Groupon £20 for £50 worth of hotel vouchers

gismo1554

Same goes! I emailed about 2 hours ago after spending almost 3 hours searching on various locations and various date combinations and getting nothing up (what is the whole of Swansea now fully booked for the next 6 months unlike the day this offer first showed up?) and I've been emailed back to say they are refunding so fair does to Groupon! Loving their service

Lynsey

Looks like Groupon understand that Alpharooms are ripping off "potential" customers with putting up prices immediately after the vouchers became active and together with charging a £5 card fee for a zero payment (no free option available). So well done to Groupon, who have also agreed to allow more than the 7 working days to cancel while Trading Standards are looking at the Alpharooms T&C's. Groupon are fully aware that Alpharooms are not allowing booking to be made for rooms under the £50 voucher price without taking a further fee (£5), yet they (Alpharooms) state they don't charge a booking fee!!!!!!!! Groupon have asked Alpharooms about the £5 fee for under £50 rooms but Alpharooms won't back down.......................so far.

Good luck to all cancelling, keep away from a company "hell bent" on ripping off customers. Good that this offer has actually highlighted what this comapany is capable of - no doubt others will pass on the word to avoid these shysters.

Lynsey

alanshave

Personally I have had no issues, both me & 2 friends hae booked rooms for Liverpool/Dublin. The prices didn't seem to have gone up.

Agreed that the £5 debit card fee is a bit steep but they aren't on their own here...

Barter

I also found I could get the rooms I wanted at a similar price to those I'd seen before the deal went live, so no gripe there.

But if I'd booked 4 nights in the same place it would have been at the additional cost of £5 - 1 card/booking fee.

However to buy 4 nights in different places = £20, as they have no 'shopping basket' system, which is an expensive extra for me/a nice little earner for them.

Can you imagine Sainsburys on-line charging you 1 delivery charge if you buy 4 bottles of the same wine; 4 separate delivery charges for 4 different bottles?

Smiley82

I received my refund from my overcharge on Friday. All is now booked and confirmed and overall, I'm happy I suppose!

The hotel I booked I had checked before buying the voucher, and after purchasing, it was still available and at the same price.

I have ended up booking it for £52.66 (inc £5 booking fee and £20 cost of Voucher) and the closest pricing available for the same date is £88.

Therefore I've effectively saved £35.34 by using the offer.

Yes - the booking fee is rubbish (especially for those under £50!!) and the overcharging debarcle on Friday was a pain....but overall, I've got what I wanted, for a price that's still 'money saving'.

The call centre staff were helpful, and the communication regarding the overchange was quickly rectified.

I'm not sure I'll rush back to use Alpha Rooms by any means - but the offer overall served its purpose - for me anyway!!

Lynsey

The "word on the street" is Alpharooms is going to give a "free fee paying" option when using a pre-paid Mastercard, so may be worth hanging on until they update and delete the Solo (now extinct) option. Just checked and not yet updated.

Anyone know how to get a free pre-paid Master card??
Hope they refund all who have actually paid £5 as there isn't and wasn't a viable option - worth asking. :money:

Lynsey

shirlsky

that is good news! I have a prepaid Mastercard for booking RyanAir flights. Everyone has their own opinion of course but I have opted for the Phones4U Escape Card. Free to top up in store and no other running fees other than the £10 to purchase the card

Eve4ever

I'm another victim of the £5 charge despite the fact nothing was payable (my room was £47).

Surely this can't be legal, charging for a credit card transaction which didn't have to happen?

Lynsey

Eve4ever wrote: »

I'm another victim of the £5 charge despite the fact nothing was payable (my room was £47).

Surely this can't be legal, charging for a credit card transaction which didn't have to happen?

The advice given is that you contact Alpharooms by recorded letter asking them to refund the £5 taken for a zero payment amount as it could be classed as "unfair" (being looked into). You need to give them a reply date (say 10 days) to respond if you want to take it further.
Though for £5 it's probably not worth the hassle and better just to highlight to others what this company is capable of. Passing it on to Consumer Direct/Trading Standards will give them more clout though.
Unlike Ryanair, Easyjet etc, Alpharooms don't yet have a free option, even though they state you can use a pre-paid Mastercard (for free) when the site doesn't actually allow it. They still have the ended Solo option, even though they know and acknowledge it can't be processed. This is a rip-off company.

Lynsey

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Lynsey wrote: »

This is a rip-off company.

Lynsey

Which one?

Groupon, Alpha or both?