The truth about Groupon
Group buying websites promise to save you money, but do they really work or will you just end up spending more money on something you wouldn't have bought in the first place? Rebecca Rutt investigates.
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Group buying websites are becoming more and more popular but be wary – some of the deals are definitely too good to be true.
I've experienced this first hand.
On Groupon a £2.50 plant caught my eye, and worrying about losing out I bought one straightaway. In the rush I didn't notice the £5 delivery charge, and when it arrived it looked nothing like the photo.
I'm not the only one with a bad experience and there have been so many complaints that Groupon is now under investigation by the Office of Fair Trading for unclear advertising. The truth is these sites only work if you buy something you already wanted and as most of these deals are for luxury items – like holidays or meals out – they're not really saving you money but just tempting you to buy things you don't need.
If you use them, watch out for exclusions and read the small print – for example, don't assume you can book a fancy restaurant for your birthday just because you bought the deal. And be wary of buying anything too intrusive, such as teeth whitening or botox, and check out the company that offers the deal first as the quality may not be up to scratch.
Group buying websites can save you money if it is used properly but on the whole the exclusions and small print mean they will end up costing you more.
Yeah, I totally agree. I was caught out too, I ordered some chinese lanterns and had to pay £3.99 for delivery and still have not recieved them, I was hoping to set them off for New Years eve, I am so disappointed, I feel not only let down by the company suppling them but also by groupon for using unreliable companies in their offers. I certainly wont be using them again.
I purchased 3 microdermabrasion sessions at a salon in Baliff Bridge near Bradford for £30 (should have been approx £90). Purchasing them was simple and easy and I thoroughly enjoyed my sessions at the Salon. They were professional, friendly, safety conscious and treat me no differently I thought to anyone who would have paid the full price. I would definitely use them again and have booked some more at a discounted price from now on because of using them through Groupon. I agree I would be wary of purchasing anything to be delivered and also am aware I was maybe lucky with the Salon I used as some may not be as good. Maybe Groupon could look into using Mystery Shoppers to test places before they are accepted. I would definitely continue to usse Groupon but obviously carefully.
I discovered Groupon last year. Since then I have saved literally hundreds of pounds on gorgeous beauty treatments, items for the home, meals out at a fraction of the cost and even a trip to the dentist which saved me £30. If you are a moaner by nature, like KMAN, you will not benefit because something will always be wrong. The rest of us will continue to enjoy their fanatastic deals!
I've been using Groupon for almost a year now and have had some really good deals and excellent value for money, as always the devil is in the detail, so read the smallprint and if you're booking a hotel, check out reviews on it and you can't go far wrong!
We've had a couple of stays in Bournemouth hotels, which we really enjoyed and would never have gone to had we paid the normal hotel rate, I do think that the savings are slightly exaggerated but we still saved money. We've also had a barbeque meat pack from a good Kentish butcher & on Tuesday I had a facial and massage which was bliss.
I have used Groupon on several occasions for different things and have generally been happy with the results. One category exception has been the hotel accomodation offers (both UK), and on two recent occasions, despite vacancies on the providers website, Groupon Vouchers were refused due to lack of availability. Given that these breaks had been purchased several months previously, and that Groupon admitted to being aware of problems when advised, why did they not contact me to refund the costs before I discovered for myself that it was not being honoured?
I purchased a Central Heating Boiler Clean and Service from GROUPON last August. Found it very difficult to get in contact with Groupon to book engineer visit. They kept changing there telephone number. I eventually managed to pin them down to a day in December 2011 but guess what after arranging to wait in for engineer coming they did not show up! I was furious when later that day Groupon called to say the engineer would not be coming that day. No explanation. They said they would arrange another visit but that never happened. And they eventually slipped the payment back on to my credit card without another word to me. Complete con, and as my boiler still needed its yearly service to keep its manufacturers warranty it cost me extra having to get another company out to do the work urgently. And worst still I had recommended this offer to some friends and they never got the service either. Disgraceful service.
Do not get involved with this mob. Jeannie