Restaurant.com review: FRAUD 49

I've used and given them as gifts. There has never been a problem on either end. I usually wait until I get the 80% off and it's a real bargain. As far as having only bad restaurants participating, that is simply not true. I have gotten bargains on many well known restaurants. I fact I'm waiting to get one for a very popular place in Asbury Park that is always out of stock when I try.

Why Won't The Government Stop this? I was also A victum of this scam! . Eldersburg, MD

I just used a certificate last night for the first time, and it worked perfectly. We have trained ourselves not to read fine print because there is so much of it, but I found the terms to be fairly obvious. I was preparing to buy a certificate a few nights ago, but I clearly saw that it was not valid on Friday or Saturday (that is a restriction on some of the certificates). At the end of the purchase, I was slightly confused about the Shopping Essentials thing, but I quickly realized that that was an extra thing for which I didn't want to sign up. I'll watch my credit card for any recurring charges, but I doubt they will happen. Finally, the whole process worked in my favor and in the restaurant's favor. We saved $30 on our tab and spent more money than we otherwise might have (not because of the requirement to spend a certain amount but because we had an extra $30). So far, I am a very satisfied (and full) customer.

I agree restaurant.com is a total scam. You cannot use the gift cert like a normal place. You have to spend DOUBLE what the gift is worth. You can only use ONE per MONTH, no exeptions. It is a joke. I cannot believe they get any business. I would NEVER EVER EVER give someone a gift card from restaurant.com because a gift is to GIVE not to TAKE from them. Seriously it is a scam and a joke. DO NOT USE RESTAURANT.com SCAM CENTRAL. Some greedy schmuck is over their rippin people off and getting away with it.!

It's not a fraud just b/c you didn't read the terms.

I haven't used my certificate yet, but I noticed that the terms were very clearly outlined. You need to READ THE TERMS, not just check the box. The terms for the restaurant are clearly outlined as well, i.e. 18% gratuity included, $20 minimum purchase, lunch use only, etc. I don't know why you would think that the restaurant would give you say a $25 gift certificate for $10 without knowing they'll get it back in additional purchases and tip, and knowing you'll only use it once a month. And folks who do surveys to get $10 free on their next purchase are not reading the fine print. You don't get something for nothing.

From another post on here you have to make sure a box is not checked that signs you up for Shopping Essentials, a monthly subscription thing. I don't know about the certificates not working.

Thanks for posting your complaint, I was researching restaurant.com for gifts, but now I know better! Its sad how people take advantage of others, especially during these tough economic times. Sorry you got ripped off.

I was about to buy a gift certificate from restaurant.com, but thought better of it after reading your complaint and many others. Most people complain of an even more serious problem--recurring charges on their credit cards after contact with restaurant.com. Sometimes the charges are from a company called Shopping Essentials, sometimes from other companies. In any case, once you give your information to restaurant.com, these affiliated companies apparently start charging your credit card monthly and possibly even more frequently.

Please watch your credit card for the next few months--from what I have read, the charges are small and possibly forgettable, but they keep happening until you contest them. And sometimes they don't start for a month or so.

It is pretty easy for companies and individuals to get by with this kind of scam. I used to work in a restaurant with a guy who always seemed to make better tips than the rest of us, and we all wondered why. It turned out he was changing the numbers on the receipts, in any favorable way he could, for every single transaction. Up by $4-$15 for each table, depending on the size of the table and the size of the bill--never so much that it was blatant, and never in a way that made the change obvious, but given that he worked 6 tables at a time, it did add up for him over the course of a Saturday night. He got by with this for at least a year before a frugal and meticulous old man noticed that his bill was off by $12 and came in to have a talk with the manager. The waiter was fired, but I saw him working down the street within a few months, probably doing the same thing. These online companies are doing the exact same scam, but on a much larger scale. And it is really easy to do with credit cards, because people often just pay the bill without paying attention!

Be careful out there!