'I'm getting the runaround on a rebate!'
Question: I bought a cell phone from Alltel with a $100 mail-in rebate. I sent in all the paperwork but never got the money. When I called Alltel months later, the company told me it never got my form – and I could no longer submit it because the rebate had expired. Help! – Geert Audiens, Cary, N.C.
Answer: Businesses lure consumers with billions of dollars in rebate offers every year. Yet 40% of them go unredeemed, according to consulting firm Vericours, partly because it can be a pain to fill out all the paperwork and send it off in time (typically within 30 days of purchase). This is why it's so annoying that although you apparently followed the rules, you still got stiffed.
I called Alltel's corporate communications manager, Scott Morris. He said that the company doesn't have any proof you sent in the rebate, suggesting that it may have been lost in the mail or at the rebate center that Alltel uses to process the forms. Because the rebate center was unwilling to honor the now expired rebate, Alltel instead offered a $100 credit on your next cell-phone bill. Sounds like a good call to us.
There are some lessons here on how to reduce the chances of this happening to you again. Matthew Gold, a staff attorney with the Federal Trade Commission (which oversees rebate issues), says that while there are few instances of outright fraud when it comes to rebate redemption, there are a lot of cases in which even a minor mistake in a consumer's form derails his or her payment. So be meticulous. Make copies of everything, and use certified mail so you have proof the company received it. (If you had done so with Alltel, you'd have had a better case.)
Mark the rebate return date in your calendar. If you don't get your money in the time promised – usually within 12 weeks – call the company immediately. Businesses that do not send rebates by then are violating FTC regulations, Gold says. Still getting nowhere? File a complaint with the FTC at ftccomplaintassistant.gov.
Tip: Many businesses now allow you to submit and track your rebate online at their own sites and sites such as Rebatetrack.com and RebatesHQ.com. If that option is available to you, take it.
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there are ways to track rebates, if a company offers a rebate you ask can you track your rebate then you know its legitamate. It is always best to send your rebates certified mail so that you have confirmation of what you sent. I have sent off for about 15 rebates out of those 15 rebates i recieved 14. you have to know what you are doing and read the fine lines. yes people do not always send things in or read instrustions. If people follow the check list on the rebate form then you should have no problem.
Rebates are, of course, in large measure, scams. They are insanely difficult to document and claim; difficult to track; and rejected by processors for absurd reasons (in one instance for failing to "initial," a date change!
Why, one asks, are unclaimed rebates NOT sent to escheat, as they should be? If retailers were REQUIRED to do so, they would make the claims process far more simple and effective.
Alas, no such luck – the law only applies to the weak, it would seem.
Those offering rebates RELY on consumers being lazy, dense, or mis-reading often confusing & complex instructions, to say NOTHING of providing tiny, tiny, spaces in which to add an address or phone number.
Bottom line, again, these are SCAMS, and only "instant rebates," should considered by you, the consumer, as an inducement to buy.
WIREFLY.COM is part of such rebate scam too.
They are absolute cheats with rebates. you can google and find the rebate scams they do.
NEVER BUY ANYTHING From WIREFLY.COM
this happened to me with Wirefly.com.
They are absolute cheats. They offered me $100 mail in rebate with 2 year activation of cellphone. I sent all the forms. They received all documentation and acknowledged that everything was in order. After lot many months they still kept saying it is still in progress. Many other folks also have same experience. One fine day they filed for bankruptcy and opened up under another company name and sent me the rebate to use on their website. Initially i thought its so good of them (though initially i had to get cash , they sent me online coupon). but that also turned out to be a scheme of them. After i ordered for accessories on their website with the rebate coupon, it kept saying that item is being in process, order accepted. i called their customer service countless times and they kept escalating the issue (to whomever god only knows). exactly after a month their computers automatically cancelled my order and invalidated the rebate coupon… NEVER BUY ANYTHING From WIREFLY.COM
I don't buy ANYTHING with a mail-in rebate attached to it. For that very reason I refused to shop at Best Buy for several years – they now offer "instant rebates" instead of the "mail-in" crap.
Always make a copy of your rebate for your records or have the rep at the store make a copy for you. Where this way you will be safe and you have a backup copy for yourself so you know what you have written on the rebate form.
I am having problems getting my rebates from Alltel as well. I purchased 2 phones in May and re-upped my contracts. I sent in the rebate forms, followed to the letter, checked out (actually filled in by the sales rep at the store to be sure it was done correctly) and in Sept. received postcards that the rebates had been denied. I called the Rebate Center to find out why, and after clearing up the dubious reason, I was assured the rebates would be sent in 4-6 weeks. 10 weeks later I have still not received them so call again. This time I'm told one of them is valid and will be mailed in 2 more weeks, but suddenly the phone number on the 2nd one is invalid. How can this be? They had the correct phone number on it when they sent me the postcards and when I first called in Sept. – now suddenly it's been changed? Supposedly that's now been corrected, but now they're saying it's going to be yet another 4-6 weeks before that one is sent. Sounds like they're trying various tricks to avoid paying these rebates to me. I have sent a letter in to customer service about this, but will be looking for an address farther up the chain to send it to as well.
I had a similiar situation with Lowes.
I purchases a $3k Bosch front load washer and dryer, mailed in the rebate to its' TX office within days.
I called and Lowes claimed they never received the rebate form.
I said where did it go?
Lowes replied they did not know.
I sent a nasty email to the rebate center in Texas as well as a fax with the rebate form (I made a copy).
In my email and fax I threatened to sue Lowe's for "breach of contract", as the delivery and set up rebate was made part of the purchase/contract.
I got an email back stating I would receive the rebate check within 30 days.
All of the sudden my rebate form was found in their office?
I got the check within a week.
Retailers who claim never to have received rebate forms rely on consumers
to just let it go.
I have used this tactic with other retailers who claim rebabtes forms were never are received.
I just keep hounding and threatening suit.
I work in shipping/receiving at the corporate headquarters of a major cell phone service provider. I don't know if the following scenario applies to this particular complaintant, but we receive about 2,000 – 3,000 rebate mailings per week at this location, none of which should have been sent here. We package these at the end of each week and forward them to where they should have been sent by the customer in the first place. The cost to the company is probably around $100 – $200 a month. This isn't a large amount (by corporate standards), but it would be $0 if people actually followed the instructions provided. It would be refreshing if people took some responsibility for their own mistakes instead of always wanting others to put things right.
I never had a customer had a problem with their rebates at our store. I take the time with my customer to make sure everything is done. There is a website that is listed on the rebate form to keep track of your rebate states not only that the best thing to do is get a delievery conformation and make extra copies. Things do get lost in the mail to. I myself as a representative of Alltel had sent rebates off on my personal phone and recieve every single one back. If you had releazied with in the 60 day period of purchasing your phone that you had not gotten your rebate something could of been done. You also have to read the fine print on the rebate form.
I am having problems getting my rebates from Alltel as well. I purchased 2 phones in May and re-upped my contracts. I sent in the rebate forms, followed to the letter, checked out (actually filled in by the sales rep at the store to be sure it was done correctly) and in Sept . received postcards that the rebates had been denied. I called the Rebate Center to find out why, and after clearing up the dubious reason, I was assured the rebates would be sent in 4-6 weeks. 10 weeks later I have still not received them so call again. This time I’m told one of them is valid and will be mailed in 2 more weeks, but suddenly the phone number on the 2nd one is invalid. How can this be? They had the correct phone number on it when they sent me the postcards and when I first called in Sept. – now suddenly it’s been changed? Supposedly that’s now been corrected, but now they’re saying it’s going to be yet another 4-6 weeks before that one is sent. Sounds like they’re trying various tricks to avoid paying these rebates to me. I have sent a letter in to customer service about this, but will be looking for an address farther up the chain to send it to as well.
Then you should of went back to the store to the rep who did the rebate for you and have also talked to the manager. If the rep did then he should back you up on it and then the manager could of offered you a store credit.