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OnRebate Tiger Direct rebates are a scam, designed to fail and save manufacturers money Miami ripoff Internet Nationwide
I too am adding my name to the list of countless people that have been ripped off by OnRebate, while they hide behind a cloud of ridiculous technicalities.
BEWARE OF ANY REBATE PROMOTION THAT USES ONREBATE.COM!!!
Despite following the instructions carefully (as I understood them), AND also despite my repeated attempts to proactively correct a mistake I admittedly made that MANY others have also made due to their ambiguous instructions (as reported here at RipOffReport), they absolutely refuse to deal with my rebate.
I purchased an LCD monitor at TigerDirect that was being sold at a very favourable price, IF you included the rebate which was $70. Read on to find out how they screwed me out of my $70.
Here is how the scam works:
1. A rebate is offered by Tiger Direct
2. You pay full price and fill out numerous forms online and on paper related to the rebate. (At this point OnRebate.com already has all the proof they need to prove that your rebate is legitimate, including a unique order number from your receipt!). Here is where the scam begins:
3. After you fill everything out online, you must print a form, fill it in and mail it along with documentation within a certain timeframe. You MUST include in the envelope the Tiger Direct Invoice (thus parting with your original invoice!), the model number, the serial number AND the UPC label with the barcode.
4. You look at the packaging and see two UPC labels with bar codes on the box one is part of the graphics on the box and one is a peel-off sticker that also included the model name and serial number (there are actually 2 copies of this one).
So you have a choice of either cutting a hole in the box (and ruining the box should you ever need it for warranty or return) to get the one UPC code, or you can use the convenient peel and stick code. Naturally, being a sane person, you peel off the easy one which includes the serial number and model number (also required by OnRebate), attach it to the OnRebate claim form and send the envelope. Easy right? No problem right? WRONG!
5. You just lost your rebate. OnRebate does NOT recognize the barcode on the peeled label this despite the fact that Tiger Direct is probably their largest account (it wouldn't surprise me if Tiger Direct OWNS OnRebate). Therefore your rebate is denied on the grounds of a missing UPC label. You will get an email notifying you that the rebate has been denied. Case closed, no room for discussion, and no re-submissions accepted.
Now it gets REALLY good:
When this happened to me, I went back and looked at the box again and realized what had happened: I had chosen the wrong barcode to send. So I immediately printed the form out AGAIN, cut out the other barcode from the box, and sent ANOTHER envelope to Miami with another copy of my receipt.
This time, they rejected my rebate because they said I was past the deadline for submission!! When I pushed the issue further via email, they said resubmissions were not accepted, period.
So they make the rebate process very ambiguous so that you will screw it up, they throw in a deadline so that when you try to correct it, you're now late, and they will NOT deal with you at all after your original submission.
It seems clear that OnRebate is set up for one reason only: To save the manufacturers and retailers money. They make it as difficult as possible to claim your rebate, and the retailers and manufacturers don't have to get their hands dirty. You can bet that OnRebate sells it's services to the manufacturers based on how much money they can save THEM, not us, based on rebates that fail their ridiculous process.
Bottom line: DO NOT EVER BUY ANY PRODUCTS FROM ANY RETAILER THAT OFFERS A REBATE VIA OnRebate.com! YOU WILL REGRET IT!
Kevin
Winona, Ontario
Canada
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Tiger Direct
Click here to read The *EDitorial: The Marketing Rebate Rip Off ...Manufactures invent reasons why not to pay the consumer
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Bill
Sterling,Virginia,
U.S.A.
OnRebate Solved Issue
#5Consumer Comment
Wed, December 28, 2005
I had a problem with a rebate for a Maxtor hard drive bought from TigerDirect. It was denied for a invalid code, even though it passed the online validation process. I sent an email to OnRebate, and never got a reply. I then sent the following email to nadina.urdaneta@onrebate.com, who I found while reading posts here....
"I never got a reply from the attached email
(EHU-39738-895). I saw in your post on RipOff Report that in some instances you may be of assistance. The only thing I can think of is that the code MX-1604 CA may mean it was for Canada. I guess a code without the CA would have been for the US. I don't remember seeing an option, or if there were, an explanation on which one to use on either Tigerdirect.com or onrebate.com. If there were an error, why didn't the online verification process catch that?"
Note that the tone was polite, unlike many that I read here. This was sent on 12/4/2005. I got the rebate about a week ago. While my case may have been simple to solve, I thank Nadina for getting the check to me very quickly.
Nadina
Hialeah,Florida,
U.S.A.
Rebate Issue
#5REBUTTAL Owner of company
Tue, September 27, 2005
Dear Kevin-
This is a live person answering your complain.
As stated before, we are just a rebate company that processes rebates for manufacturers. All vendors have their own Terms and Conditions that we must enforce in order to keep our clients. We do offer customer service and assistance over the phone for any customers that do not understand the Terms or that need help with the registration process in our website.
In the future please contact us and we will assist and make sure everything gets done properly to ensure your rebates.
Kevin
Winona,Ontario,
Canada
Canned response
#5Author of original report
Mon, September 26, 2005
Well, as expected, OnRebate replied to this report right away with the standard "Please contact us so that we may help you" reply.
Funny thing is, it was from the same person that I had already had multiple emails with on this issue. I wonder if 'Nadina' is really a person, or just an alias that goes to random people at OnRebate. I can't believe that ONE person handles all these issues.
Anyway, even after I contacted Nadina as instructed in the rebuttal, I received yet ANOTHER canned reply saying "We were able to locate your rebate registration in our database once you provided us with you first and last name."
He/She doesn't even seem to realize that I'm the same person that already had contacted him/her, which further backs the theory that there is no 'Nadina'.
So Nadina goes on to put the blame squarely on the manufacturer (Soyo) claiming that some manufacturers allow corrections or gathering of documentation, buy Soyo is very strict and does not allow 'resubmissions'. BTW, my claim was not a 'resubmission'. I was only adding more documentation to the original package.
WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP! This is just one company shifting blame to another over and over again. Tiger Direct shifts the burden of the rebate, and all the hassles that go with it, to OnRebate. Then OnRebate shifts the blame to Soyo....and I've already tried to contact Soyo with no success.
Every report on OnRebate has been promptly answered by them with an offer to help, but I'd be willing to bet that no one has had any further success after this pathetic attempt to make the company look sympathetic.
Nadina
Hialeah,Florida,
U.S.A.
Rebate Ussue
#5REBUTTAL Owner of company
Mon, September 26, 2005
Dear Kevin-
We will gladly assist you with your rebate issue in efforts to get this resolved.
Please call 1-888-222-9300 or email nadina.urdaneta@onrebate.com
Have copies of your documentation ready and we will work together towards a satisfactory resolution.
Nadina-