Kyle-Beth Hilfer quoted in The Prepaid Press about Groupon Class Action Lawsuits

Kyle-Beth Hilfer was quoted in The Prepaid Press’ article “Group Buying is a Hot Trend: Can Deals Make Loyal Customers?”.  She comments about the class action lawsuits pending against Groupon. See http://bit.ly/ipQ7B6.

While daily deal sites are meant to create loyalty for the merchant, in some cases, they are alienating consumers. Most daily deals expire within a few months, lowering the odds that the consumer will have time to redeem them. Consequently, there has been a rash of class action lawsuits filed against Groupon and LivingSocial in the last few months challenging the sites’ expiration date policies. Consumers have filed suit in federal courts in California, Florida, District of Columbia, Illinois, and Minnesota. The main legal issue at stake is whether prepaid “daily deals” for discounts constitute gift certificates regulated under by the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (the CARD Act) and the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA). These statutes mandate, in part, 5 year expiration dates. The class action lawsuits seek an injunction against short expiration dates and damages for class members. The disposition of these cases could change the business model for expiration dates on daily deal sites.