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January 5, 2006
rebate hell
so i've been sending in a number of rebates lately. i'm noticing that some places are not just counting on people to forget to send in rebates; now, they are actively trying to make it hard for you to get your money even when you follow procedures.
example 1: cable modem $150 rebate. i got a postcard in the mail saying my rebate had been denied due to "postmark date out of range". i knew i sent it on time, so i called. here's how the conversation went:
operator: how may i help you?
me: um, yeah, i sent my stuff in on time but i got a postcard saying i didn't.
operator: ok, sir, we'll go ahead and fulfill the rebate for you.
that was it. no fight, no more questions, just "sure, we'll do it."
example 2: portable HDD rebate. this time, they fulfilled the rebate on time; however, the "check" (if you can even call it that) was actually a postcard sent to me in the mail, with "pay to the order of eric burke for $20" on one side, in non-standard check layout. it was quite easily mistaken for a "hey, you have a dentist appointment" or a "come to denny's for your free birthday meal" postcard.
of course, there is probably a (legitimate?) cost savings associated with this, but the cynic in me can't help but think they are doing this so that people throw them out without cashing them.
thoughts? am i just too cynical anymore? anyone out there experience anything similar? anyone? bueller?
Posted by eburke at January 5, 2006 1:31 AM
Comments
I received a rebate for my wireless router. It was relatively painless… the check looked like a normal check… it came about 8 weeks later after I purchased it. I could also check the status of it online. This was about 1 year ago though.
The vendor gambles on one thing: the consumer looks at the discounted price after mail-in-rebate, buys that cheap mother, but is just too lazy to go through the hassle of cutting out proof-of-purchase, enclosing original store receipt, enclosing certified model number of device, and enclosing notarized print of your right pinky toe.
The whole process would be improved if we could just enter a bunch of unique ids online verifying the purchase at a website and enter in a routing number and account number of where the money should be deposited.
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Posted by: eaxdgk sanjxtrbo on October 12, 2006 5:41 PM EDT
I had to do this Canon rebate form for our camera. They guy at the store gave me 3 forms to be safe. “Whatever, dude.” So I get home and filled it out once. Then I realized I did it wrong. The text told you that you could advance to the column that equals that total number of products purchased excluding this and that. It was like doing a crossword puzzle. I ended up mailing it in asking for about a million dollars I think.
Posted by: Brandon Fuller on January 5, 2006 12:13 PM EST