REBATES!!!

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2006 9:39 am Post subject: Re: what rule to follow

droptop4me wrote:

so who's company's rules do i follow to actually get my $125 back??
cc says to include my 1st months Vonage bill with the rebate.
Vonage says has to be postmarked within 30 days of purchase.
HMMM

I got mine from Circuit City in July 2005.

There were three rebates. One from Vonage ($100), and two separate ones from Circuit City totaling $30, all to offset the inflated price of $130 for the WRTP54G at the time, under the "G for Free" rebate that required that I also turn in my old Wireless-B router.

The Vonage one required 90 days of service before they would pay it, and 30 days of active Vonage service before I could file, but had to be filed within 45 days of purchase, if I recall. That one was a rather complex set of rules, I admit, and a lot of people have trouble with them... but they wanted people to use the 30 day money back guarantee BEFORE they filed for the rebate.

The net result of this is that you have to activate your Vonage device within 15 days of purchase, or the rebate window closes off. And you have to follow the dates carefully. Too soon - no rebate, too late - no rebate. This is typical of rebates, though these rules are more complex than usual.

So I tested Vonage for 15-20 days, prepped the rebate submission (which in my case included sending them my old Wireless router), and put it on the shelf with a yellow stickie that had the date I needed to ship it out, 35 days after retail activation (to give me 5 days on one side of the rules, and ten days on the other). I received the rebate in early November, which is actually a bit earlier than I anticipated it.

The Circuit City rebates each had their own rules, but both were filed for within 15 days of Vonage router purchase, and both came back in the usual 6-8 weeks.

Posts: 12 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Dec 15, 2005 Posts: 12

Here is an update. I AM BACK TO SQUARE ONE on the rebate issue. Both with GFS and with Vonage.

I am so pissed off with Vonage Rebates and GFS that I now feel I do not want to spend anymore time on such rebate phone calls where the typical wait time is 10 - 20 minutes and then 30 minutes to answer back and forth with the customer representative on the same issues. You loose valuable time, phone costs if you call over cell phone and peace of mind when you talk to these people.

I did call GFS and they said, my case was approved in "their" systems and that the web-rebates.com site would display the new status. That was a month back. No change in status till date. I bet they are again back to the old ways.

Called Vonage and they parroted the original status (submitted after 30 day errors) from GFS even though GFS has corrected it at their end.

GOD HELP!!!! This feels like a drug addiction.

I wonder how Packet 8 service or the other Voip providers are. Do not get me wrong, except for a few times when Vonage service was down (10 - 20 min) their service is ok. However Customer Service is a not good as their reps do not have the authority to take decisions to rectify customer issues.

Posts: 13 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Feb 02, 2006 Posts: 13

hmmm, makes me wonder with the $100 rebate I just submitted. The Vonage site stated:
(http://www.vonage.com/hundred/#)
1) buy a Vonage router at a participating dealer
2) activate the device online (choosing a plan that's right for you)
3) we'll send you a $100 rebate.

Heck, I thought it sounded like magic!

Then I bought the device and received the rebate form and read through it (mine said Staples, since that's were I purchased):

1. Purchase a Vonage enabled service router at Staples or Staples.com between 01/01/2006 and 02/04/2006.
2. Activate your Vonage service within 15 days of purchase. Your service must remain active for at least 60 days.
3. Complete this form (incomplete forms will not be accepted)
4. Mail the following in one envelope:
* This completed rebate form
* Copy of your sales receipt/packing slip (circle the qualifying Vonage enabled service router)
* Original, Photocopy or handwritten MAC address label cut from the product’s package
5. Your submission must be postmarked within 30 days of Vonage service activation.

Ok...I activated the same day I bought the thing, (Jan 29th). ?do I send the rebate in now, or wait until 60 days...well #5 says "submit within 30 days"...so I sent it.

Then found you can do this on-line:
https://www.web-rebates.com/vonage/von-0613/Default.asp

Basically the same as the mail-in process, however once you fill everything in, they confirm your "eligibility" and then tell you to mail everything anyway...I guess that's somewhat handy (right?). Then you get an e-mail that gives you a URL so you can "check-back" on the status (my status is "waiting on you mailed submission", since I just sent it out yesterday). Subsequent steps in the process are "Processing" -> "approval" -> "mailing" ... Presumably the processing will occur upon arrival and the "approval" 60 days after actiivation...etc.

We shall see how it goes...hopefully (after reading through all of thes e posts, things have improved).
Eek

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2006 8:53 pm Post subject:

Tomolly wrote:

2. Activate your Vonage service within 15 days of purchase. Your service must remain active for at least 60 days.
[...]
Ok...I activated the same day I bought the thing, (Jan 29th). ?do I send the rebate in now, or wait until 60 days...well #5 says "submit within 30 days"...so I sent it.

What they mean by that is that you have to sent in your rebate forms within the 15 days, but that they will wait until you have had service for 60 days before they process your rebate.

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Jan 28, 2006 Posts: 3

Ok, I sent CustomerService@gfsinc.com an E-mail and gave then 5 days to reply, I got an E-mail back with this :

Dear Mike XXXXXXXXX

Thank you for participating in our Rebate Program.

Your rebate was approved and you should be receiving this card within the next four weeks.

Thank you,
Jason
Customer Service Specialist
Rebate Fulfillment Center

Now, I would think that the online site would now show it in the Mailing state but it is still showing Required Service Period. Now, 1 or another thing has happened. 1, there web site **** and does not really link to there data base and there for is useless, out side duping customers. Or the other, they have not touched my rebate and this was there way to blow me off.

Now I will have to call them at 1-800-347-4017 in the morning and raise hell.
The out come will be easy, Have your site updated on time to reflect the real status of rebates (Mine) or I will be calling and starting **** (Wasting there time and money) every day untill I have a check or visa card in my hands.
Yes this seems like a lot of work and pain on my side, but it is not. Do it with a smile and know that your are pissing them off for not doing there job and it becomes FUN !

I will update all on the progress.
Twisted Evil

Posts: 1123 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: May 26, 2005 Posts: 1123

"Now, 1 or another thing has happened. 1, there web site **** and does not really link to there data base and there for is useless, out side duping customers. Or the other, they have not touched my rebate and this was there way to blow me off."

I think if they committed to sending you a very trackable email, they aren't blowing you off. Point 1, the dashboard sometimes gets screwy, and stuff that should be there doesn't show up in a timely fashion. Second, if they say you'll be receiving it within the next 4 weeks, what says they can't wait until one week is left, change the status, and mail the check/card to you? Their not lying, but it sure does stink to have to wait for it.

Posts: 12 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Dec 15, 2005 Posts: 12

After my experience over last few months with Vonage and GFS and Rebates and Voip here is my take:

1. GFS rebate fullfillment center - s**ks. They play a game with you. Like the dog catch'g its tail. The will make you go in circles giving you hope from time to time...until you brain tires out. I give them 100 out of 100 for perfecting this strategy. 'Tigger' good advice will consider that in future...on bugging them!

2. Vonage customer service/Account Management - s**ks. Some of the folks are rude, hang up on you and generally are not customer helpful folks at all. I guess they have been given direction to disuade calls as much as possible. I would recommend recording the calls when you call them because they will go back on their promise if you are not persistent. I give them 50 out of 50 for the time being. And yes budget your time in advance because it will cost you multiple calls over multiple days/months and you will be mad by the end...unless you follow Tiggers advice (;-

3. Vonage Service - is good. This is the only positive thing about Vonage.

All this **** on - should I submit my rebate within 15 days or 30 days, do I send a MAC# or not, do I send my first months billing statement or not...are all issues that are conveniently not addressed in a FAQ by Vonage. I would say the rebate promotion is drafted by an MBA to make it tough for lay people to follow and get their rebates.... anyway JMHO.

Good Luck to all of you still waiting for your rebates!
Your good Karma determines your getting your money or not.
I guess my karma was bad. Those considering rebates... I would say gamble if you can afford to loose the rebate without any heartbreaks. The kick you get from knowing you may get a $125 rebate on a $65 purchase is extremely short lived.

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Jan 31, 2006 Posts: 4

Being from Canada we here haven't had much experience with Vonage rebate promotions..YET!. We do have promotions but they are presently done through the CC companies.

My whole take on the Rebate promotion thing is this....that companies contract out 3rd party fullfillment companies to handle these rebates with the INTENTION of only fullfilling like 20-30% of the requests being mailed in. The rest of the poor souls are just SOL! and keep getting the runaround.

It's a practice that definitely needs to be abolished, or cleaned up.

Posts: 12 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Dec 15, 2005 Posts: 12

Got my my rebate amount in a roundabout fashion after repeated follow ups. I got part accound refund from Vonage as a card refund and partly from Circuit City customer care as a gift card!! Vonage customer help line experience was the toughest. Mad

I guess I would not want to deal with them Sad

if I had a choice as they make it all tough. Web-rebates.com rebate processing/GFS rebate fullfilment center did not help in the end. All a total waste of time. Vonage met part of their obligation, and then said they could not do anything more. which I still cannot understand/accept.... anyway I contacted Circuit City. Circuit City Customer care was great. Razz

You get acknowledgement back immediately and someone calls you or responds within 24hrs. Also card came within 3 days. Note CC Cust Care not the CC rebate processing which I never contacted. For all of you out there in similar situation, good luck to you too in getting your rebates. BTW what happens if GFS also sends a rebate assuming that happens in the next few months/years? should one keep it for all the harship caused?

Posts: 6 · New Forum Member Joined: Sep 22, 2005 Posts: 6

I'm dissapointed. I got the wrtp54g because of the big rebate. (130 cost, 125 rebate)
Five months later, I get a postcard telling me I missed the postmark deadline.
I switched over from earthlink Voip so could use this router (I thought it might be less of a hassle than a router / ata seperate device setup.
I struggled with the poor voice quality (now fixed quite nicely with the new software, and some setup changes)
I gave up getting the higher quality speedbooster router, just to get this, and now I get no rebate.
I'm sure I followed the directions properly, but lost my harddrive (not fixable, so have no access to my scans for all the info.
Seeing as this rebate is pretty continous, I hope Vonage works with me to do something, - 125 is a big loss for me.

I would just have stuck with earthlink if I knew I was going to have to pay that much for the router, esp. having already purchased the ata for earthlink already !

All this to save 5 bucks a month, and now that's no longer true !

neo1111

anyone have any ideas - someone at Vonage might do something for me, even a few months free to cover the loss of the rebate ???