by RJ Bullock
They showed one price in the ad (“after rebate”), but I paid a very different price at the cash register. And I had to PAY TAX ON THE HIGHER PRICE, not the rebate price!”
“I sent in my rebate form and never heard from them. I sent a follow-up letter, but the P. O. Box was closed — and there was no phone number. I was ripped off.”
“I went to the store to buy the product, but the rebate forms weren’t anywhere to be found. I had to search for a sales rep, and they didn’t know where the forms were either. They said rebate forms were only trouble for them. The rebate price got me into the store, but I ended up wasting time and paying full price. They got me.”
“Rebate forms are starting to look like the IRS — do this, do that, don’t do this, don’t do that. Circle the date, include the original receipts, circle the price, don’t alter the receipt, cut off the box end with the UPC code, tear out the title page of the manual, don’t send copies, mail within 14 days, write down the store address, look up their phone number — then wait two weeks to get a reply.”
“I sent in my original receipts and box top with the UPC code, like the rebate form required, and never heard back. I wrote to them, and they said they had never received my rebate request. I tried to send it again, but they said I had to send originals. ”
“I sent in my rebate certified mail, return receipt requested, so I would know they got it. They refused to sign for it. By the time the Post Office got it back to me two weeks later, it was past the expiration date. They say they are not responsible for items lost in the mail — but they won’t sign for the receipt! It’s a ripoff game.”
“I tried to use FedEx to beat the deadline — but they refused to give a street address.”
“I found the hardware in the store easily, but had to search for the rebate form. When I got home, I realized that the rebate had expired — even though the ad in the paper gave only the rebate price. It’s a rip.”
“I sent in the rebate within 14 days — like it said — and included the UPC code from the bottom of the box. A week later, the hardware stopped working. When I took it back to the store, the manager wouldn’t take it back because of the hole in the box.”
“These stores aren’t dumb. They know we’re busy. They figure if they make us go to a lot of hassle for a few bucks, we will give up and never get around to sending in the rebate form. By the time you jump through all the hoops, rebates are ridiculous. Yo u pay the full price, but THINK you got it on sale. Who’s stupid here?”
“I couldn’t find the rebate forms in one store. It turned out that the sales rep was carrying them around in his pocket — and that was the only place they were in the store! If you couldn’t find the sales rep, you were out of luck.”
“Rebates used to be an occasional promotion. Not any more. Now I see them all the time in the computer business. And they’re taking advantage of us. They play “gotcha games” with all their rules to give them loopholes for not giving your money back.”
“I compared software and bought the one rated less because the rebate price was less. But all the small print rules on the rebate form were too much trouble, so I never sent it in. I ended up paying the regular price plus tax, which was higher than the h ighest-rated software sold without a rebate! And I didn’t get what I really wanted.”
“Rebates are fake sales. The ad in the paper says $79.95 (after rebate), but when you get to the cash register, you have to shell out more than $100. They used to give you both prices. Now they just give you the rebate price.”
“They give you two weeks to mail in the rebate form, but they give themselves three MONTHS to mail you the check.”
“Computer rebates are ridiculous. You can go to the store and get a FREE COMPUTER KEYBOARD (after rebate). You can get a FREE MOUSE (after rebate). You can get a FREE JOYSTICK (after rebate). You can get a FREE BOX OF two HIGH-DENSITY PRE-FORMATTED DISKE TTES WITH LABELS (after rebate). Who’s kidding who? To get all that “FREE STUFF”, you have to pay the store around $50! And I’ll bet you that only a small fraction of the people who buy that “FREE STUFF” ever get their rebate. It’s a joke.”
Consumers need protection from rebate ripoffs. Here’s my suggestion.
Bill Of Rebate Rights
1. Ads should list the price paid at the cash register. Listing only rebate prices is misleading.
2. If an ad lists the rebate price, it should list the rebate rules, so you know if the dollars saved are worth the trouble — before going to the store. Ads should always include the expiration of the rebate, since sometimes it conflicts with the ad date s.
3. Rebate forms should be next to the product on the shelf, not elsewhere in the store.
4. Regardless of the ad, the store shelf price should list the price you pay at the cash register AND the rebate price.
5. If the sales rep cannot find the rebate forms, or if the store has “run out” of rebate forms, the customer should be given the advertised rebate price at the register.
6. Consumers should have six weeks from the date of purchase to mail in the rebate. Since the normal store return policy is three days, that gives the consumer three days to return the product if they are not satisfied with it. If they are still satisfie d with it after the three-day store return period, they should have two more weeks to mail in the rebate request.
7. Rebate rules should include the percentage of unit sales that were rebated in the last rebate offer, so customers know in advance what the likelihood is they will actually get a rebate from the company.
8. Rebate rules should be typeset with 8-pt fonts or larger. The rule font should be as large as the font for the amount of the rebate.
9. Rebate rules should not require you to mutilate a product or box to get the rebate. This includes cutting out the UPC code on the box and tearing out the title page of a book. The sales receipt shows you bought the product. That’s enough.
10. Copies of the original receipt should be acceptable. The IRS wants originals. And if there is a dispute with the credit card company, you need the original for the dispute.
11. If a store offers rebates requiring an original receipt, the store should give the customer two originals automatically, one for taxes/credit card disputes and one for rebates.
12. If a store offers rebates requiring the customer to list the store’s name, address, or phone, that information should automatically be on the receipt. Some companies have rebate offers requiring information about the store, but the stores don’t put t hat information on the receipt, adding more hassle to the customer who wants the rebate.
13. Rebates should be sent to the company’s customer service department, not to an outside contractor who opens a P. O. box for the rebate and closes it right after expiration.
14. If the company requires the consumer to get their money through an outside contractor, that contractor’s company name, street address, phone number, and the head person responsible should be included on the rebate form.
15. Rebate addresses should not be post office boxes, so that delivery companies like Federal Express and UPS can deliver the rebate forms and get signatures.
16. Rebate rules should explicitly state that customers are allowed to cut out the credit card number information from the receipt to protect from fraud. Current practice with rules like “Altered receipts invalidate the rebate request.” force consumers t o give credit card numbers to unknown people at unnamed companies with no phone number, no street address, and only a Post Office box contact that will close immediately after expiration.
17. If the rebate says the company is not responsible for lost mail, then the rebate rules need to state that the company will sign for certified mail, so that the customer knows the company received the rebate requests. The company needs to honor that c ommitment.
18. Rebate forms should include a toll free number to the company handling the rebate request. Consumers have already paid full price for the product. They should not have to pay more to get their rebate requests answered.
19. Checks need to be valid for six months after the date of the check. Some companies give themselves three months to write the check, but give the customer only a few weeks to actually cash the check. This puts the squeeze on the customer to jump throu gh another hoop to actually get the money.
20. The address for the rebate requests should be valid for at least six months after the expiration of the rebate request. Since the rebate requests give the rebate company up to three months to mail the check, the address needs to be active for three m onths after that to give consumers time to make complaints about how their rebates were handled and have a second check written if they never received the first rebate check.
RJ Bullock, a HAL-PC member, is the You Can Voice SIG leader. (c) 1998, RJ Bullock. All rights reserved.
[Mr. Bullock makes some valid points. Except for Publisher’s
Clearing House , et al, I’ve found rebate
instructions clear and to-the-point. The buyer, however, must thoroughly
read the instructions.
As an added precaution, I make a photocopy of what I send in. I have
always received the rebate offered. Editor]
E-mail me at webmaster@hal-pc.org with any comments you have and tell me what you want to see here.