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Groupon Cash Refunds Overview:
- Who: Groupon may have to start issuing cash refunds for customers who have problems with certain orders.
- Why: The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says it found evidence that Groupon should have been issuing full refunds to customers instead of offering credits to customers.
- Where: Should Groupon be forced by the CMA to offer cash refunds, it will apply to all consumers in the UK.
Groupon has been giving credits instead of refunds or replacements when customers have problems with certain orders, potentially breaking the law, a UK consumer watchdog has found.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had found evidence that Groupon had been stiffing its customers on deserved refunds, offering Groupon “credits” instead, the Guardian reports.
“Groupon must swiftly step up and do right by its customers if it wants to avoid court action,” CMA Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli said in an Aug. 9 press release.
The website is known for its deals on all sorts of products and services, from homegoods, to beauty treatments, to entertainment experiences.
However, some customers have reportedly been frustrated by the company’s service in the past, complaining that it’s been difficult to get a refund from the company when the product or service does not meet what was advertised.
According to CMA, the authority investigated Groupon UK and has recently written to the company outlining its concerns.
“Following its investigation, the CMA has found evidence that Groupon does not always provide customers with the refunds and other forms of redress, such as replacement items, to which the CMA considers they are legally entitled,” the authority said.
It said, as well as potentially breaking consumer protection laws, Groupon UK could be in breach of pledges it made in the past to ensure information on its website is not misleading and to comply with customers’ legal cancellation and refund rights.
The CMA said it was also concerned that Groupon was failing to ensure that purchased vouchers can always be redeemed within the advertised periods, that descriptions of goods and services are accurate, that products are in stock and delivered within the advertised timeframes, and that customer service is satisfactory when customers contact them about problems.
Groupon told the Guardian it was planning to cooperate fully with the CMA.
“We take the outcome of the investigation very seriously and will be carefully reviewing the CMA’s findings,” it said in a statement.
Groupon UK is registered in the UK as MyCityDeal Limited. In addition to MyCityDeal Limited, the CMA said it is writing to other relevant entities within the Groupon corporate group that it considers to have engaged in conduct that breaches consumer law, including Groupon Goods Global GmbH (registered in Switzerland) and Groupon, Inc (registered in the USA).
In 2019, Groupon faced a class action lawsuit in the United States that challenged the company’s practice of allegedly using Instagram photos and usernames. Plaintiffs alleged Groupon used a widget to pull Instagram photos tagged with locations that had Groupon advertising deals, in order to advertise those deals.
Have you used Groupon? Let us know your experiences in the comments!
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