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Group-off
Just to say I have every sympathy with you. As a professional in the Beauty/Aesthetic industry, I would never run discount offers with this company.
There is an awful lot of concern amongst our industry leaders about these cut-price deals, especially for surgical procedures (see my blog) www.clinicguru.blogspot.com
Ideally clients/patients wanting to undergo surgery for any reason should have a face to face consultation with a qualified professional, during which every aspect of the procedure can be explored with them, and any health issues or side effects discussed in detail, before they make a decision to take up the treatment/surgery.
I am so sorry that you have 'lost' your money as a result of your decision not to go ahead with the procedure. Have you contacted Trading Standards about this?
If you know the name of the clinic/company who were offering the treatment, you could perhaps check whether they are members of any organisations such as the BAAPS - British Association of Aesthetic and Plastic Surgeons.
Being a member of this or similar organisations means that they have to follow a code of practice, and in fact are not allowed to advertise 'time limited' offers that encourage prospective patients to make a decision 'against the clock'
Their code of ethics says that they should give each person time to consider their options, and make an informed decision.
There is also the question of suitability of the patient for the treatment/procedure, and provision should be made for this when offering these so-called 'deals'. If you haven't had the benefit of a consultation prior to agreeing to purchase their 'deal', then they should be ready to accept a certain number of cancellations based on the fact that there may be health issues which prevent the patient from proceeding to surgery.
Please don't accept 'no' for an answer; go to your MP if need be; the sooner Groupon and similar sites stop offering this type of deal, the better.
Good Luck!
Groupon for cosmetic surgery - no no!!
I'm sorry to hear about your experiences.
I looked into a Groupon offer for BodyTite and before booking (and handing over all that money) I looked up the clinic, the "doctors" at the clinic and I didn't trust them at all - the person conducting the procedure wasn't a doctor and there was no evidence that this guy had any professional experience. I can understand that as a business, Groupon is what it is. I would never book a surgical procedure that came through Groupon, mostly because I think of it like this... "What type of (legitimate) cosmetic surgeon would need to issue coupons to get patrons through the door?" - Cosmetic surgery sells itself. I would actually understand if there were Groupon offers for CONSULTATIONS... but not an actual procedure.
Refunds:
Don't forget, the clinic itself will have to inform Groupon if you are unable to use their services and agree to your refund. I've had some non-surgical body work booked through Groupon, requested my money back and after Groupon investigated the issue(s) I received a refund. This happened twice. I'm SO sorry to hear about your bad experiences.
I looked into a Groupon offer for BodyTite and before booking (and handing over all that money) I looked up the clinic and the "doctors" at the clinic and I didn't trust them at all - the person conducting the procedure wasn't a doctor and there was no evidence that this guy had any prior professional experience. I can understand that as a business, Groupon is what it is. I would never book a surgical procedure that came through Groupon, mostly because I think of it like this... "What type of (legitimate) cosmetic surgeon would need to issue coupons to get patrons through the door?" - Cosmetic surgery sells itself. I would actually understand if there were Groupon offers for CONSULTATIONS... but not actual procedures - even then, I would thoroughly investigate the clinic and the staff before agreeing to anything.
Refunds:
Don't forget, the clinic itself will have to inform Groupon if you are unable to use their services and agree to your refund. This is actually a good scam for the clinics. You come in with the Groupon coupon, they say "No, we can't help you" and TECHNICALLY they've fulfilled their obligation to their Groupon contract. You leave without the procedure, the clinic pockets the money.
I've had some non-surgical body work booked through Groupon, requested my money back and after Groupon investigated the issue(s) I received full refunds. This happened twice. I've found that Groupon's customer service wasn't too bad.
I know this doesn't help now, but I wouldn't put all the blame on Groupon, I think it's the clinics that have screwed you guys.
Ignore above - apologies for the edit error...
IT SHOULD READ LIKE THIS:
I looked into a Groupon offer for BodyTite and before booking (and handing over all that money) I looked up the clinic and the "doctors" at the clinic and I didn't trust them at all - the person conducting the procedure wasn't a doctor and there was no evidence that this guy had any prior professional experience. I can understand that as a business, Groupon is what it is. I would never book a surgical procedure that came through Groupon, mostly because I think of it like this... "What type of (legitimate) cosmetic surgeon would need to issue coupons to get patrons through the door?" - Cosmetic surgery sells itself. I would actually understand if there were Groupon offers for CONSULTATIONS... but not actual procedures - even then, I would thoroughly investigate the clinic and the staff before agreeing to anything.
Refunds:
Don't forget, the clinic itself will have to inform Groupon if you are unable to use their services and agree to your refund. This is actually a good scam for the clinics. You come in with the Groupon coupon, they say "No, we can't help you" and TECHNICALLY they've fulfilled their obligation to their Groupon contract. You leave without the procedure, the clinic pockets the money.
I've had some non-surgical body work booked through Groupon, requested my money back and after Groupon investigated the issue(s) I received full refunds. This happened twice. I've found that Groupon's customer service wasn't too bad.
I know this doesn't help now, but I wouldn't put all the blame on Groupon, I think it's the clinics that have screwed you guys.
Groupon ripped me off as well
Hey Alli
I know exactly what you are taking about the customer service at groupon is terrible in fact it is probably the worst service I have encountered and they really have some hard faced ... on the phone lines who can't seem to grasp the concept when you have paid for something and not received anything. I had a similar experience earlier this year when I bought a discount code for groupon and then couldn't book an appointment, I couldn't get through on the phone lines and then when I eventually did I was told the deal was so successful that they could offer me an appointment! Groupon have the no refund policy and that is why there is so much negative press about them on the internet, just check out the bbc watchdog website and you'l see that there are people complaining in their thousands but groupon are getting away with it because they are not covered by the same laws as goods and services so it really is a case of buyer beware and think carefully before prepaying 
Good luck
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