Living Social non-delivery problem

jonnno

Hi all

In early June I ordered a large pack of Gillette Venus razors for £13 (having 2 teenage daughters and myself in the house, the large pack was necessary!)

The voucher came and I redeemed via the company which was Pinkstyle. I got the confirmation email with invoice attached and the Paypal receipt. The only problem at this stage was they had overcharged on the delivery cost.

Fast forward 3 weeks and I got an email from Pinkstyle to say the razors had been despatched. Another 2 weeks go by and I still haven't received them.

I email Pinkstyle but no response. I contact them via their website (as I can't find their telephone number) and again no response. Finally I email them again but still no response.

So I emailed Living Social who say they will repond within 7 days. On the 7th day they email and say that Pinkstyle have no record of my voucher redemption and the voucher has now expired so I'm too late unless I can provide proof.

I send the Paypal receipt, the invoice and the despatch note to Living Social who then get back to me and say that Pinkstyle have no record of the voucher redemption even though the invoice from Pinkstyle clearly shows the voucher. However Living Social say as a gesture of goodwill they will give me £13 (ie the price of the razors).

I say thank you but I want the additional £5.96 that I had paid in P&P (which was £1.01 more than quoted) back as I had not received the order and I had provided proof.

They replied saying that Pinkstyle have no record of the voucher redemption and the voucher is now expired.

I don't know what other proof to provide ... I know it's not a massive amount of money but it's the principle. Who is at fault here? Do Living Social have any responsibility for this?

Has anybody else had any experience like this with Living Social type companies? I for one will not be using them again and will be telling everyone I know not to use them.

What can I do people?

jonnno

Oh yes ... Living Social also said I could claim via the dispute process on Paypal, however the deadline has now passed due to the waiting for responses!

jonnno

Just tried ringing Pinkstyle and it's a voicemail - I wonder if they'll get back to me ...?

jonnno

Any ideas anyone?

jonnno

Well I guess nobody can help me ....

SlowCooker

jonnno wrote: »

Oh yes ... Living Social also said I could claim via the dispute process on Paypal, however the deadline has now passed due to the waiting for responses!

If you used a credit card to pay through paypal, maybe you could contact the card issuer.

harrys_dad

SlowCooker wrote: »

If you used a credit card to pay through paypal, maybe you could contact the card issuer.

Only for purchases over £100.

jonnno

No was debit card.
They said yesterday that the voucher wasn't used before it's expiration date but it was used the day it was purchased. I even have the confirmation order and invoice but Living Social say the merchant says they have no record and I can't get in touch with the merchant. Living Social now say they won't refund anything!

So I've paid £19 to two separate companies and received nothing. Who can I complain to? I know it's not a large amount but it's the principle.

SlowCooker

Debit cards are not covered by ‘section 75’ of the Consumer Credit Act, although they offer a similar, voluntary, scheme called ‘chargeback’, which you can also use to make a claim if you use your credit card to buy something costing less than £100.

How chargeback works
Chargeback isn’t a legal protection like section 75 but it’s an agreement that Visa, Mastercard, Maestro and American Express have signed up to. The scheme enables you to claim a refund from your debit card provider if a purchase doesn’t arrive or is faulty or if you buy something costing less than £100 using your credit card. It works by the card company trying to claim your money back from the company you’ve paid, by reversing the transaction.

There’s no minimum spend in order to be covered by chargeback, but time limits apply for making a claim – which may be up to 45 and 120 days from making the purchase, depending on the type of card.

Chargeback claims can take some time to process because the card company has to get the money refunded before it can pass it onto you.

You can try to contact your debit card provider.

jonnno

Just checked my Paypal account and I paid by Paypal balances that I'd accumulated from Ebay sales.

To be honest that's not my point entirely. My point is I've paid Living Social for vouchers for razor blades. I placed the order and submitted the vouchers well in advance of their expiry date and paid the merchant for delivery. So I've made 2 payments to 2 separate companies BUT I have received nothing and neither company is accept responsibility. One company isn't even responding.

Is this acceptable?

Has anyone else had problems with Living Social vouchers?