Groupon China Accused of Offering Fake McDonald’s Deal

Just last week we heard that Groupon China’s Gaopeng was in trouble for selling counterfeit Tissot watches. Now before the dust has even had time to settle on that none-too-small incident, Gaopeng is in hot water again. Apparently the group buying site was offering discounts on a McDonald’s meal and sold 821 deals to the popular fast food joint almost instantly. The problem is that McDonald’s never signed any agreement with Gaopeng to offer such deals.

“We did not authorize any site to introduce offers for our products,” said Weng Xiaomeng, a communications officer for McDonald’s Beijing. “Our operating department will take any follow-up action to deal with this, including legal approaches.”

According to ChinaDaily, the offer would allow consumers to save approximately $3 at any McDonald’s location simply by showing a 16 digit code that Gaopeng would send to their cell phone but McDonald’s says the offer is invalid and adds that the fake deal could seriously damage the company’s image with its customers.

“All the logos and pictures that appeared (with the website’s promotion) were used without our permission,” read a statement on the website of McDonald’s China.

The company also stated that it would not be responsible for any financial losses of those that purchased the offers.

Gaopeng said the offer was being provided through a third party connected to McDonald’s.

“If this was started by a partner of McDonald’s or its employees, who privately entered into an agreement with Gaopeng, the latter still shoulder the legal responsibility,” said Qiu Baochang at the China Consumers’ Association. “The group-buying website must sign a contract with the McDonald’s company if it sells its products.”

According to attorneys, those that purchase the deal but are unable to redeem it may have a case for fraud against Gaopeng. But since Groupon China isn’t the only group buying site selling the McDonald’s deals, it might be that the third party claiming to represent McDonald’s is the real culprit.

Source: ChinaDaily