Mail-in rebate shadiness

[patzky1]

Hi all,

 

I just need to rant a little bit about a certain mail-in rebate that I never received from Brand X cell phone company. The promotion for my phone started last June. The deal is: pay $150 now, fill out all of the paperwork PRECISELY, make copies of everything, and you get $100 back. I painstakingly did all of this and even mailed the envelope on June 15th. The waiting period was stated to be 10-12 weeks. Well, 12 weeks passed by. I had forgotten about the deal, but it crossed my mind again at around 14 weeks after mail-in date. So, I figured I would give the nice Brand X company some leeway and wait just a little longer. I then completely forgot about the whole deal until recently (d'oh!). It was not until two days ago that I remembered about it and tried to check online about my (non-existant) rebate. Their website basically said that I was never entered into the system! How the hell? I do realize that Brand X is not liable if it got lost in the mail, but should I be? So, I called the number supplied on the copy I made of the rebate form and supplied the rep. with all of the pertinent info. She just said "Sorry, sir, but that rebate program has since expired and there is nothing I can do for you since it is past 3 weeks beyond the 12 week waiting period and I just can't help you." What the hell is this? If I give them some extra time to take care of my sh$t then I get screwed? I'm pissed. Also, no where at all on the rebate form does it say that I had only a certain amount of time to call them with concerns before I would be SOL.

 

Now, I realize that the whole mail-in rebate business is just that, a business, but they need to be reasonable. I also heard that the companies only actually honor about 25% of the rebates they get mailed to them because of any little discrepancy. Also, not even close to 100% of the people eligible for rebates mail it in.

 

So, has anybody else had any dealings with a similar "business model" that is basically set up to screw the customer? If so, please share.

 

I would also like to hear some opinions about further action I can take. I know its only $100 but it's MY $100 and I think it is owed to me at this point. The company has provided decent service to me until this, too, so that is a little disheartening.

 

Patsky

[Guest tony78_280z]

I've had problems with rebates, I'll not get into a long winded story. BUT Clark Howard once said to purchase an item based on price if the price is good before the rebate. Smart man that Mr. Howard. So how many hamburgers did the rebate cost you?

[mario_82_ZXT]

Yes it is a business. It is usually handled by third parties, and they like to screw people over.

 

Its happened to me on computer parts.

 

Mario

[patzky1]

Cost me 100 McD's double cheeseburgers... (1/5 of what ON3GO will loose LOL)

 

About the third party stuff, I think it was actually Brand X people that I talked to the whole time.

 

Learned a lesson, though, and that is to at least send the rebate stuff via delivery confirmation mail with whomever. Sure it costs more to mail, but it is miniscule and you have proof that the rebate peps got it. I really do think it would be easy for them to frequently tell customers that their rebate form got "lost in the mail" even though they did get it. OK, I'll stop my conspiracy theories for now!

 

Pat

[J Taylor]

I am the world's worst about sending in rebates. I may send in 1/5. I recently bought a wireless router from Best buy. $69 but with a $60 rebate. Hell yeah, $10 for a nice router. But then I go and wait until the 30 days has passed and the rebate is no good anymore. My last 2 cellphones, I forgot to send the rebates in on them as well. For some reasons I just can't seem to get rebates mailed in.

 

JT

[BrandonsZ]

In the future think about it as insurance... oh add insurance too why not they never get it, you still get your 100.

 

Think of about $2-$7 to send a letter but guarentee a $100 return or you can at least be sure they got it, and who signed for it. Otherwise don't waste your time and don't buy if there is a rebate offer. (find it cheaper elsewhere). Luckily there are about 15 cell companies all clamering for your business.

[Trevor]

This is far afield of Electronics rebates, but the company I work at has collectible "points" on the packaging that you mail in (like to green stamps) and redeem for prizes (like household appliances, clothing, sporting gear). The consumer mails his points and order to Iowa, it gets immediately forwarded to a redemption center in Ireland and the prize is shipped from a warehouse in California (but it all originates from China). I'll bet a lot of stuff gets lost in all that blend of manual labor and electronic reporting.