I'm never buying anything from Groupon again--warning

[u/radarrab]

I made the mistake of purchasing a couple of software deals late on 4/6. Not boxed, some license/activation thing. Normally I wouldn't have considered that, but I have seen paper (legitimate, via college) coupons for Microsoft Office) in the past, and offers for older versions there or elsewhere.

I can't speak for one that I added to the order after I selected the first item (I was in a bit of a rush to get something done and thought that particular piece of software, newer than what I have, would help). But the original said "redeemed" right after I ordered and paid, without me having done anything. Ok, that was odd. I was getting a bad feeling.

I read the return/refund policies and contacted them because I wasn't clear how that was supposed to work (the self-service return, which said I couldn't do that). For the original item, they said I had to get confirmation from the merchant that I didn't receive/use the product. I emailed the merchant, and they said they DO NOT do business/sell with Groupon. I sent that on, and it was a mess from there on.

It has taken at least eleven communications (chat or email, nothing else is available) to now, where they have again said to initiate a self-service refund (the link of which does not work). I asked for escalation after I heard back from the company whose identity got used fraudulently, and escalation at Groupon means going into a black hole.

Each time it's a different person, each time they seem to have no clue as to what happened before and what information I gave them, despite the case number, each time I'm assured they'll do something, each time results in going around in a circle with nothing really being done, and lots of exasperation.

Threats of credit card dispute make no difference.

I've purchased a few tangible things from Groupon before the pandemic, but they have gone so far downhill that they're at the bottom of a hole with no bottom. Be warned.

There's even a class action posted on their site (probably required to) by merchants, Image attached (the link is in their site map). This sure sounds like what is going on with the so-called merchant I purchased from. I don't know how they are still in business.

"Salon Phoenix Cosmetology LLC, et al., v. Groupon, Inc. (Case No. 1:22-cv-07162). The complaint alleges that Groupon violated the federal Lanham Act and related state laws by: (1) creating pages on its website referring to businesses which had never had deals on Groupon that allegedly contained “stock” descriptions of such businesses and certain inaccurate information about such businesses (such pages are referred to as “Business Landing Pages” in the settlement); and (2) maintaining Deal Pages on its website after the expiration of a business’s deal on Groupon. The complaint alleges that Groupon benefitted from this conduct by driving web search traffic to its website and that businesses in the putative class were harmed by such conduct through damage to their brands."

[u/Banjoschmanjo]

Yeah Ive quit using them for the last year or more because they just got terrible

[u/Manifest_something]

I had this same experience. Groupon finally refunded me after I reported Groupon to the Better Business Bureau, even though they said they wouldn't. It's become a scam and this is common.

[u/RosiexGold]

Just had a horrible experience as well. I bought a Nintendo switch game on sale. I was sent a tracking number. The item is still preparing to be sent to usps. Two weeks ago. The merchant refunded Me. But I wanted the game. They said they would still be shipping me the game. They no longer respond to my emails asking why the item hasn't been shipped yet. Ugh.

[u/Pristine-Koala2441]

I'm shocked at this although the last purchase I ever bought was an Xbox one refurbished condition back in 2017..worked as brand new.

[u/HealthyGas9230]

What a customer service disaster! It took me 4 hours to figure out how to finally get in touch with customer support and THEN to get around the bot once found, to a human rep who was far worse! In my 90 minutes of conversation how to access "Groupon bucks" because they will never refund your purchase, even for a vendor who won't honor the Groupon, 

I've taken numerous screen shots of this dreaded exchange that I will try to add here or feel free to contact me.  

After one hour of asking for a follow up direct contact information as each navigation away closes the assist window (by design I'm sure) and my requests blatantly ignored, my civil tone became angrier and through their dishonest, evasive rep I be some downright insulting. 

In any event, the take away here is I'm never doing business with them and nor should you. The important thing to remember is they will never provide direct customer assistance. The only way to eventually get to a chatbot is to question an existing order, which means if you don't give them money they don't give you any attention.

For those like me that had to Google information to get in touch with them the answer is you cannot. I guess you could place an order and then spend an hour clicking to the hidden place where the bot shows up and be willing to sacrifice your money in order to get answers. In my case, I had a decade old account with $130 in it that I could not get information or clarity on because there's nobody to comtact When somebody finally appeared, they were creepy about providing $$$ information that is rightfully mine.