huh? i thought with groupon you could always get face value of item purchased if you don't use it. no?

I had a negative experience with a Living Social merchant and LS was useless. I filed a complaint with the BBB and lo and behold, LS customer service responded and refunded my money. File a complaint--that's my advice.
I also never buy deals for companies that I've never heard of or for services that I think they can scam you on (eg I've read reviews on Yelp on salons that skimp on manicures etc that are offered thru these deal sites. One said they had only one manicurist to do Groupon appointments ---so guess what? It was impossible to get an appt and the service sucked.)

Anonymous wrote:I have gotten credits with both Living Social and Groupon without any problems. Some have been for places that have gone out of business and others have been because the retailer was completely rude and/or clueless about using expired certificates. But how can you really ask for a refund for something because you found it cheaper elsewhere? Or regarding the OP you can still get your carpets cleaned just not when you want? They can gurantee a service date. I would just wait until it expires then tell them you couldn't get the retailer to respond. Well I would have done that but now you probably can't.

OP here. I'm annoyed because I bought the voucher for a specific purpose and LivingSocial says the voucher can be used as soon as you receive confirmation of the voucher purchase. Yes, I am annoyed by that. But that is not why I am requesting the refund. I am requesting the refund because the merchant does not answer their phone and does not return phone calls. It has been over 2 weeks since I first called them. I have not hear back. At this point, I do not expect them to call me. That is why I am requesting a refund. I still need to get my carpets cleaned and I've already paid $135 for nothing.

I have gotten credits with both Living Social and Groupon without any problems. Some have been for places that have gone out of business and others have been because the retailer was completely rude and/or clueless about using expired certificates. But how can you really ask for a refund for something because you found it cheaper elsewhere? Or regarding the OP you can still get your carpets cleaned just not when you want? They can gurantee a service date. I would just wait until it expires then tell them you couldn't get the retailer to respond. Well I would have done that but now you probably can't.

Have you all tried Certifikid? We love them. It's all deals for kid stuff.

FYI On hotel deals, especially smaller ones and inns - call the hotel and you can probably get a better prices. If it's 200 how much do you think the hotel actually gets? Maybe 100-140, depending. If you offer 160 they may take you up on it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use Groupon only, they have a great refund policy whereby you don't deal directly with the merchant, they do.

I've had a bad experience with Groupon. I got 3 different quotes from tree cutters, and found a Groupon deal. The company that was advertised on Groupon gave me a quote that was 2x more than the other quotes, so there was really no deal involved. I would have been spending more money even with the Groupon deal. Groupon would not give ma a refund, but luckily, American Express sided with me, or rather, I think Groupon did not dispute it with AE.

I agree with this. Living Social had a deal for a B & B out in western VA or somewhere like that. They said the deal was a huge discount. I went on the website of the B & B and found that the actual rate by going right to them was the same or lower than the one offered by Living Social. So now, I always contact the hotel or B&B directly. I also bought a night at a hotel in Bethesda that was nothing like the way they advertised it on the deal. They described it as a French Boutique, but it turned out to be a dive hotel. That one was a Groupon deal.

OP here, I have heard from a friend that Living Social had good customer service. But the one time I had a problem, after spending lots of money with them, I learned that customer service is not a priority. I was always skeptical of the the mom and pop merchants they use - ever since I tried one of the wine and paint class deals and they studio was always full and they never answered their phone. But after this, I will only use Groupon.

The merchant for one of my Groupons went out of business, and before I even knew that, Groupon emailed me saying they would give me a credit or refund.

I had living social refund a voucher I bought for a yoga studio- it was only hot yoga, which was not mentioned in the headline or even description of the voucher. Hot yoga an me do my get along. So I wrote to them an they were fine with it. This wa probably a year or 2 ago, maybe with their growth they're getting stricter

I had a bad experience with living social, with a merchant going out of business and they refusing to refund my purchase. I disputed in on my am ex and got my money back.

I don't really love Living Social or Groupon, but I did have a really good experience with Amazon's program - Amazon Local or something?

I had gotten a voucher for a yoga studio, and they wouldn't let me use it. I just called Amazon up and they refunded me the money IMMEDIATELY. They were really helpful. So, they're they only ones I use now.

(not affiliated with them in any way... I know this sounds like an ad or something!)

Anonymous wrote:I use Groupon only, they have a great refund policy whereby you don't deal directly with the merchant, they do.

I've had a bad experience with Groupon. I got 3 different quotes from tree cutters, and found a Groupon deal. The company that was advertised on Groupon gave me a quote that was 2x more than the other quotes, so there was really no deal involved. I would have been spending more money even with the Groupon deal. Groupon would not give ma a refund, but luckily, American Express sided with me, or rather, I think Groupon did not dispute it with AE.

I use Groupon only, they have a great refund policy whereby you don't deal directly with the merchant, they do.

Has anyone else felt like they got scammed by Living Social?

I purchased a voucher for carpet cleaning for $135 in July. I have called the merchant twice, with a week in between. This merchant does not answer their phones during normal business hours and does not return calls. I wanted my rugs cleaned for a particular even, which has now passed. It has now been 8 days since I last called them. And I have still not heard back. I hate the idea of having to beg a merchant to provide a service I paid for in advance.

Living Social does not answer their phones either. So, after I was forced to email my complaint. They send me a fake friendly note essentially saying, 'Too bad. You should have requested the refund within 7 days of purchase.' (Even though the voucher expires January 14, 2013).

I used to love Living Social. I told all of my friends about it. And I've spend many hundreds of dollars on their vouchers. Now, I think they suck and my advice is "buyer beware."

End of rant.