Two rebates offered on a Computer Associates software package, one for $30 and one for $40, supplied through OnRebate.com. Rebate forms were hidden behind a series of obstacles (click here, send us your email address, return a link to the rebate form — that kind of thing). I followed the correct procedure EXACTLY — no doubt about that. There was nothing on the forms or any of the emails that was incorrect. Time passed. OnRebate generated form emails denying my rebates because "The item number for the rebate claim is not listed on the invoice". Not so — the item number is listed correctly. Multiple phone calls to OnRebate, much persistence until I finally got through to a person. Spent nearly an hour on the phone and came up with: The rebate forms are for rebates on the same item, but using a product code with two digits transposed (C655-5201/C655-5021). So, there are two pairs of identical rebates on the same product using two different product codes that look almost as if they are intended to be confused. OnRebate won't talk to me any more — "your mistake, no resubmission". Note that there was no point where I COULD have made a mistake because everything was via links on the TigerDirect web site. I called Tiger. They were uninterested in specifics, but told me to submit my claim to their "Rebate Guarantee Department". I did so, including copies of all documentation and all communication with OnRebate. Everything, the whole lot. It was a thick envelope.
Time passed. Message from Tiger Direct: "you did not provide the necessary documents with your Rebate Guarantee Submission. Our records show that your request did not include the following: Invoice, UPC, Rebate Form, USPS Receipt". This was the first reference to any requirement for a USPS receipt — and there is no doubt that the rebate forms arrived because OnRebate denied the claim. When I asked for more information, they referred me back to the original denial by OnRebate.
So, once again: I definitely complied with all the terms and conditions. There was no reference to any product code on the rebate forms (they identified it correctly by name). There were no other rebate forms available. I exactly followed the procedure defined by Tiger Direct and OnRebate, and there was no point where I could have obtained different rebate forms or invoice information.
So far, this is all factual information. Now for my opinion: TigerDirect either intentionally set up the rebate offer so that it would fail, or they made a mistake and have no intention of fixing it. (I don't have enough information to know which). The "Rebate Guarantee" is a sham. It is no accident that it requires a lot of persistence to get beyond the auto-generated email messages from Tiger and OnRebate that say no more than "you did something wrong". The price of Tiger Direct's integrity? Seventy dollars. A Google search on "rebate tiger direct problems" comes up with 732,000 hits.
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