Restaurant.com review: FRAUD 49

I ordered 6 certificates thru this web site for our trip to South Texas. We were able to use 1 of them. When I bought them I had no idea that we could only use 1 per month and that we had to spend $150.00 to use the $75.00 certificate. This I must say is a huge rip off and I have learned my lesson.

As far as the other 4 I bought we tried to use 1 of them tonight at a restaurant called Bikini's, the General Manager Greg Smith told me that these were fraudulent, That Bikini's DID NOT authorize the release of these certificates. Needless to say I was taken back. What a huge rip off!

It sure looks good on the web site.By my complaints were the same.They never tell you you can only use one certificate per month until after you pay. And now I'm stuck with extra certificates for a restaurant i don't like. They also ad 20% gratuity to the bill. So you really aren't making out that well.

Like many, many people have already said this is a total scam! When I agreed to buy these certificates it was stated as $50 worth of certificates for $20. Upone buying them this number changed to $80 worth for $50. Well, once eating out I realized it was pretty much retail with lower quality food. We tried this new place for the first time and would not go back. We ended up paying $25 more ($75 total) for the same sushi dinner we normally get for $50 retail. They should realize the point to them is to get new customers, but even they did not get it. Don't waste your money. Use a coupon or pay retail, as we ended up doing. Do not waste your money!

I own a restaurant that is very popular in West Des Moines, Iowa. Last year a sales representative from Restaurant.com came to our business and asked us to sign up for the program. We agreed to allow them to sell 5 certificates per day, however, no more than 20 per week. Furthermore, we wrote in on the contract that we can cancel after a 30 day period if we are unsatisfied.

Two months later we added all of the certificates that were brought into the restaurant and redeemed. All of the certificates that they sell have the SOLD date on them and we then noticed that one day they sold 17! Looking into further - they had been selling more than that and we could only track the ones that were being redeemed. We then found out that they were selling $25 gift certificates for only $2! The problem is that - the customer will never come to your place and pay full price when they can buy dinners online for only $2!

If you own a restaurant you will notice that they only deal with local owners - these are the ones that they can take advantage of!

NOW HERE IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING: We called restaurant.com and asked them to cancel - they refused! We asked them to send us a copy of the contract - they faxed it to us AND our signature was forged! We sent them a copy of the agreement that we had kept and they compared it to the one that they had and then they accused us of forgery. OMG! Funny thing is that everyone from there office had signitures that matched on the compared agreements, ours however, did not match! Restaurant.coms sales representative was nolonger with them and it was clear that they had forged our signature. We then asked Restaurant.com to tell us how many certificates were sold by them and not yet presented to our restaurant - they told us on the phone that they had 1145 certificates outstanding valued at $25 each! Thats over $28, 000 in FREE meals or discounts that they said we needed to honor!
We had an attorney send them a letter and they finally took us off their website 60 days later. BEFORE that - they called us and told us that we had to do an exit phone interview in order for them to cancel us! We asked them to email us an update of the outstanding certificates that they sold and explained to them that the accoutant wanted to put it on our books as a liability. They refused to tell us verbally or in writing.
BOTTOMLINE: DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE. YOU WILL BE LIED TO, AND THEN YOU WILL FEEL OBLIGATED TO HONOR THE CERTIFICATES IN WHICH YOU RECEIVED NO MONEY FOR - BECAUSE YOU DONT WANT THE CUSTOMER MAD OR ANGRY WITH YOUR ESTABLISHMENT.

Restaurant.com issues fraudulent certificates, that are often not valid, even the day they are issued.
They issue certificates for restaurants that have already discontinued their program, and for restaurants that have no agreement with them.
The majority of certificates they issue are not accepted.
Restaurants are rarely reimbursed for these certificates.
Consumers are forced to pay full price after finishing their meals, at most restaurant.com restaurants.

I read this to late!
How do we stop this! they say you can cancel anytime before the 3 months but now
is: We will give you 3 months before you can cancel! (?)
I am so fed up with them any ideas how to cancel it! I sent a copy of the "contrac" to
our lawyer! still waiting to see what can be done!

if restaurants stop offering certificates, the site gives your money back for use on different certificates. there are stipulations to their use such as no alcohol and certain days where valid, but you are getting $50 off of $100 in food for around $4. So shut up and follow the rules or pay full price.

Think long & hard before you buy these certificates. The restaurant I purchased these for would not accept them. They said they were ripped off by this devious, unscrupulous company and could not even get Restaurant .com to take them off the list. They keep issuing coupons for them! They're told they can't be removed for possibly a year! They now have a lawyer & I hope they win! This company should be forced out of business. We could not get a refund. We're in a rural area and this was the only restaurant within 200 miles. So, if you're willing to risk being ripped off, check and make sure the certificate you're purchasing will be accepted at the restaurant & know that you will not receive a refund under any circumstances and that you still have to tip and pay the 18% gratuity on the whole bill. This is not made clear. There is NO WAY I would EVER purchase again or recommend these shysters, even to my worst enemy! BEWARE! The only bright spot is that the reputable restaurant will refund our money. At least they're honest! Old adage: You can't get something for nothing (or almost nothing!)

Why would you buy gift card for $25 for $20 and the rules are min order $50with 18% gratuity automatically added that s $9 on top of your bill so you are g getting gift certificate for tip no savings at all

Total rip off. I read the terms and conditions, and had no issue with them. However, the restaruarants listed in the "revew our restaurants" list do not reflect what is available after you create your account. I now have a $25 credit but can't redeem it for the place I wanted to go to, that they advertized as participating. Furthermore, their customer service is horrible. 25 mins on the phone getting condescended to is not how I enjoy spending my evenings. STAY AWAY from this scam of a site.

Pissed dude, you're the reason the program sucks. You're sitting here pretending that you aren't getting a great deal as a consumer? You're saying that you weren't going to leave a tip reflecting the total value of the meal? You still got $10 off your bill. If you paid $4 for the GC then you can argue that you only saved $6, but how the hell you come up with $3 is beyond me. If you walked into a restaurant as a full paying customer and spent $23, you would pay the taxes, and you would tip, according to your shotty math, you'd spend $30. With the R.com certificate, you're only paying $20 for that experience. How is that a $3 savings?

Restaurant.com is a ripoff. Let us talk about their $10 off certificate. You get $10 off $20. That is, you need to buy $20 worth of stuff at the minimum. Since there are no fillers to make it exactly $20 you end up paying about $23.
$23 + 18% gratuity = $24.10
The taxes are at $23 = $1.84
Total paid = $26.
Certificate cost = $4
Total = $30 - $10 for certificate = $20.

You got yourself that $3 worth of food for essentially free though.

I recently had a certificate that was not honored by the restaurant. The restaurant.com reply said that they won't give me my money back. all they could do was to give me another certificate of similar value. WTF? I gave you my money against something. Now you did not deliver. How come you not give me my money back in the form I spent it?

I have had 13 different restaurants call me in the last 2 weeks. If you are needing help with these scammers - please call. We have started with the attorney general and they are taking a huge amount of interest in these guys.

Bought a "gift certificate" last month from Restaurant.com. Certificate states "...does not expire"! Drove 10 miles to try this restaurant (King & I Asian Cuisine, in Lake Worth, FL) only to find the address dark, and the doors locked. Looked like this restaurant went out of business some time ago. I have been trying, unsuccessfully (only getting a recording), to call Restaurant.com to see what they plan to do about this! Never mind that the $25 gift certificate only cost me $2.00 If this is a pattern that affects thousands of customers, those $2.00 rip-offs, which most people would write off to experience, could add up to a sizeable scam! JUST BE WARNED... the certificates might not expire, but the restaurants do!

Stay far away from Restaurant.com. They are hurting everyone. A Class action is needed here.

I've had mixed experiences. Though I thoroughly read the terms and conditions, my last experience was bad. After emailing and phoning restaurant.com to double-check that this specific restaurant participated in their program, I bought a certificate, only to find out after the meal that the restaurant would not accept the certificate. It turns out that the establishment's owner was in a lawsuit with restaurant.com. Not only was it embarrassing, I spent unexpected extra money.

Restaurant.com should take down any restaurant with which it is legally wrangling. The consumer ends up being the one hurt. As far as I'm concerned, since I adhered to all the terms and double-checked with restaurant.com on the restaurant's participation and since they did not remove the restaurant from their site after complaints and a lawsuit began, the management at restaurant.com is at fault…especially if they refuse to reimburse my out-of-pocket meal costs.

I have read every comment on this post, I am greatful that the restaurant owners and managers for their input. I did not know that the restaurants go through so much trouble with the with the company itself. I did not know that customers were so horrible, but, I do know for a fact that not all programs work for everyone. No one credit card works for everyone, no one bank, school, grocery store, tv show, house, car, fruit, vegetable, clothes line, medication etc., The previous commenter seems to be very angry and those type of people are very scary. It just doesn't work for everyone. Talking about people in that manner is inconsiderate and hateful.

I have been using the coupons for several years and I have not had a problem at all. In most of the establisments when you present the coupon in the beginning the server explains the program from the beginnig. Although I already know the how it works, I do appreciate the time and effort. I do think the problem comes when the customer does not tell the server they are using the coupons. When the customer tells the server they are using the coupons then it give the server and the customer a chance to monitor the whole sale. I use them to visit different restaurants in different parts of town. I even go back to the same restaurant I liked and try new foods. It's an outlet for me and I choose to believe that it brings greatful customers into the different establishment. Good luck.

Wow - it's so sad what type of horrible excuses for human beings Americans have become - This program is great and the terms are very clear and not hidden at all.

I think it is awesome I can save 50% or more on my total bill when eating out and I also am aware that the server has bills to pay and that you should always tip according to any pre-coupon or GC total. This is their income/job ya know!

I have always tipped according to pre-coupon anyways! I had had bills that were about $12 and used a free meal coupon and paid tax and then tipped the server $12 - I mean - its only right not to think the whole freaking country owes you a free ride.

But, you cannot tell that to any liberal American consumer or republican wanna bees that really are liberal at heart; they have every excuse in the book as to why this country and all in it - especially businesses owe them a free ride. Or, they just do not care as they "Had or have it hard"' in life – so because they are lazy and do not want to admit it, or they have attitude issues because they think they are owed respect and do not want to give it – the rest of Americans are to bow down to them like they are special or something and hard work is not something they can even begin to image – just hardships they actually are too stupid to realize they allow or cause on themselves.

Oh – they really freaking hate it when you tell them like it is – as they are last to want to face reality and then have to do the right thing and get their butts to work and do something about it. Nope, blaming everyone and everything is so much easier – and then thinking they are justified too.

I think many consumers are spoiled rotten and need to get over themselves - if they can't afford to tip according to the pre-coupon/discount - then they need to stay home and let the server get a real customer - not a cheap a**.

I know the economy is struggling right now - but that doesn't mean that a customer is more special then a server or the restaurants – we all are struggling.

I want restaurants to know – there are good consumers doing this program and I am so sorry they do not prescreen these other jerks before allowing them to purchase GC- I swear they should make everyone do a survey about this program to make sure all persons have read and understood the terms and also sign to it at the end that they AGREE and are held legally responsible for ripping off any restaurant and pulled from the program if they do!

This program is a total give and receive on all ends.

Buyer beware! I bought a certificate, went to the restaurant 20 minutes later & it was not accepeted. There was a sign on the door saying their contract ended 9/30/2010. My question to customer service was why could I still purchase a certificate. No answer... The $10 I would have saved on my $70 meal totally was not worth the frustration I have now. CS was only willing to exchange the certificate. This is fraud b/c I was sold a certificate that was not valid.

If you would read everything before you purchased the coupon it does state all that before you purchase. You have to read everything first. It's not easy to save money you have to be wise and read everything. We used the site often and love it and have had absolutely no problems what so ever!

This review makes absolutely no sense. How do you spend $30 more on something than you were planning to? Did you not read? Sounds like you're at fault here.

I've never had a prblem with using the certificates and have used them for years. The key thing is--you have to read what you are buying. I also don't abuse the sytem by buying a lot of certificates for the same restaurant. Also, having worked in the sevce industry, I know I should tip on the whole amount and not the reduced. There are just cheap people out there, really wanting something for nothing and always having to complain. If it is a restuarant that I want to try, then I'll see if it is on restaurant.com. My husband and I found a lovely place in McKinney, TX, that we now call our place off of restaruant.com, they no longer even advertise with them and haven't for years but it is still our favorite, special place. We would have never found them if it hadn't been for the certificates.

I am a restaurant owner and want you all to understand how these cheating scam artists work. They initially agree to sell your certificates for $10.00. As they see your restaurant is popular on the website they up the price to as high as $17.50.
As a restaurant owner I asked that they only sell 30 a month. After agreeing they turned around and sold in excess of 1000 in a 9 month period. Let me show you the math: They averaged $13.5 a certificate x 1000 sold = $13500.00 in a 9 month period. I have had to honor close to $11, 000 in free goods. Do you think as a businesswoman this makes sense? The reason that restaurants are closing are because Restaurant.com is bankrupting them. They are the biggest scam going. I tried to cancel our partnership and they pulled out their ridiculous contract that covers everything under the moon. When I confronted them with their gross overselling they offered to cancel me immediately. Shady Shady Shady. No one will now take mycalls, and they refuse to talk to me. This kicker is they are STILL selling my certificates on line. The only people benefiting are restaurant.com. Those suffering are of course me cause I am out of 11k, and the customers buying the certificates because I will not honor them anymore.

I have been using Restruant.com for a few years now without any problems. I have paid $2.00 or less for a $25.00 certificate and I call that a deal. You must have not read what you were buying or maybe didn't read the certificate or the terms & conditions. I suggest you do that next time. One last thing, maybe you put the wrong code in for the discount because as stated before, I purchased many for $2.00 or less. So I'm guessing it's you.

I have used these for several years and have NEVER had a problem. If you know how to read and do read, you won't have any problem.
THANKS Restaurant.com!

I recently bought four certificates to a local restaurant. The restaurant refuses to accept them. Restaurant.com will only issue replacements, not refunds even when restaurant refuses the certificate. Since it is the only "participating" restaurant in my area I'd want to dine at, I'm out the full amount. Beware!

Sorry to hear about the writer's bad experience. I've bought several coupons and have had a great experience. Went to a restaurant we wouldn't have gone to otherwise (because of cost) and had one of the best dinners I've had in quite some time. Yes, you do have to read the terms -- and yes, you usually have to pay for over half the dinner -- but you have to know what you might spend at the restaurant and buy the $ coupon accordingly. All I can say is, I've had a great experience and have bought four more coupons I'm anxious to use.

As a restaurant owner, I have some experience with the restaurant.com program. There are inherent problems with using these certificates at your establishment. We decided to terminate our agreement with them because we did not make any money from the system and did not feel that the little advertising we got from them was sufficient to keep the system in place. The problems we had were -

1. No Profit
2. Always have issues with customers who want to order specials or use our 'Kids Eat Free' deal. Even though it says not valid with any other offer, coupon, special price, etc.
This still adds a negative experience to the situation which, in my view takes away any small benefit you did get from advertising.
3. Slowed servers down when having to processa certificate during busy dinner hours.
4. When we sent in our 30 day notice the first time, it was ignored. I know it was received and that the exit interview was done because our rep told me it was done.
I sent it again myself via email and US mail and this time it was acknowledged, both via email and 3 follow up telephone calls trying to get us to stay in the program.
Alas, after our 30 days were up, we are still listed on their website. We have been forced to put up a sign that says we are no longer accepting the certificates.
We will be recommending that people who have the certificates dated after our 30 day period ended, process a chargeback through their credit card company for a refund.
This might get their attention since they will be charged $10 or so for each charge back that gets processed through their credit card processor.

If we are still listed in another week or so, we will begin legal proceedings against them (lawyers have to work too :)) I hope it doesn't come to this though because there are other things I'd rather be doing. - For now, I will post about this daily on as many sites as I can find!

I'm one of the restauranteur that's getting this scam. At this moment, the issue is still up in the air. Wonder how other deal with them from before, but we need to do something about this website and company to stop them from scamming people all over the country!

Cheap customers, how about cheap owners. Instead of paying for traditional advertising, owners allow a discount on their meals. You agree to let restaurant.com advertise your business and for them to keep whatever cost of the certificate the consumer pays as payment for that advertising. The consumer abides by the terms on the certificate, minimum purchase, exception days, etc.

And then you complain when people come into use them. Or you now decise to no longer accept them, worse yet after the patron has eaten and deman full payment. Instead of accepting the certificate happily, you provide the customer with a bad experience. Now the chances are nil that they will ever come back, worse yet they will tell others of their bad experience.

Ironically, bringing in new customers is the effect that this program is suppose to have on your business. But many small owners are short sided and it has the opposite effect.

All of you thinking this is a scam, please go back and read gbjordan's comments a few up in this thread. I think it give a very good synopsis of the process.

I have been using restaurant.com for about 4-5 years. I have never had a problem with any of the certificates or 'recurring charges'.

I do not use this site to get something for nothing. I consider myself Frugal, but not cheap. The non-dollar cost of being frugal is that I pay close attention to what I am buying. Those of you that intend to stack coupons and get mad at the restaurant that doesn't allow it, put yourself in the restaurant's position and honestly think if you're really making a reasonable request. Being Frugal also doesn't mean being cheap on your tip. Tip on the pre-discounted price should be common sense. If the service does not meet expectations for the type of restaurant you're at, you should be talking to the manager anyways, not silently walking away without a stingy tip.

Before you purchase the certificate, read the details close and if it doesn't meet your criteria move on and find something that does!

Lastly, I use these certificates to help find new restaurants in the area that I may otherwise have not tried. If the food and service are good and I've had an enjoyable experience, you can bet I'll be back intermittenly, even without the certificate. That's why and how the whole concept works. If you want something for nothing, you can always check out your local soup kitchen.

Ok. So I used one of these today, a $25 certificate I purchased for $3. I took my wife and 2 little ones to a restaurant we had never been to, small place but the service and food were great. I spent $90, they discounted $20 (I did not bother asking why not the $25 face value, I figure the $17 discount was a good deal (20 off minus 3 paid) So my bill was reduced to $70, I left $13 in tip which the restaurant never included, I believe that came up to 15% of the total bill (prior to the $20 credit) I realized I did not leave the requested 18% but the restaurant did not give the full $25 credit when I spent more than twice the requested minimum.

I don't think anybody lost here. I got a $17 discount, the restaurant got $70 for $90 worth of food (I think they probably made some profit on this transaction) and the waiter got at a minimum a 15% gratuity. Better yet, we liked the place and will probably go back, even without a restaurant.com certificate.

I just returned to work for a restaurant I worked for a few years ago, they are old friends and it is a small family business which has been around for almost 70 years all told. The food menu and prices haven't changed in more then 10 years, thus they aren't out to make a "killing", its just a nice neighborhood place with a history in the area. A good history at that. And I was horrified when I saw the owners younger son sorting out and attempting to verify through the phone number what looked to be more than 50 of these Restaurant.com certificates.
Over the years I have always watched this 'bright idea' that zealous management and/or owners have had turn into a nightmare. Personally I have had to deal with this 'Company' in 3 different restaurants, and each time the owners/managers have chosen to opt out of it, and this is why:
In addition to what is said in the comment preceiding my own...which by the way...is ENTIRELY true (that the restaurants themselves make ZERO cash from these transactions and the fact that that some customers will also try to scam you even when they have themselves read the fine print and just hope that their server does not), it's also because restaurants themselves get tricked into this, with promises of advertising, which is lack-luster and obviously not free, as outlined in the above article.
Customers, please try to understand a few things, for example let's take the 18% gratuity added to the bill, which is supposed to be added at the pre-discounted price. I never do this. To me it's unethical. If people like your service it is generally reflected in your tip but some people just don't tip, though I have often gotten people who generally don't tip leave me something because they liked my service, it isn't much, usually a few bucks and is greatly mispreportioned to the bill, like three dollars on a $30 bill. But in all honesty that alone means something to me. It wont pay my bills, but it does give me a sense of pride in what I do. And i want to bring up a common misconception since I am seeing alot of 'tip complaining' in general- WE MAKE EXACTLY $2.83 an hour, we do not make $7.25 an hour as is with everyone else's minimum wage. So please do the math...I'm not asking you to give generously...I'm just asking that you give respectfully. And hence why I don't add in that 18%, because to do so would mean that regardless of how well or how poorly I served you I am regulating my worth, and that my actual performance means nothing.
I apologize, I have gotten a bit off the subject, but it is a subject that I feel strongly about, and rightfully so.
The synopsis is this; Look at the business that you yourself are in, would that business exist if that company made no money? It's the same thing for a restaurant. If that business cant afford to pay for the 'manufacture' of its products, let alone pay it's employees, then there is no business at all speak off. We are all in hard times economically, businesses and individuals alike, and we are all seeking deals and ways to save money, but the Restaurant.com idea, isn't one that should be endorsed, by patrons or by the restaurants themselves. Would you want your favorite restaurant run out of business by scams such is this, because this surely isn't the only one out there, nor is the first scam of it's kind and unfortunetly I don't see it as being the last.
Please boycott Restaurant.com because at the end of the day the troubles caused by companies like this isn't dealt with by them, its dealt with (and paid for) by people like you and I. People who just want to save a few dollars, or just want to make a few dollars. I am a small fish in a huge ocean, most of us are, and I, for one, see no problem with their being a few less sharks there with us.
Thank you to all who took the time to read this.

I agree with you I am also a restaurant owner. The only ones that benefit are restaurant.com and cheap customers that take advantage of your establishment...

You guys don't know how Restaurant.com works. I'll explain it from the standpoint of someone who owns a restaurant and works directly with them. Restaurant.com sells the Gift Certificates and keeps all of the money from said sale. Restaurant.com 'sells' their program to restaurants by giving them 'free advertising'. "We'll put you on our site, add your restaurant to our mailing list, and to our e-list and you'll see hundreds of new customers!"

The only money that the restaurant sees from these transactions is the money that is spent over and above the actual gift certificate. The reason many restaurants add an 18% gratuity is because you, the consumers, don't understand that when you're $50 bill gets reduced to $25 you should still tip on the $50.

This is also the reason that there are so many terms and they are different for different restaurants. The once a month rule is in place for the following reason: Restaurants don't make any money off of these except what you spend above the gift certificate. For example, you bought a $25 GC online for my restaurant for $2. Restaurant.com gets that $2. You come into my restaurant and spend your minimum $35. I add the 18% and take off the $25 from your bill. I gave you $35 worth of food and got $10 for it. You also tipped the server about $6.30. Factoring in the cost of the food, the cost of the server, the cost of the cook, and the cost of keeping the lights on in your booth, I made about -$1.27 on the entire transaction. Obviously not a good deal for me. We more than likely impressed you with our food, so you want to come back. If you can come back every day with a Restaurant.com gift certificate, I'll go out of business. If you want to come back every day but can only use a Restaurant.com GC once a month, you either come back in between and pay full price, or you wait.

To say that most problems come from the restaurants and not restaurant.com is completely false. In my experience, 95% of the problems come from the guests using the gift certificate. We as operators are put in a position every time one of you either didn't read the terms or didn't care and just wanted to take advantage of us. We either have to go with the 'customer is always right' and lose our balls, or we have to risk pissing you off and never seeing you again. What I've found in my experience is that you probably aren't going to come back without a gift certificate anyway, so we may as well piss you off and hold you accountable for reading a little bit. Here's what I see on a weekly basis:

Customer doesn't spend the minimum
Customer wants to use two restaurant.com coupons
Customer wants to use the 'gift certificate' with another coupon
Customer wants to use the gift certificate on a daily special that is already discounted
Two couples go to dinner, each has one
What is this 'service charge'?
Customer wants cash back for the unused portion
Customer spends $28, leaves the restaurant.com $25GC and $6 in cash in the book and leaves

We will not be 're-joining' Restaurant.com because for restaurants it is a profit eater.

I am a restaurant owner and this program is definitely a SCAM. The corporate office refuses to help and find resolutions to problems regarding the illegal use of coupons. We are definitely being taken advantage off with this program. Do Not Sign Up for this program.

I've been using Restaurant.com for about 3 years and it's a legit website. If you are receiving reoccurring charges on your account, it's not the company you have to worry about but possibly and employee that's taking your credit card numbers as I have NEVER had an issue. If you have a security issue about purchasing from Restaurant.com you can always use PayPal to purchase your certificates. Be careful what you click on from any website as there are many links to supposed bonuses or trial offers and that is where you would get the reoccurring charges.

CONS:

You do have to read the fine print to see the restrictions for use. Often it's Sun-Thurs only, you have to purchase a certain amount of food and there is often an 18% gratuity tacked onto it. A lot of the problems people are experiencing are due to the restaurants themselves, not Restaurant.com.

My biggest problem is that I purchase a certificate and the restaurant either goes out of business or pulls from the program making your certificate invalid. It's an incovenience, but if you call the 800 # they issue you a credit for the invalid certificate and you can then purchase one for a different restaurant.

Well Reeech no offense but you're complaining about being ripped off $2.00? Seriously?

I have had good experiences with restaurant.com. I have been using certificates for years. Yes, they have annoying restrictions but they usually work well for us. Chaucer's sushi in Addison, TX has given us a problem once or twice but other than that, no problems. We do joke that restaurant.com is where restaurants go to die because many seem to close shortly after they appear on the list. If you abide by the terms and are careful not to sign up for the shopping thing you can get a deal.

P.S. - Your use of quotation marks is misplaced and annoying. Sorry.

Today, 2/9/10, rec'd E-mail offering $25 cert. for $2.00. This is where the correct advertising ends. We had previously purchased a similar "certificate" and finally used it on 2/8. One (of the two total restaurants within easy reach of our Zip Code)
sounded "acceptable" so after clicking on "menu" we arrived, (2/8/10) AFTER using certificate, I checked the "menu" posted 2/9.
"Menu" listed entree (buffet deal) at $23.95 We were charged $27.95.
"Menu" listed soft drinks included. We were told only water free.
"Menu" listed several desserts included. We were told desserts "extra".
O.K., so prices and menu subject to change . . . in 24 hours? I think NOT.
Meal itself was "marginal" and server "forgot" to bring bread, offered at one or two of the MINIMAL number of other occupied tables.
Totally dissatisfied with this restaurant, as well as Restaurant.com.
I have asked for a REFUND and a FULL APOLOGY.

YES restaurant is a total bait and switch. You save but they automatic sign you up for "Shopping Essentials" Which is some random ###en membership thing that charges for 28$ a month. If you dont check your statement you'll rack up some nice bills. Make sure you don't mark it or something? or cancel the membership before it charges you for the first month