Someone on the group mentioned having bought something from Groupon - was it Sheena? I have been trying to buy something from them for about
7 weeks, without success.
The item (an ice cream ball - sounded fun for my VDGSs) was not available until 19 January, so I waited. When I looked to see what was happening, I found the voucher was valid only until 5 Jan!!!
Since then I have been trying to get the ball, or a refund, which had gone off my account immediately. When I wrote, they said click on this, that and the other, I clicked on this and that, but the other was not there to be used.
Today I've been trying to find out the status of my further query, but I'm told I'm not a member, so I try to sign up. No, someone of my emal address is already a member, so just login. I apply for a new password, but get nothing.
I know this is longwinded and off topic, but PLEASE, can someone tell me how I can get the ball, or my money back? I promise never to bother them again if they'll just refund the money!!!
I have never used Groupon and never will. I have had a few friends have luck with them, but I don't like the way they operate: --they contract with a business to "sell" dinners/memberships/coupons/gift-cards --Groupon keeps the money and issues the gift certificate for said item --the business' only benefit from the deal is the advertising and possibly increased foot traffic to their store/restaurant
There have been instances where a business has cancelled a contract with Groupon (upon discovering what is hidden in the legalese of their contract), and not honored the credit the customer has.... customer returns to Groupon for refund - only Groupon doesn't do refunds, only "store credit" for the customer to purchase more of their "product"...
And they're supposedly supposed to sell only "local" product/services... but people keep finding listings for large internet sellers not even in their area (saw a new report where someone in Billings, Montana, was looking for a specific product locally, they found the product offered on Groupon, in their area, but upon investigating it, it was through an internet seller located in San Francisco, California!)....
Me, neither. My life has a habit of taking rapid and unexpected U-turns. I did once hear about a one-day-only Groupon that would have appealed to me, but while I was still thinking about whether to spend the money, something came up that would've made it impossible to use. So I wouldn't buy a Groupon unless I could do it literally standing at the cashier of the business.
Besides, most of the ones that sound interesting are "buy 1, get 1 free" with no half-price option for us single gals who don't need a second dinner.
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Wow - this sounds a little crazy, and must be frustrating. I've had really good success with Groupon here in the US. No extra charges, no problems, ever. But, it can easily be difficult with e-mail trying to straighten out a problem.
In fact, when there was a problem with a purchase, they sent me a note asking me to update the cc, as it had not gone thru, with 5 days to do this, in order to complete my purchase (that particular offer was already closed). When I tried to do the edit, it seemed as if things didn't work - so I used the contact customer service function, wrote that I was concerned I either didn't get the Groupon, or had been charged. Within an hour, I actually received the auto "congratulations, your Groupon is available" note, and the same day got an e-mail from a person in customer service saying that it looked as if the problem had resolved. On another instance, with a "Groupon Now Deal" - those are only used on the same day, usually for some set of hours, like mid-day or evening, the Groupon didn't get turned in to them as being used, and I was automatically credited back for the purchase - which is their policy for the Now Deals.
So, here's my suggestion - twice I've had other questions for them about a purchase and I actually just called the customer service number that is on the bottom of the main Groupon web page. The rep was quite helpful, and the situations were readily resolved. In one instance the merchant hadn't responded as they were supposed to with supplying the material, and the Groupon people went back to them to make sure things happened correctly - it was resolved quickly.
It sounds as if your account with Groupon as a member may not have gotten fully registered, but I don't know. Are you sure that your payment method was charged? If so, then if you can call them, with a reference as to what date the purchase was attempted, and the charge they should be able to help you. Talking with someone may be less confusing than the e-mail thing. Let me know if you can't find the numbers or address to contact them.
Anyhow, we've been using Groupon for quite a while here in the DC area, and I've had good dealings with them. But, I did learn to pay attention to all the dates on the deals before I buy them. We did have one expire, and learned that the merchant must still honor the voucher at the price paid for it, although not the extra bonus - e.g. Paying $10 for $20 of services, after expiration is still worth $10. Exception being the Groupon Now deals, which if not used are automatically refunded ( I suspect they don't forward the $ to the merchant until the Groupon Now is used, therefore it can be refunded fully, as they're last minute deals). And now I list my account by expiration date!
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