Best Buy VON-4901 PAP2 rebate warning

Posts: 9 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 14, 2005 Posts: 9

I bought my PAP2 at Best Buy via rebate VON-4901. This rebate was valid from 02/06/2005 to 06/18/2005. My purchase was made on 06/14/2005 and I mailed in my rebate shortly after. I jumped through all the little hoops, read all the instructions and followed the rebate to the letter. I got a post card informing me that my rebate had been declined for the following reason:

Purchase was made outside of the qualifying period.

I called the number on the postcard which turned out to be general Vonage customer service. I selected Billing out of the thousands of options since that was as close to rebate as any option. The billing guy pounded away on the computer for a while and then asked if I could hold. 10 minutes later Customer Care answers. "Oh you've dialed the wrong number". Uh no, I was dumped on them. Customer care tells me to call 800-347-4017 which is the new rebate phone number. Would be nice if they had included that on the postcard they sent me. Called that number " Oh our computers are updating can you call back tmo?" !

I called back in about 30 mins and got someone that was helpful. She looked up the rebate and said that it had ended on 06/11/2005! This is reflected on the https://www.web-rebates.com/vonage/ website. Well thats not what the info from Best Buy says on the rebate I mailed in and the rebate is still available here :

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=cat12105&type=page&rebateid=55246&skuid=6778365&h=403

She asks if I have copies of the rebate form that I sent in which I did. So I had to fax everything in to her despite the fact that I had already mailed it all in. Now I am waiting 7 to 10 business days so that they may enter the new info into the system concerning my rebate. What nonsense! So anyone who used the Best Buy rebate VON-4901 be warned. If you bought your PAP2 between 06/12/2005 and 06/18/2005 your claim will be denied!

Posts: 1389 · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 12:20 pm Post subject:

It sounds like in this case this may be an error on Best Buys part, not specifically Vonage's. You may want to give Best Buy a call also and pursue it that way also. Did you see this on the bottom of the rebate form?

If you have questions or wish to check on the status of your rebate, please call the Best Buy Rebate Center at 1-888-BESTBUY.

Posts: 9 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 14, 2005 Posts: 9

I sent an email to Best Buy as well and am waiting on a reply. I really dont know who's fault it was. However, the sunday before I made my purchase the rebate was in the Best Buy sunday paper insert so they certainly were advertising it on a large scale. Doesnt sound like a typo locally.

Also, the rebate that I mailed into the Vonage rebate center clearly said that the rebated purchase period ended on 06/18/2005. I think it is up to the rebate center to be proactive, make note of the problem when they noticed that 06/11/2005 was in conflict with the date printed on the rebate form, and resolve it, followed by sending me my rebate. Instead they declined it, mine and who knows how many more, and am making me jump through more hoops to get the money that is legally due to me. That is very poor customer service.

Posts: 1389 · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 3:30 pm Post subject:

Did you call 1-888-BESTBUY yet?

Posts: 9 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 14, 2005 Posts: 9

No i sent an email to them like I said. The rejection postcard with the wrong phone number on it came from the Vonage rebate center, not the best buy rebate center. I tried to pull up the 50 dollar rebate on the best buy website and it wont even come up. Only the 10 dollar rebate comes up so I doubt if best buy can do much but i have asked via email for a response from them.

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 21, 2005 Posts: 3

I too have had a problem with Vonage's rebate system. I purchased a PAP2 Linksys Modem on 6/16/05 from Best Buy, sent in the rebate form complete with all needed criteria and received a postcard that the purchase wasn't made within qualifying dates.

At the present time I have been in contact with Best Buy's rebate center trying to resolve this problem. Sad

Posts: 1389 · Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 10:18 pm Post subject:

God guys, call the 800 number please....then post the results...

Posts: 9 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 14, 2005 Posts: 9

Hi Trowski,

Okay I called the 888-Best Buy number. The automated system stated it was a manufacture rebate and I would need to call 800-243-4357. That is the number that was on the rebate rejection card I received which is incorrect and I have already called. They directed me to 800-347-4017. That is the Vonage rebate center. I faxed them on July 13th and there has been no change on the status of my rebate which still indicates rejected.

Posts: 1389 · Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2005 10:27 am Post subject:

Well, it may be you are in a hard place now. If Vonage ended the promotion at a certain date, but BestBuy had it as another, I would have to say that it was more a Bestbuy error than Vonages. I would try calling the BestBuy store where you bought it from, and put pressure on them.

Posts: 9 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 14, 2005 Posts: 9

Thanks for the suggestion. I am going to give the rebate center a little more time to handle it for the time being. Since they did ask that I fax the info in I suppose they are working on it. I suspect the error was on a national level as the date for the rebate at bestbuy.com was 06/18/2005 and a major print add was run the weekend before it expired. I hope that the rebate center and Best Buy will work this out between themselves. I have no idea who's mistake it is but clearly Best Buy and Vonage need to have a conference call concerning this. I am sure myself and the other poster are not the only ones who are in this situation.

Otherwise I am very happy with my Vonage service which has really been better than I expected. Sound quality has been very good and I enjoy all the features included in the 30 dollar price.