupon deal promised a three course Italian meal for the price of £26 instead of £74. I purchased the deal and took my wife for a surprise meal. The menu on the restaurants web site looked interesting. At the restaurant the regular menu was withdrawn once they remembered that we had booked through Groupon.
A much simplified menu was offered for the Groupon deal. We left the restaurant without placing an order. Groupon have instructed me to forward my complaint to the restaurant as they consider the Groupon voucher to have been used.
Would not recommend Groupon
People are only buying the Groupon deals because they save monet! sure this makes sense however nobody ever comments on how harmful this media advertising can be for the company providing the service Groupon take half of what the customer pays and then charges the business the vat. The copany is then rushed off their feet trying to cope with the demand that then has a negative effect on the customer.To any business entering into this type of advertising BE AWARE IT CAN TOTALY WRECK YOUR BUSINESS !!!! The customers will not upsell as they are clever and wait for the next coupon site to provide a simalar service, If you dont believe me try them and good luck !P.s after you sign up with them the customer service is terrible
GROUPON IS A SCAM - BEWARE!!!
I bought vouchers for The Castle Arms and every time we phoned to book a table they said they were full. Groupon then emailed to say they had extended the voucher . We then tried again and the pub said they were no longer taking any Groupon bookings. I contacted Groupon who said the were in discussion and to try again in a week . I tried again and Castle Arms wont take voucher + Groupon still hasn't issued refund. Went to SECOND place where we had vouchers for and said table for 5 with GROUPON VOUCHERS clearly and they took our order + brought starter then told us they would not accept groupon vouchers because Groupon had not paid them for weeks worth of vouchers. They then said thier card machine was broken + demanded we pay by cash. It was very embarassing as we has taken 3 guests and were halfway through our meal and didnt have enough cash on us. I felt totally ripped off and my husband had to go away to find a cash machine.
No refund from Groupon so far - BEWARE!!!
I will certainly not be buying any more vouchers and will warn friends + family etc - I really regret reccomending it to people.
BEWARE!!!
I am presently in dispute with Groupon after purchasing voucher £10 for champagne afternoon tea worth £40
Caterers accept what is implied by afternoon tea - range if sandwiches , scones and mini cakes and TEA!
Not so from this establishment - glass of cava, 2 strawberries and choose a sandwhich off the cafe menu!! NO tea or cakes.
groupon have thanked me for my "feedback" and will pass on comments - but claim no liability - even though their advert shows a photograph of a beautifully presented afernoon tea.
my argument is - i bought from Groupon something that they misrepresented, and did not match description and thus breaks Sale of Goods Act 1979.
I am livid with their reckless disregard for customer service.
I accept that in business things can go wrong - but make due amends - its that simple!
i have used groupon on a regular basis and it as saved me plenty im sure those who complain do so on a regular basis just for the sake off
What a scam, puchased 3 different coupons just redeemed my last one and this will be the last, poor service from suppliers - no comment from Groupon! People who don't complain obviously have lower standards than most - Tommy!
Just purchased a 3 hr hawking experience at Huxley. Voucher is apparently worth £95 and we got it for £28. went to Huxley website and they don't do an experience that expensive. Their most expensive experience is a whole day hawking for £80 with lunch thrown in. Their 3hr course is £50 tried to take this up with groupon with no reply. We have 3 months to use this voucher, have phoned Huxley and had to leave a message on their answer machine as they are only open Sundays. Suprise surprise no phone back.
Avoid this website at all costs those that have managed to get a deal with no problems probably not looked into their deal properly and stupid enough to think they are getting a good deal.
Before buying check business website, phone business to confirm the deal and what you get, as groupon obviously don't care about their customers.
To save you time and energy your probably better off not getting involved.
Well! It would seam that I have been had with my very first purchase. What would have seemed a great deal- would appear to be a complete rip-off!!
Telephone unanswered - no replies to emails or Fax?
So much for the 'support team 9am-6pm'.
If you read this message - SAVE YOUR MONEY _ DONT BUY!!!
Groupon is a scam. They sell vouchers, the businesses don't honour the vouchers then when you email Groupon they don't respond.
I bought a voucher for Woolton Picture House but when I tried to use it the cinema wouldn't honour the voucher. There is no small print with restrictions on the voucher. It clearly states the voucher can be used 7 days a week. It clearly states 'just choose a film, a friend and a date to go'. When I tried to see Harry Potter I was told I couldn't use the voucher to see that film and the voucher expires by the time a new film is on.
I recently purchased 2 vouchers for a spa day, yet to be booked. Groupon sent me 3 vouchers and took 3 lots of money. I have had no luck speaking to anyone to resolve this nor have I had a response to my email. Things aren't looking good. However I have a friend who has bought a few vouchers and has never had any problems.
agreed with the latest comments... What is going on groupon.com?? The vouchers don't work and the referral program is the biggest scam, I have proof that they do not work... We can forward a link to a friend, have them buy something and guaranteed!!! you will not receive your 10 dollars and if you write to groupon.com scammers will tell you that your friend signed up through someone else! WHAT the F(*K!! I hope another company creates a similar type of website and simply not put themselves first... I don't understand how so many people fall for this trap!!!
Thanks for the warning, REAL people. Was just about to click that button for the latest deal, then remindeded myself to ALWAYS CHECK THE REVIEWS! You've saved me a lot of stress. (But well done to the people who've had successful outcomes.)
I bought a voucher too for Woolton cinema. When I arrived at the cinema they said they could not accept the Groupon voucher because the film I wanted to see (Harry Potter) was a warner brothers film and the voucher could not be used in the first two weeks of it showing. I checked the small print and no such restrictions are listed therefore the consumer (me) has been cheated. The voucher will now expire before I can use it. I have emailed Groupon asking for a refund. We shall see what happens...
Used them 3 times for different activities including meals - absolutely no issues what so ever and have no qualms about using them again.......
With the bucket of cash they are already sitting on and the cash they are making each day, the complaints about groupon being a ripoff are rising exponentially. why? is it greed, lack of caring, poor management or what?
unfortunately unable to use one of the vouchers for a spa treatment due to severe weather conditions (majorly snowed in as is everyone else in the UK!). Advised by the spa to email Groupon and request a refund. Emailed Groupon 2 days ago, called them umpteen times but no repsonse yet apart from automated email response. Has anyone heard from them if they have called or emailed them? Has anyone ever received a refund?
I bought two vouchers for my children to go on a driving experience, it seemed too good to be true and as I am on a VERY limited budget I bought two, hoping to give my kids a good present. No one answers any of the phone numbers provided and emails bounce back. I am gutted.
I am trying to get a refund for something i bought a voucher for and have never received an appointment, terrible service from the supplier and I can't get a response from them or groupon! I thought i sounded too good to be true and i really wish I'd listened to my gut! I can't get through on their telephone lines and i have had no responce on email - what is going on?!? has anyone ever got money back from them?
I am a small buisness owner. The reason the companies don't honor them is because groupon lies to the small buisness with a ROI caluclator that has bad math
is groupon a scam? YES
Groupon is a SCAM. I recently purchased a voucer for spa services and have never been emailed the actual voucher. I paid for the 'groupon' and have been waiting over four weeks. I have tried to contact Groupon via email and phone and have had no response. At this point I am pursuing my claim and refund with my bank.
Groupon is a pyramid scheem that will eventually fall apart. They made a mistake in not taking Google's money when they had the chance.
Purchased the three, one night movie rentals from Redbox.. Have not gotten a voucher via e-mail like Groupon promised, to wait up to 24 hours. I'm glad I only paid one dollar!
Took a while, website seemed to have problems, but eventually Purchased the three, one night movie rentals from Redbox, only charged one dollar! Email with purchase confirmation included link to print Groupon. Link worked after a few tries/website seemed to be updating again & 3 codes are there! Will take to Redbox!! Will let u know how it goes, so far, all is well!
I too purchased the three, one night movie retals from Redbox. I ending up getting a file from Groupon that would not open. I decided to quit after SPAM started to pour into my email box. I canceled the Redbox deal and unsubsribed from Groupon. It's a scam. They just want leads. I had to throw away that email address.
I purchased a beauty deal of 3 treatments only to receive an email 3 or so weeks after the deal closed saying that the terms had changed and only one of those treatments would now be given, yet also telling me this deal was now 'worth more' than the original deal. How??? I wouldn't use this company again.
I have bought several Groupons for things that I have specifically been looking out for (and researched the market and prices on) and so far no problems I have been using some of the deals and no problems at all. However some of the deals I have realised I wont be using and have emailed full details to Groupon requesting refunds. I took this approach after not being able to get through on their support line. I would like to mention though that I did manage to get through in November and did get a refund for a hair deal that I no longer wanted. Also I had purchased 2 and sent the same request by email that 1 be cancelled. Which they responded to by email 2 weeks later to confirm a refund would be issued. So in the end both were refunded although I was thinking to keep 1! But that did not really matter. When I did manage to get though to Groupon on the phone the person (his name may have been Paul) told me that they were experiencing a backlog which was why my email had not yet been dealt with. It appears that they are just not equipped to deal with the demand for customer service. Those who have not yet had refunds may just have to wait a long time. I am currently looking for a way to contact their head office about the situation. Can anyone help??????
Also I noted a comment posted on here by a few business owners or those who run businesses. While it may be true that some consumers are just looking for the next deal, those with select interests that get in contact with businesses may find that they have more to offer outside Groupon as I have (so may be worth limiting offers so that they are more managable). Additionally those who use a deal and enjoy it may feel that they like the company and the service and go back on other occasions.
I can't get hold of either the company whose services I purchased or Groupon. Neither of them are replying to emails and their phone lines are always busy telling me to call back later. Who can you complain to?
I haven't had any problems with groupon. Though I've only been interested enough to buy 3 things so far...so we will see. However, the 3 things I did end up buying were at a considerable discount. I also like seeing the "groupon promise" on the side of the website that says if you have any problem with a merchant, groupon will take care of you. If you are thinking about signing up, use my link. I think we both get stuff if you do. http://www.groupon.com/r/uu14984599
I used to recommend Groupon. I won't anymore.
Until now, I have had no problems using these vouchers. Then UI bought something more expensive,IPL at c.£120, and siomply couldn't get through to the salon. (no surprises.. some of these are small businesses, and might get innundated with the response from groupon, and in any case can make very little profit).
So, I contact groupon to cancel within 7 working days, as promised in the small print.
NO REPLY FROM CUSTOMER SERVICES FOR OVER A WEEK!!!!
Despite NUMEROUS phone calls and several emails, I have had no response from groupon. Eventually I had to call their B2B line.
I am very angry too!
I have used groupon on a number of occasions and i would strongly advise to stay away from the restaurant deals if you do not usually eat out as it still ends up costing you a small fortune, Eg = i bought a deal which was for an indian meal being £5 for £20 worth of food which sounds great, what they do not tell you is that you HAVE to have a starter and HAVE to have a main course and does not include rice, even though i got this voucher for £5 i could not avoid the total cost being £24 after having to pay for the rice, drinks and any other sundries. total unavoidable cost inc voucher £29. It is still cheaper but to be honest if its not something you do regular then a takeaway would be half the cost - A TIP = before buying any of the food deals study the price menu and definatley the DRINKS menu prices.
LORRIANE = if you cannot get through to any customer services then email them as a business wanting to offer a service, leave a phone number and i guarantee they will ring you within an hour.. TRY IT !!!
It seems as if their founders of Groupon (Eric Lefkofsky) are onto doing "business as usual". I recommend reading his bio on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Lefkofsky). Pay close attention to the following sentence: "Lefkofsky was described by Barron's in 2007 as someone "who has a history of busting investors after promising to radically transform bricks-and-mortar industries."
A leopard can never lose its dark spots! Now the question is: is he "busting" bricks-and-mortar business again by duping them into offering a Groupon (and for those of you who want to trash this comment - save it. Not every business owner is savvy enough to calculate whether it is actually worth it for them. Becoming a business owner for some people is not just about making money but creating a "different" life for them and trying to offer something valuable. When a sales person comes along and paints this pretty picture - come on most of us at some point got talked into something, because it sounded "really" good).
Or is he busting the actual Venture Capitalists, who are forking out money left and right to become part of this "craze" without requiring "audited financial statements - prepared in accordance with GAAP)??? Why are they looking for funding less than the valuation than what Google offered them??? 950MM funding at least sounds less than asking for $1,000,000,000.00+ :)
Are they truly profitable??? Is this an actual viable business, with a need to consistently advertise themselves in order to get new leads, so that they can push these deals to their new subscribers??? the market is getting crowded and their lead cost if not already high, is only about to get higher.
During a possible buy-out from Google an unbelievable due diligence process would come first with investment firms taking a deep look into their financial health???? Isn't easier to just ask some "trusting" VCs for money, who are just waiting for their bucket of Gold at the end of the rainbow???
Just like Lefkofsky is know for busting brick-and-mortar business...it is just a matter of time (let him cash out first) to find out where the actual bust is hidden this time! My guess: VCs will be busted this time along with a few business who offer daily deals.
Groupon provide an advertising service (their mail list) and for that they charge a high fee to the supplier of the service in exchange for the business. The supplier only gets paid when the voucher is redeemed by you so it's in their interest to give you the service and get booked in. I guess the issues is that businesses who have only really local trade suddenly get massive exposure and it's a bit of a surprise. How they respond to that is down to the people in the supplying business - it's either all hands to the pump and sort it, or run away! As with everything you get a mix of responses.
The wifes used Groupon, no issues so far.
Groupon phonelines don't work no one replies to emails.
Best to contact office of fair trading, they might be able to help resolve any complaints: -
08454 04 05 06
Groupon is defo a con
1st voucher - groupon said voucher was worth £65. i checked the companies website it said £65 for 2 people but when I have tried to book its only for 1 person using the voucher. This is the second time the Groupon website has been misleading. Another offer for 2 massage treatments (including a spa facial) was available, I bought 2 vouchers and when I called to book the lady said it was not a spa facial and just a facial instead and the treatments were only 45 minutes instead of the usual 1.15minutes because the treatments on offer through groupon had been shortened. Doesn't that defeat the purpose? Surely the price would be reduced if the treatment time is reduced? So the discount you advertised isn't really valid and your obviously misleading customers. I've emailed them today but after reading this i'm not holding out for a reply.
Groupon is defo a con. i recently purchased a voucher for Spermania - groupon said voucher was worth £65 and was defo for 2 people. i checked the companies website it said £65 for 2 people aswel but when I have tried to book its only for 1 person if you use the voucher (it also says this on the small print which i foolishly did not check). This is the second time the Groupon website has mis me. Another offer for 2 massage treatments (including a spa facial) was available, I bought 2 vouchers and when I called to book the lady said it was not a spa facial and just a facial instead and Groupon had advertised the wrong treatment. the treatments were also only 45 minutes instead of the usual 1.15 minutes because the treatments on offer through groupon had been shortened. Doesn't that defeat the purpose? Surely the price would be reduced anyway if the treatment time is reduced ? So the discount advertised isn't really valid as a discount and thier obviously misleading customers.
i also bought a hair cut voucher at a "top salon", load of rubbish, horrible back street babers and they didnt do what was said on the voucher!
will not be using again. Fool me once, shame on you, but fool me 3 times, shame on me!
I've emailed them today but after reading this i'm not holding out for a reply.
I was suspicious immediately when I was asked to submit my email address with a note from Groupon saying "your email address is safe with us..." really?
I went ahead anyway (no harm, right?) only to get to the next page which said I had just signed on as a member and needed to fill out more information.
Neat trick. What else could I expect? I found out when I read the reviews - I'm staying far away from a scammer company like Groupon - I've had similar experiences, so no thanks, Groupon.
I signed up for groupon, started getting many more spam emails than normal, and never once received a groupon email with a deal in it. I felt it was a scam.
well, I was nearly falling for it, but then my intelligent husband asked me to dig in a bit... thanks to the last few comments I won't use the vouchers - thank you guys!
Bristol boy... you are not commenting to each post anymore, are you? As per record, you sound like you work for Groupon!
I have done three purchases through Groupon and was very happy with it : a discount on Sushi at Itsu Canary Wharf, a tailored shirt and hairdresser voucher.
It is not a scam, just be careful with the deadline to use your vouchers are some of them can be tight. Apart from that... enjoy !
Booked 2 vouchers for 4 day break in Morocco. Saw bad reports of hotel on trip advisor. Not used vouhers still trying to reclain monies. Tried fax & email now registered letter if no response will use solicitors
I also booked 7 day break to Morocco a week ago and then had to cancel on same day due to unforseen circumstances. I cannot get through to their customer services and have had no reply to my e-mails (only automated response). I will use solicitors also if necessary
Groupon actually a blessing for a lot of companies should be much less revenue than most of them Groupon receive and what can be done in a short period of time, stress Groupon.
Has anyone ever got through to Groupon customer service or had a reply by email from customer service. Just curious whether they have a customer service team. Has anyone ever received the £6 they promise when friends sign up?
I purchased a groupon, and was billed twice. C/S told me I actually purchased 2 groupons (2 of the same?), but I'm positive it was only one. Anyway, I asked them to cancel the duplicate order but have yet to receive a credit against my account.
Of particular note--when I did finally get through to a customer service rep (I called several times until I was able to speak to a live representative) he was extremely polite and helpful. So to Susy (above), yes I have been able to contact a c/s rep. They are on business hours; Central time.
I still have my reservations over continuing business with Groupon, but if I do receive a credit for the erroneous billing, they will have redeemed themselves in my eyes.
Unfortunately my experience with groupon has not been a good one. I purchased a one night stay at the Hyatt $149 tried to book 2 dates in Mar - they were "full" called groupon was told I could give my groupon as a gift to someone to use on a different night or get a credit for future groupon purchses. Attached is their guarantee which they did not live up to:
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$20 for a Body & Feet Relaxation Package at Footopia (Up to $55 Value)
South Surrey:
$10 for Three Meditation Classes at Dorjechang Buddhist Centre in South Surrey ($30 Value)
Multiple Locations:
$149 for an In-Office Zoom! Teeth Whitening Treatment ($450 Value) or $69 for an At-Home Teeth Whitening Treatment ($250 Value) from MyDentists Office
More Great Deals Nearby
Langley C$169 for C$295 at Sundance Balloons
C$169C$295 value
View It! Vancouver:
C$20 for C$55 at Footopia
South Surrey:
C$10 for C$30 at Dorjechang Buddhist Centre
Multiple Locations:
C$149 for C$450 at MyDentists Office
More Great Deals Nearby
Langley C$169 for C$295 at Sundance Balloons
C$169C$295 value
View It! Vancouver:
C$20 for C$55 at Footopia
South Surrey:
C$10 for C$30 at Dorjechang Buddhist Centre
Multiple Locations:
C$149 for C$450 at MyDentists Office
More Great Deals Nearby
Langley Up to 58% Off Hot Air Balloon Ride
C$169C$295 value
View It! Vancouver:
64% Off Body & Feet Relaxation Package
South Surrey:
$10 for Three Meditation Classes at Dorjechang Buddhist Centre in South Surrey ($30 Value)
Multiple Locations:
Up to 72% Off Teeth Whitening
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I BOUGHT LOTS OF GROUPON DEALS, THEY ARE WONDERFUL. FIRST CLASS ALL THE WAY. BEST SEAT IN SPORT EVENTS, GREAT DEAL AND BEST SEATS AT THEATRE, EXCELLENT RESTAURANTS. EVERY TIME WE GO TO THE RESTAURANTS , THE PLACES ARE VERY FRIENDLY AND WONDERFUL. I REALLY LIKE GROUPON A LOT. THANKS GROUPON.
I have had some really good deals from Groupon and have recommended to many friends. However, customer service telephone number is not up and running yet and I have had no response from an e.mail I sent....this is worrying if there were any serious problems with an order or if you wanted to cancel within the time-limit.
Groupon is know different to most companies that offer crazy deals they have minor problems,but on the whole they offer great deals you just have to be fast as sometimes they are snapped up very quick
Groupon.com website today was "down", and it was impossible to log in. They posted a note " If you urgently need to access a Groupon, please use the links on the right side of the page. Otherwise, please check back later." The link was bogus. It was just their email address. Because I was unable to print the coupon today for the $250 laser appt, I had to pay $99 penalty to the doctor. Groupon offered me 15 credits as consolation. What a disappointment! BEWARE!!!! Print your coupons way in advance.
Just been stung also. Have emailed several times and no-one ever answers that customer service number. I paid thru paypal - am gonna see if they can get involved with this mis-selling. I am glad is was only £29 bu will prob not see it again.
I purchased a number of deals through groupon and for the majority of them had no problem and found them to be very good value. Two issues of warning though: If something does go wrong with the service provider groupon's customer service seems to be non existent. They haven't replied to numerous phonecalls and emails. I purchased a voucher from Hello Canvas as a gift for my parents. The voucher states that it is two the value of a specific sum which they calculated would add up to two small canvases which they wished to order. However their website only allows you to order one large canvas (this is not stated on the voucher as a condition). They have proved uncontactable. Therefore I would not purchase groupon vouchers as gifts as it is very disappointing when they prove to be not what they appear. Secondly I would have reservations purchasing a hotel deal. I did so and as they sell such a high volume booking a room with the hotel in the near future proved impossible. I phoned Rathsallagh in January to redeem our vouchers for Valentines weekend and was told they had no rooms available (once they heard i was a city deal customer)despite their website saying otherwise. We have been forced to go mid week in April and am concerned we will be treated somehow less than "regular" guests. I have heard groupon takes a very large cut of the deal and this might account for the service providers lack of enthusiasm but I would say don't take it out on the customer! Otherwise it undermines the whole exercise
I'm suspicious. I bought a Groupon deal via Swagbucks. My credit card was charged, but I can't log in to Groupon to print my coupon. (All day the website has said "Due to extremely high volume, this page is temporarily unavailable.") And I didn't get the Swagbucks that I was supposed to get. Sounds scammy, but I hope time will work it out.
I have used Groupon and to be perfectly honest will not be using them again.
They sold an offer recently with no restriction sin their T&Cs however when cam to booking the event I was informed that the only days it was available were a Friday and Saturday evening.
Whihc was fine I asked for a refund but customer services offred me a gestur of goodwill to credit my funds to teh groupon account.
I have tried to contact them continuously for 3 days with no success and no-one is picking up the phone. I am left out of pocket due to Groupons lack of information/communication. I would not have purchased these vouchers had I known.
So to all of you people that think its great im glad you had a positive experience, cant say the same myself and I know I will not be using their site or purchasing any offers from them again.
I am a trader who advertised a deal on Groupon.
To date I have carried out £4000 worth of treatments and only received £1500 back, have been chasing them for money right left and centre and have now threatened to pull the deal altogether. I cannot work and not get paid.
Is Groupon a scam YES
Only used it Groupon once and it was a bad experience. FTD had a $40 for $20 deal which required you to go to FTD.com/group site. This site charges a higher service fees than the standard FTD.com site. The higher service free equated to about 25% of the Groupon discount. I personally found this to be misleading and frankly dishonest. Whether this is Groupon’s or FTD’s fault I can’t say but I don’t plan on using either of these two companies in the near future.
For those complaining about Groupon and advertisers not making any money....you are not using the Groupon for its' intended purpose!!!! Groupon or Living Social coupons are there to bring customers to your business....not to get rich on by selling a ton of coupons...it is MARKETING....your job is to get your customers to use your service and get them to come back again...that is why you do not make much money per coupon...if that is your goal, then Groupon is not for you...I ahve not seen ANY Groupon scams....what you do have to be careful of is the business "upselling"...if your coupon buys $20 of food at a restaurant for $10 then don't order $80 of food!!!!
Groupon great for customers , however its retail abuse , people are working for nothing and groupon take 50% -vat
Interesting hub, they have been getting a lot of bad press recently but I haven't checked them out myself.
I brought a hair deal at an 'upmarket' salon at the end of
November but a condition was that I couldnt use it in December. So In January I phoned the salon to book a hair appointment 3 weeks before the expiry date of the voucher only to be told that appointment times were full and that out of goodwill they had extended the deal but only offered me one time. The problem is I work 9-5 as do most people and I cant go and get my haircut during the middle of the day...
3 weeks and still no response from Groupon. The fact that there telephone number doesnt work just proves we have all been scammed.
Just to post from the business side of things. Purchasers may not be aware that, although Groupon take their money immediately, the business in question does not get anything until 3 days after providing proof that the voucher has been redeemed.
Groupon is terrible! They sell way too many groupons for the companies to handle. I have wasted way too much time and money trying to book groupons. The companies are usually impossible to get in touch with because they are so inundated with bookings and, when I finally did get through, they informed me they were booked for months and months. I found Groupon to be a HUGE headache and not very helpful. I think they need to make some serious changes to their program before it becomes worth it.
I've made 3 purchases from groupon and all have been very good and honoured. Top tip, if your unsure contact the place that the voucher is for first and double check that its a good deal. Well pleased.
We received a Groupon Vouchers (eat all yu can sushi) as gifts from friends . When we went to the restaurant (see link below) we were told by the manager that the vouchers were not valid as they (the restaurant) decided to pull out of the deal because it proved to be too popular. We were also told that we should have received an email notifying us of this but since we got them as presents this was not the case. We decided to call our friend to verify if she got a message and a refund... she did not. Our first and probably last experience with Groupon... REALLY BAD... thinking that this might be a CON... People BEWARE... YOU'VE BEEN WARNED! See link below for details of the Groupon deal.
deals are not always a good deal.the national displayed today 27/02/2011 is available on other travel sites on the web for less
how do I stop Groupon?? I signed up, saw nothing I wanted and have now twice clicked "unsubscribe" twice received a confirmation and I still get this stream of daily emails spamming into my in box. help!
I was telling my mom about Groupon and what a gr8 site it was; when she laughs and tells me Coupons have always been free why does this company charge you. (old school Coupon clipper)Go on to tell her the saving and group buying show her the site. long story short she joins and cant use the voucher soo disaapointing to make it up to her found a site where all the coupons are free for users bigsavingslist.com now she just prints her coupons Sorry Mom!
A good page that serves as a daily deal search engine and offers the user a great overview on the market is www.coupobox.co.uk. Instead of checking dozens of websites, you just check one site and save time and money.
Would not dive into their stock! has the smell of a Clinton era stock bubble, they offer junk at prices you get get yourself with a little research
I had a meeting with a groupon represtive for my beauty salon business. She turned up in jeans, her shirt was not ironed she was very rude.
When I was told they would take 50% of the selling price of my product (facial, manicure and ebwax) which would take me 1hour and 30mins for £12.50! I was shocked! hat a rip off company making money out of others waorking hard to make a living!
First time purchase attempt today. $25 coupon for $50 purchase at my favorite garden center, a fantastic company. I was filling in the purchase page, got to the complete purchase button, but it took me back to the home page. I didn't know if I'd actually gotten anything, so went to the account page and saw no purchase. Tried again, but coupon was sold out!
Now, if someone's trying to buy something, you don't sell it out from underneath them! Then I get some smart-a$$ customer service person in email who basically explained that it was sold before my purchase was complete. Really? So while you're filling in the credit card info, the thing you're trying to buy can just disappear, too bad, so sad?
And nowhere to delete my information. I do NOT recommend. >_____
Just to join the seemingly endless list of people complaining about Groupon, I too feel less than happy with them. After buying my fairer half some beauty treatment vouchers - that otherwise I couldn't really afford - I find that when she tried to book to use her gift the spa said the deal was off (even though I'd paid for the voucher) and I was to contact Groupon direct for a refund.
Still waiting on Groupon customer services getting back in touch... and waiting....
Thanks everyone for commenting. It definitely appears from reading all of your comments the Groupon is a scam at the worst and at best groupon and the companies featured are unable to cope with demand. Keep the comments coming!
I bought a 'luxury stay for two at The Queens Spa hotel, Bournemouth with 3 course dinner and breakfast' valued at £250 for the bargain price of £99...
Well it turned out that the Hotel's normal price for the package is only £95!!! (without the hassle of a voucher expiry date.) Needless to say we were v. annoyed that the hotel had inflated the price to make it look like a bargain when it was nothing of the kind. (We should have checked the price FIRST -and the horrid reviews on Trip Advisor)
having read these posts I didn't have much hope that Groupon would help, but after a few fruitless attempts a person actually answered. ( unlike BT - which took almost an hour of round and round the 'press this number' for the joy of getting thought to their call centre in India!)
The chap said it was the Hotel's fault as Groupon don't control what value the provider gives to the deals. As a gesture of goodwill he credited my account with the £99. So I am pleased with that as an outcome.
(btw We VERY satisfied with our previous deal of half price canvas photo prints - Superb quality and service from Albelli Photos)
VERDICT? Not a scam as such. It CAN work well but do your research on the provider first and be careful!
Belle thanks for commenting. In the case you mention it seems that it is the provider of the service which was in the wrong rather than Groupon as you identified. I am glad you managed to get a refund in the end!
I bought a Groupon from Wholesales Furniture Broker over 3 months ago and still haven't received it. Groupon won't refund me my money and all I can do is wait for my purchase. Please be aware that Groupon does not research the companies they deal with. So BUYERS BEWARE!
Don't purchase a Groupon unless you know the company has been around for awhile.
Nurse Jane that is good advice. It is also worth checking that the company is able to cope with any surge in demand, in London there have been examples when one employee businesses have offered thousands of offers!
They have a deal for a 50 pound valur hotel voucher for 20 quid but the hotel booking websitr suddenly jacked up their prices by 15-40 pounds which negates any savings i would have made when i checked the prices before buying the groupon!!!
They all went up another 10 pounds as i wrote that comment :|
I want a refund
Amoo that does seem pretty unusual. I guess the problem is with the company. However, if you check out the email they sent you then you should be able to cancel and get a refund (providing you bought within the last 7 days).
Does anyone have contact details for groupon that actually work as the telephone number from the site never goes through and the email address bounces and im trying to get a refund for a deal that was cancelled by the retailor,,,,, please help if you can :-)
Jodi I am unsure of contact details for Groupon and so I apologise for this - maybe someone else will be able to help?
I just used my first Groupon to a restaurant that I wanted to try. The $20 came off the total, rather than the amount before tax. We have 15% tax so having $20 off before the total made a difference of $3. Not a big deal, but this is the first time the server tried to justify a discount by calling it a Gift certificate, not a Coupon and that's why they did it that way. She said it was fair that the customer pay the tax on the full amount. There was nothing in the Groupon fine print to say at which point the customer saves $20 so the restaurant can interpret that any way it wants. No biggie. I just tipped less to compensate.
I have used groupon for my business, the way its works is they bump up the normal price of what you are buying, if you contact the sellers direct you will get the deal direct from them, groupon make up prices to fit what they want to charge so they get their cut!!!!
I purchased my first and last "Groupon" a few weeks ago. It was for 51 issues of the Economist with online access for $51 US. My credit card was charged, but I have not received any other info from Groupon, nor have I received any of the magazines in the mail. No response from e-mail, on the phone they said I needed proof of purchase before they can do anything. I said if they charged my credit card, my info should be on their records. I will now be contacting my credit card company and asking for charge back to Groupon. DO NOT purchase from Groupon.
FIRST; I have no idea how I got signed up for Groupon. I just started receiving them. Also, I don't think groupon membership is free? I thought I saw a $7 monthly charge but I have to look into that. That said:
I've used Groupon a couple of times now for small things. I got a free $15 coupon to use against an Ebay purchase. No problem there & it worked like a charm. I just purchased my largest Groupon so far. It's for a Sculptor Face & Neck Treatment;normally $900-$1000; the coupon sold for $99. Now that caught my eye as I luv to try new anti-aging treatments. I called and talked to the gal first and she actually comes to your home w/ the equipment. Said she lives in arizona and comes to Albany for a couple months. I did some research on Sculptor and found she was licensed to use their equipment. I'm thinking that she's hoping to sell additional treatments at full price as often this type of treament needs more then one to be really effective. We'll see - because I am not buying anymore!! Also since she's coming to my home I imagine a tip will be in order also. If anyone else has used the offer please let me know about your experience by posting on here. .
The deals are amazing for consumers, however, for a business, I'm not so sure...I am in advertising myself, and I do vouchers in print with national retailers across the UK. If I were just a consumer I love the fact I can get 70% off a hotel visit. I took my voucher to the hairdressers where instead of charging £48 for a treatment it was £18...great. The hairdresser actually informed me that from that £18, Groupon take half as payment. £210 people signed up at £18 giving them £3,780, Groupon took 50% leaving them £1,890. They made this from something that should have been charged at £10,080! What a loss. Yes they gained new customers, but really how many are they going to retain to make up the money from that discount! Great for advertising the name of the business, but if you want to advertise and make money...don't take up offers that take a massive cut! Not worth it. Businesses only...consumers its a Godsend.
Good to see positive things about GroupOn. I think they get a bad wrap for being a "big business" now and since they are making tons of money...people can't stand it! Nice review.
I've used Groupon a couple of times and overall I think they were great. I liked what one of the posts said about reading carefully the terms. There have been a couple where I have not bought because the terms were too limiting. Thanks for the article!
I paid for a meal for two over a week ago, and, despite an email to say I have receivedno voucher... I stillhave received no voucher
First: It is odd that you say "wait 5 minutes" before you buy and consider it NOT an impulse purchase. 5 min. is pretty impulsive.
Second the important issue: I have found that Groupon does not honor their unsubscribe issuances. Instead they continue to send spam email out, day after day. Multiple 'unsubscribes' and still no change.
They have cleverly put a comedic interactive video into their unsubscribe site - to garner web traffic on this subject. You cannot research how many people unsuccessfully unsubscribe from this parasite 'service'. Clearly they are leading up to an IPO and counting users is key to their IPO success.
I've purchases various Groupons and think they're great deals--although it's pretty easy to get out of hand and buy a lot of Groupons that you'd otherwise never use. There are several other Groupon like sites which you can find at http://www.squidoo.com/daily-deal-sites-like-group
I personally like Living Social, they've offered some great deals for Amazon and Fandango ($9 for 2 movie tickets?--awesome!)
We have lost £400 buying experiences from Groupon. They were very unhelpful and near impossible to get a refund! It's absolutely ridiculous that they're allowed to get away with this. Someone should report them to Trading Standards.
from a business point of view groupon is actually the best form of promotion..its quick and easy. and even though they take 50% of the sale price it still works out great- as we also offered a 10% discount on any futher purchases and if customers are happy with the products(which they obviously were) they will spend- and that little bit lost on the offer is worth it.. as I class it a very cheap form of advertising and promoting. We will deffinately be using groupon again in the next few weeks and for as long as we possibly can, as its kept us fully booked and has also helped to reduce our prices even more which in turn helps the customer!!! groupon customer service could do with being a little better.. but apart from that its great!!
Andy Williams
www.photography2cherish.co.uk
From consumer point of view, Groupon is not a scam.
The problem lies with the firms using it.
But there are firms out there using its platform (or similar platform) to sell in bulk, earn the $, and bill.
Some of it decided to tap into groupon's exposure and come up with sloppy "replacement" menus for the food or whatever service you thought they are selling. Or they will include service charge to original food rates as part of the surprises.
From biz user point of view, you just need to beware not to be sweet talked by the sales rep who might know nuts about actual ground biz. Just do your sums properly based on the "cut" (what's the profit like? Assume customers won't buy anything extra, is the traffic generated worth the loss? etc) they want and you will know if it's worth using them for a specific campaign.
Groupons are thieves pure ands simple. It is a very expensive scam. I dont suppose you will put my review up. the last you have is 3 weeks old and then hand picked.
Groupon has infringed on my organization's copyright, selling a knockoff product and saying it's one of ours, and refused to contact purchasers to inform them that it is not our product. As a result, we've been bombarded with people calling and showing up at tours of ours that they think are with us, and we have to spend time explaining to people they've been had. I have to say, as a result of this, I haven't bought any more Groupons nor has anyone else in my office.
Not a fan.
This site is a scam, I bought a product which never came to me, and Groupon have just ignored my emails to them. Very bad customer service and overall experience.
Groupon are massive scammers, do not use them! They really don't care if what they are selling ever gets to you. I just purchased at item I will never get. Turns out the company was only set up a week before the Groupon deal went up, the discounted prices were over-inflated in the first place, and I have no doubt the company will now conveniently "go bust". I have been unable to contact the company since getting my voucher...
Do not use Groupon!
I bought a laser treatment with Groupon. The laser company was a huge disappointment and they were actually named differently than stated on Vouchers. It is sad that Groupon are not bothered to check whether companies that sell their services are actually registered in the UK. I contacted Groupon via email regarding this issue twice but I have never received any reply.
So if you buy anything with 70% off, expect 70% off the customer service too.
Beware of groupon, it damages service industry. Groupon is a middleman, a broker, but very expensive one. Think of a real estate agent which takes 50% commission. Unimaginable? Groupon is that agent.
Groupon and other "group buy" sites take 40-50% of revenue from the vouchers they sell. So when you buy an offer like $99 for 20 units of botox that means that the business will only get $49.50 and this comes to $2.47 per unit, which is massively below the cost of Botox alone. Forget the cost of labor and other operating expenses.
When you, as a business, buy something for $5 and sell for $2.47, you are clearly at loss, so, as a business you will either flip and stop honouring coupons or pressurize your clients with up-selling tactics. If clients will not be responsive to pressure to paid more, it is in the interest of a business to get rid of such a client as soon as possible. It could be done by low level of service, rudeness, inefficient service etc.
Alternatively, the "groupon service" can be provided at ineffective levels, so the "full-price service" can be justified later. This is often seen in laser hair removal coupons, when first 6 sessions are discounted with groupon but they are done (by the business) at low energy levels, so the hair did not disappear. This justifies "additional sessions" for a full price. Needless to say, this is a waste of time both for consumers and for businesses. This tactic also may be dangerous to health as there is excessive and unnecessary exposure to the hair removal procedure.
Bottom line: buying from groupon will cost you time, frustration, low service level, and, at the very end, more money (in case when you really want to do what you bought from groupon). buying directly from businesses is a wiser choice.
In addition to my previous post: Groupon defenders often blame businesses for "miscalculation" of the gains/losses of the deals. This is a false accusation, as if a business owner will try to work the price from its minimal reasonable (break-even) limit up to the Groupon deal value, the deal will be a total waste from the consumer's point of view and Groupon will deny featuring such a deal.
Let's take Botox injections for example. Assume that minimal "acceptable" deal price that business wants to get is $6 per unit and the deal is for 20 units (which is enough for a small area, like frown lines). So, $6 x 20 = $120. Now, we know groupon will take 50%, so, mark it up to compensate, $120 x 2 = $240. Now, add credit card processing fees, that Groupon will pass on to the business (5%) and get $252 as the deal price, or $12.60 per unit. Let's face it, $12.60 per unit is even higher than an average market price for Botox, so why Groupon will bother to feature this deal? They know it will not sell, and they will not have their share at all. Groupon wants volume. Volume can be achieved with cheap prices. If they could sell something for 1 cent to every person in the world they would be the happiest company ever.
I would say contact your bank, get them to request a refund from groupon's bank account.
I purchased and received viewsonicpad 7 on 22nd July returned it to teqport returns on 25th July because it was faulty. Not received an acknowledgement or response from Groupon or Teqport, to any of my emails which are returned invalid emails, no customer service. Phoned Viewsonic they have no record. I know friends who have successfully used Groupon. I hope to get my money back. I am more cautious now.
Biggest disappointment in the last 5 years that I can remember.
Tried it for the first time. My groupon was not accepted. I was explained that they issued some wrong groupons. Basically bait and switch tactics. Stay away, bad business.
I have been using Groupon for about 10 months now, I have made multiple purchases and have had good experiences. Just recently a business I bought a groupon from has failed to return my messages or email. I contacted Groupon about being unhappy with the lack of service from the business yesterday afternoon and received an email early this morning from Groupon that they are sorry and will issue me a credit on my groupon account. I am completely satisfied and I think that Groupon looks out for its customers. Its not Groupons fault that sometimes a business drops the ball but when it does it seems as though they try to do their best to correct the situation. Despite my one bad experience I have had many more and will continue to use Groupon.
PUBLIC SCAM
BEWARE..I bought a few groupon vouchers in the last 2 weeks,1st one was for Francesco Group hairdressers, to be told they have pulled out of the offer, 2nd was for Chill Factor to find they are booked up and that they would call me if they could fit us in, phone call never happened. So now im trying to get a refund off groupon to which i am being ignored. Phone does not get answered and they ignore your emails so i have lost approx £72.00. I am going to take this further though, I hate being ripped off.
Todays (Monday 22nde August) National offer on LG 42 plasms TV for £349 is a joke. I made a simple search online for same model year and spec and found for same price (not gonna advetse the business) . just try ot yourself.
Similar model but with slight different product code was £299 or £50 LESS! Have to feel sorry for poor businesses that are desparate in this climate to turn to Groupon which effectively are "middle men" who charge 50% for basically doing nothing!
If you want a deal - search as you normally would. Groupon is screwing both small businesses who dont realise they could do similar offer themselves through direct marketing and retain more profit - and YOU the buyers who receives either a poor service (as viewed by providers as vulture like creatures) or a deal you could source yourself!!!
I have made a purchase from Groupon for the TEFL voucher £65 insyead of the £320++ usual price.
On receiving the mail from TEFL I found it was not what I expected so tried to contact Groupon for a refund of the £65.
NO-ONE answers the phone nor answers the E Mails. There is only a 7 day window to get a refund. They say to do this in writing but to where ????
Is an E Mail not considered to be inwriting.
ANY help anyone can give would be most appreciated.
Thank you in advance
What am I missing here. Purchased coupon for offer from Ospa London on 06/07/2011. Delivery within 15-28days. (Stated in Own T&Cs)Still no delivery. No contact point for Ospa to discuss. Groupon fail to respond/answer phone. Check Companies House before placing orders to establish credibility of advertiser. Time for Trading Standards to become involved in some of these companies
They have great deals but their CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THE WORLDS WORST...Most especially Sarah S. She has a terrible attitude, is patronizing and not fun to deal with at all.
Check out the prices before you buy - they offered a Silentnight Memory foam pillow for £14 - said it was more than £30 - in fact you can buy the ones they promoted at £10.99 on Amazon.
Thanks for commenting everyone - I am sure your feedback is useful for other people. It is good to see there are a real mix with some saying that Groupon is a scam, some saying it isn't and others pointing out that in some cases cheaper deals can be had elsewhere!
I (stupidly?) spent £350 on a voucher for IPL hair removal bubble, after previous good experiences on much smaller purchases. Having redeemed the voucher online and paying a further £19 odd for postage to I-skin medix I received a email confirmation of my order. Over a month later I have no IPL machine and no response from either groupon or i-skin medix. Not sure what to do next as would quite like my money back...
Hi Mo. That sounds really bad. Have you tried contacting both organisations? If that doesn't work it may be worth contacting Trading Standards etc. Also, when buying goods on the internet using a credit card if the goos or service isn't provided as advertised then the credit card company is legally obliged to not charge you (and then the credit card will use it's lawyers to get a refund from Groupon etc).
I never heard of Groupon until I saw fraudulant payments leaving my account.... Annoying!
I just purchased a magazine subscription and received a site to go to to redeem it - this is not a website address they gave me and so is not accepted - , there was no where on the purchase to put where I wanted the magazine delivered
spa day at the connaught in bournemouth for 2, valied until 17th september, when i tried to book, was told september was fully booked! small print says subject to availability.....now that is a con.....they have my money but do not want to honour the commitment because they sold too many
I have ran an add with groupon as a merchant and I will NEVER use them again... They dont return your phone calls they also do not stick with the agreed payments or stick to a schedule... in this case I am very tempted to contact the BBB.
Hi King_rat that sounds downright illegal! Linda and joanne lawrence it all seems like you have had very bad experiences as a consumer and Jake it looks like you have had problems as a business owner - makes it seem like Groupon is a scam or at least very dodgy!
I purchased a product from O Spa in London around the start of July and have heard nothing since despite sending various e-mails to Groupon and O SPa - complete scam.
yes groupon is a scam. Decided to try it out almost 2 weeks agon. And they charged my account but never delivered anything.
When confronted the danced around and eventually just stopped responding to messages. So I am out almost $300. And to top it off my girlfriend ordered the same deal and of course same boat.
So first groupon experience we spent $600 on nothing. I am going through the process of reporting fraud as I type this.
bought a canvas deal on 12th of july through groupon still waiting NEVER AGAIN!
I have tried Groupon vouchers for two different cleaning services and have found the whole thing to be a joke - One was cancelled for no reason and the second time I paid £29 for a £99 service of a "professional" house clean only to have one cleaner show up for a couple of hours! How do they justify £29 let alone £99?!!!!!When I tried to contact Groupon about this all I got was a message stating that the phone lines were down! One big joke!
!!!!!!DO NOT USE GROUPON!!!!!
I have commented on other websites - my advise is do not use Groupon. I reported a problem with a company I had purchased a voucher for on 9th Aug 2011. Groupon agreed the complaint was serious (spoke to my solicitor and had considered legal action hence, not joking about the serious nature of the complaint), Groupon responses are very slow. However they have agreed on several email to refund me but over a month later (its now Sept 13th 2011), my money has still not been returned to me. Very, very poor customer service.
Bought a voucher for three T shirts for £12.99. Fine print stated I could redeem the voucher from Tuesday 12th Sept. Monday was actually the 12th of September, tuesday was the 13th. Today is 14th but when I visit the redeemnow.co.uk website it stil states "your voucher is not yet activated". Called on the phone, message says phones are off for improvements to system. Sent e-mail, no response other than an automated one which begs you to only send one e-mail per enquiry, due to current high volumes. Not a great advert! This was my first experience with Groupon and my last. For your own good, please DO NOT USE THEM!
Just took up Groupons offer for a Nanolite MP3 player and when I try to redeem the voucher it tells me that the voucher code has already been used. Think after all the posts I have read I will be saying goodbye to my money too.
After looking at the videos on the wall street journal, i think personally groupon will go bust.
Groupon after all these sales have made zero profit, how they are trying to justify that there company is worth 20 billion (god knows), but how can they possible put a 20 billion valuation on their company if the total profit is Zero!
I have used groupon for the first time and may i say the last time.
i am no whizzer on computers but the whole process of redeeming your voucher what a nightmare
will definetly not use this site ever again
and also has a customer service number that is not working for a week
the whole process is a joke
I have bought ample of Groupon deals. It used to be very good at the beggining and was good value for money. However, after it became popular, the service has gone downhill. Specially the Spa deals are a big NO-NO. It is almost impossible to get an appoinment. I have been calling Chelsea Spa to get an appointment for 2 months now and it always goes on voicemail. When I emailed their customer service, they said I have to keep trying. Now they have even stopped responding to my emails. So I am stuck with this Groupon deal!
I have had similar experience with O Spa deals on Groupon.
For one other Spa deal, I got an appointment date of 3 months later, even though I called within 48 hrs of purchasing the deal.
I think it's time Groupon considered quality of service provided by the suppliers. It'll not be long before customers will stop buying because of the pathetic service. I have already stopped buying any Spa deals.
Thanks for commenting everyone - it looks like you have all had issues with Groupon and so this could explain the recent issues the company have had (including investigations and reports from media groups such as the BBC).
Mmm debatable. I'm not sure. I may have to find out for my self. Great hub. Thanks
I have had some execllent deals from GroupOn but also many complaints, the latest of which will stop me using them again.
Essentially the marchant decided not to honour the deals (car valet, i'd bought 2 at £15-50 each) and simply said ask groupon for a refund.
I've emailed Groupon 3 times, starting about 3 weeks ago. The first received an automated reply, the others no response. I've tried to speak to GroupOn by phone several times and you just get cut off after 30 minutes (yes, THIRTY minutes) on hold.
I shall try one last letter - which will take even more of my time, then I shall take them to court or try to get a refund via other means.
i have signed up to groupon as a buisiness. i havent gone live yet and im dreading it.they come out and entice you to sign a contract, i signed two, i told her i wasnt happy with one of them as i would be loosing money, and the other one i would be making £5 for a service worth £46!!!! i dont dispute that you have to give discounts to get customers, but what i do not agree with is groupon make more than the buisiness, they state its 50% but they then take 20% vat off your half!! they need to get buisinesses on ther side and make the package fair to the buisiness. its like they dont give a toss and want to get as many hits as poss so they get more money, and the poor small buisiness people cant cope with the demand and loss of so much money! also with such a big demand they are turning away there full paying loyal customers. GROUPON you could be soooo good , but you need to stop being so greedy,
@ nen 68
I'm not defending Groupon as there are obviously major problems here, but didn't you read all the Ts & Cs thoroughly and know exactly what you were signing up for? You are running a business, surely you should ensure you are 100% clear how much money you are set to make and how much you will pay to Groupon BEFORE you sign any contracts? How can they 'entice' you to sign a contract when you are the one holding the pen and you are the one in charge of your business? Seems to me some people are just looking to blame Groupon for their own inability to make effective business decisions and are not taking responsibility as 'poor small buisiness people'. And no, I do not work for Groupon.
I ve never used groupon. however, I am a member (looking for good deals..just did not find one yet). The other day something cought my attention: they had a deal at a thai restaurant called Mango. Where they had a special (salad, entree, 2 rolls, one drink) for 14 dollars. I just couldn t help myself but laught as I live 2 blocks from this restaurant. They actually have a lunch special EVERY DAY for 11 dollars and that s exactly what they serve on that special. I guess the 3 dollars more are for drinks. My advice would be to check with the company before bying from groupon. Maybe it s not a "groupon deal". Maybe the company itself is having a special. Do your homework before bying.
Hi all, as always thanks for commenting - I am sure your feedback helps many others!
does anyone have a customer services number for groupon please?
And why would you want to be on the phone for 3 hours
DO NOT USE GROUPON! I am very disappointed with them. I had purchased Yo Gabba Gabba tickets for $26 a ticket. The $26 ticket I purchased was supposed to get me a $52 ticket. I had to get to the venue 1 hour before show to redeem groupon to get my tickets. When we got into the venue there was a HUGE line of people waiting to get their voucheers redeemed for tickets as well. Once we got out tickets we were appaled that when we found our seats...they were ALL the way in the last row in the corner of the theater! I could have purchased these tickets off of ticketmaster.com for $26 and not had to show up one hour early or wait in the long horrid line. When I called groupon to complain after their motto clearly states if you are dissatisfied with your groupon experiance they will refund you....period, they REFUSED to refund me. All I got was $15 groupon credit after I said I would NEVER use groupon again. I'll admit they do offer osme pretty good deals, but after this experiance I can safely say I do not think I will be using them again.
So far I have tried using coupons from the Groupon site but have been refused at several retailers. They simply say they dont accept the coupons....???
I paid £28 to have two carpets cleaned by Southampton Carpet Cleaners, it should have been £120. I complied by their rules to ring on the right day for my area, in spite of ringing at 9.00 a.m. in the morning on the designated day in July. The message on their answer phone said that they had been inundated with calls and to leave details at the end of the message tape. At the end of the tape it said 'message tape full'! I tried several times it was all the same message. I suspected a scam and wrote them a letter on the same day saying I had tried to get through. I sent a further one and recorded delivery this time. I never had a reply from Groupon or Southampton Carpet Cleaners. I sent another letter using the wording from the Citizens Advice and Groupon have paid my £28 back into my account but no actual reply. It has put me off using Groupon offers again.
You can also get refunded from your bank if you used a Credit card to pay with.
Could you possibly share the copy of your letter from Citizens Advice so others can use it?
Thanks everyone for commenting, especially Patricia and SamN who added very comprehensive experiences of Groupon. I think it is pretty obvious that bad Groupon experiences are happening on a large scale if the Citizens Advice Bureau are getting involved and producing standard complaints letters!
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got an offer from groupon for hair clippers down from £50 to £15, thought i would save myself a few quid and buy them. when they arrived they were tacky looking so looked online and couldnt find anywhere that sold them for more than 11 quid robbing b******ds!!!
Groupon is legit, however make sure you have a thorough research on what you are buying.
I paid £29 for a cleaning service. I registered as required but have heard nothing from the cleaning company. Mobile number is switched off. I have emailed groupon and tried calling but no one answers. Am planning to contact trading standards.
I have bought a few coupons from Groupon in Spain and have not been very satisfied with any of them so far. What is advertised isn't always what you get and the service (for example in a restaurant or at a beauty salon) isn't great. They seem to treat you differently and offer you less than a normal customer because you have paid less. I bought a coupon for 10 yoga, pilates or dance classes for 20€ and the school hasn't been able to cater for the demand so I've had to ask for the money back. The only good thing I can say about Groupon is that in my experience they have given me satisfactory customer service, so far...
I purchased a deal from Groupon on 15/09/2011 in Cardiff, for a Bushcraft experiance in the Forest of Dean. This is the first time I have ever used them and the last, when I tried to print out the deal, which was valued at £30, I was charged twice, you can imagine, I was pissed off, they are quick enough to take the money from your account, but try to get a refund, is impossible, fucking robbing bastards! I emailed them about the situation and had a message back stating that they were experiancing difficulties with their website, that was on 16/09/2011. No replies back since!
I have contacted their customer services nearly everyday, all they do is put you on hold for 15 minutes at a time, I have never been able to get through. My phone bill by this time is going to cost more than the actual deal. I will not be purchasing from these robbing bastards again! This is how they make their money, by conning people.
I use Groupon on the other end. Groupon pressures us into lowering our prices to compete with the last person, and refuses to run the ad until we do. You get to a point where you have no choice because everyone else is doing it, then you cave. And Groupon does not bulk buy anything, they take 50% of what you sell. You get the other half in 3 payments made out over a year, after you claim each Groupon. So the company usually makes absolutely no money. In my case, we did 7 Laser Hair Removal sessions for $99, and sold 2,000. $198,000 profit. Groupon took 99,000. So we made 49.50 per person. We provided the Laser. the staff, the medical director, the building, the scheduling system, supplies, answered all 2,000 phone calls, dealt with angry customers who couldn't understand the time it takes to schedule in 2,000 people for a medical procedure, complaints, and what we call "Groupon Hoppers". We are able to make money because our laser is paid off and upsell profits are all ours. And Groupon people are gone when the next Groupon comes out. We will not make any clients on this, nor would we want to. They would never pay for anything that isn't 70% off. Everyone should start their own groupon, saturate the market, and put them out of business :)
Wow a Samsung C9000 3DTV FOR ONLY £1499, SAVING £1499 HALF PRICE!!!! USUAL PRICE £3000
it's a Pitty only these people brought it on groupon because its only £1299 new on ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SILVER-SAMSUNG-UE46C9000
I really suggest you do your home work before you buy!!!
For most merchants Groupon is not a way to earn any revenue. Groupon requires the merchants to drop their price by 50% for the customers and then they take another 50% of the remaining 50% leaving less than 25% of the initial revenue for the merchant. The merchant will have to pay for their credit card fees, labor, supplies, insurance, workers comp inventory and everything else out of their less than 25%.
For merchants its a loosing deal. Most customers won't buy other products and do not provide repeat visits to the merchants because they are always looking for the next deal. Merchants lose big time with Groupon.
I can see loads of people complaining here, but I've never had any problems with them. Have done restaurant deals, massages, foot spas, smoothie deals and a TEFL course. All A-OK!
I just think people need to read up on the deals they are buying.
Surely, if you're a retailer using Groupon to sell your wares, you hike your prices up before Groupon ask you to take them down ? I kinda think thats how some of these "special" offers work ?
If anyone has got this TEFL deal, hasn't used it and wants to sell it please email me at c_coops at hotmail dot com
thanks!
used groupon for the first time last month. it was for a Malaysian meal in chesea, london. Very very disappointed. portion size was a joke. we thought it was a bit of a con as soon as they gave us a special Groupon menu to choose from. if we had paid the so called "going rate", they would have had a massive complaint on their hands. Being our first groupon deal, we were kinda hoping this was a bad one. we are trying another next week to see if that was just a one off. ironically, it's another retuarant in chelsea (football club.)fingers crossed
Thanks for this article.
Hardly charge anything on my credit card besides for gas and groceries every now and then. I used Groupon for the first time two days ago, not thinking anything of it because I know a lot of people who use it.. I got a call the next day for fraudulent charges on my credit card.. Seeing a lot of similar stories to mine, I wouldn't recommend Groupon to anyone.. My credit card company caught the fraudulent charge because when they tried to use it they couldn't verify the correct address and zip code. Canceled the card right away... STAY AWAY FROM GROUPON!! Don't trust any website with your CC#!!
i have just found out, my sister and i have been scammed by groupon, we booked a deal £120 for 4 deals of make up and hair course in hotel in belfast, we phoned the hotel and they said it is a scam.we checked the business that are suppose to do the deal and no longer open, we emailed groupon said they will look in to it, but what i have read i doubt we will have any luck. iam really really pissed of as it was presents for xmas from my sister to me and our daughters, there alot of people going to be disappointed when they turn up at the hotel and find out its a scam, i think a few hundred people brought it.
£49 down the drain on the latest groupon voucher that doesn't work... that's 2 that have failed now. I won't be going back
i cant understand how these people can get away with ripping people of, is there no one that can stop them
A friend and I signed up for Santa Barabara Art Glass lessons while we were vacationing in the area. It was a high light of our trip. Saul taught us to make ornaments and bowls that we brought home. It is a unique experience with and excellant instructor. We highly recommend this class.
This must have been written by someone who works for Groupon because all of these "deal-of-the-day" companies are a scam. Maybe not for the purchaser, but for the companies simply trying to gain business and exposure. And Groupon is the worst. Before you purchase your next Groupon (or Living Social deal) keep this in mind : Groupon keeps a FORTY PERCENT commission of all deals sold! FORTY PERCENT just for having a large deal database and the ability to design a deal in photoshop. That's highway robbery in my opinion. My advise? If you see a deal you like call the company DIRECTLY and I can guarantee that they will gratefully honor the deal for you (Why not? they're keeping 40% of the money with you purchasing directly through them!) and you won't have to carry the burden on your shoulders knowing that your contributing to this "deal-of-the-day"'s scamming success.
As I posted on the Yahoo Finance Message Board.
Let's see if I understand.
Groupon sells a voucher and once the buyer has paid, he/she gets nothing. (i.e. no voucher) (That has happened to me).
Fool me once,. shame on you,,,
No way will I get fooled twice.
I will keep away from this rip off company.
No shares for me...
They took my money once and gave nothing in exchange,
If I held shares in this rip off company, I would sell before all formal complaints are registered and become public. This message does not mean that every customer gets ripped off. In fact, I may even be the only one. They just chose to rip off the person who is a consumer protection advocate, and has an in with consumer protection agencies.
G.
My message follows the following message:
By the time they allowed Main St invetors to buy 7-Nov-11 11:34 am the price is already overpriced.
All of the big boys with deep pockets were given the chance to buy in the teens so those guys are now selling and locking in their profits while main street investors that go in last Friday are now the NEW bagholders... eom
i purchased a ICE device all in one bluetooth car kit for £22.95 + £4.95 p+p when the voucher was activated next day i then had to wait a further two days before i could redeem the voucher then when i tried to do so it came up with errors was as far as i got, so i contacted groupon they said contact the company and put your point across so i did by email as they have no other contact details on the groupon website if you try to bring up the bluetooth world web site it just comes up with HPPT errors got back on to groupon and and they come across as they will assist you but they are all talk and no action as the as they told me they would contact the company via there other department that deal with these i suspect they are overrun with problems as you guess i heard NOTHING! a few more days past and to my surprise the same item appeared on groupon again so i got on to grupon to find out what was going on with my order they said it was showing that i had activated my voucher as needed to go back to that department what was going to contact me in the first place, THEY DO NOT DO SO! i had a rant the person i was speaking to spoke to manager and said my money will be returned to me pay pal account, so at that i tried to purchase another throwing caution to wind in that may it could have possibly been a problem at my end, NOT! the same thing happened i.e. web site disappeared again when i contacted groupon they said their was a problem and i could have my money back again but i could not have my first lot back even though i have not received anything for it, still not had anything back and have stopped using groupon might i add that groupon shares have risen to a 400 million high the company is worth 17 million i would say there is a large percentage of unsatisfied customer money banked earning interest of that 17 million £56 of which is mine, what do you think? also see the watchdog reviews for yourself.
VERY FRUSTRATING !! I BOUGHT BODY MESSAGE COUPONS FROM THEM AND COULD NOT MANAGE TO GET BOOKING FOR 8 WEEKS WHICH IS A LONG WAIT !! PLS CHECK BEFORE YOU BUY SOMETHING FROM THEIR SITE AS THEY WILL NOT REFUND YOUR MONEY EVEN IF YOU CAN NOT AVAIL A SERVICE!!
i have been ringin and emailin groupon about my deal, they answer the phone but never get back to you, the deal was on in a different hotel that i had to find out myself after alot of emailin people and ringin around i found out were it is, but still haven got it sorted, as our names arent down for make up course, i have booked time of work to go and a hotel to stay in, really not happy with the service
Groupon is not a scam. They have a moneyback guarantee. Ask for a refund if you aren't happy and you get one. I've used it once. As for the businesses, they know the terms and opt to use the service. My guess is that it's worth it as an advertising tool and to use unused capacity. I've become a regular at a few places after using a groupon.
I have PURCHASE 3 Restaurant VOUCHERS...each time u have to show ur voucher first. I now know why a business owner told me to check out everyone elses plate. Our entrees are less the main dishes are smaller etc. Its a totally rip off. Take NOTICES next time when u use one.
Good marketing campaign – there is not normally that much savings. The offer price is actually very close if not same as the real price!
hi i have used my deal which we did think was a scam,because they told us the wrong hotel for the make up and hair course,which we went on saturday were half the people turned up at the wrong hotel and didn get emails to tell them what to bring with them, it was very unprofessinal course with one girl to fourty people and we were to get a goodie bag with some make up of course no bag. the girl was very helpful didn t want to know, i worked out they made about £1200 for that 1 course
hi i have used my deal which we did think was a scam,because they told us the wrong hotel for the make up and hair course,which we went on saturday were half the people turned up at the wrong hotel and didn get emails to tell them what to bring with them, it was very unprofessinal course with one girl to fourty people and we were to get a goodie bag with some make up of course no bag. the girl was very helpful didn t want to know, i worked out they made about £1200 for that 1 course
I find better deals on Savemore.com
I've paid for my product, was advertised at £7. Plus postage and packaging, the code isn't recognised, and they postage and packaging is more than was advertised, so it's gone from £7 to £24! But I can't get it anyway as the voucher code isn't recognised. I've been well and truly had!!!!!
Used groupon twice.
One word HOPELESS.
Codes never work I have better things to do than email phone and wait for callbacks. DONT Bother with this.
I have been following Groupon for some time and found it quite an easy site to use. Only two weeks ago did I make my first purchase. I paid for it through paypal (which I thought was great) and then I waited to get my voucher sent to me via email. I got my voucher the next day, went to the companies website and tried to order my product. It didn't work. I tried and tried again - but no such luck. So I emailed the companies website and also Groupon. Since then the issue has not been resolved - I have had numerous emails with the companies website who, despite their 'efforts', have not been ables to fix the issue. I have emailed groupon numerous times, tried calling them (only having to wait 36 minutes to talk to someone - no thanks!), and I have not received a thing back from them. I have asked for a refund and I'm still waiting. I don't think Groupon is a scam HOWEVER I do beleive they have the worst customer service going around. To not hear a thing back from them is terrible! I'm assuming that when your voucher works well (which has not been my experience) you would think Groupon is a great site. However, I will never order from them again and will now close my account with them. It's quite a shame really because it has a lot of potential it just doesn't have the customer service to match.
I've never had a problem. In fact I got one coupon for $40 worth of Sushi for $20 which I still have to use. And then I bought a block of about 10 movie tickets for $5 each. I log in and can see a list of all the coupon's I've bought and I just print the next one and make it "used" before going to see a movie. Also getting something like $10 off a meal, for me, is just encouragement to try something new.
Honestly, I don't know about anyone else here but I get fliers and people shoving coupons through my door when there is a new restaurant in my area and that kind of annoys me. It makes sense that a place would offer $10 off just to encourage new people to go there and spend less out pocket only now Groupon is just sending me an email. I review what I want and delete the email if nothing interests me. No more picking up 5 or 6 little index cards from the floor so the cat will stop eating them and then throwing them away and no more Italian menus hanging from my front door when I get home. It's all the same thing only digital.
Tomorrow I'm going to dinner at a new place just because it's $10 for $20 and since the average plate is $10-15 myself and a friend can try two different plates and compare notes with feeling like we're taking too much of a gamble. If it's good I might even go back sans-coupon or even recommend it - which is the goal of any coupon anyway.
I am once again feeling happy and proud to say that this is my favorite web site.
i bought a speaker set paid 140 dollars and didn't know i had to redeem a voucher,they didn't refund the money,total absolute ripp off!!!
I dont blame Groupon for this , I blame 1-800-flowers.com. I paid $15 for a $30 voucher. When I used it, they added a $14.99 service charge.!No mention of this in ad. I would have come out way ahead, if I had made a long distance call to a florist & ordered them!NEVER AGAIN, will I purchase from 1-800-Flowers.com!
Made my first purchase from Groupon, the process was extremely easy. However, I made the purchase, and Groupon debited my account, the offer closed and when I went to the website to then complete the transaction is was running really slow. "vanamsteldiamond" the website then crashed as I was attempting to enter delivery details. I emailed the company, who responded quickly to say that without a completed order they would not process the request - a completed order requires a confirmation email from them.
I have since tried to go back into the website and re-order and the site is so slow. The company suggested trying at an early hour when less people would be using it. Didn't make a difference.
The website has now totally ground to a halt and has a message saying so on their home page. Not acceptable! Companies should not advertise on Groupon if they do not have the capabilities to complete the orders. Groupon and the company should agree in advance how many vouchers they are going to issue and this should be a number that the company can easily cope with.....forget commercial greed!
Still waiting on Groupon answering me back. Don't know what I do from here.
Hey people - YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR - pay little get LITTLE
we purchased two sets of the "400 Thread Count" king size sheets this month and are EXTREMELY unhappy with the product. We opened the packages and washed them, and when they came out, the top hem was almost completely detached, needed complete sewing to hold it together. They are at least 10 inches narrower than regular king sheets-very skimpy. We'll take a good hard look before ordering anything else from Groupon
I ordered goods via Groupon. They didn't arrive so I asked for a refund. It took 6 weeks of emails and phone calls before I had the refund. That was only after I mentioned contacting Trading Standards. Don't touch with a barge pole!
I had nightmore with the groupon order. I had three groupon orders, with the earliest bought on seven weeks ago. None of them receiving yet.
I purchased the electronic cig last week and got the vucher code on Monday, I can only get so far with the order.. its says it is ordered but wont allow me pay the carraige costs so I can only imagine I am not going to receive it... grrr!
Now I understand how Groupon make their money, by ripping you and me off.. no refunds, no reply to email, no one to answers the phone!! any crook can do that, I am on a mission to destroy them.
I have had the exact same problem as Mark in relation to the ice blu tooth kit. Groupon hardly ever reply to emails and it's really difficult to get through on the phone. I still haven't managed to speak to anyone, I just get put on hold. I just want my money back and Im starting to doubt i will actually get it. Groupon as most people state is a good way to save but it's not until you have a problem that you realise how bad their customer service is. I won't be using groupon again. As I have now spent over 3 weeks chasing them up. Mite I add their website about us page says that their philosophy is to treat people how they would like to be treated. It's an insult to see that on their site. I'll b sticking to living social in future as they seem to be more reliable.
I have tried two of the offers and both are scams. The one restaurant was disgusting and actually had a menu printed in Groupon colors and setup. And surprise surprise - the expensive meal I got my 50% discount on was sitting right in the middle. Contacted Groupon and they refunded. Now I have another product which should sell at 900 and I got it at 199,- (but everywhere else it is sold at 199) scam scam that is what Groupon is about
I have recently made my firts groupon purchase - and have just tried to redeem the voucher but the site says the code isnt valid, which isnt great as by the time I can call the company on monday morning the product I want may be sold out...
I have used Groupon 3 times now. The first 2 were great, deal with Love film and a discounted voucher for face oil, there was a problem with the voucher on that one but the girl on customer service was great and the company sorted out the problem in the end. It is the last business I have the problem with.
Booked a paintball experience a couple of weeks ago for mu sons 12th birthday.researched it all, checked what it all entailed and then yesterday, less than 24 hours before my husband was due to take the excited lads out the owner phones and says if we don't cough up for extra paint balls then he is going to cancel our booking! He isn't making money on the deal apparently and holds us to ransom! The husband talks him round, as cancelling the party was too awful to contemplate and has gone today but having to take extra money cos the guy wont honour the voucher unless he buys more. We are livid!We understand that he is annoyed he is losing on the deal but he could have discussed the extra paintballs when we phoned a fortnight ago BEFORE the invites went out. Not sure if this is a Goupon problem or not but reading the small print or checking things out hasn't helped us. Won't be using them again though. Hope this helps.
Groupon South Africa is pathetic bunch of scums. I still dont have my ordered product and they give pathetic customer service............
GROUPON makes deals with merchants and then leaves them hanging after they have collected their monies from unsuspecting customers. They do a terrible job of explaining to unsuspecting customers the "actual deal" that they (GROUPON) made with the merchant. Most merchants only get 25% of the take and are left to provide extra customer support to answer the myriad of questions generated by the deal.... Most businesses can not survive with that small margin. GROUPON refuses to send reminder emails re-stating the terms of the deal and the proper procedure to receive your 50% (or plus) discount. Customers then retaliate against the business unaware of the "actual" deal that was made with the merchant. Expect a class action lawsuit against GROUPON in the near future!
Don't buy from Groupon....I have made a purchase and cannot get a response from them regarding delivery. I am certain that I have been scammed... and there is no way for me to get my money back. They have not responded to a single email I sent. Their call centre does not answer.
Yep, not happy with Groupon. Bought a "deal" on 12th December, got the deal and all of a sudden - out of nowhere - there's a 2 week delivery date. Checked it out, and it's 2 weeks from the end of the Groupon deal (19th December). It's a Christmas present (and this was advertised under Christmas gifts) so that's no good. More digging and I find that the item I bought for a supposed 63% discount at £19 actually retails for £9.99. Yes, I should have done my research but that doesn't make it any less of a scam. Repeated emails to Groupon get me nowhere until I finally lose patience and threaten them with Trading Standards and my solicitor - THIS is the only email that manages to generate an automatic response. I feel fairly certain I'm out the £19 I've already paid, but you better believe I'm going to take this to Trading Standards!
The attraction with Groupon is with the apparent “good deal” you expect to get, but the value or service as a customer is often very poor. 2 recent examples in London
Bought Groupon voucher to go to a 3 star Japanese Restaurant in London (Kumo): The food quality was really poor, small quantities, service charge atrocious
Bought Groupon vouncher for Facial injections at Hartley Skin Clinic (prestigious street name one would assume): Compared to previous similar (non Groupon) experience, the service was poor (rushed) and quantity of botox/filler twice as less as what as one would expect, so no wonder it was cheaper than usual….
I have one more Groupon vouncher to exercise, but if the standard of quality is as poor, I will be done forever using Groupon
I guess if it looks to good to be true, it is actually not worse it!
Used Groupon recently to purchase a voucher for a photo calendar. Upon uploading photos and designing the calendar on one of the slowest websites I've ever used-I was told the voucher code was not recognised. I have tried to contact the photo calendar company and Groupon by phone and email but have had no reply. Total waste of time and money - NEVER AGAIN!!
CAUTION to all buying "deals" with groupon.Have used them twice. One for a window cleaning deal. I rang the company and have to wait FOUR weeks to avail of it.Im certain if i wasnt a coupon customer Id have been treated alot differently. And the real annoying this is that I got a code for a babbel course and after emailing 3 times finally got a reply saying to activate my code again. Tried once more and once agin the code wont work.Ive better things to be doing than constantly chasing this up.VERY bad service.Avoid.
Funny to see how the general mood about Groupon as radically changed in only 12 months.
Soon the END ?
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i purchased a voucher for camcoder and bought the product the same day...now its been more than 1 month but there is no sign of my product. I sent them many emails...there is not reply. Their phone is a joke...just could not talk to anyone...it just puts me in their queue....its a SCAM...DO NOT DO THE MISTAKE OF BUYGING ANYTHING via GROUPON...
Groupon is a scam.
I bought a large item through them, the item arrived damaged, should be no problem because nothing i did wrong right?? Nope, guess what to get a refund i have to pay return Shipping COST.. What?? I have to pay to return a damaged item, REALLY??? WOW!! What a deal they send me something damaged and i have to pay for it.. NEVER AGAIN WILL I BUY SOMETHING LIKE THAT, NOT WITH MY HARD EARNED MONEY...
Ordered a 10 in 1 Games table - supplier is Bodini; received an email from them to say we would have a tracking number etc on or before 6th Dec. Nothing. Spoke to someone at Bodini last week but now cannot get through. They don't answer the phone (mobile - but looks like a landline number - dodgy). So I thought I might go back though Groupon but reading these reviews I cannot see me getting my kids pressie before Xmas. Has anyone had one of these 10 in 1 tables delivered from the Groupon deal around 21st November? Thanks.
I ordered 2 Camcorders from Groupon. Received three different Voucher Numbers all of which I could Not redeem, message saying invalid vouchers or already redeemed. Support staff almost non existent and got the run around from them telling me to contact Dinodirect (the suppliers) myself. I have been going around in circles for over a month and I think Groupon should not be allowed to advertize on the Internet as they are unreliable. Treat Me is a much more reliable site as far as I have had dealings, with them.
SCAM SCAM SCAM!
Lets hope they go under. fast.
Ordered a electric car as my son main Xmas present was told it would be here, paid delievery to bodini. Got email off groupon saying no longer using this company order from eventbrite, had to pay more delievery!!!!! No sign of any car no reply to emails no answer at groupon and both website line not in use.....save to say my 2 an a half year old some is getting what he asked for off Santa......thanks groupon
Also ordered 2 nanolite......well the font work and guess what can't get a reply from anyone on them too
Ordered a necklace on Nov 15th guaranteed delivery in 28 days. 38 days later not even had an email to say been posted! Phoned Groupon on hold for an hour then call disconnected, called again after 50 minutes someone answered then put phone down on me!! 48 hours later still no reply to email sent. This was promised by xmas but have given up all hope and may as well have flushed money away!
I have bought loads of groupon deals with great success but this was my first nation wide deal for a personalised name necklace through Van Amstel Diamonds on 15th Nov with up to 28 days delivery. I've chased the company via email for the last week to hear nothing & now the website is having technical deliveries. I'm frustrated as this company had lots of deals around on Groupon over several days so thought it a good company.
Groupon need to take more ownership on who they are selling the deal to rather than being a 2nd car dodgy sales company who are only interested in excessive profits - those companies always lose in the end!!!!
I've used Groupon once AND NEVER RECEIVED WHAT I BOUGHT. I am sending them emails but unsurprisingly, they remain unanswered... Very disappointed, I heard this is not a company to be trusted.
I have used Groupon twice. Once for a shipping deal with UPS which went well and saved me a good amount of money. the second time I bought a voucher for a trip to the airport, after contacting the company to make sure the dates were available I bought the coupon. I then booked the trip. two days later the company called to say the price would be higher, which I agreed to. The day after they called to say they were overbooked and canceled my trip. I have been trying ever since to get my money back from Groupon with no luck, they just want to give me Groupon bucks (whatever they are?) So a bit of a mixed bag but I will not use them again, too much trouble and not to reputable from what I can tell.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/XMAS-Online-Retail-N
Join my group and post your concerns, a copy of all compliants will be going to TRADING STANDARDS
Tried getting through to customer service for three weeks 20 + min wait no answer.
Emailed 8 times. Automated reply no response.
Now going on to 2 months.
No reply & no refund of $1400
Give it a week and will be making complaint to dept of consumer affairs.
Keep off them !!!!!!!!!! they listed lots of towns and cities 60+. They didn't mention Sunderland the largest city between Leeds and Edinburgh, or, even Middlesbourgh..... Companies should be geographically competent.
Groupon's not a scam.
It's just hopelessly hopelessly crap.
SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!! i booked a hotel break with groupon - when i rang the hotel it was going to end up costing me 70e more than what it said on groupon website!! buyer beware!!
ChristieW - mine was the VanAmstel necklace too. The only response I've had is an email from groupon asking for customer service feedback.
I've had sod all customer service so was quite happy to leave feedback ;-)
Nearly 7 weeks and not a flipping thing so have opened dispute with paypal
i'm sure you have to open a dispute within 4 weeks, not sure but check it out
Wouldn't touch them witha forty foot pole. Nothing they offer is worth having and if it's a US mob then it's definately not to be trusted.
If anyone bought the tefl deal and doesn't need it pls email to j.wheaton (gmail.com). Thanks!
Sorry, I meant j.wheaton76 (gmail.com). Sorry for the confusion. J.
There are idiots out who pay these people (Groupon) money to be ripped off !!!! They are incompetent.
Worst service provider and irreponsible attitude. I purchased mp3 player twice. First time I got the delivery after 40 days (instead of 28 days) and one I still didnt get. I chased a lot but always same copy and paste answer I got. Even they didnt bother to check the status of delivery. Now I will not order and will not recommend any Groupon because of their bad service. Becuase it is easy to buy but you have to chase for your delivery a lot.
I was in love with Groupon until I got a bum eReader, it wouldn't work from the moment I took it out of the box. Trusting the "Groupon Promise" I contacted Customer Support to get a refund and was told I had to return the faulty item first. This was NOT in the promise! Finally the Cust Rep promised that Groupon would refund me my shipping costs if I sent it back. Shipped it for more than it cost - it was going to Canada, with insurance and tracking - and now Groupon is saying that they never refund shipping! So now I have my refund but are still in the negative for all of my hassle. Won't be using them again. Buyer beware!
Purchased some LED bulbs from LED light zone via Group On voucher. 3 months on and no product arrived despite many follow ups to the useless LED light zone. Currently attempting to pursue Group On for a refund. Avoid.
Groupon SUCKS now. Ever since they have gone public, their customer service is TERRIBLE. I have been trying to contact them to obtain my money back for a ballet I purchased back in November and it still hasn’t been resolved. The site to purchase the tickets went down and I couldn’t get the seats I wanted when the site came back days later. I asked for a refund and they continue to tell me they are processing it, but they keep messing it up. I used to love this site, but trust me… they have HORRIBLE customer service now.
Groupon is a MAJOR scam! They do not pay their suppliers. When they do, its 50% less VAT. I bought an ipod docking system for 25€ but when it finally arrived 3 weeks later, it was broken on arrival. I took photos and sent tbem to Groupon and the Providers and spoke to both immediately post delivery to request a refund and collection of the damaged article. Now nearly 8 weeks later, noone has collected the package and Groupon state that they are merely a marketing device and the Voucher has been redeemed and the Provider states that they never received any money so the refund has to be done by Groupon. AAAGGGHHH
DO NOT USE GROUPON!
I have never used groupon,inc. But, to my dismay, I found a 999 dollar charge on my credit card. Luckily, USAA caught the charge and refunded me. Is groupon, inc. the actual groupon persons are talking about?
cheers,
bird
scam it took me 1 year to get refund always saying excuses
Well i must say i am very impressssed with Groupon no bad experiances.
Groupon is awful for business owners they lie don'y pay on time and change their terms and conditions to suit their own needs
Groupon are today offering a three night vacation to sicily for two people for around £200 including flights. However, the small prints says 2 vouchers must be bought to complete booking. Does this mean I have to buy 2 of the deals? Or does 1 deal come with 1 voucher? Bit confused. I only want to take my wife away, wont need a second voucher for another two people. Seems a bit strange. Any help appreciated
Hi
Groupon are a scam I have paid for and not received the goods
They refuse to reply to emails and cannot be contacted
BUYER BEWARE
I have never had a problem with Groupon. Purchased one for an oil change, while there my car was hit by an employee with another car. After being there for 3 hours and calling the police to file a report, I went home and posted on the Groupon discussion board to warn others of what happened. I was contacted by GROUPON and was asked to call them. I did so and was issued an immediate refund! Another groupon I've purchased was for a LASIK treatment. I did do a lot of research on the doctor and there were some bad past experiences on the discussion board (not being able to make appointments or long wait times. Etc) but decided to go ahead and do it. Besides, you will never find a LASIK treatment for $2000. Anyways I purchased it and set up an initial appointment the next day. Whole process took about a month between Consultation, pre-op, and actual procedure. Then a follow up a week later, a month later, and six months later. Yes there was a 2 hour wait the day of my appointment, but me saving $2000 was worth it! I pull up my groupon app every morning to see what deals I can get!
Groupon is having a NOW DEAL for really bright smiles in the Woodlands Texas for a company that is no longer in business. I drove by the business after rying to call the to redeem my groupon and the neighboring business said they went out of business long ago. I e-mailed groupon and told them I could not get an appointment through the phone lines days before and there was a problem. % days later and they are still offering a NOW DEAL. BTW, GROUPON CUSTOMER SUCKS
We got scammed by a company advertising on Groupon, we also found that their are hundreds of others that have also been scammed by the same company. Yet groupon still advertise that company's products and have refused to do anything about the scamming.
DO NOT BUY FROM GROUPON - SOONER OR LATER YOU WILL BE SCAMMED!
I was given a Groupon Gift Card from a friend for a birthday gift. The only problem I have is that there is a very limited amount of items! Unless I have somehow missed something, my "All Deals" only offers me about 14 items. Am I missing something?
I have a $100 Groupon which I purchased for $35, however it expires tomorrow Jan 11. Am I still able to redeem it all day tomorrow or does it expire tonight at mid-night?
DO NOT USE GROUPON!!!!
I've bought three things and had to get two refunded because one company turned out to not exist and had just taken my money. That took a month to resolve.
I have now had to get another refund and groupon have told me countless times that it has been accepted but I have now waited two and a half months and been told several times "it will take 5 working days".
THEY ARE RUBBISH!!!
groupon uk are disgustingly awful at customer service. never will i use my money with them again
I purchased goods in October 2011 and now in January 2012 I still haven't received them. Contact with the company says we can't help you further your order is on its way. Three and a half months???? Who Can help?? I think this Group is a scam. They've got my money and I've got no goods.
Some deals on Groupon are worth but some you have to be very careful. I bought a voucher for teeth whitening at Miami White Camden and it was a big mistake, it did not look like dentistry whatsoever and the Owner she said she was vas rood, full of attitude and racist. In the end I did not go ahead which after reading some reviews of Miami White Camden how people left with burnt mouths and blisters I am glad i didnt.
However the next day I called Groupon and told them about the story and they gave me credit back which was nice.
How does groupon make their money? Through the sweat of local small businesses. The offer they have is more like Slave Labour and wrong if you ask me. First as a business you have to drastically discount your service or product by 40-60%. Then Groupon takes 50% of your already drastically discounted service or product. Example: $100 regular retail watch - 50% discount = $50 - %50 groupon profit cut = $25 sale for business on $100 watch. Hmmm. If we aer taking about services it gets even worse. $50 manicure - %50 = $25 - %50 groupon cut = $12.50 to the business. Essentially this business has covered the cost of labour for 1 hour if it took longer they actually lost money. I say no more, if your a small business please dont run anymore than 1 groupon it eats your margins to badly and groupon customers are not loyal and will not return.
Be Careful. I bought a voucher and the website was not accept the number of the voucher. I sent them many emails and I called them but no body answer me.. I think I will contact the police for that.
I have used Groupon twice and been ripped off twice...i will not be using them again. Very poor customer service.
BEWARE of Groupon, just got ripped off! And just got off the phone with their customer service, horrendous! I bought 170 pound accommodation in a Tenerife time share resort(which was not disclosed in the deal). Today I got an email stating my accommodation is cancelled as I have not given my flight details yet(for March!). Groupon said I should understand that the booking agents have their own fine print!!
BEWARE SICILY DEAL Have purchased voucher, Holiday Company have given Dates,Flight details over the phone and have constantly promised to confirm this via e-mail and still to date I have not received any writtern comfimation of this holiday. They have taken the money plus costs for transfers. SEE YOU IN COURT GROUPON !! will never touch them again.
BUYER BEWARE!
Signed up for a video deal and paid by Paypal (conditions stipulated either credit card or paypal).
voucher wasn't valid; instead I was prompted to pay again, this time via credit card only.
contacted both Advertiser and Groupon several times. Advertiser said they needed a valid credit card or paypal account, then didn't reply when I sent them my paypal receipt asking what wasn't valid on that account. Groupon said "cooling off" period is only 7 days (as if I had received the advertised service but merely been unhappy).
Craftwork-Interiors is London based interior design company offers office fit out,
office refurbishment, office redesigning, partitioning etc. We provide fit out and
complete interior design services in Wandsworth, Middlesex, South London, Surrey and
other major areas nearby London.
the conflict I reported earlier has now been resolved
DO NOT USE GROUPON SCAM!!!!
Never again will I use groupon I am now bringing them to the small claims court as they have not issued my refund. they keep saying it will be repayed within 5 working days. It is now over 4 weeks and I am still waiting it is the worst company I have ever used.
I never say this about anyone but I hope they go under they would really deserve it!
I had successfully used Groupon twice so thought I could trust them, but the most recent time have been scammed! I bought an android tablet as an xmas present for $200 in September, delivery was meant to be within 2 weeks so I had plenty of time to receieve it by xmas! I still have not recieved anything, Groupon doesnt answer their phone, or reply to emails. I have already contacted FairGo and target about this who are looking into it. Please read their facebook page(Grouon Auckland), its got all the proof you need! Hundreds of angry customers complaints.
Groupon is a big scam, I paid over £250 for a memory form mattress in the summer, I got the voucher and tried to order from the seller on line a few times without luck -it freezes my pc or kicks me out before I get to the final process.
called groupon a few times and they said they'll investigate and get back to me -but no one ever did, I called them again to ask for a refund and they said they can't give me a refund because the voucher has expired, they can only give me a credit note to use with them, I told them I don't want to buy anything from them and I was told there’s nothing they can do about it. It’s Jan 2012 and I’m still battling to get my money back - just shocking and disgraceful, i can't believe they can get away with that.
These need shutting down now!! if this were a tradesman the trading standards would be all over them, maybe someone wants to give Dom a call
I am a doctor that has recently run an add on groupon. Most of the comments/complaints i have read come from the customer, and since i have yet to see a post about this specific problem i thought i would share. My add was for 1 or 2 20 min acupuncture treatments.(a value of 65$ per treatment)30$ for one and 55$ for two. I have since treated 20 of the 76 groupon customers whom have purchased my groupon totaling in over 1300$ of services. I recieved an email informing me that the first of three checks would be mailed out on the 20th of Dec. and I would recieve it in 10 buisness days. With the understanding that christmas, and the new year were around the corner i gave them ample time for my check to arrive. It is now the 23rd of Jan. and i have yet to recieve my check or a legitimate reason as to why i have not. Not to mention the TOTAL NEGLECT my representative has shown me. We have spoken numerous times on the phone, and my half dozen emails "convienetly" have never been recieved.Now this I have read in other comments, but i think i should reiterate for those of you who have not GROUPON'S CUSTOMER SERVICE IS HORRENDOUS!!!
I purchased horse riding lessons. 3 months before they expired I called to book and was told they had no availability left!!! Groupon refused refund. How is this legal? There obviously selling more than they can accomodate.
Total utter scam. Groupon customer service have cut n paste responses in an exhaustive bid for the buyer to give up hope of a refund past the paltry offer of credits. I shall not give up as my requested refund is for a lage amount (3 figures) and frankly I'm not letting the smarmy egits get away with it. Off to the small claims court we go go go.
thank you for insight into groupon - this is good use of the internet. I still think there's no such as a free lunch so don't respond to 'free' offers
There is a "groupon promise" on their website which states to give them a ring if you can't redeem your voucher and we'll give you a refund. This isn't true. They sneakily credit your account and then offer such poor quality deals they get to keep your money after six months. Don't touch Groupon with TWO ten foot poles. You have been warned.
As a customer, I've received an email from customer services UK to say they are processing a refund to the card I used as my method of payment, so it appears that they are willing to do proper refunds if it is necessary.
I think whether or not you get a decent deal is often down to the individual company who have the offers and discounts, therefore it's worth checking them out first. I called a company direct before purchasing a deal to make sure I could select exactly what I wanted - particular hair treatments in one instance. Google to see if anyone else is offering the products cheaper or find reviews. I saw a supposedly good deal on a steam mop, only to find the reviews for the product were less than favourable. It can come down to your own personal experience - I personally wouldn't say Groupon is a scam, but think carefully about whether you really want an item, check for cheaper prices or comparable products elsewhere and even contact the individual companies to make sure you have all the facts.
Groupon spams. I've tried to "unsubscribe" from something I NEVER subscribed to.
I have a similar problem to you guys, ordered on December the 24th and I'm still waiting called emailed and they would give the same lame excuses. Now I want my money back because I'm starting to think they are scam artist. It's all about principle now, and I don't like being made a foul of. I'm going to give them a few days to turn it around, then I'm contacting groupon if that don't work, legal advice!
I bought the hypno band sessions for my mum in Sussex. I received an initial call but was driving in London and could not take the call.
I called the company back and left a message, they have nto returned 3 calls or answered 3 separate emails. The company exists and the vouchers have been received.
Does anyone know what you do? Is the contract with the hypnotherapist - of no response do i pursue them or is it Groupon that I pursue? It would have been nice if the company could have contacted me back to let me know what is going on as you get so angry it almost becomes obsessive!
This was my firts purchase, so far Groupn do not seem to the be the problem, just the hypnotherapy company
Keep off them !!!!!!!!!! they listed lots of towns and cities 60+. They didn't mention Sunderland the largest city between Leeds and Edinburgh, Companies should be geographically competent.
Used them once - appalling service - didnt do as i was assured they would then took an eternity to try to resolve it - which they didnt
Would without hesitation NEVER use them again
I purchased a groupon for $39.00 for a chiropractic session for which I was charged and have the receipt, when my purchase didnt show up in mygroupons, I contacted customer service needless to say I have been going back and forth for a week with a someone named Dominique P. from customer service. I provided all the answers to all the questions she asked me, but all she does is keep resending the same email she sent originally asking the questions. I also sent her a copy of the receipt which she claims doesnt have the purchase because she hasnt figured out how to scroll down to the bottom of the PDF. I am not sure Groupons policy for hiring customer service staff,but they need to consider the fact that since all purchases are made online their staff should be computer savy enough to open an email and a PDF and scroll to the bottom. I am very disappointed with them at this point.
trolololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol. It looks like a bit of a scam 2 me
i purchased groupon for botox i paid £49.00 for £199.00 worth of botox after purchasing the voucher i phoned the clinic in derby and they said it was 95.00 per area so i thought this would give me two area,s but no i was only allowed one and at to pay £95.00 for seconed treatment.I WISH I HADENT BOTHERD PLEASE DON,T DO IT AS THEY HAVE MADE A MESS OF MY EYES MY EYE BROWS HAVE LOWERD AND MY EYE,S LOOK TERRIBLE.it was only my frown lines that were done so i don,t know what they have done i have had botox before and it was fine i intend to complain also i met a lady who had botox at a slimming clinic in derby and she wasent happy she had two black eyes and then she was trying the clinic to have her forehead done god knows whats happend to her.think twice its a scam
I have been waiting since 07/12/2011 for a Swavorski Bracelet. I even had e-mail back from Their support office in Canada!!! but still no Goods they cashed my Pay-Pal payment quick enough though. The O F T Know all about Them, STAY AWAY From them.
Groupon is a great way for customers to get a valuable commodity for cheap, however it is horrible for businesses. Groupon is the worst when it comes to helping businesses not lose revenue, they don't care that the affect on your business is actually a huge loss. They lie when they are making the contract with you and tell you that restrictions may not be accepted and then your groupon won't run. They also fail to mention that even after your Groupon expires, the dollar value is still good (forever)and the company has to accept it. I will never use groupon again and I make sure that every business I know hears about my story (far to long for this comment. For businesses there are far better discount sites that allow both customer and business to benefit.
Hi guys, I have purchased for a product in 30th November 2011!!! I did not receive my product and the Groupon doesn't really care about this. I just want to warn you guys with this fraud. By the way, if you guys need me to prove throuhg e-mail, I have available. Perhaps I have no other choice and I need to call the police as per Ms. Maria Magno (maria.magno@groupon.ae). She was the one that advised to go ahead.
I purchased a pair of bathroom scales back in December. In early January I received them but they were not the ones I had ordered, and paid for. These were a cheaper version!! Since then I have been ringing, and emailing, Groupon who, when they can be bothered to answer say it is Homedics problem. When I contact Homedics they say it is Groupons problem!! EVENTUALLY Groupon admitted it was their error as they had given Homedics the wrong code for despatch but I have still not had an exchange. I eventually told Groupon I had had enough and wanted a refund - they said they would providing I paid for the scales to be sent back £10 with a courier. When I asked why I should pay for the return when it was their fault (admitted by them) the emails stopped being answered! THIS COMPANY HAS GOT TOO BIG FOR ITS BOOTS AND CAN NO LONGER COPE WITH MANAGING IT;S DEALS - ESPECIALLY WHEN ONE GOES WRONG. They should stop offering deals until they can catch up with what they have but they wont because this will mean they will loose money. MAKING MONEY CLEARLY MEANS MUCH MORE TO THIS COMPANY THAN CUSTOMER SERVICE. I cannot wait for their bubble to burst! NOT USE UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO LOOSE YOUR MONEY
I bought a handbag from 'lillys little luxuries'. Said you got £70 worth of handbag for £12 + 5.95p&p. The handbag is absolutely worthless. It is cheap and sprayed on leather. It is flimsy and rubbish. No where can you leave a review for this company. I have seen better handbags in Primark for £8.00. A total rip off.
Its not good for services, I had for carpet, message etc
it just a loss of money but I had for food its worth it.
Last don't go for like hotel, message or some kind of services, its just what you pay same you get.
Good Luck.
Purchased 2 alarm clocks over a month ago. Groupon took the $70 from my account and I have yet to receive my product. I contacted them over a week ago to resolve, and they have gotten nowhere. I have asked to speak to, or get a supervisors e-mail 2x and no-one will give it to me. At this point I just want my money back and for it to be over. I will never make a purchase through groupon again!
Groupon clones comparison - Agriya vs Couponic:
I purchased a boiler service for £39 in December, after two months the company concerned - Zest property Solutions has still not contacted me. There is no landline number on their website to call and emails are answered with an auto responder saying due to staff shortages no bookings can be confirmed until a month later. Groupon agreed to credit me but have not yet done so. In a lot of ways their business model does not stack up, how can any business profit from something they take a 50% cut on regardless of the price. That boiler service would mean the company concerned was doing it for £16.25, how many plumbers in the UK would do it for that price? It reeks of profiteering, take the money and then don't fulfil on the service knowing that they will get away with it with a % of customers who do not jump through the hoops /suss out they are being conned to ask for a refund.
the most doggi company ever they do not stick to there deals and do not help when you have had a probolem with one of there offers. Had a massage it was like back street of bali and came out with bruses. But am going to open a case against them as they do not check the businesses they deals with these people should not be in business groupon and the massage place. At least cudo stick to ther guns and help out and also refund if not happy.
I am waiting for 3 groupons dating back to November 2011.
Not very happy with customer servcies who just advise to contact the seller....one of the groupons i am waiting for was a carpet clean, they have advitesed twice on groupon since....but still have not done mine from nOVEMBER....RUBBISH.
THINK THEY ARE DOING TO MANY DEALS, THE Y CANT COPE WITH IT.
Check the ice bluetoothworld groupon scam-345 coplaints so far and rising
I found groupon to be very hit and miss, I bought a buggy which was great but have bought several smaller items and have been extremely disappointed, the way they picture the products make them look expensive but what arrives is complete tat. I also am awaiting a replacement bracelet as I received a faulty one, the company have been great with responding to emails but keep saying it is in the post and surprise surprise it never turns up. Groupon have not bothered to respond to my email. I have emailed them previously regarding a different item and although they responded they referred me to the seller and would not accept any responsibility. I will definately not be buying anything else from groupon and will unsubscribe myself as soon as the bracelet issue is resolved. My advice is to stay clear.
Groupon is definitely a well managed scam which ultimately benefits only one party - Groupon itself. Obvisouly 50% off any product is barely sustainable for the merchant but Groupon has a very sound answer to that: increase your prices during the Groupon promotion. That way the promotion will exactly that - bring more customer to your venue and increase volume. A textbook dream of every merchant.
Wait a minute, there is a federal law for that - was it anti trust code of federal regulations?
Anyway this was the strategy of Groupon ever since it's inception. Recall the way Groupon represents the deals:
$xx for $yy worth of someting, in other words you receive $x amount of something by paying a $y amount which is less than $x.
Of course they would not sell $x in exchange of a product because then the merchant can't fix their prices and will TRULY loose money which means no business for Groupon which means no lap dances and Zukerberg wannabe dreams for Andrew.
And the kicker is: a potential class action will only harm the merchants NOT Groupon since Groupon does'n participate in collusion - it's the merchants that fix their prices during the promotion so Groupon is on the clear and the merchants may be harmed.
Great idea I must say. Andrew should have been a white collar stock market dude, could have made more money there compared to this scam!
I got screwed out of the Coby Kyros Android Tablet for $99i. purchased it 2/8/12 sent an email on 2/16/12 did not hear back till today and it was about a star naming purchase. I had contacted the product site and they emailed me the day claiming they had no order for me.
taiwan groupon - www.17papago.com
BrianS 19 months ago
Glad to see this is a positive review because I am affiliated to Groupon and advertise them on my travel websites.
They actually contacted me and asked me to become an affiliate which I was pretty impressed with.
Nice review by the way.