Your Expired Groupons are now Refundable… But Only in the US

Good news for those of you who may have bought a $20 voucher for 2 bikini laser hair removal treatments from Groupon which expired before you could use it – You can now get a refund, but only if you bought it in the US.  Groupon, the group coupon internet company, has agreed to settle a class action law suit in California alleging that expiration dates on their coupons were illegal.Sadly, expiration dates in Canada are still legal (except for most gift cards in many Provinces) where sites like Dealfind and FabFind are the more popular choice when looking for group discount coupons.  Businesses take a risk by selling goods and services through those websites at a rock bottom price in hopes that they may make some money by anticipating that some customers won’t claim their coupon before the expiration date.  At the same time, they also hope by offering people great deals, it will drive their sales up in the long run.  It’s relatively cheap way to advertise which usually results in a win-win situation for both businesses and the group coupon websites.

Unfortunately, it’s not always a win for the consumer as there have been some shady businesses taking advantage of the system and leaving customers completely out of luck and money.

Hopefully the Canadian gift card law will eventually lead to the same no-expiration rule being applied to group coupons and any other sort of monetary transaction involving future redemption.

[Source: Bloomberg]