Groupon refuses to give refunds to hundreds of customers

Hundreds of customers have criticised Groupon for refusing to give refunds on orders that it cannot honour.

The discount e-commerce site is being inundated with complaints, with some users claiming to be out of pocket by hundreds of pounds, while the company appeared to close its customer service line.

Groupon has now apologised, after claiming that due to the coronavirus crisis it can only offer store credits – which many customers do not want.

Dad-of-two Matthew Williams forked out £350 for a new double bed for his daughter but when it didn’t arrive the company refused to refund him, instead offering ‘Groupon credits’. The telecoms worker claims he was forced to contact them every day until they stopped responding entirely – leaving him wondering if he would ever see his money again.

Essential worker Shannon Cooke, 27, worked extra shifts to afford ‘nice things’ for her young family, including a £320 set of garden furniture she purchased on the website in April.

The mum-of-three claims she was later informed Groupon had cancelled her order but would not be giving her the money back, issuing credit instead – leaving her hundreds of pounds out of pocket.

When she reached out to customer service via live chat, a Groupon staff member stated: ‘Unfortunately, as a result of COVID-19, under our policy we are unable to offer a refund to your original form of payment.

‘We know the coming months will be difficult for local businesses, and we want to support them by showing them that when their doors reopen, Groupon customers will be ready.

‘Your credits will be valid for a full 12 months and can be used towards almost any purchase on our site, so you’ll have plenty of time to find another deal that works for you.’

Across social media, hundreds of disgruntled customers complained about Groupon’s new policy, which the company claimed was ‘as a result of Covid-19’.

Mr Williams and Ms Cooke are both unable to pay for a replacement after making a ‘significant investment’ through the discount website.

Ms Cooke, from Deal, Kent, explained: ‘They said “we’re really sorry, we’ve had to cancel it”.

‘When I asked for my refund, they said “we’re not offering refunds at the moment – we can only issue Groupon [credits]”.

‘I said I didn’t want that. I’ve been emailing them back and forth and they seem to have stopped emailing me back a couple of days ago. I had to speak to them to find out they’d cancelled it.’

Another Groupon customer from Kent, ‘Matthew’, 41, also he claims Groupon stopped responding to his messages asking for answers.

He explained: ‘I’m a key worker working in telecoms. My wife is nurse working for the NHS and we’re having to battle to get what we’re entitled to.

“I’ve been putting posts up daily trying to chase [Groupon] down and get some engagement from them. They just give you generic contact email addresses but they never reply.’

Matthew continued: ‘When I said “I need the money back”, they claimed too much time had elapsed and I wasn’t entitled to a refund – but it was them who had asked me to wait longer.

‘When you phone up to complain, they tell you “sorry, there’s no one answering calls”.’

After Groupon were contacted by journalists, Matthew and Ms Cooke were given a full monetary refund.

A Groupon spokesperson claimed the customers were always ‘in line for a refund’, despite both being told previously they would not receive one.

They said: ‘These are unprecedented times and our teams are receiving a large number of inbound customer enquiries.

‘The customers highlighted (Matthew and Ms Cooke) were in line for a refund prior to your email to us, I have asked for this to be processed asap and for them to be contacted and updated.’

‘We sincerely apologise for the delay and inconvenience caused, this is not the level of service our customers should expect from us.’

They continued: ‘With regards to other issues, as a marketplace that connects consumers with merchants and vendors, our refund policies and the type of refunds that we provide to our customers – whether it’s cash or credit – can vary by category, merchant, and circumstances of the particular transaction.

‘We always strive to deliver the best possible customer service, even during these more challenging times and urge any customer to get back in touch with us if their issue is not resolved.’

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