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If only I had gone through thread by thread nad read about Scoopon I would've never used them to start with. It's the first voucher I have purchased from Scoopon aka Scampon and what a big mistake I have made.
Here are just a few threads about Scampon:
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/39842
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/39214
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/39206
For the ones who have not read this, last week here's what I posted:
Scoopon, What are you selling us?
I have sent them my 3rd email and to my surprise the Dept of Fair Trading had gotten back to me faster!
On the 31st Jan I used Scoopon site for the first time. I purchased a pest control package for SWAT.
Voucher was available on the 2nd Feb but since I have had no luck in contacting the merchant.
Your ORIGINAL voucher and landing page said:
The Fine Print
* Valid from 2 February 2011 to 2 February 2012
* Scoopons printable from 2 February 2011
* Bookings essential on 1300 27 60 70 or online at www.swatpestsolutions.com.au* >> Scoopon has now CHANGED this as they realised the merchant does not take phone bookings!!
* Bookings taken from 2 February 2011
* 48 hr cancellation policy applies or Scoopon is voided
* SWAT reserves the right to reschedule appointments due to weather conditions
* 1 voucher redeemable per household
* Termites not included
* Scoopon valid for 7 rooms - (open plan areas will be split according to the category of the room and counted as more than 1 room)
* Warranty conditions apply
* Subject to availability
Read the FAQ for the basics. Highlights
* Fully licensed and insured
* Rid your home of dirty and dangerous bugs including cockroaches, spiders, carpet beetles and silverfish
* Get up to 7 rooms totally de-bugged!
* Internal and external perimeter of the house is treated
* Roof void included and sub-floor
* Treatments are completed according to Australian Standards, Certified and Guaranteed
* 100% pet and child safe!
* Service available throughout the whole Sydney Metro
* Save $161 off normal price
Creepy critters no more!
You see something out of the corner of your eye; it’s big, it’s sort of hairy and it’s scary. Oh, and now there’s another one, bolder than the last, walking right past you like it doesn’t have a care in the world. Looks like you’ve got an infestation of over-confident cockroaches my friend, and you need some serious assistance STAT!
S.W.A.T. Pest Solutions are ready and waiting to blast away your unwanted house guests. From ‘roaches to silverfish, they’ve got it gone. S.W.A.T. are the pest control experts, with over 12 years experience telling bugs to bug-off, they really know how to make creepy critters and their families pack their bags. Today you can call in the S.W.A.Tteam to deal with your pest problems for a teeny tiny, insect-sized $79!
Your S.W.A.T. package includes:
Area of service:
- Internal and external perimeter of the house
- Roof void (space betrween the roof and ceiling)
- Sub floor area
Pests treated:
- Australian cockroaches
- Spiders
- Carpet beetles
- Silverfish
So, if you’re sick of sharing your home with unappealing freeloaders who make you feel queezy, call in S.W.A.T.!
*To book online, click on ‘Contact’ Tab and fill out your details in message. Please specify preferred date and time of treatment and your voucher number.
Well, let me correct Scoopon’s INCORRECT information they advertised which I have noticed as of TODAY Scoopon have ALTERED the T&C’s.
- You CAN’T call the 1300 number to make a booking, because their message bank is usually full or no one picks up.
- On their website there is NO BOOKING FORM, but a flimsy contact us form.
-
*To book online, click on ‘Contact’ Tab and fill out your details in message. Please specify preferred date and time of treatment and your voucher number.
The merchant said she required the FULL ADDRESS to make a booking - which you only staed DATE, TIME and VOUCHER NUMBER.
And that is exactly what I had submitted to them last week.
I received reply saying “what is your full address?”
I replied and since then never heard back until I chased!
I didn’t send ONE, not TWO, but THREE emails chasing for an answer and got the reply “what is your address”
I submitted my address a total of 4 times.
In my 4th reply, I typically said I wanted to finalise this by COB today - is it wrong to ask for a timeframe when you have been given the run around for over a week??
I was asked to re-submit another email so the operator can have everything in ONE email. I did so but this time it was missing the voucher number - which she had in the first email already.
I called and left a message voicing my disstatisfaction and what did I get? A Crazy operator calling me twice without leaving messages when I was on another call and the 3rd call I got accused of not having common sense for not providing my full address in the intial contact us form. She said it was my fault for missing two of her calls today, I told her she could’ve left a voicemail she said “no excuses” >> This operator is nuts!
I tried explaining to this operator:
- Full address per SCOOPON’s instructions were NOT REQUIRED.
- On their contact us form it was NOT MANDATORY for address.
- I was making an enquiry of availability not asking for an immediate booking,
From this experience I have several issues:
1. Scoopon diliberately altering their website after receiving my first complaint to take out the phone 1300 instruction. - How lucky am I to have printed off your landing page on the 31st Jan 2011 and am able to send a copy to Fair Trading.
2. Scoopon, do you check the integrity of your merchants? I have since googled SWAT and Whirpool Forums has a thread about buying from Scoopon and telling people that booking in a voucher is at the mercy of SWAT?? What the??
3. I clearly did what was asked but your merchant couldn’t even be bothered reading emails carefully - how can I trust they will do a good job?
Scoopon HAS made mistakes:
1. Not giving consumers correct instructions by directing calls to 1300 number - if I were to know that it was online bookings only, I would’ve smelt a rat straight away and most likely would not have purchased this.
2. Both Scoopon and Merchant have FAILED to provide full instructions on how to book this in - this DOES INCLUDE making Address column mandatory on their site - if this is a MUST have for my enquiry to be processed not “You should have common sense”
The lesson learned:
1. Don’t buy from Scoopon
2. If you buy, make sure you print the landing page, t&c’s on the day you buy the deal to avoid them altering things when they know they are in trouble.
3. Google/Check the merchant and look for feedback before buying deals.
Finally, I have noticed SWAT Aggressively listing daily deals on various other sites such as Cudo and Our Deal >> the alarm bell is they are so inefficient to fulfill ONE Voucher, I wonder how many are in the same boat? and with their level of POOR Service… what if they go bust?
Stay Away from Scoopon and S.W.A.T. Pest Solutions
Since then the owner of SWAT has contacted me trying to beg me to come to my place and explained that he was overwhelmed by new customers from the deals etc etc… I was promised a refund.
To this date:
SWAT Called me again on FRIDAY and said he was trying to contact his sales rep to process a refund
Scoopon - no word from them except for that stupid email they sent everyone about Telstra - interesting enough I work for Telstra and checked about the phone problem Scoopon mentioned - and there was no such thing!!
So… if you are a merchant Scoopon will scam you into using their site to promote your business. They don't care if you can handle the load… because they are a scam. When things don't turn out right, they continue scamming you and leave the merchant on his own to handle the matter.
As a consumer - anything you buy on their site you have a high chance of experiencing problems and when things don't turn out (i.e. unable to make a booking) you are not entitled to a refund - even if Scampon are the idiots who have scamed you into the deal and later on changed the Terms and Conditions on their website.
STAY AWAY!
I have now had to take them to the ACCC and Fair Trading (and I know I am not the only one!)… all this for one mistake BUYING FROM SCAMPON!
Hi elbek,
Thanks for your post.
Can I ask if you have contacted our support team via [email protected] ?
If so, can you please provide the ticket ID of your query - it will look like ABC-123456.
If we are unable to resolve your query with our deal provider, we will be happy to assist you further with a refund of your purchase cost.
Our Scoopon community is our number 1 priority, so we would like to help you out with your concerns as quickly as possible - we kindly ask all customers to contact us via the [email protected] email address as we are unable to provide support to your queries through a public forum.
Kind Regards,
Team Scoopon.