I ended up loosing an $800 Adventure Deal to Costa Rica (not including airfare, hotels in other areas or activities, etc totaling over $2,000) LivingSocial after a problem with my Passport, two days prior to departure that was completely out of my hands. It left me stranded in the US and unable to redeem the Adventure voucher/gift card. As you can imagine, in these economic times, I do not have over $800 to just throw away. This is not a $30 dinner coupon where I would cut my losses and learn my lesson.
I explained that I was actually looking to RESCHEDULE the trip for another available date in the very near future. I wasn’t asking for A REFUND. Yet LS refused my request. As of this letter, LS had an Adventure Deal that was exactly the same (same location/hotel and same dates as my original voucher) with the same available dates. The CS rep at LS read (verbatim) to me their rigid policy of "you must cancel within 7 days of purchasing if you want a refund. Or you can gift it to someone else for the same day" No exceptions. This is an INTERNATIONAL trip mind you. You can barely plan a US trip within 7 days, let alone an international trip. The option of gifting it is ridiculous since there are virtually no odds that someone you know can leave for an international trip in less that 2 days.
The interesting (and most unfair) part is LivingSocial had to reschedule ME because they would not have a Guide during my ORIGINAL date. I was the only one to purchase it for a particular date. So I accepted the change in plans, despite financial and work obligations I had already pre-arranged for my original date. The CS rep I spoke to on 9/17 added, "there is no one else that can override this policy, " when I asked to speak to someone else. He again re-read the policy (for the third or fourth time) to me.
Why is the policy so one-sided LivingSocial?!?
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