Help, This Restaurant Won't Accept My Restaurant.com Coupon!

Adam bought a gift certificate coupon from restaurant.com, but the restaurant where he tried to use it turned him down: “They informed me that restaurant.com had started selling certificates to their restaurant without the restaurant’s knowledge or approval.” Now he wants to know what to do.

He adds,

This is especially frustrating because we ordered $15 more than we would have because of the $35 minimum. I had gone expecting to pay $20 to $25 after tip and ended up paying $48. Because of this, a simple credit for the amount I paid for the certificate is not going to do much for me. Please let me know if there’s anything else that can be done.

Check out this page, Adam, for instructions on how to get a credit from the site for a future gift certificate. We think you should also ask them to provide some explanation of how this happened, because if it’s their fault, they should pony up some extra certificates to cover the additional funds you were forced to spend.

If you intend to use certificates from restuarant.com, our advice is to call the business ahead of time (before you even purchase them, if you can) to make sure your certificates will be accepted.

(Photo: The Consumerist)

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.