Why won’t Groupon refund me? The restaurant closed!

By Christopher Elliott | Problem Solved

Q: I bought a voucher through Groupon for a restaurant in Minneapolis. The restaurant closed before I could use the voucher. I asked Groupon for a refund but it refused and instead gave me $65 in Groupon Bucks, which I can use for a new Groupon purchase. The reason: The original credit card I used to purchase the voucher had expired, and Groupon will only refund to the original form of payment.

I don’t want Groupon Bucks —  I want a refund. Can you help me? — Sofya Mumford, Lutz, Fla.

A: Groupon should have refunded you for the voucher. When a merchant closes, Groupon’s terms say that you get a refund if the restaurant closes within three days of your purchase. We’ve had several cases where Groupon defaults to issuing credits, which is understandable — it’s better for Groupon if it can keep your money. (It’s understandable: Customers often fail to redeem the vouchers, which means the company gets to keep their money.) By the way, if Groupon won’t listen, you can always contact one of its executives. I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of the Groupon customer service managers on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.

But hang on. What was missing from your initial query were specifics. When did you buy the voucher and when did you ask for a refund? I checked with Groupon and it filled in a few gaps.

The company says you bought the voucher more than a decade ago, and it expired in 2013. That means you were outside of the refund terms and cut off date. Groupon offered a refund in the form of Groupon Bucks with an additional goodwill gesture of $10.

“Unfortunately, a direct refund was not available due to the original payment card expiring in 2015,” a representative told me.

This additional perspective changes our approach to your case. Given how much time had elapsed, an offer of Groupon Bucks seems fair.

You could have prevented this by acting sooner. Groupons often have short refund windows, so always document issues immediately and escalate early. Don’t wait more than 10 years, because the business might not still be there.

Since you lived in Florida at the time of your purchase (even though the restaurant was in Minnesota), your purchase would be covered under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, which prohibits companies from misrepresenting the availability of refunds. But I see no misrepresentation here. Groupon can’t guarantee a restaurant will be in business in the future. If it could, it wouldn’t be selling vouchers — it would have moved on to something more lucrative.

Disputing the charge with your credit card company within 60 days under the Fair Credit Billing Act might have also worked, even with an expired card (issuers can often route refunds to new accounts). But your chargeback would have been a nonstarter because of the length of time elapsed.

Your case is a reminder that you don’t have forever to resolve a consumer problem. Businesses can go under. My advocacy team and I have seen this with gift cards for restaurant chains that file for bankruptcy, often taking the value of those cards with them. Bottom line: Nothing lasts forever.

Groupon was under no obligation to return your money since you were outside the refund window. But the company agreed to refund you $65 as a goodwill gesture.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy (https://elliottadvocacy.org), a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at https://elliottadvocacy.org/help/