It's the start of a busy shopping season, so buyers beware. When you see items that offer mail in rebates, run the other direction. Unless they can give you an upfront discount you should look for a better deal elsewhere.
I had no clue that certain mail in rebates were scams, until it happened to me.
Last month, my computer died. It was Sunday so I grabbed the sale fliers from the newspaper, looking for a good deal. I came across a Toshiba laptop at Office Depot. The model fit my needs and it had a $150 mail in rebate. The rebate made the price a good buy, so I decided to purchase it. After getting home, my friend and I filled out all required paperwork for the rebate. I made copies of everything I needed to send and then stapled all items together. I had my friend check over the items to make sure everything was there. We both agreed that everything was ready to go.
After waiting a couple weeks, I tracked the rebate online. For 3 weeks the rebate never showed up on the tracking. Finally after 5 weeks the rebate showed up.
The rebate was denied. They claim that no receipt was submitted with the claim. I submitted everything properly so I decided to call the company and complain. I started calling the rebate help line. The first time I called the lady claimed that they were updating their computers, so I needed to call back in 1 hour. After an hour I called back and they claimed they were still updating their systems to call back in 30 minutes. After 30 minutes they claimed the same story but to call back in 2 hours. I asked them at this point if they would even be open then and they said oh yes of course. So 2 hours later I called back and they were closed for the day.
By this time I was getting frustrated. I searched online and found that Office Depot has been doing this scam for awhile. They even have many complaints with the BBB concerning this scam. I had no clue that this happened often.
So I called the Office Depot rebate help line again. Three times they disconnected me before helping me. Finally I got a person on the phone. He claimed that the copy of the receipt I mailed was faded and couldn't be read.Even thought they orginally claimed I didn't submit a receipt.
I made copies of everything I mailed for my own records. I told him I was looking at copies made at the same time so I knew that was a bogus excuse. I informed the man that I was aware of the scam that Office Depot was running regarding these mail in rebates. I informed him that unless I recieved my rebate, my lawyer would be contacting them.
Those appeared to be the words he needed to hear. He asked me to please hold while he spoke with the manager.When he returned to the phone, his story soon changed and they assured me that my rebate would be mailed ASAP.
I'm not going to celebrate until I have the check in hand. As I read about them claiming the checks are in the mail when they are not. So hopefully in a few weeks I will have my money.
I have decided that I will no longer shop at Office Depot. I have told family and friends to not shop there either. I don't want to see people get ripped off like this. Honestly, I never would have bought the laptop at the regular price. This would be why I bought it with the rebate. I will never again buy an item that has a mail in rebate. Give me the discount upfront or I will look for a better price elsewhere.
Just beware of the mail in rebate scams.