Wowcher - Lack of ethical responsibility

bondieboy

The company was not 'Unlimited Sushi'.
The voucher was for a specific meal ie Sushi at a specific single location. 
After raising my complaint with Wowcher, I was advised to contact the merchant in order to prove the product did not exist. I have contacted the Venue who are operating as a bar, but not sushi restaurant. They said they were not the merchant that the offer was set up by a third party and they were not responsible.
I went back to Wowcher and requested the name of the merchant. I have tried to contact them with no response. The details of the merchant Wowcher provided me with is the struck off company. I have kept Wowcher appraised of the situation via email and I keep asking for a refund.
I have not mentioned names as I do not know who the fault lies with. Except Wowcher, whether knowingly or not, are advertising a product which does not exist and after being requested to be honourable and provide a refund are so far not doing so.  

user1977

bondieboy said:

I have not mentioned names as I do not know who the fault lies with.

There's no reason why you can't name them on the forum, and obviously a company which doesn't exist any more isn't going to sue!

But like I said above, if the company doesn't exist, what do Wowcher say they've done with the money? They can't have paid it to a non-existent entity.

Manxman_in_exile

If you are absolutely sure (and have evidence to prove it) that Wowcher sold you a voucher that could only be redeemed at a business that had closed down over 12 months before you bought the voucher, then sue them if you have made your complaint 100% clear to them (with evidence) and they still refuse to refund you.

It's simple.

You could try a chargeback or s75 claim but - as others have said - it's unlikely to succeed.

And there's no guarantee of success if you sue them...

jimbo6977

Have to say I am surprised. I purchased a voucher for oven cleaning services from wowcher about 3yrs ago. The cleaning company kept fobbing me off with reasons why they had to postpone the appointment, then they were liquidated. One email to wowcher explaining the situation and I had a refund. 

The only remaining annoyance it that the cleaners' mailing list has been sold to every oven cleaner in the UK and I get phone calls now and then from people offering their services. But that's not wowcher's fault. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

born_again said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Beyond this you could try your card company, was it a credit or debit card (or some other method of payment)? How much did you pay?  

Sadly will not work as all you purchase is a voucher & a voucher was provided. As such Wowcher will just contest any chargeback.

I was thinking more of S75 if it was a credit card and over £100. 

Although I don't know if the transaction set up would affect this. 

sheramber

What you said was   I purchased an Unlimited Sushi dining experience 

You do make it easy to understand waht happened.

But are you saying

The venue was a bar and a restaurant. The people running the restaurant were separate to those running the bar.

The people running the restaurant , who provided  the sushi deal and joined the Wowcher scheme was dissolved 

Your voucher was for a meal supplied by the dissolved company

If the company stopped trading and was wound up there will not be anybody to reply to you.

A copy of the notice on Companies House is surely proof that they ceased trading.

Alderbank

sheramber said:

What you said was   I purchased an Unlimited Sushi dining experience 

You do make it easy to understand waht happened.

But are you saying

The venue was a bar and a restaurant. The people running the restaurant were separate to those running the bar.

The people running the restaurant , who provided  the sushi deal and joined the Wowcher scheme was dissolved 

Your voucher was for a meal supplied by the dissolved company

If the company stopped trading and was wound up there will not be anybody to reply to you.

A copy of the notice on Companies House is surely proof that they ceased trading.

Agreed. However the OP also said the unnamed company took a booking over the phone, accepted the Wowcher code and subsequently redeemed it through the company Wowcher account.

NBLondon

Alderbank said:

Agreed. However the OP also said the unnamed company took a booking over the phone, accepted the Wowcher code and subsequently redeemed it through the company Wowcher account.

Doesn't this mean there is a claim against the company that took the booking since they did not provide the service which was booked and paid for (with a Wowcher code) therefore forming a contract?

Alderbank

NBLondon said:

Alderbank said:

Agreed. However the OP also said the unnamed company took a booking over the phone, accepted the Wowcher code and subsequently redeemed it through the company Wowcher account.

Doesn't this mean there is a claim against the company that took the booking since they did not provide the service which was booked and paid for (with a Wowcher code) therefore forming a contract?

Looks that way. However the OP has said that the company went into liquidation some time ago.
If they had paid by credit or debit card they could make an S75 claim. Unfortunately, payment was made by a voucher.

sheramber

does the venue use Wowcher vouchers for other meals, just not sushi. and did not know the voucher was for sushi, they just got a voucher number.

Presumably they would not have accepted it if they were not part of the Wowcher  scheme. 

Did the couple eat a different meal and therefore use the voucher?