StopMailInRebates.com
Horror Stories
Email Your Horror Story or problems obtaining Mail In Rebates.
| __I
did not receive 3 rebates (Storix, Cendyne and
Columbia) from Fry's Electronics
for more than 1.5 to 2 years.I called manufacturers as usual after first
few months of not getting rebates. None of them could be reached. I
think they had closed down their operations. Then I called Fry's customer
service for about 20 times till today. I visted Fry's at least 5 times.
Every time I go there, the lady in the customer service will ask for
copies to be taken of your mail-in forms. She will take copies and say
that she will send to HQ and I should receive something in 4 weeks.
When you call they will still say the same thing: Fax us the copies
and we will look into that. They wouldn't let you to speak to their
supervisor. Always he will be away on break or lunch or something else.
__Finally after the rebates were on default for 1.5 to 2 years, I could get to talk to their supervisor, Chris. He was much better and appeared to be serious in resolving this problem. He said 2 of these companies closed down and the other he has to check. He said Fry's already sent the rebates to many such customers, but do not know why I was not sent. Well good consolation. He asked to fax him the forms again and he will make sure I get my rebates. I sent the copies with a long letter. In that I said please resolve this dispute ASAP, as I have been troubling with this for close to 100 weeks. I was wondering what they would have done if I charged $10 on Fry's card and defaulted on payment for 3 months. They would have given this to collection agencies and charged their hefty fees on me. Why should I buy a product based on their advertisement, diligently send all the paperwork and keep calling them to get my legitimate money. I told in that Fax that I had exhausted all the options available to me to directly deal with Fry's. I added that if they do not resolve this dispute in a resonable period (which will be about 4 weeks), I intend to use third party mediation including State and Federal agencies. 2 days after Chris called me and acknowledged he received the papers and he is working on thta. After 6 weeks nothing happened, so I called him. He read out my address and said that the very fact that he could retreive my address, that means my case is being looked at (!!!). He said he will call HQ and call me back again. No calls received after 3 weeks now. __I filed a complaint with FTC. I sent one to Attorney General of California. I am ready to explore any other option available to me to make sure these guys understand their responsibilities and honor their business committments. Now that I had spent a lot of my valuable time on this which is several times more than the rebate amounts of $85 and went through severe mental stress, I have to make them pay for it. I am planning to sue them for all the mental and indirect loss of money their actions have caused me. S.B. Best of luck with your complaint/suits. Keep us informed. StopMailInRebates.com |
| __I
too have fallen foul of the Mail-In Rebate system __This is with an HP Laptop from Circuit City, sent all paperwork off, they claimed that some had not been sent, sent them photo I had taken beforehand of the contents of the mail-in rebate envelope I sent to them, still no luck - they would not believe. __Also similar with another one, again took precaution of photographing documentation, and yet again the same thing happened. __I now include a checklist and a warning that the documents AND the checklist are phtographed stapled to each other - so that if they receive one they MUST have received all. __Yes I agree that this is a scam, and originally from the UK this would NEVER be tolerated by law, they have 2 forms of consumer protection the Advertising Standards Agency (they check that ALL advertising is "Legal, Truthfull, Decent and Honest", also the Tradings Standards Bureau, who have the power to levy draconian fines on recalcitrants. __Perhaps you might want to research these 2 agencies and look at how they 'police' the scam merchants. R.R. |
|
I purchased a flatscreen monitor from
CompUSA on the day after Thanksgiving. The offer included
a $50 rebate. I filled out the rebate form, I sent the original receipt
(I made copies of everything), I sent in the UPC symbol on the same
evening that I purchased the monitor. |
| Sprint
takes 5 mos. to refuse rebate. I purchased a new phone for my son and
was told I would receive a $100.00. I sent in all required information.
Over 5 months later I received a post card saying I was not eligible
because the previous phone had not been owned for at least 18 months.
We had purchased a phone 3 years before but it broke down and was replaced
under warranty. I.H. |
| I
sent all the required proof of purchase / UPC code information to “Where’s
my Rebate” for $20 back on an O’Reilly
“Linux in a Nutshell” book. I
received a rejection email saying the title wasn’t covered by the
rebate. Ironically the rebate form lists the book titles (not the ISBN/UPC
codes) and doing a Google search the ISBN number on what I sent in clearly
matches the book title printed at the top of the Rebate form. I tried
sending a response to “customerservice@wheresmyrebate.com (the
sender) and received a reject. The only contact for this company is
a Canadian phone number -- looks like the toll free number is only for
Canadian residents. I’ve already filed an FTC complaint. S.S. |
| Two
items for you. Here is the first one: I bought a Samsung
LCD monitor at CompUSA. I diligently
filled-out the paperwork and sent it to the fulfillment center. As I
kept copies and configured my PIM to "ping me" 4-6 weeks later,
I checked with the fulfillment center and to my surprise, they advised
me that my claim was refused because the vendor was NOT an authorized
Samsung reseller (this is CompUSA we are talking about). 1. I went to the CompUSA store and the manager could not understand why they were stating this; 2. I once again contacted the fulfillment center who ignored me and restated that I was wrong and that CompUSA was not a valid reseller; 3. I then decided to contact SAMSUNG directly... and this worked! A PR person from SAMSUNG contacted me to apologize and told me that they had "instructed" the fulfillment center to process my claim. 4. Six weeks later (total of 14 weeks now), I finally received my $50 check. 5. Upon my next visit to that CompUSA store, the manager recognized me and gave me a $25 credit on any purchase... just to say "sorry". So, I won this battle, but how many simply give-up! Here is another one: Executive Software's Diskeeper is a very useful tool. I have two registered copies and they are now offering an upgrade. However, the "upgrade discount" requires me to pay the full price, carefully fill out the paperwork, then wait 8-10 weeks for the rebate! This scam is CRAZY as I am buying directly from them and even though they can confirm that my upgrade is valid, they STILL require me to go through this mess of paperwork. I promptly sent them an Email stating that they have LOST a customer. I received no response nor do I expect to get one. There are several other good applications out there so I am not tied to their offering. I am really mad about this pervasive rebate method that seems to have been adopted across the board. B.H. |
| Nothing
but stalling and frustration. Nikon
has its own rebate center and promises to rebate within six weeks. Well,
it is now more than five months. Try to call them - where is a telephone
number? Write or e-mail and see what your response will be - nada! So
I sent a complaint letter to my states Div of Consumer Affairs and they
forwarded to NY State Consumer Protection Board. I am not one to let
them get by with a $100 rebate. These rebates must be stopped or embroiled
with legalities so they become unprofitable for the manufacturer. It
is a game. They hold your cash flow and hope the rebate is never filed
. If you do file, they say something is missing or they never received
your paperwork. Then they claim the check was sent, but lost in the
mail. BEST SOLUTION - Don't buy from them again. Boycott the product. Tell others of the scam. If you file suit enjoin the retailer that sold the product. Complain to the appropriate state agency. Keep up the paperwork assault until it becomes a nightmare for them. Rebates are also used to garner information about your buying habits so other unwanted products are pandered. Do I sound sceptical of this type of business activity - you bet. I did fraud investigations for many years and this is a borderline scam and a ploy by some marketing VP to get some higher salary......Gerald M. |
| I moved about a year ago and called my phone company, Sprint, to let them know. While speaking with a Sprint rep, she asked if I was interested in a new phone. Coincidentally, my phone was on the blink so I said yes and proceeded to order a new phone which had a rebate deal with it. Sprint was to bill me for the phone over the next few months on my regular phone bill. The phone arrived a few days later and with it a form to fill out for the rebate. The form required proof of purchase and required that it be submitted within a specified period of time. I had no proof of purchase, and by the time they subtracted the first payment - which would serve as proof of purchase - the specified time would have been up. So I sent the form in (to Sprint, of course) and explained that they (Sprint) had not yet provided me with proof of purchase and that it was ridiculous to ask for proof of purchase anyhow since I bought the phone directly from Sprint - they could check their own records to verify the purchase. So I got a form letter back a week or so later saying I had not provided proof of purchase and therefore would not receive the rebate. It still makes me mad to think about it, and the bad part is that the area where I live is controlled by Sprint for local service so I can't even quit and go to another company. Thanks for allowing me to share, and if you have any influence to stop this sort of thing you have my permission to use this note......Don C. |
| Yes,
they are a scam. 90 Percent of all rebates I send in I do not get until I call and complain often multiple times. I understand why companies are offering them and I am actually ok with that. It makes sense for them, because only a portion of people actually mail them in – otherwise they wouldn’t be able to give such a considerable discount. If people are too lazy, to fill out the paperwork requested, FINE that’s their problem. BUT if companies lie and they don’t EVEN send the money they promise, then a line needs to be drawn and the law needs to do something. Then it’s fraud.....Angelika B. |
| I
never used to have major problems with rebates until recently. I think
these companies offering rebates deliberately build a frustration factor
into the process to frustrate and discourage you from following up.
Its money in their pocket. For this reason I really feel that rebates
have entered into a criminal status. Stop them and protect consumers. Then these companies will have to promote with legitimate discounts.I can't understand why these companies would do this either. It is only fostering ill will for their company/product.I can see why rebates are offered strategically as very few people send in for them. That's OK. But these compnaies should be prepared to reward the diligent consumer. Problem is - think about this: These companies actually don't care if they upset the diligent consumer. Think about it! They are not making or losing money on the diligent consumer...so they don't care if the diligent consumer does not bite the next time they offer a rebate! Think about it! I am sure they have!We really do need to get the FTC to force these companies to stop rebates and/or make them instant at the cash register... Daniel, Texas |