[REOPENED] Scoopon dispute - False Advertising - What is your opinion?

benjamin on 04/04/2011 - 16:19

Here is a link to what I bought:
http://www.scoopon.com.au/deals/1642/

It advertises "Your choice of mains from a tantalising special menu!" and "Take a sneak peek at the MENU" with a link to their full menu. It also provides a link to their full menu in the main description.

I took this to mean their menu is special and I could choose a main from their menu. However, it apparently means that I have one of five limited choices for the main meal, most of which are pasta and obviously cheapies. It does not make any mention that the 'tantalising special menu' is not the menu that is linked to twice in the advertisement

Scoopon think I am in the wrong and wont refund my Scoopon purchase as they say it is clear what I purchased. I disagree. I am considering initiating a CC chargeback, complaining to external organisations etc, so would appreciate your opinions on this.

Thanks

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  • benjamin on 04/04/2011 - 16:22
    +3

    This is the Scoopon menu http://www.jamthebistro.com.au/scoopon.html
    It is a link found on the main Jam the Bistro page, not from the Scoopon advertisement (that links to the main menu). It is also not found on the Jam Main Menu that Scoopon directly links to.

  • andy19363 on 04/04/2011 - 16:25
    +3

    hmmm…… I agree with you…….
    Extremely misleading

  • RandomNinja on 04/04/2011 - 16:56
    +5

    I think you definitely have a case with Dept of Fair Trading. If Jam Bistro was going to restrict your choices to a special menu, it should have been made clear on the Scoopon website. Without disclosing what the special menu is upfront, you are not being advised on what you are actually purchasing.

    The fact that Scoopon links to the full menu implies that this is what you should be able to choose from. I was actually looking at the same deal for when I went to visit Adelaide last month and I was under the impression that I could choose form the main menu…

    You could also speak to Jam and state that Scoopon did not advise what the special menu was on the site. See if the restaurant is able and willing to give better customer service?

  • finance on 04/04/2011 - 17:30
    +3

    the menu is completely different to their normal menu.
    if that's not what they were offering then there shouldn't be a link to it.

    how would you know there's is a different menu scoopon was referring to, considering what they are showing you.

    i would be under the impression that's its a play on words, that their menu is 'special' compared to others.
    i would print the page and collect all evidence. before scoopon decide to change it up.

    if you really want a refund, i think you should fight it. any reasonable person would've understood it as you have.

    i think its not a bad deal if you have a friend who can drink all night ;)

    it would be funny if they limited your wine bcos your are drinking too much.
    Then u can have your meal and get a refund, cause they didn't keep up their end of the offer of ulimited wine!!!

  • issh on 04/04/2011 - 17:36

    What is your opinion?

    businesss usual about it

    about the menu, read a thread about somewhere
    where the menu was changed

  • arcticmonkey on 04/04/2011 - 17:49
    +1

    I would be initiating a chargeback straight away if that was the response I received. I would also call Fair Trading.

  • voteoften on 04/04/2011 - 22:43

    It looks like they have changed that link to show 5 mains only. I hope you saved a copy. The fact that they changed the link supports your case in that they recognise it was wrong to link to a full menu.

    • andy19363 on 04/04/2011 - 22:49

      huh?…. still shows the normal jam menu for me…

      • voteoften on 04/04/2011 - 23:17

        Hey, sorry, my bad. I read the thread and then went back up for the link. I stand corrected.

  • Davo1111 on 05/04/2011 - 00:55
    +1

    screenshot it first. use "doPDF" to print the page as a pdf file.

    ACCC wont do anything, Office of Fair Trading will advise you how to proceed.

    Imho you have a case. 'Special' is either an adjective or a noun, but by putting a menu there implied is an adjective. I think you're right

  • benjamin on 05/04/2011 - 07:25

    Thanks for your opinions. I have started the charge-back process but I am still hoping to get it resolved through Scoopon.

    I mean even if the options were similar to the menu I would be ok with it, but they are obviously lesser.

    For example, from the main menu:
    Chicken Ballantine wrapped with pancetta and served on a potato and leek puree with panfried broccolinni heads and a burnt sage and butter sauce - 28

    But for the Scoopon menu it is simply
    Chicken Ballantine with a musroom and herb farce and served on gnocchi romana with broth.

    The pictures they show in the advertisement as well also have nothing to do with the options they are presenting.

  • voteoften on 05/04/2011 - 09:25
    +1

    How did you find out about the Scoopon menu? Was it when you called to book or did you actually go in to the restaurant?

    Even if you do a chargeback, I think you should complain to the Dept of Fair trading/consumer protection. Whatever it is called in your state. Here in WA they can be very proactive. Enough complaints about enough of these dodgy deals will force some sort of improvement.

    • arcticmonkey on 05/04/2011 - 13:33

      Exactly - people need to complain if this sort of treatment is common otherwise nothing will be done.

  • benjamin on 05/04/2011 - 10:45

    I found it by chance by accessing the front page of the Jam-the-Bistro site (Scoopon bypasses this page with their link to the main menu and I dont think the link was there at all when the Scoopon was booked).

    These are the responses so far:

    ——- number one ———-

    Dear Benjamin,

    Thank you for your email.

    On the deal page, in the highlights sections of the offer, the following is stated.

    'Your choice of mains from a tantalising special menu!'

    The resturant menu is attached for your reference so you can gain further understanding regarding what the venue offers.

    When a purchase is made, you agree to the deal as it is stated on the original deal page.

    With this is mind we are unable to assist you with your request for a refund.

    Should you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

    Kind Regards,
    Sally
    Team Scoopon

    ———— number two —————-

    Dear Benjamin,

    Thank you for your email.

    Unfortunately, we are unable to assist your request for refund.

    At the time of your purchase, you have accepted the terms and conditions listed on our website. In line with these standard terms and conditions (please see link below) we are unable to provide a refund of your purchase due to accidental purchase, a change of mind, inability to use your Scoopon before the expiry date or as the full terms and conditions of the Scoopon offer have not been read properly.

    http://www.scoopon.com.au/pages/terms-and-conditions

    However, all Scoopons are transferable unless stated otherwise. A friend or family member can redeem your Scoopons even if your name appears on the printout.

    Just check 'The Fine Print' & 'Highlights' on the deal page for any offer you are interested in to see if any restriction on this function applies.

    Should you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

    Kind Regards,
    Sally
    Team Scoopon

    • arcticmonkey on 05/04/2011 - 13:36
      +1

      I purchased a voucher from Cudo and had an incident at a restaurant. Cudo immediately refunded me with pretty much no questions asked.

      Guess what? Whilst being turned away from a restaurant was an inconvenience, I now have confidence in Cudo that if something goes wrong, I can rely on their customer service. As a result, I continue to purchase their vouchers.

      If I got a response like the one above, I wouldn't touch the group site again.

    • anthony on 15/04/2011 - 00:10
      +1

      n line with these standard terms and conditions (please see link below) we are unable to provide a refund of your purchase due to accidental purchase, a change of mind, inability to use your Scoopon before the expiry date

      I have seen scoopons for sale which have had thousands of people purchase them however the conditions have said that the store will only accept a set number of scoopon customers per day, then when i have looked at the expiry date of the scoopon it is impossible for every scoopon customer to use their scoopon before it expires.

      I wonder what happens if you are one of those people?

      • voteoften on 15/04/2011 - 01:06

        Too bad apparently. There were a number of beauty deals in Perth where they are only accepting one or two a day. One isn't accepting bookings at all, even though the deal expires in Feb 2012. The manager will call me in a month to talk about scheduling. These businesses are really shooting themselves in the foot because the voucher holder is "hot" when they try to book. If you have to book 6 months out and are then treated like crap, how likely is it that you will buy extra services or products?

  • voteoften on 05/04/2011 - 16:35

    Jump on It refunded me when a dodgy hot chocolate seller in Carlton changed their offering. No problems.

  • benjamin on 05/04/2011 - 18:47

    Just received another email from Scoopon, saying they will refund the purchase. I dont know whether it was from being persistant, having started the chargeback process, or getting bad publicity. I am happy they did the right thing eventually but it is still worrying it took so much effort in order to get it. I will make sure I am VERY careful when ordering these deals in the future.

    I still have a $15 style cut with massage and Morrocan shampoo, $15 two Gourmet pizzas, $1 Coffee and cake, $10 Gourmet chocolate box, and $29 massage to look forward to when I visit Adelaide next fortnight!

    Thanks for everyones advice and support.

    • Davo1111 on 05/04/2011 - 22:27

      marked as resolved

    • anthony on 15/04/2011 - 00:07

      Just received another email from Scoopon, saying they will refund the purchase. I dont know whether it was from being persistant, having started the chargeback process

      It had to do with the chargeback process.

      When you start a chargeback the merchant is told that a chargeback has been started and is given 2 options
      1. Refund you and the chargeback goes away
      2. Do not refund you, have the matter investigated and when the chargeback is revolved against the merchant the merchant has your money taken away from them and they are charged a chargeback fee by the bank.

  • RandomNinja on 05/04/2011 - 22:23
    +1

    Glad you got the refund. It certainly doesn't do Scoopon any favours when you have to complain multiple times before getting the outcome you should have gotten the first time you asked.

    I personally won't touch Scoopon anymore because of these kind of situations.

  • benjamin on 08/04/2011 - 12:42

    sigh Now they are saying I booked through a credit card number that I dont even have (and thus cannot process the refund), and are not responding to emails to try to rectify it.

    • Scoopon on 11/04/2011 - 14:32

      Hi benjamin,

      Our support team has just sent through an email with an update on your query.
      If you haven't received this, please advise so we can resend the email advice.

      Kind Regards,
      Team Scoopon.

  • voteoften on 11/04/2011 - 14:47
    +4

    Looks like the only way to solve these problems is to go public. How sad.

  • vsia2165 on 19/04/2011 - 10:41
    +1

    re benjamin

    i really think u need to complain complain complain

    i'm up to email number 2..hope fully by email number 3 i'll get a refund

    but its 280 all up so i doubt they'll do it

  • Deridas on 05/05/2011 - 22:44
    +1

    Hi Benjamin, did you end up getting your refund back? :O

    • benjamin on 06/05/2011 - 08:05
      +1

      Yeah, received. I think it was the Charge-back that did it and complaining here that sped it up

      • janeymac on 06/05/2011 - 12:56
        +1

        Glad you got your refund. I bet many people quit the refund process after the first or second rejection email from scoopon.

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