Complaint Review: OfficeMax - Internet

Rip-off Report has been working with a major chain to do just that, give instant Rebates at the register. They are telling me, the problem is, manufactures count on you NOT following the long list of rules ... If we do this, they will not sell us the product at the same price Rip-off Report is still trying to convince them to at least try instant rebate in certain markets and not advertise the whole chain at once. I've also told them that if they do this, consumers will flock to their store, and business would increase so much, the possible extra cost to them would pay for itself, and better yet, most likely this would start a trend, putting an end to the manufactures rebate rip-off to consumers! I can hear it now. Critics will say, you'll do nothing but drive the price up of the products ...and I say, better to do that, than to rip-off the consumer. Corporate America, they certainly need a reality check! ED Magedson [email protected] badbusinessbureau.com Don't let them get away with it. Make sure they make the Rip-off Report! We are not lawyers. We are not a collection agency. We are Consumer Advocates. ...the victims' advocate WE are Civil and Human Rights Activists We are a Nationwide Consumer Reporting News Agency ...by consumers, for consumers Remember. Don't let them get away with it! Make sure they make the Rip-off Report.

I am currently a disgruntled employee of OfficeMax. Some things you need to know about the types of rebates offered at OfficeMax and the OfficeMax web site.

The first type of rebate is the "Instant Rebate" where the price is taken off at the registered instantly. The second type of rebate of course is the "Manufacturer's Mail-In Rebate." OfficeMax will print two seperate receipts for a customer when a product has a mail-in rebate.

The first rebate is the original sales receipt and the second one is the "Rebate Receipt." Every employee of OfficeMax is given instructions NOT to inform the customer that 90% of the manufacturer's rebates REQUIRE the ORIGINAL sales receipt and not a "Rebate Receipt." Customers constantly come back to the store asking why they didn't get their rebates.

OfficeMax as a company has a "Customer Satisfaction" policy which means if you complain to the store management and ask to speak to a "District Manager" they will more than likely give you the rebate price at the store level with nothing to mail-in. If you get as far as talking to the "District Manager" then he will ALSO give you a 25$ OfficeMax Gift Card for your trouble.

Products ordered through OfficeMax.com will NOT be accompanied by a rebate form OR receipt. This is because OfficeMax wants to get the customer into one of it's stores in order to sell more product to the customer and perhaps get some add on sales. If OfficeMax truly cared about it's customers then they wouldn't HAVE mail-in rebates and give instant rebates instead...

We have a family full of computer nerds, means buying dozens of softwares, gadgets - regardless of rebate offers - every year. We have a draw full of copies of submitted rebate labels, letters etc. According our experience, we got the offered rebate in less than 10% of the cases.
Some recommendation....

a/ Never buy anything only because of the promised rebate. If the price seems unacceptable without rebate, do not buy it.

b/ To make easier to accept the failure, frustration, handle rebates as sweepstakes. If you are lucky, you get money. I still remember our big celebration when after many failed rebate offers we got a $100 rebate for a flat monitor.

c/ Avoid Office Max. They are one of the worst offenders. Not only advertising not-existent rebates, but not existent discounts/sales too.
If you have a nearby Office Max, you might go there to check if the offer exists, but do not drive more than 20 miles to find one...

d/ Do not waste money to send your rebate tags in certified, registered mails. Even if you can prove, they got it they will claim something was missing from the envelope.

e/ Legal options? If you check the store and/or the manufacturer offer with a magnifying glass, you will always find a disclaimer denying any responsibilty for refusing any rebate offer.

The only option: to avoid to buy anything from the store, manufacturer that once cheated you...

I do not remember ever seeing an ftc or other rule regarding rebate offers. I would be more than happy to read dozens of rebutals:-)))