Hi
Just found out Groupon have been charging me foreign transaction fees. The most recent was a $2.10 foreign transaction fee on a $75 purchase.
Has this happened to anyone else?
Is this another global corporate giant avoiding tax with offshore schemes? If so, it makes me think twice about using them again. Governments need to stop these loopholes as less tax = less public services such as healthcare and education.
Are you sure that it's not your financial institution screwing you?
Its not GroupOn, but your bank.
just sent email to groupon they will refund slightly more than your actual loss (their way to apologise)
Yep, can confirm they refund. Groupon blames your bank - not all banks charge the additional fees as a friend and I bought deals at the same time and I got charged (NAB) and she didn't (not sure which bank….sorry!).
On some of their holiday offers - it can be quite significant (our fee was around $90!)
Thanks guys. Have taken your advise and email Groupon.
It annoys me if they are not paying GST but if this is an error, that's fair enough.
It is still happening. I bought a local dinner voucher for $119.00 and was charged $3.57AUD Overseas TXN Fee from GROUPON ZURICH.
yeah. blame your bank.
Well, no, if I had known that Groupon use an international bank for their Australian transactions I would have chosen another method of payment and avoided the overseas charge.
Groupon refunded the money today after I emailed them a screenshot of my bank account showing the charge.
Its all in their FAQ section. You shouldn't be surprised.
You are right, the FAQ reads:
"Our payments are processed via an overseas gateway and FROM TIME TO TIME, your financial institution or payment provider may charge you an additional fee for transacting with us because of this. If this happens to you, please contact our Customer Care team with a screenshot of the fees that you were charged, and they will attend to the problem."
Seems strange that it is pot-luck whether you get the extra charge or not, that doesn't sound right.
I think that if you are going to Groupon through Cash Rewards you will be charged in $US.
I got hit with $2.25 overseas transaction fee, submitted a query on Groupon and was contacted by customer service the next day via email. They offered $5 Groupon credit or refund of $2.25 if you show them screenshot of the fee on your account. Given I use Groupon a lot, I just opted for the credit.
A friend of mine got stung with a $55.50 fee recently via this. Groupon are real PITA's - when a refund was requested they advised,
"…Our refunds are processed as a reverse transaction meaning the refunded amount will appear in your bank account with the date that you purchased the Groupon voucher. Please be advised that it may take up to 10 business days for the funds to be received and if you are unable to locate your refund after this period, please do not hesitate to contact us."
Now with all due respect thats just bullshit, why on earth would it take 10 days from the day they make the refund transfer till it appears in your account.
So cut a long story short the refund has still NOT ARRIVED - the bank has been contacted but I highly doubt they can clarify and Groupon has refused to state why it takes 10 days to have their ALLEGED transfer appear - I strongly suggest they just delay the transfer for 10 days so they can hold onto the funds longer.
Piss poor that they don't clearly state that these fees can be incurred (honestly get an Australian bank account you jerks! It's not that hard!) instead of hiding it away in their T&C's….and then when asked to refund the money do so in a proper, timely manner.
FWIW did you know that of the people that cop this fee apparently less than 1% of them actually seek a refund - very dodgy practice and whilst Groupon may NOT be actually getting the funds they're being negligent in not sorting out a problem they've known about for years!
I believe they will refund this, but you need to email them. Look at their FAQ