Over the past few weeks, group buying website Groupon has come under a lot of scrutiny in the US. Stories in the press have not been kind: paidContent described Groupon as “a magnet for lawsuits”, while the Los Angeles Times went as far as to report legal papers accusing the company of “bait and switch” advertising on Google after the company was sued for “false and misleading business and advertising acts” by bus tour company San Francisco Comprehensive Tours.
This renewed scrutiny follows a series of extremely poorly received television adverts broadcast during the Superbowl. What’s more, the company is shortly to lose its President and it is also fending off accusations that revenues plunged 30 per cent in February, a claim that has been circulating widely after being published on influential technology blog TechCrunch.
And now customers in the UK are beginning to make complaints too, again citing allegedly dodgy advertising practices. Will Wynne, managing director of Arena Flowers, recently filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority, claiming that at least two of the offers Groupon was promoting simply didn’t exist.
“Around Valentine’s Day, I noticed an ad for flowers which actually directed me to a deal on depilation treatment,” Wynne claims. “In fact, there have never been any flower deals on Groupon in the UK.”
Continues at: Groupon’s image problems spread to Europe – Telegraph.
Related articles
- Groupon Down 30% (coverboom.com)
- Groupon Is Becoming A Lawsuit Magnet (paidcontent.org)
- Another Newspaper Jumps On The Groupon Bandwagon (paidcontent.org)
- More less-than-awesome revenue gossip for Groupon (news.cnet.com)
