Early last month, online coupon site Deal.com.sg dangled a
four-day trip to Bangkok which included a four-star hotel stay and
return airfare on premium airlines for $188 - about half the stated
original price. Customers had 18 hours to buy the coupons.
But some holiday-makers who took up the offer found that the
deal contained high additional charges and did not offer a choice
of airline or hotel, despite several airlines and hotels being
listed in the promotion. The travel agency in the deal also took at
least a month to confirm bookings.
The additional charges involved had increased the price to as
much as $426. The complaints surfaced on Deal's Facebook page, with
the promotion drawing about 1,100 comments.
To pacify upset customers, Deal.com.sg issued 211 refunds, which
is less than 10 per cent of the number of packages bought. It is
the first reported incident of mass refunds for online coupon sites
here.
