WICKER PARK — The Better Business Bureau issued an alert Wednesday about a local deals website, Restaurant.com, saying customers had complained they were unable to redeem gift certificates sold on the site, while businesses said the company sold certificates to their restaurants without their knowledge.
In the last three years, the bureau said 253 complaints have been filed against Restaurant.com, which is based in Arlington Heights and claims on its website to represent more than 20,000 restaurants across the U.S.
The website advertises a variety of deals in which a customer can pay $10 upfront for a certificate good toward $25 off a bill at a restaurant, for example. There is typically a minimum amount that must be spent as well as other restrictions on the certificates.
The bureau said complaints came from customers who said they were "unable to redeem gift certificates sold by Restaurant.com," as well as restaurant owners who said their businesses were listed on the site with gift certificates sold without their knowledge or permission.
The website did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2014, DNAinfo reported on a similar situation at a Wicker Park restaurant.
The owner of Runa Japanese Restaurant, 2257 W. North Ave., said customers had shown up with the certificates even though "Runa has never made agreements" with Restaurant.com, the owner posted on his eatery's Facebook Page.
At the time, a spokeswoman for the website chalked the problem up to a "misunderstanding."
Other businesses that agreed to work with the website later complained to DNAinfo that it was a bad deal for their bottom lines.
In its recent investigation, the bureau said that "Individuals were unable to redeem gift certificates sold by Restaurant.com at the indicated restaurant locations, with many also stating they were sold these certificates for restaurants that were no longer in business by the date of attempted redemption."
Before buying any certificates from Restaurant.com, the bureau encourages consumers to "contact the specific chain or restaurant you will be visiting and verify that they are a participating business, will accept Restaurant.com coupons or certificates and will also accept its terms and conditions."
Restaurant.com is not affiliated with Restaurants.com., a "restaurant metasearch engine," though a Restaurant.com ad was featured prominently on the Restaurants.com site Thursday.
