Rebate declined-- Thanks for nothing Vonage

Posts: 37 · Vonage Forum Junior Joined: Mar 10, 2005 Posts: 37

I have boycotted Best Buy, because I believe their actions are criminal. However it's kind oh hard to not want those prices. I say learn the rules and take advantage.

Luring you into your store with rebate offer and then hoping you purchase other things is to me like “Would you like fries with that"

Interesting thought though. The Coke that they want you to buy has more prophet than that cheeseburger.

Posts: 318 · Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 9:59 am Post subject: Re: rebates

fugufish wrote:

Rebates in general are a marketing ploy to advertise artificially low prices. The rebate forms are intentionally filled with fine print and the companies are counting on you making a mistake so they don't have to pay out. Getting you to cut the UPC off the box (making the item unreturnable to the place of sale) is another sneaky little tactic.
Unfortunately, rebates on electronics are very commonplace these days but I refuse to shop at places like Bestbuy because of them.

cutting off the UPC is not sneaky: It ensures you do not buy the product solely for the rebate and then return it.

ie, buying a $50 product, $20 rebate. get the $20 rebate and return the product for a full refund of $50. You've made $20.

THAT little practice there would be sneaky and underhanded! Not to mention fradulent.

Posts: 482 · Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 12:53 pm Post subject: Re: rebates

fugufish wrote:

Unfortunately, rebates on electronics are very commonplace these days but I refuse to shop at places like Bestbuy because of them.

Well I just got a 250GB Western Digital, 8MB cache from Circuit City this weekend for $39. It's worth it to me, maybe not to you.

Posts: 27 · Vonage Forum Junior Joined: Nov 27, 2004 Posts: 27

ToddlerTN wrote:

fugufish wrote:

Unfortunately, rebates on electronics are very commonplace these days but I refuse to shop at places like Bestbuy because of them.

Well I just got a 250GB Western Digital, 8MB cache from Circuit City this weekend for $39. It's worth it to me, maybe not to you.

Let us know when you get your rebate check...

Posts: 482 · Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 12:57 pm Post subject: Re: Rebate

vicmatson wrote:

These companies contract out to a Rebate service like Express. Then they turn around and use their contractor as an excuse! "What well we don't do that we hire a company to take care of rebates"

CompUSA just lost a lawsuit this month based on that very argument. They were advertising the after-rebate price on a line of CD-RW drives, and that drive manufacturer never paid the rebates. The case accused CompUSA of advertising a price that they didn't stand behind when their vendor failed to pay the rebates. The court ruled against CompUSA and said they have to cover the cost of the rebates, since they published the after-rebate price in their advertising. If the ruling stands, it's sure to set a precedent.

Posts: 482 · Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 12:58 pm Post subject: Re: rebates

jfullam wrote:

ToddlerTN wrote:

fugufish wrote:

Unfortunately, rebates on electronics are very commonplace these days but I refuse to shop at places like Bestbuy because of them.

Well I just got a 250GB Western Digital, 8MB cache from Circuit City this weekend for $39. It's worth it to me, maybe not to you.

Let us know when you get your rebate check...

LOL, I'll be glad to if you're serious. I've probably done over a hundred rebates, and I've gotten them all so far. It just takes patience sometimes.

Posts: 17 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 17

I just spent an hour on the phone with customer service after getting a similar rejection postcard. It said my MAC address and account number do not match the rebate center records. Customer service checked my account and I submitted the correct information but when they check the rebate center system they get a mismatch. The kicker is that they can't update the rebate center system with the correct details so they told me there is nothing they can do. I'm speechless at the lack of response from them and they refused to escalate my issue.

Any suggestions on how I should handle this? I'm stuck between a rock and a hard head.

Thanks!

Posts: 37 · Vonage Forum Junior Joined: Mar 10, 2005 Posts: 37

Sure do! If you have a library card go to their site and do a lookup for a the Business where you purchased item ( infosearch DB), If you see up arrows on the right click on them this will take you to corp. office. Then simply email or fax with CC's.

That’s how I did it. Trust me if they think your going to be an informed headache.

Well let’s just say I got my $150.00 check in about 7 to 10 days from Office Depot in Florida no less.

Posts: 17 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 17

Thanks for the hint. I have also just tried a $50 dispute via American Express for the Best Buy charge on my credit card. Maybe that will get some attention too.

Posts: 482 · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2005 1:49 am Post subject:

Why didn't you call the rebate center? They're the ones handling your rebate, not Vonage's CS.