Long walk to delivery for coin collector
’Bargain’ Mandela items bought through Groupon were the start of a four-year runaround
ARLENE Beneke bought three Mandela coins from Groupon four years ago. Tomorrow, on what would have been the icon’s 98th birthday, she may at last receive them.
Back in July 2012, the 53-yearold coin collector was assured of a four-week delivery time after buying three 2008 90th-birthday Mandela coins for R5 940, half the usual price. Those four weeks turned into four years after the group-buying website failed to honour the deal.
Turns out the merchant involved, eCoin, had allegedly assured Groupon it would use a courier to deliver the coins but sent them through the Post Office instead.
Unsurprisingly, Beneke’s purchase, along with those of scores of others who took up the deal, never arrived.
But unlike those who were eventually offered refunds for nondelivery, correspondence between Beneke and the company seems to have slipped through the cracks.
For several weeks after redeeming her voucher, she tried to engage Groupon and eCoin about failed delivery, but got nowhere. Soon afterwards she had back surgery and was bedridden for six months. An employee at her roofing company in Pretoria took over the follow-up with Groupon, without resolution.
After moving to Somerset West, she mislaid the paperwork and discovered it only recently, prompting her to tackle Groupon again. She was told it was too long ago and Groupon was unable to help.
When she persisted, the company agreed to credit her account with vouchers to the value of her spend. But due to a glitch, she was unable to redeem them.
When Beneke asked for my help, she’d decided she wanted the coins, not credits. As a collector, she already owns other South African coins, including Mandela inauguration ones.
“Credits force me to buy from Groupon again . . . what guarantee do I have that if I purchase something now I will receive it at all?” Beneke said.
I asked Groupon South Africa CEO Wayne Gosling to assist. He did so within days, offering to refund Beneke in cash. But when he learnt Beneke wanted the coins she originally bought, he offered to source them from another merchant. They’re en route to her home.
The bad news for Beneke is that while the coins — mint grade MS67 — are part of the rare coin market, they’re a common coin. Some 43 000 were minted at the time. Prices online range from about R350 to R2 000. The country’s largest rare-coin dealer, SA Coin Corporation, has plenty, for R500.
Its CEO, Mark Anderson, said all rare coins were “in the doldrums” due to the economic downturn.
Beneke is not overly concerned. “It’s not about the money . . . it’s all about the principle. I am happy with the coins being replaced.”
Groupon no longer deals with eCoin and isn’t sure it’s still in business. Its website is under construction.
But why did Beneke have to battle so hard to get her due since 2012, I asked Gosling.
He said Beneke had been included in a mass refund e-mail but had failed to supply her bank details. It’s a claim Beneke rejects, saying she would have jumped at any refund offer at the time.
Since she opened up communication again this year, Gosling said, it had taken a while for Groupon to act because the agent didn’t have sufficient information to handle the fouryear-old query.
In line with the Consumer Protection Act, anything with a stored value must be valid for three years, so Groupon offers customers with expired vouchers (where a product or service falls outside of an agreed redemption period with the merchant) a choice of a similar service, cash or Groupon credits valid for three years.
But can consumers trust the company and its merchants to deliver products bought?
“Fortunately, we’ve evolved from 2012 and our logistics solution won’t allow for this anymore,” said Gosling.
The new logistics platform provided absolute visibility of all products sold, “from the merchant’s warehouse to our warehouse and to the home of our customers”, he said.
“This has resulted in a clear and more understood customer experience as well as reduced delivery times. Over 99% of our items arrive within our delivery window now.”
And if they don’t, or arrive damaged or are the wrong item, customers are entitled to immediate refunds.
Tune in to Power 98.7’s “Power Breakfast” (DStv audio channel 889) at 8.50am tomorrow to hear more from Megan
It’s about the principle. I am happy with the coins being replaced Can consumers trust the company and its merchants to deliver products bought?
AT Darling Brewery in the Western Cape. When Bob Rees found that the Gypsy Mask beers he had bought were too fizzy to pour, he complained. Within hours, 24 replacement bottles (he’d been down to four when he complained) had been delivered. For good measure, the brewery threw in another eight Rogue Pony beers it thought Rees might also enjoy. “I did,” he said. “Outstanding customer service.”