LivingSocialReviews 1,490

DO NOT give them your business! Had a terrible experience with living social, and I've realized that purchasing a coupon through them proved to be a complete waste of time. I purchased a photography coupon from Katie Bohannon photography, and could not make contact with the business owner to redeem my deal. After TWO months of calling and leaving messages with no response, I contacted living social to request a refund. They would not refund my money, and took 8 days to respond to me (after inquiring again). When I called, I was on hold for 21 minutes before someone answered! The customer service was HORRIBLE, and I had to demand to get a refund and refused to back down. They eventually agreed, and I should be getting my money back soon. They said "this is a one-time thing, we're never going to do this for you again" which won't be an issue as I will NEVER purchase anything from them again! I unsubscribed and hope everyone else will too. What a waste!

This site only exist to play intermediary to vendors one would never go to anyway. Nuf said. Since when is the Internet about middlemen? They go and scour cities in search of places that are not selling or desperately trying to push wares no one wants and "package" those so one thinks it's a great deal. It NEVER is. I've been had. Don't be. It's either bait and switch (as in you sign in thinking you'll get X but when you get there X is unavailable or not included and you need to pay $$$$ more in order to get X but hey you're here right?) or some hole in the wall fly by night operation. BAD NEWS. STAY AWAY. Remember? NO FREE LUNCHES.

Their customer service is horrible. I bouught a voucher for a "mobile" car detailing for $30.00. When I tried to schedule my appt. I was told that the "mobile" option was an additional $30 -$45 depending on my location. This was not mentioned in the ad. I tried tyo get a refund but LS said "sorry" no refund. Another purchase was for a massage. The massage location went out of business but LS refuses to refund saying I am mistaken, Buyer beware.

I bought a LivingSocial coupon for District Authority Painters in DC, $180. The merchant did not return my phone calls or my emails, so I was unable to use the deal before it expired. LivingSocial refused to refund the money I spent, saying that they only give refunds if the merchant goes out of business. Well, if you can't contact the merchant to schedule the service, that's pretty much like being out of business. And the LivingSocial rep was rude.

Got a gift of a 90 minute flight bought through Living Social. They make it almost impossible to redeem. First I had to sign up on line with a voucher code, I was then asked to print a form to send to them with the details I had filled in on line (why?) Note I had to supply 4 first class stamps (no idea why because I never got anything in the post). I had to select 4 slots each a week long, apparently you cannot just book the flight you have to first apply for a slot! Then I hear nothing for 8 months! Despite constantly emailing to ask when my dates would be confirmed. Finally I get an email telling me I have a 3 week window to book, and this can only be done via a phone line which is only open 9-5 Mon to Fri, AVOID AVOID AVOID.

Keep in mind that my review is only regarding experience with online vouchers because I had heard the bad experiences people have gone through with real life vendors. I've bought two vouchers from LS so far and they were generated right away. One was redeemed and the products have arrived so far (magazines), while the other one I was waiting for the vendor to restock. So far, no issues but I hesitate to venture into any other kinds of deals.

BUYERS BEWARE! Return policy is a scam! I ordered ceramic dishes on Aug 1,2012 - after 10 days and receipt I called (good luck getting a human) and the lady told me that in the fine print the item didnt ship out until after the 16th! I didint recall that, but there was no proof of my purchase on my account - all I had was an order confirmation, confirming thye were happy to charge my card. And they did. Today I called back and told them to forget it - I just want my money back, the excitement is gone. But I was informed that I would have to wait until the purchase was shipped to my house, then reuqest a return slip and pay to return it MYSELF! Keep in mind this stuff hasnt even been shipped TO ME yet! Beware.

Livingsocial.com is not bad. I like using the restaurant vouchers more than anything else. I'm always sure to check other sites, like yelp, to be sure the restaurant is not struggling and ensure they actually serve good food.
My biggest problem with living social is that they accept contracts from fly-by-night companies, like housekeep services. These individuals set up websites to look legit, but they are just individuals looking to get business.
Another complaint I have is that some business provide lower / reduced service when they discover you're using a ls voucher. It's like their main goal is to raise money fast, but not grow their business.
My advice is to research the business before purchasing the voucher. My rule of thumb is don't buy if you don't see any reviews for the company on the web.

You should understand, that this is not to please you, this is to make money with your help. Just another money making machine.
Then, after you pay your money and try to redeem your voucher, you find that merchants are not really interested to provide that service to you. They are not accommodating with schedules, they do not keep promises, they do not call you, as promised, they cancel appointments, etc.
And then - the worst. You find all that small print, and realize, that you should read that multi-page policies before purchase, not after, poor you...

I purchased a voucher from LivingSocial. The deal wasn't honoured and the LivingSocial team uses every argument imaginable, whether it makes sense or not, to not face their responsibility as vendor of the voucher to refund the money. Basically they make you wait on hold every time their argument is rebutted, until you get so tired of the process you just hang up. I've never been treated this bad as a customer. Save yourself a lot of frustration and money and stay away from them. You may be lucky and have a good deal, and you may be unlucky like I was and apparently most of the other reviewers and spend money on something that doesn't materialize.

Scam, scam, scam

I recently bought through them a voucher for house cleaning service.
The merchant does not seem to exist, or has decide not to honor the offer.

When calling the phone number on the offer you are directed to a voicemail, and my repeated messages are left unanswered.

SocialLiving "graciously" offered to give me "courtesy" credit for the offer, but refuses to give me a cash refund (despit the fact their terms and conditions clearly state they will refund you if the vendor goes out of business)

Why would I want credit to spend on a site which clearly advertise fake offers?

Ranting to some of my friends I learned to my surprise some had a similar experience with LivingSocial.
This is the first time I ran into such a blatant scam dressed up as a legit website.

Very upset. I got a voucher for a botox treatment at JONATHANDENTALSPA in hawthorne. The biggest ripped off... paid 150.00 to get dirty water injected in my face. Socialliving should be more careful about what they sell... people like this dentist trying to make more money in beauty treatment is giving you a bad name. I am going to try to get my money back. Otherwise GOOD BYE livingsocial. You fool me once,, shame on you... you fool me twicw shame on me..

I am a small business owner of an auto repair shop, it is just myself and my boyfriend that own it and run it, no employees. Living Social contacted me asking about my recent deal with a different site and talked me in to running a deal with them. They told me I couldn't choose which service to run a deal on, they would choose for me, so they did. They then talked up their direct deposit option for receiving my portion of what sells, they said it would be direct deposited in to my account no later than 6 days after the deal... the deal ran on July 20th, it is now August 10th. NO MONEY IN MY ACCOUNT YET. I have been calling the customer service line for the past 8 days, no one picks up, or if they do, they transfer me to someones voice mail and I never get a call back. I'm about 1 more call away from having my lawyer contact them for stealing my money.

In addition, I have been warned by three other business owners in the area that my credit card will more than likely incur fraudulent charges in the next week or so. I will NEVER run another deal with Livingsocial, it is actually amazing that they haven't been shut down yet... They are true CROOKS.

Bottom Line: They lie to you, their customer service SUCKS. They steal your money.

Bought a voucher for a carpet cleaning service and it turns out the service does not exist. The phone number they gave me was to a private citizen's cell phone. A guy that never heard of the service.

I called Livingsocial.com, waited on hold for an hour, to try and get a refund and they refused, stating it was "policy". Their policy is to defraud customers and then shrug their shoulders when they are caught? I hope their CEO gets sent to prison!

Bought a deal on recorded books. This is not my first online rodeo, so I carefully looked for what the limitations were on the deal. Basically saw none of consequence. Made my first order (loved the retailer site BTW - will review separately) without incident. Went back to the retailer a few days later to find I had no credit. It was a use it all or loose it deal after all. Complained to livingsocial.com and got a boilerplate answer that essentially said, "to bad for you... Read more closely next time." I am secure enough to admit when I am wrong - and this time I was not wrong, I had done my due diligence.
I complained to the merchant, and got a fast and very satisfactory responsee.
Botom line... I am staying with the retailer (who made it right) and have discontinued/spam filtereded livingsocial.com. I suggest you do the same.