A number of complaints have been raised after the latest Groupon discount coupon was published online offering a 70% discount on Dignitas assisted suicide services.
Carol Poindexter, from Cardiff, was one of many who claimed the company should have been more forthcoming about the exclusions and conditions of use on the coupons - "It's only when you apply that you find out the offer is only valid on mondays, which is really not very convenient for myself or my husband because he plays darts on a monday afternoon. He said he wouldn't mind if I wanted to go do it on my own, but it's not really the same..."
Others were equally dissatisfied with the level of service offered by Dignitas in conjunction with this offer. "It turns out the offer is only valid with a pre-existing medical condition ...", explained Bertie Jones, 81, from Daventry, " and apparently my heart isn't shaky enough."
Instead of lethal injections the discounted Dignitas service relies on trained staff turning off the lights, creeping up beside you in the dark and shouting 'Boo'.
"I managed to survive it, ", Bertie explained, " I just felt a little bit uneasy and confused - but that was mostly because they shouted 'Boo' in French."
Terry Malice of Catford reported a similar story, adding that after he survived they did offer to finish him off with "a big stick", but by this point he had an awful headache and decided it wasn't the best time to go.
Sue Quezacotl from Poole in Dorset had been suicidal for many years after a leg waxing accident in 1997. She left a message on a popular consumer complaints website stating that after buying the coupon she had been so excited and happy about the considerable saving that she had actually smiled in the first time in over a decade. "I then began to think, perhaps life isn't so bad after all!". She put the coupon aside and tried to rebuild her life. However, within a few days she began to be more and more upset about the money wasted on the Groupon voucher, and tried to call them to arrange a refund. Her body was found the next day. Police say she almost certainly strangled herself with her telephone cable while waiting on hold.
But not everyone was complaining - Arnold Muffet, from Lancaster, was very excited about his Dignitas booking - "to be honest, I wasn't really thinking about suicide at all, but at these prices... well it's a once in a lifetime opportunity."
