Groupon False Advertising Conversation

frazel on 18/05/2017 - 19:04
Last edited 18/05/2017 - 21:38

I am interested in hearing peoples comments on Group On and their recent 15% site wide sale. So basically I purchased 5 tickets with the 15% discount the discount was only applied to 4 out of the 5 tickets.

Anyway I spoke to Group On customer service to see why. Here is the conversation…

EDIT:
I genuinely did not read the terms and conditions for the frenzy sale or the fine print on the tickets. From the past I have seen exclusions like gift cards. However I genuinely took the term site wide literally.

Edit:
advertisment is here.
https://img.grouponcdn.com/message-service/46ZJZhBbyzh5chdu8…

[Customer] Issue: My promotional discount didn't apply to my order
Deal concerned: Australian-outback-spectacular
[Siddhaarth S] Thank you for contacting Groupon. My name is Siddhaarth S
[Customer] Hi, I purchased 5 tickets yesterday and for some reason I got charged full price for one of the tickets on my credit card. The other 4 tickets were at the discounted price.
[Siddhaarth S] We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to you .
[Siddhaarth S] Please wait for two minutes while i pull your account.
[Customer] ok
[Siddhaarth S] Thank you for your patience with us.
[Siddhaarth S] We would like to inform you that the promo codes are not applicable for this deal.
[Customer] um yes they were
[Customer] the other 4 tickets were discounted
[Customer] the promo was 'site wide'
[Siddhaarth S] These deals run on high discounts already. We would like to inform you that the promo has been applied by an error.
[Siddhaarth S] We are sorry as we cannot have the discount refunded to you.
[Customer] can you please provide where it says this
[Customer] Because this says pretty clearly "IT'S A DEAL FRENZY: Extra 15% Off Sitewide"
[Siddhaarth S] We have mentioned the following on your fine print of the deal. We have mentioend them below for your reference
[Siddhaarth S] • Promo codes are not available for use on this deal
• Limit of 5 vouchers per person
• Valid for General A Category Seats only
• Select weekday (Tues-Fri, Sun) or weekend (Sat) option at time of purchase
• No refunds for change of mind
• Please note there is a $20pp surcharge payable to the merchant during the school holiday periods: 24-30 Jun 2017; July 1st-9th 2017; September 16th-October 1st 2017; December 9th-23rd 2017
• No surcharge fees applicable for child tickets
• Admission is free for children 2 years or under (not including seat and meal)
• Ticket is not transferable once issued or redeemable for cash and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer
• Standard fine print for all deals
[Customer] so your advertisement that says IT'S A DEAL FRENZY: Extra 15% Off Sitewide. Specifically the Sitewide part is false?
[Siddhaarth S] For certain deals such as the Australian Outback Spec, These codes do not work.
[Siddhaarth S] We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to you.
[Siddhaarth S] Is there anything else i can assist you with?
[Customer] One last question
[Siddhaarth S] Sure.
[Customer] Do you have the number for the people who I report false advertising to?
[Siddhaarth S] You can directly speak to our Customer Service Hotline on 1300 962 032. We're open 8am to 8pm(AET), Monday to Friday.
[Customer] I was referring to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, its OK. I'll Google it.
[Siddhaarth S] Thank you for contacting Groupon. Have a great day ahead!

Poll Options

  • 12
    This is false advertising
  • 42
    This is not false advertising
Archived

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closed Comments

  • KaTst3R on 18/05/2017 - 19:18
    +1

    Should capture some screen shots as evidence for your case later.

  • kywst on 18/05/2017 - 19:27

    How much you out of pocket? Tangibly that is … I know you can't put a price on butt hurt.

    • frazel on 18/05/2017 - 21:21

      $41 savings by accident then cash rewards. So no butt hurt here, more like lucky.

  • neil on 18/05/2017 - 19:30
    +12

    The deal says:

    • Promo codes are not available for use on this deal

    as the rep stated.

    T & C Page:

    Discount promo is not valid with Gift card deals, third party link-out deals, and selected deals below:
    Lindt Cafe
    Maximum discount amount is $40

    So if you got a discount on 4 tickets at $69, you received $41.40 of discount.

    Either way, you benefited either by $41.40 or $1.40 more than you should have. Not false advertisement.

    • frazel on 18/05/2017 - 21:18

      I dont see Australian Outdoor Spectaular there. Does it fall under third party link-out deals? WTF is third party link out deals.

      • spackbace on 18/05/2017 - 21:32
        +1

        Repeating what Neil said earlier: On the post for Outback Spectacular it states the following:

        Promo codes are not available for use on this deal

        Nothing to do with the Frenzy deal.

        And every banner for every sale that Groupon runs states "T's & Cs apply"

        • spackbace on 18/05/2017 - 21:41

          @frazel:

          sigh

          It doesn't matter! It's clear that promo codes shouldn't work with the deal you bought, you just got lucky

        • Almost Banned on 18/05/2017 - 22:44
          +3

          Yeah - no.
          It is illegal to advertise in big letters something like "Discounts apply to Everything"
          and then in tiny letters put
          "           by everything we actually mean not everything."
          In fact the ACCC specifically deal with this:

          Fine print and qualifications

          It is common practice for advertisements to include some information in fine print. This information must not contradict the overall message of the advertisement. For example, if an advertisement states that a product is ‘free’ but the fine print indicates some payment must be made, the advertisement is likely to be misleading.

          see https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/misleading-claims-advertis…

          People who aren't lawyers - even regulars and mods - shouldn't be opining on legal matters (of course OP shouldn't be seeking legal advice on a webpage).

        • frazel on 19/05/2017 - 17:20
          -2

          @blaircam: IMHO you're spot on.

          I was more curious to see if people thought the same as myself. According to the pole, they don't agree.

          I love Ozbargain, but I definitely would not come here for legal advice.

        • spackbace on 19/05/2017 - 18:49

          @frazel:

          but I definitely would not come here for legal advice.

          But… You did…

        • Olokun on 20/05/2017 - 08:46

          @Spackbace:

          OzBargain advice > Legal advice

  • Baebs on 18/05/2017 - 20:05
    +1

    It's interesting how it still worked for 4 of those tickets. Yes, if the 15% off code had failed in checkout, you would have saved money on the deal entirely however, you still win for receiving a discount for 4 tickets.

    I wouldn't bother with Fair Trading/ACCC, those lazy bastards never followed up from my report on Groupon blatantly selling counterfeit items which is much more serious than this.

  • Savas on 18/05/2017 - 20:25
    +3

    Nothing more I love than reading the transcript of an ignorant customer.

    • tomleonhart on 18/05/2017 - 20:30
      +2

      Wonder if OP will ever contact Siddhaarth S to apologise for his/her ignorance.

      I have a feeling that OP won't.

  • frazel on 18/05/2017 - 20:41
    +2

    So most people are saying its not false advertising. But their banner says site wide. It doesn't say site wide* or site wide with exclusions.

    I read site wide banner as site wide, no exceptions.

    • doweyy on 18/05/2017 - 20:45
      +1

      Your ignorance should not be an excuse for their advertising. You should know that sales usually come with exclusions and you should've researched before purchasing. Be happy that you actually saved more than you should have.

      • frazel on 18/05/2017 - 21:47

        ignorance?

        the advert https://img.grouponcdn.com/message-service/46ZJZhBbyzh5chdu8…

        cleary states the exclusion is lindt and gift cards.

        So if you saw an advert on TV saying closing down sale 25% off everything in store and you drove in to see, you would expect a bunch of stuff excluded? Really?

        • doweyy on 18/05/2017 - 21:50
          +1

          It clearly says "Cannot be used with another discount promo" which you have done.

        • frazel on 18/05/2017 - 21:52
          +1

          @doweyy:
          My understanding of cannot be used with another discount promo means you cannot use two discount promo codes. I didnt, I used just one, FRENZY.

        • spackbace on 18/05/2017 - 22:01
          +2

          @frazel:

          No Homers

        • whooah1979 on 19/05/2017 - 06:35
          +1

          So if you saw an advert on TV saying closing down sale 25% off everything in store and you drove in to see, you would expect a bunch of stuff excluded? Really?

          many consumers never read the t&c. here is one.
          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/307171

          then someone posts the t&c.
          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/307171#comment-4689710

        • Savas on 19/05/2017 - 16:40

          Everyone here is wrong, as Neil has said the discount is "UP TO $40"

    • Olokun on 19/05/2017 - 07:12

      The * is next to the 15% off. Did you not see the total price before checking out and agreed to that amount?

      • frazel on 19/05/2017 - 17:23

        Yea I believe all tickets showed the discount at time of purchase.

  • Heracles26 on 18/05/2017 - 21:46
    +1

    Life's too short, move on :)

    • frazel on 18/05/2017 - 21:49
      +1

      hahah yeah I dont really care about the money. Given that it was meant to be on the exclusion list, I count my self lucky. Im more interested and very surprised that IMHO that false advertising is acceptable.

      • Heracles26 on 18/05/2017 - 21:50
        +1

        I know and it is frustrating but just be glad you're in a position to even be worried about such things :) don't worry about it and enjoy the show!

  • Diji1 on 18/05/2017 - 22:37
    +2

    People really need to stop shopping in a frenzy when there's so much mayhem about.

  • eggles01 on 20/05/2017 - 15:31
    +1

    contact DEPT FAIRTRADING in your state or territory make sure you have all the documents etc
    good luck

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