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.

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