Monday 11 April 2011

Another Groupon Expiry Date 'Mistake' = Large Groupon Profits

Another day, another Groupon expiry date mistake.

Groupon customers are enquiring which expiry date is correct after buying a Groupon deal for sunglasses. The terms and conditions stated the voucher would expire on June 16, 2011, but customers received a voucher with an expiry date of April 17, 2011.

Groupon hasn't yet given the correct expiry date. But whether the vouchers expire in April or June is really irrelevant. Groupon is making a lot of money off these expiry date 'mistakes', even if the vouchers are valid for a longer period of time.

Here's how:

Groupon keep 100% of the profit from unredeemed vouchers.

Let's say the correct expiry date is April. Customers who bought this voucher, assume they have until June 16th to use it as stated in the Terms and Conditions of the deal. Anyone who doesn't redeem the voucher before April 17 gives 100% of their voucher money directly to Groupon.

If the expiry date is actually June, and Groupon 'mistakenly' put an expiry date of April on the voucher - Groupon still profit. Many customers will try to use this voucher in May or June. But when they see an expiry date of April, customers will assume that THEY made the mistake, and throw away the voucher - taking it as a loss. All these unredeemed vouchers will make a 100% profit for Groupon.

So it doesn't really matter which expiry date is the valid one. Either way an expiry date 'mistake' makes a large profit for Groupon.

If Groupon has changed an expiry date on your voucher after purchase, please report it to Trading Standards 08454 04 05 06. And the Advertising Standards Authority http://www.asa.org.uk/ .

Sunday 10 April 2011

Groupon for Ministry of Paintball Rip-off for 664 Belfast Residents

A total of 664 Groupon Belfast customers who bought a deal for Ministry of Paintball have been left disappointed this week after they discovered that the closest Ministry of Paintball UK site was in Glasgow.

For those of you not from the UK, that's a 108 mile journey, which involves taking your car on a ferry across the Irish Sea.

So why was Groupon allowed to sell this deal to customers without noting that the nearest Ministry of Paintball UK site to Belfast was in Glasgow?

Many people will just take this as a loss, because the voucher only cost £3. But thats 664 people at £3 each which is a total of £1992. I highly doubt any of the people who bought this voucher in Belfast will be able to use it, so just from a little deceptive advertising Groupon has earned itself a handy £2000.

Customers who bought this deal in Belfast were upset and asked Groupon why there were selling the deal in Belfast when the nearest paintball site involved a 108 mile journey and ferry crossing. One woman named Carolyn bought 8 vouchers for her son's birthday party.
Groupon's response again left a lot of be desired:

'Hi Carolyn, we're sorry for any difficulties you have encountered but in order to enable us to resolve such issues for you we would request you to email our customer service team so they can look into this for you.'

Our translation of Groupon's message:

'Please stop posting these complaints on our Facebook wall. Its bad for business. Instead, please contact us by email. Our waiting times to answer emails at the moment are more than 7 days, and we may not bother to respond at all. Sincerely, Groupon'

(Note: Seven days is the current time Groupon is quoting to receive an email back from their team.)

Groupon's customer service is extremely callous, and seem not to care about its customer base at all. How could Groupon even consider selling this deal in Belfast, knowing full well how far away the nearest site is? How do they expect customers to wait up to 7 days for a response from their customer service teams? Finally, how do Groupon expect to stay in business for the long haul when their customer service policies are ensuring they won't receive any return customers?

If you are in Belfast and have bought this Ministry of Paintball deal. Please contact Trading Standards at 08454 04 05 06. And the Advertising Standards Authority at http://www.asa.org.uk/. Include in your complaint that Groupon offered this deal in Belfast, but the nearest place to use the voucher is 108 miles away and includes a ferry crossing.

We would like to note that while there are Ministry of Paintball sites in the Republic of Ireland, the Terms and Conditions of this deal prevent use of these vouchers in the Republic of Ireland. Stating that the voucher can only be used in one of Ministry of Paintball's UK sites.

Friday 8 April 2011

Groupon Belfast Steak Deal... Hope you weren't expecting steak!

One of our readers made in interesting discovery this morning- 


 Apparently, Jimmy Brown's of Belfast isn't serving steaks for the steak deal they offered last week. They have a daily 'steak quota' and once they surpass it, you will get chicken or pork.


This was never included in the original Terms and Conditions of the deal:

'Steak Dinner for Two for £15.50 at Jimmy Browns (Value up to £39.90)

The Fine Print to this deal simply states that the voucher expires June 30th, and it is only redeemable from 5pm-9:30PM Wed-Sat.

With 2,500 vouchers bought, that's a massive 5,000 steak dinners Jimmy Browns will have to produce and we were wondering how they were going to accomodate everyone.
Its apparent now, everyone will not be receiving a steak dinner.

The following feedback was left on Groupon's Facebook page:

'hard to get through on the phone but deal is extended due to number of responses. Hard to get weekends but I went tonight. If u are expecting a steak be prepared there are only so many allocated. We arrived at 7.30 and all gone.'

What?!? No steak?!? For a Groupon deal that promised steak?!?

Groupon's response was callous as always: 'Thanks for your comments, we're sorry the steak was over but glad to hear the food was good : )'

Customers have been writing enquiring why people are not getting steak, as this wasn't included in the original terms of the deal.

Groupon's response: 'We've taken note of this and we'd like to assure you that this has been passed on to all concerned, to address but if you have any further concerns please feel free to contact out cs team and we'll do our best to help. Happy Friday : )' Well Groupon, its not 'Happy Friday' for those who bought the steak deal is it?

If you have bought this deal, we would recommend you call Trading Standards at 08454 04 05 06. And the Advertising Standards Authority at http://www.asa.org.uk/.

Tuesday 5 April 2011

Groupon Mother's Day Hephalump Deal- Weeds and 6 chocolates worth £52?


Today's Groupon Scam comes from London, and there are a LOT of unhappy customers today!



Groupon offered:


'Bouquet of Flowers with Chocolates and Personalised Card for £19 from Hephalump Cards (Value £52.48)'


Unfortunately, Groupon customers received what they have described as '6 weeds and a bar of chocolate', hardly worth £52. And many didn't receive anything at all.



Here's what customers has to say about what they received:


'Flowers and chocolates I ordered were not delivered on time and when they did come today (too late for Mother's Day) they were the wrong flowers, dead flowers, and then wrong chocolates.'


' Paid an additional £14.99 for Sunday delivery and they never arrived.'


'Finally arrived on Monday, small brown roses, brown as they were dead on arrival.'


'In the same boat, no flowers despite paying £15 for delivery.'



'Better described as 6 weeds, and a bar of chocolate.'



'My mother-in-law received a box of dead weeds and 6 chocolates! So embarassed.'



Customers are trying to contact Groupon and Hephalump but neither are answering the phone or emails.


Some more observant customers have looked up the bouquet on Hephalump, and found that they are selling it for £18, not the £47 Groupon claimed. So they would have saved £1 getting the flowers directly from Hephalump.


To the right is a photo of what was actually received from Hephalump by one customer. Certainly not a bouquet of 'purple chysanthemums, white roses, and purple carnations' advertised by Groupon. And definitely not worth £52!!!!



If you have bought this deal contact the Advertising Standards Authority at: www. asa.org.uk


And Trading Standards at: 08454 04 05 06.

Friday 1 April 2011

Groupon Mount Errigal Scam... is it another April Fools Joke?

Today's Groupon Scam comes to us from Belfast... again...



This deal is pretty straight forward:



'One Night Stay Including Full Use of Spa Facilities and Breakfast for Two People for £79 at the Mounth Errigal Hotel (Worth up to £206)'


So we went to the Mount Errigal website to search for prices for a room for 2 adults and breakfast.



Suprisingly, we found prices from €74 for a weekend stay for 2 adults including breakfast! That's £65! £14 less than the Groupon deal price!!!



So where did Groupon get the original price of £206 from? We searched many other weekend dates through the summer and fall and the highest price we found for a room with breakfast was €129 (£113).


That's still just HALF of the Groupon value of £206!



Lots of Facebook users are asking where the original price came from, but still no response from Groupon.




I'd like to think its another April Fool's Joke, like the Groupon National Deal today offering tickets to the Royal Wedding..... but sadly, I think people are actually buying this deal.

Groupon has explained that the original price is based on the €240/night Master Suite. The Master Suite has 2 Plasma screen TVs and an in-room jacuzzi. So if you have booked this deal and do not get the Master Suite contact the Advertising Standard's Authority at: http://www.asa.org.uk/.

And Trading Standards at: 08454 04 05 06

Thursday 31 March 2011

A little victory!


Twitter was buzzing yesterday afternoon with people who received clothes bought using their Groupon ASOS voucher. Many stating that the clothes were poor quality and stained. Some people got an item which wasn't the color or size that they ordered. ASOS Customer Service was replying that if they return the items, they cannot exchange for another item or get a refund due to Groupon T&C.


Let's take a look at the Fine Print:




'Expires 10 April 2011. Limit 1 per person, may buy additional as gift. One Groupon per transaction. Minimum basket spend of £21 required (i.e. £20 Groupon voucher must be supplemented by an additional spend of £1). Not valid on sale items and ASOS Marketplace. 50,000 Groupons available. Refunds will be based on amount paid not ASOS R.R.P. Purchased item can only be exchanged for an additional size; exchange for alternative item not available. For full ASOS terms and conditions visit www.asos.com/infopages/pgehelpde '



Well that was a mouth full!!!


We read the terms and conditions when this deal first came out and we thought most of them were pretty fair: You have to spend an extra £1 at ASOS. You can't use on sale items. 'Refunds will be based on amount paid not ASOS R.R.P.' sounded fair as well. Afterall, you can't expect to buy something for £21 using your £9 Groupon Voucher and then return it for £21 cash!



However, the fact that purchased items can only be exchanged for another size and not for another item was what put us off. And this is where people are having issues. This is an online clothes retailer, certainly people are going to want to return clothes! They may not fit properly, they might not look good on. They might me poorly made.




A number of regular ASOS Customers are complaining that the quality of the clothes they have bought with their Groupon vouchers is not as good as the quality of items they usually get. Like d, who has used ASOS for the past 4 years. He stated that the item he got with his Groupon voucher was not as nice as the thing he normal orders from ASOS.



This woman bought 2 items (one for £18 and one for £22) and used her £20 Groupon voucher. She returned the item for £22 as it was too small. She should have received at least £20 cash back, and ASOS should have used her Groupon voucher for the other item.



Instead they used her Groupon voucher for the return. So she lost the £9 she paid for the Groupon voucher, meaning she's paid £27 total for an £18 item! ASOS have refused to refund and so did Groupon.


The problem with the fine print is, while it says you can only exchange for another size, it says you will get a refund for what you paid. Technically, people paid £9 for the Groupon voucher so they should get at least £9 credit.



Twitter users and @GrouponUKScams complained about this technicality in the small print, and insisted they should get a refund. And by 4PM yesterday, ASOS had agreed to give angry customers a new code for a Groupon £20!




So if you had a problem with this offer please contact @ASOS_HereToHelp on Twitter and they will get you a new code.




Groupon Paintball Scam



Today's Groupon Scam comes to us from Sheffield:



'Paintballing for Ten with 100 Paintballs Each, plus Lunch for £19 at the Danger Zone (Value £150)'



Sounds like a great deal for a bachelor party or teenager's birthday party! Only £19 for 10 people!




But you actually have to pay £89.... Really!




The Fine Print states:



'Must pay £7 deposit for each member of the group, which will be refunded in the form of 100 extra paintballs.'



That's a £7 for all 10 people, a total of £70 for the group! But it will be refunded right?



Yes of course!.... in the form of 100 paintballs.




We're now up to £89 for 10 people to go Paintballing and have lunch. However, there is fine print about lunch as well:




'Lunch provided only to groups who start at 9AM. Around 100 paintballs used per hour.'




So in order to get lunch, you have to get 10 men on a stag do or 10 teenage boys out of bed and to the paintball place by 9AM. Good luck with that....





Even if you manage this amazing feat of getting everyone there by 9AM, you get 200 paintballs (including your refund paintballs).



According to the Fine Print, this is about 2 hours of activity, so your lunch will be at 11AM, and then you're done for the day.




Our advice for the day, always read the Fine Print, and Highlights section of the deals. If either section is exceptionally long, it's usually a good indication not to buy.

Friday 25 March 2011

Groupon Preys on Failing Companies


I wrote yesterday about Groupon offering a deal for a cafe which doesn't yet exist, and won't be built until after the vouchers have expired. And I also wrote about the Harley Fit Clinic in London, which changed residence and quickly went out of business following Groupon's offer.



So this got me thinking, who benefits from a Groupon offer for a business which is failing and is close to bankruptcy.... if the business does exist at the start of the deal, but quickly goes into liquidation or bankruptcy and is unable to redeem the vouchers.



Groupon gives the money to business owners in installments, based on how many vouchers have been redeemed. The business owners do not make any money if they don't redeem any vouchers. Groupon keeps all the money from unredeemed vouchers. So Groupon is making a large profit off of business owners who are close to going bankrupt. In fact, Groupon stands to make a lot more money if the business goes under!



Struggling business owners may think that by offering a deal on Groupon, they will get more advertising, and bring in more customers. This advertising has hardly helped the Harley Fit Clinic which has gone under before being able to welcome new customers into their business.



Groupon is the only one who is making money offering vouchers for struggling businesses. The customers and the business are sadly both losing out.



Small business owners who are struggling in these tough times should think twice before dealing with Groupon. Groupon's priority is making a profit. Groupon's sales reps are only trying to make a commission. In fact, Groupon stand to make a larger profit if your company fails. While you hope offering a deal may help your struggling business, it may run your business into the ground....




Thursday 24 March 2011

Groupon Offering Vouchers for Fake Companies


There seems to be a lot of deals Groupon is offering in the UK recently for companies which do not exist.

A total of 672 customers in Belfast ordered a Groupon for Crafty Belfast on February 12, 2011, which is valid for 2 months.



Unfortunately, Crafty Belfast doesn't have a cafe! Or cheese! Or cupcakes!



People have been visiting Craft Belfast recently with their coupons, and are suprised to hear that they don't have a cafe, and the cafe they are building will not be finished for another month. After their vouchers have all expired!!!!!!



So customers can't use these vouchers. That's 672 people x £6.75 a person = £4536 for Groupon. Because they have offered a deal for a cafe that DOESN'T EXIST!!!!!!!!



You would think that they would automatically refund everyone who has bought this voucher, since the cafe doesn't exist. However, they are only refunding those who request a refund. And if you've read their Facebook pages recently, no one can get through to their customer service team!


Any other company would be prosecuted for selling vouchers to a store that didn't exist, but Groupon keep getting away with this time and time again. If you have bought this deal, please contact the Advertising Standard's Authority at:

www.asa.org.uk/Complaints.aspx




The second recent Groupon Scam involving a company which doesn't exist comes from London Groupon.

A total of 23 Groupon customers bought a deal for Wow Fat Zap at the Harley Fit Clinic at £299. An additional 939 bought a £39 colonic treatment from the same clinic. Problem? The clinic DOESN'T EXIST!!!!!!



Customers have tried to call the clinic to book an appointment, and the phones are never answered. Several customers then went to Harley Fit Clinic's supposed address at 61 Harley Street.



Unfortunately, the Harley Fit Clinic was not there. Just a note on the door from the doctor's office which is actually located there, asking people to stop ringing the doorbell, because this is not the Harley Clinic!!!!




My question is: How did Groupon not know this was a fake company? Do they not insist on seeing that the company has an actual residence before booking them on Groupon?!?



Of course, Groupon doesn't pay out anything to the company for vouchers that are unused, so the fake company doesn't benefit from this at all, just Groupon! Groupon keeps all the money from unredeemed vouchers.



So why would a fake company set up a scam on Groupon if they are not going to be paid anything?!? My question exactly! Was it Groupon who set up this fake company with a fake address? Since they are the only ones who stand to make a profit by offering vouchers for a fake business, it seems possible.


Groupon have since sent out an email to the customers saying that Harley Fit Clinic has moved to a new address. Then the customers were informed that the company was in Liquidation. Customers who have spoken to the doctor's office where the original address was state that the doctor's office had never heard of the original clinic.


Still very suspicious, people haven't gotten their treatment, or their money back from Groupon. Those who have received a refund, received it in the form of Groupon credits! £299 in Groupon credits? For a fake business?!? Ridiculous!!!!


If you have bought this Groupon deal there are 2 places we would suggest you contact. Please contact the Companies Investigation Branch at:

www.insolvency.gov.uk/complaintformcib.htm

And also contact the Advertising Standards Agency at:

www.asa.org.uk/Complaints.aspx

Since post this, I have received a number few comments from those bizarre 15 people who defend Groupon saying:


'Its beyond Groupon's control if a company decides to change its circumstances, especially if they don't tell Groupon. Do you expect Groupon to ring each person?'



What I expect is:
If Groupon discovers a business doesn't exist, stops answering their phone, or moves without notice... If the expiry dates are changed after purchase, or they company is no longer able to offer what they promised ....Groupon should refund everyone's money! Not just those who ask for a refund! Not in Groupon vouchers! Just give people their money back if they find out the business isn't real, or isn't offering what they promised! Simple and obvious!


But Groupon ARE making lots of money off these fake businesses, changes in terms and conditions, expiry date mistakes! People are requesting their money back and getting no response. And all this is making Groupon loads and loads of cash.


If Groupon makes any mistakes in the advert, if the business is fake, or goes out of business - I expect Groupon to refund everyone in cash, without a request! And this is what I will continue to campaign for until Groupon becomes a more reputable business!

Saturday 19 March 2011

Bear Costumes are the Groupon National Deal

Can someone please explain to me what Groupon's
deal of the day is?!?

Seriously..... what IS that?!?

Today's Groupon National Deal is:

'One-Piece Teddy Fleece for £55 from OnePiece Jump In (Value £190)'


Great deal! I'm thinking maybe I'll buy it for a gift for my sister. I'm sure she'll get a lot of use out of it with SUMMER coming....



I'm not sure about the original value of £190....seems a little steep. But maybe that's what Bear Halloween Costumes are going for these days. : /



Groupon refers to this wonderful one piece fur suit as 'a trendy substitute for a human hug' and says that it is a 'wardrobe staple among wrestlers'.



Beware citizens of the UK, because 257 complete morons have already purchased this incredible deal. Inevitably, you'll see a few men walking around in one of these hideous things too.... and for that, you can thank Groupon.



Friday 18 March 2011

Groupon Glasgow Scam

Today's Groupon Scam comes from Groupon Glasgow and Ashkora Restaurants. According to the website you save 62%. Unfortunately, you save about £4 total not £32.50 as Groupon claims.


The fine print of this deal states:


'Valid for dine-in, a la carte menu only. Excludes mains over £10.95, naan over £2.95, Tandoori Selection and King Prawn dishes. Valid Mon-Thur 12-6pm, Fri-Sat 12-5pm. Not valid Sun.'


Pay careful attention to the hours that you can use this voucher. Noon to 5pm on the weekend. Noon to 6pm on the weekdays. Fair enough amount of hours. Probably more of an early-bird special of lunch than a dinner.


So what do you get for this original value of a whopping £52.50?!?

A good amount of food, but I wouldn't really say £52.50 worth for 2 people. Especially at lunch time.
'>2 poppadums with onions (worth £2.75)
>2 starters (worth £5.95 each)
> 2 main courses (worth £10.95 each)
>1 rice (worth £3.50) and 1 regular naan to
share (worth £2.95)
>2 chias (Indian teas) (worth £4.50)
>2 Indian cakes (worth £5)'
Then Groupon states: 'To see the full menu click here.'
So I looked at the full menu, provided on Groupon's Website. Which states that Ashkora has a 'Supper Club' menu available from 5-6:30 PM. Roughly the same dinner times as the Groupon deal is valid.
Firstly, it states that 2 poppadums with onions are £1.95 extra not the £2.75 quoted above.
Then it says that a starter, main meal and rice or naan is £10.95 per person.
So for 2 people that's £23.85 (including the poppadums and onions.)
£23.85 is a BIG departure from the quoted original value of £52.50. Is Groupon trying to tell us that 2 Indian teas and 2 Indian cakes are a value of £28.65?!?
Ridiculous deal! And incredibly stupid of Groupon to provide this 'Supper Club' menu for people to be able to see they're being scammed. Unfortunately 265 other people have already bought this deal.







Wednesday 16 March 2011

Groupon and T-Mobile National Scam

Today's Groupon scam is the National Deal:


Get a 32GB iPad for £49 (Worth up to £229) when you sign a 24 month Data Contract with T-Mobile (£27 per month)


With so much Fine Print, you would think people would understand this is a terrible deal. But yet 304 people have already purchased. Not very smart...


The following are the problems with this iPad Groupon National Deal:


1. This is a First Generation iPad. Second Generation iPads are being released this week. So the value of these First Generation iPads is going to drop significantly. So the value of £229 is exaggerated.


2. You have to sign a 24 month contract with T-Mobile at £27 per month. That's £648 in 2 years you will be spending on internet access. While £27/month on internet access may sound like an okay deal, there are a lot of restrictions on this internet access.


'This plan comes with a mobile internet fair use policy of 1GB a month to use anytime and 1GB a month to use between midnight and 10AM each day.'


For those who are unaware: 1GB of internet is not much. Most people would use 1GB in a week or less. So after your first week of the month, you have to stay up until midnight to use your internet. And even that 1GB will only last you another week. So that's 2 weeks of using the internet (1 week in the middle of the night) and you can't use it again for the rest of the month. All for a whopping £27 a month!


Do T-Mobile actually charge £27/month for 2GB internet usage (1GB of that to be used in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT)? Doesn't sound like their regular pricing to me.


3. If you're not worried about using up 2GB of mobile internet because you have wireless internet, get worried! Aside from the fact that your W-Fi contract is costing you additonal £ each month, T-Mobile has these iPads restricted so you can only use 3GB of Wi-Fi per month.


'You also have a W-Fi fair use policy of 3GB a month. We'll monitor how much you send a receive each calendar month so that we can protect our network for all our customers.'


Firstly, I don't like anyone monitoring my internet usage. Second, how does T-Mobile monitoring how much internet you use at your own home protect the network? Certainly using over 3GB/month does not mean you're doing anything illegal. Its not going to slow down the network. It just makes more money for them, from customers who are willing to pay to modify their contract to get more internet usage.


4. If you still think this is a good deal. (You're crazy...) But there are more restrictions coming. If you purchase the iPad for £49, you then have to redeem the voucher between March 18th and March 31st. Big deal? Well yes, because you have to pass a credit check and sign the 24 month contract.


The terms of this deal mean that most people buying it probably don't have excellent credit. Afterall, you are paying out more than £700 over the course of 2 years to get an iPad. You could buy an iPad for £229 on your credit card, payment spread out over 24 months is less than £15/ month with interest. So the people purchasing this deal probably don't have excellent credit.


Do you get your money back from Groupon if you don't have good credit and can't get the contract? We're not sure... but after 7 days probably not. You also probably won't be able to get through to Groupon within 7 days anyway to get a refund. But again Groupon keep the money from all unredeemed vouchers. At £49 per person (most of whom probably have very bad credit and won't be able to get a T-Mobile contract) that's a lot of money for Groupon.


5. Lastly, they advise you to have your credit/debit card handy when you call T-Mobile, so you can pay for shipping. Shipping?!? On top of all this money? I don't know how much shipping would be. I have written to Groupon, but surprise, surprise. No response.

Monday 14 March 2011

Another 'mistake' = £££ for Groupon


Another day another Groupon scam. Several Belfast residents got an email this morning from Groupon stating that the terms of the deal they bought have changed.


The email from Groupon this morning states:


'Two Course Dinner with Chocolates and Wine Tasting Course for £29.99 with Ultimate Wine at The Edge Bar, Belfast (Value £109) - deal clarification!'


'Owing to a technical error we may have caused some confusion about which days of the week this Groupon is valid for. We'd like to apologise for this mistake and hope it hasn't casued too much inconvenience. To clarify, your Groupon is valid on Thursdays only and is not valid on Friday's or Saturdays.'


By my count this is at least 4 'technical errors' Groupon has made just this month! Technical errors, which, are VERY PROFITABLE for Groupon!


This is £29.99 which Groupon will probably not agree to refund, since it has been bought 7 days ago and is past the date for refund. And the money from any unredeemed vouchers goes directly to Groupon.


We are unsure if Groupon included Thursdays in the original Fine Print, or if they changed the terms on the deal page after purchases. But we do know that the Admins on the Facebook page stated:
'Apologies for the delayed response, the events are scheduled Friday and Saturday nights but its best to contact the venue for more specific availability. Hope this helps!'

I would advise that ANYONE who has purchased this deal contact the Advertising Standards Authority: http://www.asa.org.uk/ The Advertising Standards Authority is already investigating a few 'mistakes' Groupon has made on their deals.


Also please contact Trading Standards at: 08454 04 05 06. Trading Standards will investigate Groupon if there are enough complaints.
If you're feeling ambitious, write to your local news stations as well! If this problem finally gets highlighted on the news, people will become more aware and these 'mistakes' won't happen as frequently.
I would like to remind everyone that if you MUST purchase a deal from Groupon, we recommend you take a screen shot of the original deal immediately before purchase.

Sunday 13 March 2011

Groupon's Charity Donation Problems

Over the past week, I've become an expert at what happens when you question one of Groupon's deals. The company's operation for dealing with public complaints is different from any I've ever seen.... not in a good way....


I had a problem with 2 Groupon sales reps friends harrassing me the last time I asked a question on the Groupon Belfast Facebook page. So, when I had a question about Groupon's most recent charity deal, I decided to ask on the Groupon London Facebook page instead.

Groupon had a deal to donate to Japan's Disaster Relief, and they would match donations up to £70,000. A great idea! I was so excited that they were giving money to charity, and what a great choice of a cause!

But I was disappointed when I read the fine print of the deal and saw 'any donation will be matched in full (up to the collated total value of £70,000) by Groupon.'

Collated total value? What does that mean?!?

So I googled 'collated total value'. Nothing. I decided I should ask Groupon what 'collated total value' means before I donated.

Does it mean if the public donate £70,000 Groupon also donate £70,000?


Or if the public donate £35,000, Groupon will donate £35,000 - leaving the total gift at £70,000?

Or worse yet... does it mean if the public come up with £70,000 Groupon gives nothing- because the total value of £70,000 has already been reached?


I asked London Groupon what the term 'total collated value' meant, and how much they would be giving.
Strangely, the first response I got was from a woman named Patricia. The same Patricia who was harrassing me on the Belfast Groupon page a few days ago saying that 'Groupon is wonderful!' and I should stop 'ruining the deals for everyone else!' She is also friends with the Groupon Belfast sales reps.

Patricia responded that she 'has a friend who works at a bank' and she thinks that it means that they match pound for pound up to £70,000.


I thanked Patricia for her response, but told her that I'd rather hear the definition directly from Groupon.


Then I got a response from a man named Tobias. Tobias lives in Germany, but had no problem saying 'the public donate 50k - we add 50k - if the public give over 70k we will add 70k.'


But Tobias... you live in GERMANY! How can you guarantee what Groupon UK's contract states?


I stated again that I would rather hear the news from Groupon UK.

The Patricia responded saying that she had heard that Groupon was giving matching gifts in 'every country in the world.' And that she was 'really impressed with Groupon's work!'
Groupon... for the record... was definitely not matching donations in the US! It seems Patricia's 'job' is giving false information on the Groupon pages.

I got messages from several other users. Users who were involved in my Groupon harrasment earlier in the week and for some reason post on all the Groupon Facebook pages... not just their local area. Fishy? Yes! I think so too! They said:

' I can't believe you are wasting your time wondering what Groupon will do. Just donate! You should do your part, it shouldn't really matter if Groupon is planning to match your offer! C'mon every little bit helps.'



'Seriously tho, every penny counts. Why does it matter if Groupon are going to give £35k or £70k? Just give your 2 quid.'


'How very very sad that you're not willing to donate to charity.'

Then I finally got a response from Groupon:


'Hey all! What this means is that for £2 you donate, we will donate £2 more. We're sorry to hear that some of you are not interested in supporting charities, you can email our support team regarding terms and conditions.'


RUDE! Not one person said they didn't want to support charity. They simply asked what Groupon's donation to charity would be. Which Groupon still did not answer! They simply told us to email for the terms and conditions. How many terms and conditions can there be on a charity donation?!?

Groupon have changed their website in London only to say that they WILL match £70,000 in public donations with their own £70,000. But I am still wary of this deal as I have not received the terms and conditions via email yet. I am very upset that Groupon couldn't even make their donation to Japan without a lot of small print and legal terminology that no one can understand.

I also want to make people aware that there are certain Facebook users commenting on all different Groupon UK pages saying how wonderful their service is. These same users immediately jump on anyone who has a complaint about Groupon. While I certainly cannot prove that they are employed by or connected with Groupon, it certainly is strange behavior and something to think about!

Saturday 12 March 2011

Groupon's Fry-Up Deal Misleading

Groupon's deal in Belfast today is a Fry-Up and Glass of Orange Juice for Two for £6.60 at the Rabbit Room (Value £16.50). There were many mistakes and misleading statements in this advert and some of them were quite amusing. So today's post is detailing this advert and the problems with Groupon's claims.

This Groupon sounded like a great deal to me at first, quirky restaurant, graffiti on the walls. My kind of place! And who doesn't love an Ulster fry?

Sounds like a great deal right? Wrong!

First let's start with the Fine Print. The voucher expires June 13, 2011, is only valid on Sunday's from 10am-1pm, and excludes Easter Sunday and May Day Bank Holiday. That leaves 12 Sundays to use the deal. Except that when you read the 'fine print that applies to all deals' (on a separate page) you can't use the voucher the day after purchase. So tomorrow is out as well. This leaves you 11 Sundays to use your voucher between the hours on 10am and 1pm. So you can use your voucher only during a specific 33 hours in the next 3 months.
How many people bought today's deal? Well the ticker is currently at 357 people bought and still rising. That's more than 700 people who will be eating during these 33 hours.

Now for the pricing. How much do you normally pay for an Ulster Fry? We get a large fry at my local restaurant for about £4.30/person give or take. We get potato bread, soda bread, beans, black pudding, 2 sausages, bacon, a fried egg mushrooms, and a tomato. But Groupon has advertised that the regular price for a Fry-Up for 2 in the Rabbit Rooms is £16.50. That's £8.25 per person!

Is that how much the Rabbit Rooms normally charge for a fry? The advert says they normally charge £6.45 and you get a glass of orange juice at £1.80. Bringing the total up to £8.25.



Yes! £1.80 for a glass of orange juice. That must be a HUGE glass of orange juice? Right? I mean you could buy a CARTON of orange juice for £1.80. Well.... not quite. Have a look at the picture! A shot glass of orange juice.

And is that the fry we'll be getting as well?!? It doesn't look like much food! Especially for the original price of £8.25 per person!


So what is included with your Ulster Fry? Time to look at the 'Highlights' section of Groupon which is actually also fine print.

Fry-up includes bacon, sausage, soda bread, mushrooms, and roasted tomatoes. That's it?!? No eggs, or beans? And I'm assuming the fact that they say 'sausage' means you are only getting one. Does the Rabbit Room normally charge £8.25 for just those few items?

Then they say that you can upgrade for an additional £2, which presumably means you'd get the regular fry-up, with eggs, and a bit more meat. I'm assuming that's £2 per person, but its not clear. So if you choose to upgrade, you're now paying £5.30 per person for a fry and orange juice. Which sounds about normal.

So was the advert accurate at least? Well even after all the fine print and exceptions, it is still not accurate. In the meal description, it states, 'Enjoy a scrambled egg on the sly with today's Groupon.'


Unfortunately Groupon, we don't get a scrambled egg on the sly with this deal! Even with all this fine print you still couldn't get it right...

Update:
Someone has asked Groupon why eggs are not included in the deal.

Groupon's response: 'Its best to ask when you sit down but I'm sure they will.'
Does the owner of Rabbit Rooms know Groupon is promising more food included in the voucher?











Friday 11 March 2011

Why Groupon's 'mistakes' are highly profitable


Since I posted on Belfast Groupon about changing expiry dates after purchase, I have gotten a number of supportive emails from other Groupon customers who have had problems with their service. In fact, Groupon have changed the Terms & Conditions on numerous deals in the UK. Why? Because these mistakes and problems make Groupon a HUGE profit!


So I would like to share some cases of Groupon fraud I have heard about this week:


1. A woman bought a Groupon deal £15 for a 3 hour driving lesson. She tried to book online and couldn't. She phoned the company, they never picked up and a short time later the number was no longer in service. She went to the address provided for the company, and there was no driving school there. She queried people who lived on the street and they had never heard of the driving school.


2. A user bought a Groupon voucher for Hello Canvas on Jan 28, 2011. The terms of the voucher were that it expired in 3 months, so it should expire April 29, 2011. After I posted about the discrepancy in expiry dates, she checked her voucher and found out it is due to expire the 29th of March which is only 2 months.


3. A man bought a Groupon voucher for his girlfriend for a massage. The terms & conditions did not state anything about specific days or times to use the voucher. When she telephoned to book the massage the company stated they only do massages on Mondays and Tuesdays. He asked Groupon about this several months ago and they have never gotten back to him with a refund or the ability to use the voucher on a suitable date.


4. People have booked a deal at the Clarion Sligo Hotel, and are unable to get booked in for a room 'as the deal is so popular'. People who have booked this deal before say that they have not been able to stay in the main hotel with this voucher, but rather were booked into a room in a 'minging apartment block down the road.'


5. Belfast residents have ordered a BT4 Beauty Voucher. They are trying to book at BT4 Beauty and are being told that BT4 is having problems with Groupon and are therefore cancelling all Groupon bookings. Groupon have repeatedly told all these customers that their BT4 vouchers have expired, but the customers have shown proof that their vouchers have not expired. Groupon are now 'working on a replacement venue' for people who have bought these vouchers.


6. Belfast Groupon offered a voucher for Paul Shapiro a few weeks ago. The email stated that the voucher would expire May 11, 2011, but when the vouchers were received the date on them was changed to April without notice.


These are just 6 of the most recent problems happening with Groupon. And these problems and mistakes all make Groupon a large profit.

'How?' you might ask...


When it is a hassle to redeem a voucher and they go unredeemed Groupon keeps the profit from every unredeemed voucher. Lots of money!


Changing expiration dates and not notifying customers also makes Groupon a large profit. If customers do not know the dates have been changed and do not redeem their voucher before expiration Groupon keeps the cash.


Also, making customers wait a very long time to receive services, refunds, or customer service has left many customers so frustrated, they just write off the voucher as a loss. Again, more money for Groupon.


Beware Groupon customers!!!

What happens when you mess with Groupon?


When I found out that Groupon had made a 'mistake' with their expiry dates, I tried to call them on their Customer Service number. No answer, several times. So I joined their Facebook group 'Groupon Belfast'. On their page, I asked why the expiry date had been changed. The administrator told me they would look into the problem. Over the course of several hours, 6 other people posted on the page stating that they also had the wrong expiry date.

Eventually Groupon got back to us, and posted under each of our posts that they had made a mistake with 'a handful of people' and they were sorry. Those familiar with Groupon will know that when you purchase from them, there is a ticker saying how many people have already bought the deal. So I knew that 843 people had already bought the deal with the wrong expiry date. So under each of their posts, I asked:

'How many is a handful of people? As far as I know 843 people bought the voucher with the wrong expiry date. I wouldn't consider that a handful.'

Well this is where Groupon got UGLY!

First the Groupon Facebook page wrote a top post, which goes out to every one of their 15,700 fans, that posting more than once was spamming and they would start removing people. This is where it got messy. All of a sudden there were about 15 people under this post, naming and shaming me. Some of the posts included:

'Ban her! BAN HER NOW!'

and

'Shut up Megan, we're all sick of listening to you!'

I thought this was quite a harsh response from the Belfast public. Afterall, they couldn't see what I was writing unless they were really looking for it. It was hardly annoying Facebook behavior. And suprisingly, this harrassing behavior continued on the Groupon Belfast page for several days. Mostly it was the same 15 people posting horrible vile things about me. Anyone who came to my aid were abused and berated as well. I couldn't figure out what was going on, and I was embarassed and confused.

Well 2 days later I got an email from a woman. She didn't like the bullying that was going on, and she gave me the names of 2 Groupon Belfast sales reps. I looked up these employees on Facebook, and checked their Facebook friend lists. And to my suprise, nearly every one of the bullies was a friend or family member of these 2 Groupon employees!

I have sent screen shots of the nasty messages that were left for me to Groupon management, along with screen shots of the employees Facebook pages with their friends. Groupon has responded saying they are investigating, but I haven't heard anything in 2 days.

Clearly, I haven't learned my lesson yet. I'm sure Groupon employees will continue to harrass and bully me while I run this website. However, I think its important that someone gets out the word about how this company operates. It is one of the most questionable businesses I have dealt with.

Beware of Groupon UK Scams


Groupon scammed myself and 842 other Belfast residents this week. They offered a deal for a Family Pass Exploris Aquarium in Belfast which was to expire June 9th, 2011. I bought the deal, and a short time later I received my voucher, with an expiry date of April 9th, 2011. They didn't mention in the email that they had changed the date. I contacted Groupon and they stated that they had made a mistake and that the date was April 9th. They also stated that their Terms & Conditions state that they are allowed to change expiry dates after purchase.

'So Groupon made a mistake... so what?' you might be saying. Well lets just say that someone buys the voucher, doesn't check to see if they have changed the expiry date and doesn't go to the Aquarium. Do they get their money back? Does the Aquarium get the money? NO!! Groupon keeps all the money from unredeemed vouchers!

So it seems that this 'mistake' that they made is very lucrative for Groupon! And there have been several such mistakes with Groupon Belfast in the past month. Some people bought vouchers with a 3 month expiry date, but were sent vouchers with a 2 month expiry date without being notified.

The other deal which has been a problem for Groupon Belfast this month is the Millbrook Lodge Deal. Nearly 2000 people bought the Millbrook Lodge voucher for a stay in the hotel. The problem? Millbrook Lodge only has 16 rooms! People are trying to book and can't get through, they are unable to get a suitable booking time. A lot of people are giving up and not using their vouchers. And who keeps all that money? Groupon of course! £36 per person to be exact.
I will continue to update the blog with other Groupon UK scams. Please let me know if you have been scammed.