Do you get ripped off by rebate scams? RANT
I am declaring war on rebates.I am so sick of company's advetising rebates only to not honor them. I always send in rebates and never get the money. I follow all the rules and read the fine print and jump through all the hoops and always get ripped off. These sumbiches count on people not to send in the forms and when they do send them in they ignore them or make up some damn excuse not to send the money. Over the years I think I have gotten one or two out of more than fifty mailed in.
The last one was for $50.00 from Alltel for a cell phone.
I did everything exactly like they wanted and the UPC was TAPED to the rebate form. They send me a letter saying I did not submit the UPC and they were not going to give my the $50.00. They also said the Alltel store I bought my phone at did not exist.
Of course the high school kid working at the Alltel store could not even spell rebate but did give me a phone number where I could talk to a human. I called them up and got in a big pissing match with them over the phone when the guy told me I did not know how to follow instructions after denying they had ever sent me a letter or they had any record of me, but they were glad to send me a bill every month.
My next stop was the SD Attorney General website. I filled out the online form and three days later (today) I get a call from Alltel saying they are sending me $50.00. I knew those rat baztards were holding out and hoping I would go away. It is a shame that companies conduct business in this way. Even though I got my $50 I will NOT get my next phone from these scumbags. They are a bleening drain on society and should be locked up.
I just bought a 1GB flash drive on buy.com for $29.00 and it came with a $24.00 rebate. We shall see how it goes...
The last one was for $50.00 from Alltel for a cell phone.
I did everything exactly like they wanted and the UPC was TAPED to the rebate form. They send me a letter saying I did not submit the UPC and they were not going to give my the $50.00. They also said the Alltel store I bought my phone at did not exist.
Of course the high school kid working at the Alltel store could not even spell rebate but did give me a phone number where I could talk to a human. I called them up and got in a big pissing match with them over the phone when the guy told me I did not know how to follow instructions after denying they had ever sent me a letter or they had any record of me, but they were glad to send me a bill every month.
My next stop was the SD Attorney General website. I filled out the online form and three days later (today) I get a call from Alltel saying they are sending me $50.00. I knew those rat baztards were holding out and hoping I would go away. It is a shame that companies conduct business in this way. Even though I got my $50 I will NOT get my next phone from these scumbags. They are a bleening drain on society and should be locked up.
I just bought a 1GB flash drive on buy.com for $29.00 and it came with a $24.00 rebate. We shall see how it goes...
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[8D]--10 companies, 5 yrs, 10 successful rebates--
--[:o)][:o)]--JIMBO0 -
The few item's that I've bought that had rebate's, the company has alway's sent me the rebate. 0 -
Interesting.
I do rebates all the time. I've had ONE instance of a failed rebate in however many years I've been doing them.
Here's some advice:
1. On the directions for the rebate (which you usually have to include with your rebate request), I check off EVERYTHING step-by-step.
2. I photocopy everything prior to sending it out.
The one instance of trouble I ran into was with some paint that I bought at Home Depot last year. Glidden was running a rebate thing, and we bought according to what the salesperson told us was covered. The wife and I weren't even wanting Glidden paint, but we bought it because the salesperson told us about the rebate.
We sent in the rebate forms, UPC forms (ever try to take a UPC code off of one of those 5 gallon buckets? They're super-glued on), etc. After two months, we got an e-mail from them telling us that our rebate request was denied.
I called Glidden and was told that we didn't purchase the right participating products.
I hopped in the car, with the rebate information in hand, and spoke to the manager at Home Depot. Took about ten minutes, but Home Depot rebated us the money that Glidden wouldn't.0 -
Last year I went through this exact rebate problem with Home Depot. I had two $75 rebates on a new washer & dryer I bought there, and they ignored me to the point I too had to get the State Attorney Generals office to intercede. I have also had problems with Radio Shack, and I will never shop there again.[}:)]
Trinity +++0 -
Warpig, you have learned the magic words, "Attorney General."
I have dealt with one rebate. I got my satellite installed, was supposed to get a $50 rebate. This was Directv.
I mailed in everything on time. I was supposed to wait nine weeks for the rebate. Ten weeks went by, then eleven. They kept telling me to wait, I would get the money. I began to think that they were just hoping I would go away.
I do not like to be lied to.
I sent them an email, saying that they had seven days total, and I didn't mean business days, to get me my money, or I would send their file to the North Carolina Attorney General in Raleigh.
In five days I had my money.
What a bunch of jerks.0 -
A rebate is proof that you have had business dealings with a company. This allows them to compile your personal information and contact you even if you are on the no call list. 0 -
Give them time. It usually takes about fifteen years.... 0 -
Make copies of everything before you send it in.
Glad you didn't let Alltel get away with it. I don't think they have criminal intent. I think they really are that stupid.
I could do a rant a month on Alltel. I almost said a rant a week, but there is no need to exaggerate. Last week I almost decided to change companies, but then I remembered all the others around here are even worse. But, it's still better than when Ma Ball had a monopoly. Their slogan was "We're the phone company -- we don't care."0 -
i have only received one rebate out of many i have sent, i don't buy into them at all, i never look at the price less rebate 0 -
BTW, the best rebate service I ever received was earlier this year with Remington when I bought my 870/20 (ahem) owner's manual.
Took about a month to get the money. I was shocked as to how fast and easy it was.0 -
Would you buy the item at the price with no rebate?
If so, buy it, do the rebate, and if you get anythign back you've just done better than your average lottery ticket.0 -
I have done a bunch over the years.
Only had a problem at one place....Circuit City.0 -
I have never had a problem. I always make a copy and date it in case. I have had some that took 8-10 weeks but they showed up. 0
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