I purchased an item at CompUSA in May which included a $20 rebate. The rebate paperwork was filled out correctly, all required attachments were included and it was posted by the deadline. Two months later I received an email from TCA saying that the rebate was denied because of "invalid, incomplete or altered receipt".
In July, I wrote TCA a letter requesting the return of the rebate materials, since I was sure that everything had been done correctly, and if there was a problem with the receipt, then it was an issue I needed to address with the store since I had submitted the rebate receipt the store provided.
I received no reply. I wrote again in August, no reply. I wrote again at the end of August. No reply. I emailed TCA Customer Service. No reply.
This is not the first time I've encountered problems with TCA, it is however the first time I've complained about it. Usually, I will not receive a $10 rebate, but take no notice as I consider it not worth my time to chase it. Enough is enough, and now I'm making complaints with anyone who will listen (of which, by the time, the New York Attorney General's office is NOT one of those listening... I made a complaint with the Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection, but have received a letter from them indicating they don't get involved in this type of dispute..."as a service the Bureau mediates consumer disputes between individuals and businesses." (Hmmm... I'm an individual, they're a business, I have a dispute... I don't get it. Where do I fail the litmus test?)
This rebate ripoff craze must be curbed. It is going to be up to us, the consumers, to do it. I urge everyone who has a problem with TCA or any other rebate processor to make complaints to their state attorney general, the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, the store where the purchase was made, the store's corporate headquarters, and the manufacturer.
Rebates are a way of sparking sales without reducing the sale price. It is a loan made to the company by the consumer (we give them the money now, they give it back 3 months later... If you're lucky). The consumer should not be a bank, and these companies should not try to make us one.
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