Update:
CouponCabin terminated my account on Jan. 16th after I expressed a legal concern regarding their lack of transparency. I had $76.86 pending in my account at that time. Sydney K., the customer service rep who terminated my account, told me that a final check would be processed within 10 days and mailed out to me. It never was.
Ever since then, I've been trying to collect this money. Upon account termination, no one at CouponCabin would talk with me. I was told to mail a letter to their legal department. So at the beginning of March, I sent a formal demand letter to CouponCabin's legal department. After 30 days, I still had not heard back, so I sent an email to their legal department as well as to their customer service department. I received no reply, but two days later, CouponCabin's lawyer, Douglas C, overnighted me a response letter.
The response letter essentially stated that they would not communicate with me except through a lawyer and/or through the Small Claims Court and/or binding arbitration due to my repeated threats of legal action. Of course, this is a gross mischaracterization of statements made by me regarding legal action. There was, in fact, only a potential threat of legal action in the event that CouponCabin did not pay me the money owed. I mean, if someone owes you money, and they won't pay you, what exactly are you supposed to do besides threaten to sue them? If they paid that money, I'd have no reason to seek legal action.
This letter, and in particular one that Mr. C sent to the Illinois Attorney General's office in response to a complaint I made, contained what I will diplomatically refer to as factual errors. In neither case did Mr. C make any mention whatsoever of the money owed to me or my attempts to collect it. In fact, he seemed to feign ignorance of my objective.
Regardless, I did attempt to reach out to Mr. C in order to settle the matter amicably outside of court. He provided an email address to which I could direct communication from my attorney (as though anyone is going to hire an attorney to collect $76.86). I made clear that what I wanted was the money owed to me, at
which point I would let the matter rest.
I pointed out to him (again) that CouponCabin informed me on Jan. 15th that I was owed money, and their own customer service representative, Sydney K., also informed me that I was owed this money. Further, Sydney K. also stated that my account was in good standing despite whatever security issue caused my account to no longer be able to be paid out via Paypal.
This is particularly important when you examine their Terms and Conditions. Section 3 of the Terms and Conditions, specifically paragraph III, "Termination of Your Membership," states: "If your membership is terminated by CouponCabin, CouponCabin may refuse to pay some or all of the amounts credited to your account
if such amounts appear or are suspected (as determined in the sole and exclusive discretion of CouponCabin) to have been earned in violation, or after violation, of these Terms or to have been otherwise unlawfully obtained." Based on Sydney K.'s
statement, they did not believe that I had violated their T&C in earning this money. Sydney K. even informed me that a check would be forthcoming. Therefore, CouponCabin is in violation of their own T&C.
CouponCabin seems to have no problem using their T&C as a weapon against consumers, but when it applies to them, they have little regard for it. It is my opinion that they are betting that most people will not put in the time and effort to go to court or arbitration in order to recoup small sums of money. I wonder how many accounts they've terminated without paying out what those account holders were owed. I would not be surprised to find this to be a significant source of income for them.
So, what options are available now? Clearly they have no interest in acting in good faith. They won't communicate with me, and they've avoided any mention of money as though they were allergic to it. There are two primary courses of action. First, I can
sue in Small Claims Court. It would cost about $90 plus some additional expenses related to serving CouponCabin. However, if I were to win, I could recover these expenses from CouponCabin.
Other people in my situation may not want to choose Small Claims Court, though, because of location. I think you'd have to either live in Illinois or Indiana or go to one of those states to file. The other option is arbitration. CouponCabin's T&C make this
option seem equally unappealing because they state that you'd have to do this in Lake County, IN. However, JAMS, the arbitration company, specifically states that the consumer must be allowed to take part in choosing the arbiter, and they must also be allowed to have the venue take place in their hometown. So, despite what CouponCabin's T&C state, if you want to file an arbitration claim, it should not matter where you live. The filing fee is $250, however if you win CouponCabin will have to pay it. Additionally, CouponCabin has to pay several thousand dollars in fees to the
arbitration company to have JAMS process the claim and arbitrate it. I don't know CouponCabin's record when it comes to these sorts of cases, but it is entirely possible that if you were to file and arbitration claim, CouponCabin may opt to settle with you rather than pay all of these fees to JAMS. So, if you've got a good case, you may wish to go this route. Perhaps if enough people did, CouponCabin might choose to change their practices.
Additionally, I highly recommend you file a complaint with the Attorney General's Office in Illinois. They will probably tell you that they aren't going to do anything, but perhaps if enough people complain, they will have no choice but to take the issue
seriously and investigate this company.
Original Review:
I'd steer clear of this company due to transparency issues. They flagged my account for what they deemed "unnatural activity," but they could not explain to me what this activity was or why their security flagged it. Additionally, due to this flagging, they would no longer allow me to receive my cashback electronically (through Paypal, for example) and would only send me paper checks. When I inquired about these problems, all they would tell me was that this problem happened and there was no way to ever resolve it. I had to either accept paper checks from them henceforth or no longer be a member. They stated that their terms and conditions covered this, but when I asked where the relevant passage in the T&C was, they ignored me. I couldn't find it. I complained about their lack of transparency and stated that I might have to look into whether or not this was a legal issue, and they promptly closed my account and will not respond other than to tell me that I have to write a letter to their legal department, at which point they'd get back to me within 30 days. So, I am left not knowing what this unnatural activity was or whether or not it poses a threat to my system. This company just isn't worth the headaches, especially when there are other companies out there doing the same thing. Additionally, they never claimed I violated their T&C. It's worth noting also that I had over $75 in payments pending, and I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to steal my money. You definitely should avoid this company at all costs. Sooner or later, they will do something.
Edit:
I expect that if CouponCabin replies they will say something like this, as they did on another review: "While we recognize that threats, intimidation and insults may be effective with other companies, they are not at all tolerated at CouponCabin and your account has been permanently closed."
So, not only is this company deceptive, they out and out lie. At no point prior to my account being closed did I threaten, intimidate, or insult anyone or anything. Did I tell them that their lack of transparency was problematic enough that I was considering whether or not there should be a legal response, yes. Did I say that I would take legal action unless they did something, no I did not. This is a company that can not be trusted. Therefore, I have submitted complaints to the BBB in Indiana and Illinois, and I submitted complaints to the Attorney General's offices in Indiana and Illinois. I will also be submitting a complaint to the FTC whenever the government shutdown ends. Further, I will be contacting various representatives in the Indiana government (I am a resident of Indiana). Based on not only my experiences but those of others that I've read about, CouponCabin has a pattern of immediately closing the accounts of anyone who has a problem with them or their customer service. Clearly they are trying to silence people and hide their own deceptive practices. I will most certainly be filing a civil claim against them if I do not receive my pending money that I legitimately earned.
