Groupon Offer $259 Credit Instead of a Refund

hibbo on 24/09/2016 - 23:23

Hi, I purchased a $259 voucher for a Rottnest stay. Within 24hrs of the purchase I contacted Groupon to cancel.No booking was made with the merchant.

The purchase was made on the 8th Sept. Groupon acknowledged receipt of the cancellation request by email on 9th Sept.

I've received several emails from Groupon thanking me for my patience. Today they offered $259 Groupon credit.

My understanding of the fine print, is that I am entitled to a refund.

Becoming aware of a 15% Groupon discount offer, on Ozbargain, was the reason for cancellation. I repurchased and have since used the voucher purchased at the reduced price.

All advice will be gratefully received,

Thanks Hibbo.

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closed Comments

  • spackbace on 24/09/2016 - 23:40
    +2

    My understanding of the fine print, is that I am entitled to a refund.

    How so? You bought, then you decided you wanted a refund. Groupon wasn't at fault, nor was the deal provider

  • minniethemoocher on 25/09/2016 - 00:08
    +1

    They do that as the first offer, just reply back you want a refund instead. They should be able to arrange it.

  • ChillBro on 25/09/2016 - 00:17

    It's odd how your experience differed from mine.

    I bought something for a similar price and even made a booking but all I had to do was give them a call and they cancelled it and refunded me instantly via Paypal. This was after a week too.

    Try calling, emails are not very effective.

    • hashtagbargain on 25/09/2016 - 00:58
      +1

      In my experience, calling groupon is equally ineffective.

      The front line staff have no power whatsoever and everything has to be escalated to someone senior (that takes days). Everyone you deal with is based in Manila and will make you listen through every line on their script. I had the worst time on the phone being on hold and being told someone will look into it later. Apart from this were dozens of emails (all templates) sent to establish "communication".

      Scoopon's customer service is 100x better. I rarely buy from groupon anymore.

  • [Deactivated] on 25/09/2016 - 07:01

    If they won't refund, try raising a dispute with PayPal or credit card provider.

  • supnigs super skids on 25/09/2016 - 10:29

    I must admit this is quite unfair in gentleman terms for groupon.

    you are essentially an 'indian giver' by example.

  • spychiatrist on 25/09/2016 - 13:02

    Change of mind does not entitle you to a refund. Plenty of items to buy in Groupon, that credit will be used in no time

  • Ughhh on 25/09/2016 - 13:24

    You're not entitled to a cash refund. Since its a change of mind, you're lucky to get a credit refund.

  • hibbo on 25/09/2016 - 19:57

    Sorry for my late response. My wife and I are currently making our way around this fine country and communication has at times been difficult.

    My sentiments, after reading both sides of the discussion are, I may have erred in cancelling so as to purchase at a better price and I have no legal entitlement to a refund.

    Accepting the credit may be the way to go ?

    At 66 years of age I've never been labelled an 'indian giver' nor thought of myself as one. I am curious to know whether I am alone on this forum in behaving this way during a commercial transaction, or is it common practise ?

    Thanks for all advice, both positive and negative.

    Hibbo

    • Ughhh on 25/09/2016 - 20:46

      You're not entitled to a cash refund because its a change of mind. This applies to other products too, like clothes and electronics from all stores/business' in Australia. Some stores allow cash refund, but thats under goodwill rather than you being legally entitled to it. If the product was faulty or does not do as described, then you are entitled to a refund.

      Legally, Groupon isn't required to even give you a credit refund for the reasons above. Though they have a policy to refund if the merchant can't offer you the deal, but that's not the case here. Consider yourself lucky to receive a credit refund. If you're still confused with your rights and what you're entitled to, I suggest you look up ACCC.

  • hibbo on 25/09/2016 - 23:12

    Thanks for sharing your knowledge Ughhh.

    The following is an extract from Groupon's site. It was after reading this I decided it okay to cancel.Have I misread it ?

    "Can I cancel my purchase?
    See our refund policies of the following types of deals:

    For all our Local voucher deals
    All of your Vouchers (unless otherwise stated in the Fine Print section) come with a “cooling off” period of 7 business days, during which we will be happy to refund to your method of payment as long as the voucher has not been used. After that 7 day period, we will not be able to provide a refund to your original payment method, but please feel free to contact our Customer Service team by clicking 'I still need help' if exceptional circumstances prevent you from using the Voucher.

    For Items sold by our Goods merchants
    Please note that our Goods deals carry the 'no refunds for change of mind' clause. You are however entitled to a refund should the product you receive have a major problem, as per the rights afforded to you under the Australian Consumer Law.

    For Groupon Travel deals
    Like our Local vouchers, unused travel vouchers can also be refunded within 7 business days (unless otherwise stated in the Fine Print section). If you need to cancel your booking due to extenuating circumstances, please let us know by clicking the 'I still need help' button and we will advise if this is possible.

    Was this answer helpful? Yes | No "

    Thanks in advance,
    Hibbo

    • Drifta on 26/09/2016 - 00:23

      Sounds like you should be able to get a cash refund with those terms. Send them a response email and quote those terms back to them. Otherwise I would raise a paypal/card dispute and give them those terms as evidence if asked (for PayPal mainly)

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