Advice on GroupOn

rc98765

Hi
We need some help with what our next steps are with a Group On break.
We bought tickets for Rugby 6 nations back in May 2019 for this years match of Italy v England in Rome in March 2020. 
The sequence of events:

1. We bought flight tickets from Ryan Air. Our flights were on Saturday and return Tuesday. 
2. Accomodation and match tickets we bought through Group On offer and used World Choice Sports
3. Ryan Air cancelled the return flight on Tuesday but not the outgoing flight - we could get there but not get back so though Ryan Air shifted the travel dates from the outgoing on Friday and then return on Monday
4. Gov then advises no travel to Italy and the match is postponed, Ryan Air cancel all flights from the Saturday. Again we could get out there at our own risk. Ryan Air have agreed to refund the return flight and we were told to no show for the outbound flight as our choice not to travel (the flight was still going ahead)
5. We contacted World Choice sports and after long delays and backwards and forwards they told us not their problem and to contact Group On
6. We contacted Group On. They have advised that as the match has not been cancelled but postponed they would not refund but are prepared to give us vouchers for the cost of match and accommodation
7. Back and forwards and they are refusing to refund cash and vouchers only
8. Ryan AIr are still to refund the return flight costs
9. I'm intending to claim on travel insurance for the outbound flight - but can't do that until Ryan Air send me confirmation of the cost of the outbound flight (the account doesnt give a breakdown)

So my main question is - what are my rights with Group On?
As far as I'm concerned I bought a package holiday with a match ticket for a particular date, they have not fulfilled what I bought so a refund in full is due.
If the match is re-arranged this year we will not be attending, other commitments and worries about Covid 19 etc. 
Any advice appreciated

Thanks

Alan_Bowen

Did you really buy a flight inclusive package, or did you buy the flights direct from Ryanair separately.? I ask because you talk of discussing changes to the flights and if it was a package with flights that would have been dealt with by the tour operator. Their website claims they can't do a thing until the end of June, reviews suggest there are lots of people in exactly the same situation. It seems they do a lot through Groupon and Wowcher, never a good sign and some suggest it is much cheaper to book directly and cut out the middleman who is taking a 30% commission for promoting the vouchers, but presumably you were happy with the price at the time.

If your voucher included the cost of the air tickets then you would be protected by their ATOL licence but since you say you are awaiting a refund directly from the airline, and Ryanair claims to have 25 million refunds to make, which may be true as they carry well over 100 million passengers a year and have already said some refunds will take 6 months to process, I assume the flights were purchased separately. Your contract is with Sporting Events Global Ltd who appears to be the company behind Worldchoice Sports, they are the licenced operator, not Groupon and as ABTA members they must offer a refund if that is what you want. They appear to employ a total of nine staff, three of whom are the directors, all members of the same family and they claim only one or two are working, frankly all three directors ought to be working right now and if they do not answer the phone or offer to assist then your best bet may be a chargeback through whichever card you used to pay for the service. Did you only pay Groupon or did you also make payments to the company as well? 

rc98765

Hi
Thanks for coming back.
The groupon voucher only covered the tickets for the game and accommodation. We sourced our own flights through Ryan Air .
With GroupOn we only paid them, nothing to World Choice Sports.
Chargeback is a good idea - I'll follow that up with the card provider - thank you
I find it so frustrating in circumstances that each one wants to pass the buck
So, thinking this through then - we bought the voucher from GroupOn at £400 each, I suspect World Choice Sports likely only received £160 once GroupOn take their cut (50% commission plus VAT). The only one holding that £400 is GroupOn, I doubt WorldChoice will refund us the £400 each based on what they likely received

Alan_Bowen

The contract is with the company, not Groupon, they are not licenced to sell holiday packages but if your card statement shows the payment went to Groupon they are the only company you can make a chargeback against.

rc98765

Thanks Alan
We've approached the bank and they've come back and said they can't go back and do a chargeback as it's over 120 days

Life__Goes__On

rc98765 said:

Thanks Alan
We've approached the bank and they've come back and said they can't go back and do a chargeback as it's over 120 days

Raise a complaint with you bank
A Chargeback  it will start for you when it was  cancelled on the  4th Mar,  so it's only been 90 days since then  or 80 days since the match should have taken place.
http://www.theukcardsassociation.org.uk/individual/chargeback-for-credit-and-debit-card-purchases.asp

Time limit

You should make a claim as soon as you identify the problem or are concerned about a transaction, as your card issuer usually needs to start the chargeback process within 120 days from when you made the transaction or when you were due to receive the goods or services.