Call Kurtis: Can Groupons Expire?
Gift cards and certificates can't expire in California, but are Groupons considered gift certificates?
Matt Urner's one-of-a-kind fixed gear bike is a constant work in progress.
"These handlebars I just got for the fall," he says, "I want to get a new seat."
So when someone gave him a Groupon for The Bicycle Business in Sacramento, it was the perfect gift. The gift-giver paid $25 for the Groupon worth $50 in gear from The Bicycle Business. But Matt didn't get around to using it until it was too late.
"I said I have this Groupon and they said, 'Oh man, these actually expired yesterday,'" Matt recalls.
He told the employees at The Bicycle Business California law doesn't allow gift certificates to expire.
"The manager was like, 'Did you just wait 'til the day after it expired, come in here and tell me this?' I was like, 'no!'"
But does that law apply to Groupons and other daily deals? According to the California's Department of Consumer Affairs, no.
"A Groupon is a discount. So it's like a coupon," says DCA spokesman Russ Heimerich.
But the issue may get reconsidered in court. Groupon is reportedly facing more than 15 lawsuits over whether its deals are considered gift certificates.
In the meantime, Groupon's policy says the amount paid for a deal never expires. So Matt should have been able to use his Groupon at The Bicycle Business for $25.
"I didn't know, honestly," says Zach Waddle, manager of The Bicycle Business, "I went off what the actual Groupon said, 'expiration date: you have six months to use it.'"
Waddle said after turning Matt away, he called Groupon and now knows the expiration policy.
Waddle tells us Matt, and anyone else who has one of the Bicycle Business' expired Groupons can come back and use it for the $25 purchase price.
That sounds good to Matt, who learned his lesson about daily deals.
"I think you should only get a Groupon if you know you can use it right away," says Matt.
If a retailer won't honor the amount paid for the Groupon after it's expired, Groupon says it will give you your money back.
