Daily deals can get derailed
Brenda Beam bought a voucher for painting services at Buytopia.ca, which offers daily deals for local goods and services.
The painter set a date, but later called to say he couldn’t do the work because Buytopia owed him money for vouchers redeemed by other customers.
Beam asked Buytopia for a refund since her voucher couldn’t be used. Moreover, she had been billed for two vouchers ($88.50) when she had only purchased one.
“Their reply, the first of many, confirmed the refund would come ‘shortly.’ They also acknowledged they had double-billed me. I wrote, again and again, and each time they promised to refund me shortly,” Beam told me.
Frustrated by the wait — she paid last August and was still waiting this past June — she asked her credit card issuer for a refund. But she was past the time limit of 60 to 120 days to dispute an unauthorized credit card purchase. “Can you help?” she asked. I suggested filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which is effective in reaching companies and posting reviews online. As well, I’d written many times about problems with group-buying sites.
Two weeks later, Beam said Buytopia provided a full refund to her credit card.
According to the BBB’s online profile, Buytopia’s ownership changed in October 2016.
CBC Dragons’ Den personality and tech entrepreneur Michele Romanow was the co-founder in 2011.
“The current owners have advised that they purchased the assets, but not the liabilities of the business, and have no responsibility for providing refunds owed by the previous owners,” the BBB says.
You can find nine negative reviews about Buytopia and 79 customer complaints closed by the BBB.
Many are about delays in getting refunds.
When I sent a few complaints I’d received to Buytopia, spokesperson Khayyam Lasi said the refund process was automated until last year, and was then done by customer service agents.
“We did not know that there was a software issue with our merchant processor, and that refunds were not being processed. Since then, all outstanding refunds that were not charged back (to a credit card) have been completed,” he told me.
“We have a customer base of almost four million in Canada and I am sure you have only heard complaints from less than 20.”
The numbers may be small, but the pain is real.
Scott Galbraith paid $120 for four vouchers for afternoon high tea. He wrote to Buytopia within a day, saying he meant to buy only two and wanted a refund for the other two.
He got a series of promises that the $60 refund was on its way.
Dec. 6: “You should see the refund in about 10 to 15 business days.”
Jan. 22: “It seems there was a technical issue and your refund was not processed. We will process it manually and you can expect to see the refund in your statements within 72 hours.”
Jan. 31: “Our customer service manager has been away this week due to an illness. We have sent him your email and he will handle it shortly.”
March 13: “Please expect to have the refund processed by the end of the week.”
June 25: “Since you have not yet received your refund, I have gone ahead and forwarded your information to an operations specialist, who will be able to have the refund processed by the end of the day. Please allow an extra 48 hours for the funds to show up.”
Ironically, Galbraith filed a credit card complaint last March and already had his chargeback when he wrote to me in July.
He checked his credit card statements only when Buytopia told me the case was closed.
(So, why wasn’t this mentioned in the June 25 reply from customer support?)
Here’s my advice about using daily deal sites and other online retailers:
Go to the Better Business Bureau, bbb.org, to check on a company’s reputation before placing an order.
The BBB gives a composite score, based 67 per cent on its own letter grade (from A+ to F) and 33 per cent on customer reviews. In Buytopia’s case, the BBB rating is D- and the composite score is 1.22 out of 5 stars.
If already burned, you can ask the BBB to resolve your complaint or use its company profiles to get contact information or potential warnings.
Reach the Central Ontario BBB by phone (519-579-3080), fax (519-570-0072) or mail (903-30 Duke St. W., Kitchener, Ont. N2H 3W5). However, complaints can’t be submitted by phone.
You can also contact the Ontario consumer services ministry at 416-326-8800 or 1-800-889-9768 (toll-free) or submit a complaint online.
Ellen Roseman is a columnist based in Toronto covering consumer affairs. Reach her on email: eroseman@thestar.ca.