Australian Spa Challenges Groupon Over Unpaid Payments: 'Speaking Up is Intimidating

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Tomi Cao was excited to take over a spa and wellness business in Queensland, but she didn’t have much time to enjoy her new gig, quickly realising something was very wrong with an external payments system.

She discovered that Groupon, a major online couponing website, had been sending money meant for her to the previous owner of the business, despite multiple attempts to correct the problem.

Cao took over the An Head Spa & Wellness business in Brisbane at the end of October, and is now turning to regulators for help to get her money from Groupon, as she’s yet to be paid for dozens of sessions.

She says it’s been a tough journey to try and get her money back, telling SBS News “It’s scary to speak up, especially speaking up against such a large multinational corporation like Groupon.”

Cao was nervous about sharing her story on social media, but said once she did so people were largely supportive.

She said the previous owner notified Groupon of the change in ownership before the settlement date.

When Tomi Cao took over a new business, she also assumed responsibility for several active Groupon campaigns. These campaigns allowed customers to purchase discounted offers online, which they would then redeem in-store. The process was designed so that Groupon would deposit the payments directly into Cao’s merchant account.

A woman with her eyes closed with a spa tap running water on her face

However, Cao has claimed that Groupon has been sending weeks’ worth of payments meant for her spa to an incorrect account. This issue has caused significant concern for her business operations.

Despite reaching out to Groupon for a resolution, weeks passed without any payments being received. Additionally, Cao has reported that she is unable to access information on how many vouchers have been redeemed through Groupon’s online system, as seen in emails reviewed by SBS.

A wellness spa with massage beds and basins

Cao says Groupon’s failure to pay her for sessions has created issues with her business’ cashflow. Source: Supplied / An Head Spa and Wellness

In an email dated Friday 14 November, she tells the site’s support team that: “The Merchant Centre/dashboard shows $0 and no redemption data” … and “We currently have no visibility over what has been redeemed” — leaving the business unsure exactly how much was owed.

“This,” Cao writes, “is creating issues for our cash flow … especially during a busy trading period.”

Cao told SBS: “I explicitly asked … I just want to make sure money does not go to the wrong account and they told me more than once, nothing will go to the previous owner’s account.”

“And, later on, we found out that wasn’t the truth.”

Groupon admits in one email that funds had in fact been sent to the previous owner, who now lives overseas.

For Cao’s small salon, even a handful of unpaid vouchers has been costly. Immediate cashflow can prove vital for small businesses to stay afloat, and take care of immediate expenses like wages, superannuation, product costs and overhead costs.

Cao said the situation put her in an impossible position: refuse the coupons and frustrate customers, or accept them and take a financial loss.

Customers caught in the middle

She had to make a difficult decision.

Cao told Groupon — and informed her clients on social media — she wouldn’t honour vouchers for new bookings from 20 November, and that she would redirect customers back to the site for a refund.

Three women in blue uniform and one in a white dress smiling inside a wellness spa

For Cao’s small business, missing payments from Groupon have had a big effect. Source: Supplied / An Head Spa and Wellness

She said some customers were frustrated or confused when told the vouchers would no longer be accepted.

“We are told that we are scamming people. We’re told that: ‘I’m reporting your business’. We’re told that basically: ‘I don’t want to go back to Groupon for a refund. You fix it’.”

Cao also said she had feelings of guilt, knowing she probably wouldn’t be able to go through with the cancellations.

“I just don’t have the heart to go out and cancel on everyone because they would have already arranged childcare, they would have arranged leave, time off, and a lot of those were bought for someone as a gift.”

“Everyone’s already booked … booked well into January 2026.”

Escalating the issue

After weeks of unsuccessful negotiations, the owner lodged complaints with the Office of Fair Trading Queensland (OFTQ) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on 26 November.

“I just really need Groupon to be held accountable,” Cao said. “Because I know I’m not alone.”

But these processes take time. According to OFTQ’s website, it can take 30 days to hear back from the agency, and even longer for more complex cases.

If they’re unable to resolve the case, civil action may be required.

“Reading up online, I know so many other small businesses who are just forced to stay silent … They have no idea how to navigate the legal system,” Cao said.

“A lot of these businesses you see on the platforms … many of them are migrant-owned and just have business owners with English as a second language they speak at home.”

Groupon’s response

In a written statement to SBS, Groupon said: “We’re sorry for the frustration this situation has caused, this is not the experience we want any partner to have when working with Groupon.”

The company said the documentation confirming the ownership change had not been finalised. “Once the change was verified, we escalated the matter immediately and approved payment to the new owner.

“The payment is expected this week. We are in direct contact with both parties; recovering the funds issued to the previous owner and ensuring that customers are fully supported.”

Groupon said it recognises “this transition could have been handled more smoothly and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

“Our focus remains on resolving this matter in good faith and supporting the small businesses who rely on our platform.”

A waiting game

For now, Cao is still waiting for the payments to hit her bank account.

“We finally received a small payment from Groupon yesterday covering only last week’s redemptions up to Wednesday,” she told SBS on Tuesday.

“However, the original amount in [the] dispute, funds that were misdirected to the previous owner, remains outstanding.”

She said she hopes her complaint will highlight the vulnerability of small businesses relying on external payment systems.

“It’s the holiday [season] where people are booking in,” she said.

“I’m supposed to be training staff, hiring new people, push harder on marketing, getting my footing into a completely brand new business I’m trying to build — and I’m not doing any of that. I’m chasing after money that was rightfully owed to us.”