Groupon Restaurant Cancelled Reservation – Grounds for Refund?

theoracle30 on 03/06/2020 - 12:47
Last edited 03/06/2020 - 12:54

I purchased a Groupon for a restaurant on 19 May and made an online reservation for 4 July. At the time of booking, the restaurant was accepting Groupon reservations through July.

Today, the restaurant has cancelled the July reservation and blocked out the whole month. There are now only 9 dates in August available through the Groupon Booking Tool, and none of them are suitable.

The reason given was "Due to COVID-19 related measures introduced by the government of Australia, we were forced to cancel your reservation."

The restaurant's own website is still taking bookings through June and July, though I can't yet confirm if the restaurant is still open.

I argued my case including the fact that the merchant cancelled the reservation and didn't have a suitable alternative. Groupon will only offer a credit because "voucher is outside cooling-off period".

Do I have any grounds to get a full refund (and what should I say/quote to get it)? The Groupon cost was $327, so it's not an insignificant sum of money.

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Comments

  • tsunamisurfer on 03/06/2020 - 12:52

    I'd be interested to know because I had raised a similar query and Groupon just denied all requests for refund or even credit.

  • PissLUR on 03/06/2020 - 12:52
    -1

    YES

  • barozgain on 03/06/2020 - 12:53
    +3

    My 2 cents in

    You paid for a groupon voucher NOT for a specific date so the restaurant cancelling the booked time doesn't sound like a reason groupon should refund

    However on goodwill basis they should refund so you can try arguing for a while with them until you are refunded

    • Hybroid on 03/06/2020 - 16:41
      +3

      Agreed with first part. They won't refund because the voucher is still valid for other dates so you're getting what you paid for. The fact the other dates aren't suitable or convenient isn't really Groupon's problem.

  • Jimmycfc on 03/06/2020 - 13:13

    Yeah good luck.
    I organised a groupon for my girlfriends birthday a year ago, paid for parking showed up at the restaurant and it had already been closed for renovations for a month.
    Groupon said sorry and refunded me my initial payment. Nothing for my parking which was $10 or any apologies over ruining my gf's birthday.
    Never again

    • ihbh on 03/06/2020 - 13:43
      +1

      Is she still your gf? :)

    • [Deactivated] on 03/06/2020 - 14:38
      -5

      Why didn't you call beforehand to confirm the reservation?

      • Jimmycfc on 03/06/2020 - 14:40
        +6

        Why would i need to?
        Why didn't Groupon know that the restaurant had already been closer for over a month?
        They are providing the service they should do the legwork not me

        • [Deactivated] on 03/06/2020 - 14:50
          +1

          Why would i need to?

          So you don't end up with egg on your face?

          I always call to confirm a reservation, especially if it's something as important as my SO's birthday.

          How did she take it?

          • trilby on 03/06/2020 - 15:00

            @[Deactivated]: It happens a lot - I always check google to see if it's still operating.
            Although after informing Groupon when a place is closed, most of the time the deal is still on the site many days after, so I sympathise with Jimmycfc - they should take it down once they know.

          • ThithLord on 03/06/2020 - 15:21

            @[Deactivated]: She must have been over the moon that they were using a Groupon that didn't eventuate, lmao

            • Jimmycfc on 03/06/2020 - 15:25

              @ThithLord: She was annoyed we couldnt eat at that restaurant, it actually never re-opened..
              Ended up going to a nicer steak restaurant instead

              • [Deactivated] on 03/06/2020 - 15:33

                @Jimmycfc: She still broke up with you though, didn't she?

                • Jimmycfc on 03/06/2020 - 16:50

                  @[Deactivated]: Turns out onion rings dont make good engagement rings

                  • [Deactivated] on 03/06/2020 - 16:54

                    @Jimmycfc: Were you going to ask her to marry you on her birthday at that groupon restaurant?! Sheesh mate, that sucks.

                    • Jimmycfc on 03/06/2020 - 17:18

                      @[Deactivated]: No i was joking about the onion rings, although they were really good at the steak restaurant.
                      Still together :)

                      • [Deactivated] on 03/06/2020 - 17:19

                        @Jimmycfc: Sounds like she's a keeper :)

  • samp e on 03/06/2020 - 13:22
    +1

    In a similiar situation except the restaurant has stopped accepting Groupon credit, I requested for a full refund of the amount. Groupon completetly ignored my message and gave me Groupon credit which I probably will never use since there's not much things that I'm intereted in to spend on the site…

    Probably won't use Groupon ever again…

  • holdenmg on 03/06/2020 - 13:41

    However, if the event, flight or travel service is cancelled due to government restrictions, consumer rights under the consumer guarantees may be impacted. In these situations consumers may be entitled to a refund under the terms and conditions of their ticket, or potentially may make a claim under a travel insurance policy.
    “Given the exceptional circumstances, the ACCC encourages all businesses to treat consumers fairly and compassionately,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
    https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/advice-on-event-and-tr…

    Contact the ACCC:
    https://www.accc.gov.au/contact-us/contact-the-accc/make-an-…

    • dizzle on 03/06/2020 - 15:09

      The key words there are "may" and "encourages". The ACCC have already made several rulings for things like travel cancellations that the airlines are within their rights to offer company credit

      If events, flights or other travel services such as cruises are cancelled, the ACCC expects refunds or other remedy such as a credit note or voucher will be offered in most circumstances.

      In particular with groupon, I think the terms and conditions (Admittedly I haven't read them) would say something like "in the event that a voucher cannot be redeemed on your requested day" then go on to offer credit or non-refundable clauses.

  • MynyMouqe on 03/06/2020 - 14:11
    +2

    Sounds like it's time to do a chargeback!

  • ssx on 03/06/2020 - 15:27
    +3

    Groupon did the same thing to me. I had to do a chargeback via paypal based on clause 3.9 here: https://www.groupon.com.au/terms_and_conditions

    Paypal closed the case in my favour and I received my money back.

    • Prince K on 03/06/2020 - 16:58
      +1

      I’m in the same boat but I paid with Amex, not PayPal. That clause mentions Groupon credit though, we is what they offered me. I will need to look at chargeback with Amex

      • ssx on 04/06/2020 - 16:45

        That is true but it is vague about when you will get a refund, or when you will get a credit. IMO the consumer should be allowed to choose since the cancellation was made by the merchant (and the clause isn't very specific).

  • spackbace on 03/06/2020 - 16:31
    +1

    Groupon are likely suffering the worse from the current situation, which will mean they're less likely to just freely hand the cash over and try to chase the restaurant.

    You likely do deserve to get the refund, just saying they'll dig their heels in.

    Though buying a Groupon in mid-May was a stupid decision…

  • Seraphin7 on 03/06/2020 - 17:43

    Buying anything that is "non-refundable" in the current climate is high risk. I'd normally lean towards a goodwill refund, but making the purchase in the middle of uncertain times is the classic caveat emptor.

  • lainey13 on 03/06/2020 - 20:57

    I have had a refund before but I had to wait until there were no reservation slots available, and push back hard when they offered a credit only. However they've cracked down hard on actual refunds lately and customer service has been terrible. So good luck…

  • artidentity on 04/06/2020 - 09:12

    I am in the same situation as you too. I received the same cancellation email 2 days ago however was declined a refund (not even a date extension to re-use the voucher) despite the fact that my reservation had been automatically cancelled twice by Groupon due to COVID-19. My voucher has expired since during the validity period while the restaurant is closed. I am planning to report to consumer affair. I just think its wrong that Groupon is taking the easy way out to take our money. Good luck btw.

  • SydneySwan on 04/06/2020 - 09:47
    +1

    I no longer buy anything from Groupon. They are just so difficult to deal with when a deal doesn't work out.

  • CL123 on 04/06/2020 - 10:12

    I had the same problem yesterday getting an email cancelling my reservation for this Saturday night and no other dates within validity available. I did online chat with Groupon and was offered credit but I insisted to know why this had happened and if it was the restaurant that had cancelled as it wasn't me. They said they would escalate this to their Resolutions team and get a response by email. I didn't get any email from Groupon but I did get an email from the Restiarant who advised the message I have pasted below. It was a Groupon system error and the restaurant took the action as stated in the email and I was able to rebook for the same day/time as usual and I noticed there were several other days and times available that weren't when I checked in the morning. More than likely this is exactly what happened with you so I would push Groupon to check this out or call the restaurant directly and ask if they are aware you got this cancellation email. They may still have your booking listed at their end. Hope this helps and good luck.

    "You may have an email notification saying that your recent Groupon booking for dining-in at Gold Coast Seafood and Steak has been cancelled.

    We would like to inform you that this cancellation was a system error from Groupon online booking system. According to Groupon, the error was related to recent COVID19 restriction and this will not happen again.

    Our restaurant is OPEN now.

    We would like to kindly ask to make a re-booking through Groupon online booking system because your booking has been removed due to the unexpected cancellation.

    We have requested to Groupon to restore your booking, but they said the re-booking must be done by the customers."

  • HeWhoKnows on 04/06/2020 - 20:12

    The restaurant has a right to do that.
    Contact Groupon and get a refund.
    Arguing the point here is not going to get you anywhere,

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