How $700 got lifted from my wallet. . .my LivingSocial complaint

Caveat emptor. A few times I have purchased deals from sites like LivingSocial or Crowd Cut, such as a restaurant discount or money off at a bed and breakfast.

Deals on those sites worked out fine for me -- until now. This spring my wife bought six Zerona laser treatments for $699.00 from Maple Grove Wellness.

I personally would not have purchased something health-related from LivingSocial. My wife, however, had researched Zerona and was waiting for the appropriate time to purchase a deal.

She made an appointment with Maple Grove Wellness, but was not able to get in until after the LivingSocial refund time frame expired (five days).

The LivingSocial refund policy says:  "LivingSocial will provide a refund if you change your mind within five days after you've purchased your voucher and want to 'return' the unused voucher. After that, we do not provide refunds except that we will provide a refund if you are unable to redeem a voucher because the merchant has gone out of business."

My wife went to her initial consultation with Maple Grove Wellness and the "physician" was unable to and/or unwilling to answer some of her questions regarding the procedure (success rates, side effects, etc.). That made her uncomfortable with having it done at Maple Grove Wellness, so she sought a refund. After contacting LivingSocial consumer services, she was told that no refund would be available.

There's a lesson to be learned here -- don't buy health-related deals (LASIK, Zerona, body waxing, facials, etc.) on deal sites. You probably will not be able to get an appointment until you're outside of the LivingSocial refund time frame, and then you'll be out your money. In my case, it was $699.00 down the drain. Buyer beware.