I have bought an Iriver mp3 player on 12/16/03 with a $30 mail in rebate offer. I followed all the mail in rebate instructions carefully, including attaching the upc code on the rebate form and sent it promptly. as a precaution I also xerox copied all the papers I was about to send to the rebate company including the rebate form with the upc code pasted on it.

in january I received a card from the rebate company,stating they cannot send me a rebate because they did not receive a upc code with my form..that's obviously a lie,they probably just made my upc code DISAPPEAR, hoping I give up hope to receive the rebate I was promised, to purchase the mp3 player.

I still have all the papers, receipts, the box, the player, the xerox copies, except for the original upc code wich I sent them.

I called the best buy store for explanations and they told me they cannot take care of this,but I have to call the main best buy toll free # number 1 888 best buy. I called and they told me they were trying to transfer me to the rebate phone line to no success. they told they wrote down my complaints..

so I called the rebate company.1 888 255 9493. I talked to Joe at ext.79400, I explained the whole situation. he told me that he would correct the problem and I would receive the rebate in 4 MONTHS. I asked why so long time and he explained that's their system and they cannot do it faster even if it's their fault.

now my problem is that the card they sent me, says my deadline to re submit my request is march 26 and today is march 20.joe told me(today) I don't need to resend the card or resubmit anything to them because he has fixed the problem and gave me a confirmation code#31827888..how can I trust this? it sounds suspicious, why do I have to wait 4 months? what if in 4 months they tell me I didn't send back the card within the time limit or deadline and i lost my rights? what kind of protection and rights do I have about this situation? can anyone help me resolve this?? we should all fight scams against consumers.

Alex

10038, New York
U.S.A.

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10 Updates & Rebuttals

Harold

Woodstock,
New York,
U.S.A.

WTF is up with the uncover cops

#2Consumer Suggestion

Fri, June 03, 2005

you seen the guy in the suit " i call them the MIB " guy lol ! anyway they follow you up and down the aisle into one dept to the next WTF ! anyway both rego park and lic and also i also heard that from another site that the CEO retire from best buy or did he just left ! ANYWAY BEST BUY ONLY HIRED PEOPLE THAT RIP OFF CONSUMER THAT THERE POLICY ! I STOP SHOPPING AT BOTH STORE LAST YEARS AND BOY IT FELL GREAT !

Clint

Tallahassee,
Florida,
U.S.A.

Rebates Are A Fact Of Life Now

#3Consumer Suggestion

Sat, May 28, 2005

I see on this site, all the time, people complaining about how rebates are "rip offs". I work in retail (NOT Best Buy) and I have sent in hundreds of rebates myself and have never once had one denied. The key is to read, thoroughly, the instructions on what you are required to send in, the amount of time you have been given to mail it and follow all instructions to the letter! The original poster says he pasted the UPC code to the receipt. I would guess that is why he was originally denied. NEVER staple, glue or tape anything together when sending in a rebate. One would think it wouldn't matter how the required items were included in the envelope, but it does. Whether we like it or not, rebates are a fact of life now. Manufacturers have discovered that they can sell more of their products by offering a mail in rebate. Retailers want to sell more, so they indicate there is a mail in rebate available on a particular item making the final price $XXX.XX. Does this mean you have to send in the rebate? No. If you feel all rebates are rip-offs, simply don't send it in. Accept the stores selling price and make your purchase. If you DO decide to take advantage of the rebate, make SURE you are following instructions exactly. Circle the item on the receipt if they require you to. Make sure you include all required UPC codes (either original or copies of)and receipts with the rebated item on it. And lastly, ALWAYS make copies of EVERYTHING you included in the envelope. That is imperative. If something DOES go wrong, for whatever reason, you will have all the information on hand when you call the rebate house. Do NOT call the store where you made the purchase if you get denied on a rebate. All retailers and manufacturers use "clearing houses" to process all the thousands of rebates sent in, and it is these clearing houses who are denying your money. To Alex in New York: The confirmation code given to you by the rep when you called is all you need. You will get your rebate. I don't know why it is going to take 4 months. This seems excessive to me. I've never had one take that long. Usually about 5 weeks is how long I have to wait. Call them back, give them the confirmation code and verify the waiting time. Hopefully you'll find out it is 4 WEEKS and not 4 months. Good Luck!

Duff

Emmau,
Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.

to Paul Rebates are great

#4Consumer Suggestion

Fri, May 27, 2005

In the last couple of months I bought a Samsung Laser printer with a $50 rebate, a Soundbridge ROKU with a $50 rebate and a Kingston SD flash memory card with a $20 rebate. These were products I wanted anyway. They are not junk, they work perfectly. and I have $120 back! I couldn't have got these any cheaper via the internet shopping or any other source. Rebates are great, and yes sometimes they have problems, but I only once ever needed to place a call (Sony) because they said the UPC symbol wasn't submitted and it was. If you don't want your rebates, give them to a friend or relative, don't waste them! It must be nice to be able to pass up a rebate, I'm not that wealthy. For every 1 person that has an issue with rebates, many more have no trouble at all. No one posts a "I didn't get screwed" ripoff report...if they did you'd see the good vs. bad ratio is nothing to get bent out of shape over.

Paul

Anaheim,
California,
U.S.A.

Smarten up! Don't fall for the damn rebate con. Buy something that doesn't have any rebates.

#5Consumer Suggestion

Sun, April 10, 2005

I never once bought something with a rebate. Rebate can only mean one thing. The item is junk. It won't go away until the store pushes it out the door with the rebate con. Common sense tells you that nobody will ever send you a rebate! I can't believe people actually fool around cutting out bar codes and sending little pieces of paper in the mail. Screw that! Let the trash with a rebate sit on the shelf. Tell the salesman you ain't falling for any rebate scam. Once everybody stops falling for this scam, it'll dry up and come to an end. You know, there's always a store that doesn't have rebates. All you need to do is avoid the ones that do use rebates. Let them go out of business. It'll serve them right!

Harold

Woodstock,
New York,
U.S.A.

new york consumer affair should investigate BEST BUY !!!!!!!!

#6Consumer Suggestion

Sun, April 10, 2005

The Should investigate the Rego Park Store Long island city Store the 86st Store and this store that the person got screw from ! these store that i meantion are so evil and so wrong is shocking i have file about 30 compliant with the BBB and consumer affair about the long island city store and this store and tey said that this store got better " HAHA " wrong is got worst ! and i also file 10 compliant with the rego park store with the BBB NEVER AGAIN BUT STORE LIKE COMPUSA AND CIRCUITCITY AND SEARS AND IF THEY DONT HAVE WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR " YOU HAVE NO CHOICE "

Greg

New Jersey,
New Jersey,
U.S.A.

Certified Mail

#7Consumer Suggestion

Mon, April 05, 2004

Always send your rebates via certified mail. Then, the company can't say they didn't recieve it.

Joe

Clifton Park,
New York,
U.S.A.

Been there, done that too ..rebates are designed to be never received

#8Consumer Comment

Fri, April 02, 2004

Yep...rebates are designed to be never received...same thing happened to me with these guys. Ya cut out the UPC code, send it in and then get told that you didn't include it. What recourse do I have? Then...when, in your anger, you try to return the product...they won't because you cut out the friggin UPC code and either try to charge you a restocking fee for packaging that's damaged or refuse to take it altogether. I wish they'd just lower the damned price and get on with it....I'd buy a hell of a lot more if I din't have to jump through hoops....some marketing genius will figure that out eventually. I'm sure most of us realize rebates are a rip-off.

Joe

Clifton Park,
New York,
U.S.A.