I am pleased to see that I am not the only person who has had trouble with the dynamic duo of TigerDirect.com and OnRebate.com. Using OnRebate has always been problematical, but this time they have outdone themselves.
I ordered a number of items from TigerDirect, many of which had associated rebates. As anyone who has dealt with these companies knows, getting the rebates is a full time job! In order to minimize frustration, I made sure I talked directly with an OnRebate representative while I did the paperwork so and to ensure I had dotted all the i's, crossed all the t's, and jumped through all the hoops. I spent a great deal of time with Margine, who I admit was a very nice person and extremely helpful (or so I thought!). She explained in detail what I had to do, and how to go about it. One of the ULTRA products had a bonus rebate in addition to the main rebate - and Margine said to send those two rebates together in one envelope. I dutifully followed all directions, paid a fortune in postage (registered mail, return receipt) and sent them off.
After a few minor hassles and phone calls, 2 of the 3 rebates came through. The ULTRA bonus did not, however, so I again called OnRebate (a difficult task in itself) and was told that the bonus rebate was processed separately from the main rebate. Ok, it would take a bit longer.
After patiently waiting months, the rebate never appeared. So I once again called OnRebate, and this time I talked to Danny. I explained the situation, and he told me that 1) there was no one named Margine who ever worked there and 2) she was incorrect when she told me to send the primary and bonus rebates together. Hence, too bad for me...
I asked to speak to a supervisor. After much effort he deigned to connect me with Nikki, who also proceded to inform me nothing could be done. I explained that I had followed the instructions and had all the necessary copies and postal receipts. None of that mattered, she informed me. All I could show with the postal reciepts is that I send SOMETHING to OnRebate, and my copies were not sufficient to show I had sent the correct items, or any items at all. (So what exactly is the point of even keeping records?) Basically, she called me a liar.
Further, the deadline for contesting the rejection had passed. Too bad for me. I pointed out that I didn't even GET any confirmations until after the deadline had passed, and how in the world could I contest anything within the correct time frame if I didn't know there was even a problem? Too bad, she cood. There's nothing anyone can do. She also informed me that ULTRA would not consider the bonus rebate at this point in time.
So, after hours on the phone, after much effort in EXACTLY following the instructions I was given, and much of the rebate used up in mailings, I am without the final rebate, and without recourse. This looks to all the world like a racket run by TigerDirect and OnRebate: they dangle rebates in front of customers in order to entice them to buy products, then do everything in their power to keep the customer from actually getting the rebates! Most people, I suspect, give up long before this point.
I would suggest that we all stop buying anything from TigerDirect, and nothing that ever involves OnRebate.com.
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