Daily deal group buying sites

The same rules apply to daily deal group buying sites as to any goods and services you buy. However there are some common problems that keep coming up.

Before you buy

Check out if the deal is really as cheap as it says it is. You may be able to do a quick search on the internet to check if the discount is real. If the discount is exaggerated, you can make a complaint to the Commerce Commission.
These deals take advantage of impulse-shopping. So take a few minutes to decide if you would actually use the product or service.

Your rights

Consumer Guarantees Act

Even goods and services on sale are covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act. This includes guarantees the goods must be of acceptable quality and services must be provided with reasonable skill and within a reasonable time.
Find out more about the Consumer Guarantees Act.

Fair Trading Act

Under the Fair Trading Act, businesses can’t behave in a way that is misleading or deceptive. That means that businesses can’t exaggerate discounts. If they say they are giving you a service or item for half price, that must be true. They can’t say the usual price is $100, when actually the usual price is $80. Any other information they tell you about the product has to be true too, including how big it is, what functions the product has, and where you can use it.

You can report a breach of the Fair Trading Act to the Commerce Commission which enforces the Fair Trading Act. The Commerce Commission can investigate and prosecute a trader who has breached the Act.

Find out more about the Fair Trading Act.

Got a problem with a group buying daily deal?

The goods haven’t arrived

If it has been more than a reasonable time you can ask for a refund. If you paid for the goods or service by credit card you might find it easier to get a chargeback from the credit card company or bank.

Find out more about chargebacks.

They can’t take my booking

If it is impossible for you to get a service provided before the voucher expires you can get a refund, or ask for the service to be provided later. Taking a payment without intending to provide a service is a breach of the Fair Trading Act.

The goods or services weren’t what I expected

The goods or service you purchased are covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act.
Find out what the guarantees are for goods.
Find out what the guarantees are for services.
If the goods or services don’t meet these guarantees then you can get the problem sorted out for free from the supplier and/or the discount site.
Find out what to do about a problem with goods.
Find out what to do about a problem with services.

The supplier is blaming the daily deal site and the daily deal site is blaming the supplier

If you have a problem with the service or item you bought, you can ask either the discount site or the provider to put it right. If the discount site says that you have to sort it out with the other business, they may be breaching the Fair Trading Act by misleading you about your rights.
Tell them that they are equally responsible for providing a remedy. You can also make a complaint to the Commerce Commission.

Visit the Commerce Commission website.

To get the problem sorted you can take both the supplier and the daily deal site to the Disputes Tribunal at the same time.

Find out more about the Disputes Tribunal.