I purchased the commonly advertised "FREE after rebates" Computer Associates Internet Security Suite from TigerDirect.com. It had a $30 rebate, as well as a $40 rebate for a competitie upgrade.
I sent in my rebate forms promptly, including all materials required. My $40 upgrade rebate submission included proof of ownership of a competitive anti-virus or internet security suite product (manual cover page), as well as the CD. I sent all of this, including proof of purchase that was required from the software box, to OnRebate.com after registering my rebate online. All of this was done well before the deadline, sent in two seperate envelopes, as required. I made copies of EVERYTHING (including the actual CD and manual cover page), as OnRebate.com recommends you do in case there are any problems (not that it ever helped with this though).
Although my rebates were registered online on 10/23/05, and the materials were sent in the mail the very next day, I had not heard anything back weeks later... And I would expect with all their advertising of how quickly they pay rebates, to have heard something.
I e-mailed them on 10/16/05 inquiring about both rebates. It was 3 days after that (10/19/05) when the $30 rebate (HPPDAKBAV7PXSUJV) changed status to accepted, and the e-mail said my check was "in the mail". I requested PayPal payment, so I wasn't sure why it said the check was in the mail. I called inquiring about this, waiting the now-typical 25-30 minutes on-hold, got nowhere... E-mailed, got nowhere (was told I'd have to call).
Even though that rebate was accepted, I STILL have not received the requested PayPal payment or even a check for this rebate.
The other rebate, for $40 (GWTR372HHQLG3FMC) was never even accepted. I called about this, and after being placed on-hold again, I was told that they found it, it was in a "big pile" of submissions that they still had to process, and I should receive my rebate "within about a week", but that never happened.
After numerous calls and HOURS on-hold, including a time waiting 30 minutes on-hold only to have Lamar answer and tell me that their computers were down and he couldn't help me, and he refused to take my number and call me back or have someone call me back... When I eventually got through, I was told by Maria that they did not receive my mailed rebate materials and that there was nothing they can do.
Then Maria told me that TigerDirect guarantees their rebates and will send me the money for the rebate. I have only begun to start down that path, but I'm not too confidant on that already. I will update this post with my results there.
One plus to all of this is that when a I feel that a company is pulling a scam and deliberately cheating customers out of what they advertised, I get VERY motivated to not stop until it either gets resolved, or my experience is broadcasted enough so that they lose some valuable business. Luckily, between my family and a few close friends, we have 2 that are lawyers and several that are in the news/media business. You can bet that I'll be using this to publicize my experience so that at least some others are aware, and don't fall for the same scam by doing business with these this company. Most news stations now have the "Hall of Shame" type segments... Well, if OnRebate.com does not correct this FAST, they will be aired on this type of segment on several major metro area's networks... Just the facts of my experience, of course, with all the proof that I have... But that's enough to do some reputation damage right there.
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