Toward the end of last year, I was direct mailed a rebate offer from Intuit offering up to a $30 rebate for purchasing various options for Quicken and Turbo Tax if purchased between 11/20 and 4/16. I purchased Quicken Deluxe and Turbo Tax Basic from a local Walmart store on 12/16 and duly submitted the rebate form with supporting documentation which included the UPC labels from the packages and a copy of the sales receipt.
On 1/9 I was advised that my rebate was invalid because I did not purchase this software at a participating retailer. Sure enough, when you read the fine print on the rebate form it does indeed say at participating retailers although it does not further describe them.in going to Intuits website site, I find it states that that items purchased at Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco and Target do not qualify because they "offer everyday low prices that provide great values without the need to file rebates". This was particular disturbing to me because I paid full retail price for these products ($49.95 for Quicken Deluxe and $29.00 for Turbo Tax Basic). I actually saw advertised prices for both of those products at Best Buy for less than I had paid.
I contacted Intuit via email several times and explained that I thought their rebate offer was misleading, if not deceptive, since they sent it directly to me, and only if you read the fine print would you discover that it applied only at participating retailers and only if you went to the web site, would you find that their product purchased at several stores were not eligible for the rebate. I mentioned that I had paid full price for the software and that I could have purchased it for less at Best Buy and still received the rebate, only to be advised that Best Buy also did not participate in this program, although nowhere on their web site could I find that information.
So while Intuit was very polite in their denial of this rebate, I absolutely feel that I was mislead by their rebate form offer.
0 comments