Screwed by Canon Rebate

I know that the institution of rebates is meant to rip you off so I'm
quite anal about paying attention to the details and ALWAYS sending in
the rebate with delivery confirmation. The delivery confirmation at
least minimizes the "Sorry, we never received your rebate" or "Sorry, we
didn't receive your rebate in time" excuses.

I read the rebate forms several times looking for the "gotcha's". I know
I go through way more trouble than I should for $20-$50 but it's the
principle. They make it as annoying as possible to claim a rebate so
that most people won't bother. I'm the one that bothers.

I send in my rebate to Canon along with all the rebate form, purchase
receipt and I cut out the UPC code from the box and put that in the
envelope. My new tactic is to use wide tape and tape the UPC code to
the rebate form.

I checked on my rebate status just now.

Error(s): An original qualifying UPC was not included

Yep. No matter how hard I tried, Canon still managed to screw me over.

Since they want "an original" qualifying UPC", my copy won't suffice.

Canon, the next time I'm in the market for a product I'll remember this
incident.

In article <4594782d$0$16750$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>, John <John@nospam.net> wrote:
>I know that the institution of rebates is meant to rip you off so I'm
>quite anal about paying attention to the details and ALWAYS sending in
>the rebate with delivery confirmation. The delivery confirmation at
>least minimizes the "Sorry, we never received your rebate" or "Sorry, we
>didn't receive your rebate in time" excuses.
>
>I read the rebate forms several times looking for the "gotcha's". I know
>I go through way more trouble than I should for $20-$50 but it's the
>principle. They make it as annoying as possible to claim a rebate so
>that most people won't bother. I'm the one that bothers.
>
>I send in my rebate to Canon along with all the rebate form, purchase
>receipt and I cut out the UPC code from the box and put that in the
>envelope. My new tactic is to use wide tape and tape the UPC code to
>the rebate form.
>
>I checked on my rebate status just now.
>
>Error(s): An original qualifying UPC was not included
>
>Yep. No matter how hard I tried, Canon still managed to screw me over.
>
>Since they want "an original" qualifying UPC", my copy won't suffice.
>
>Canon, the next time I'm in the market for a product I'll remember this
>incident.

Try contacting the retailer from whom you made the purchase.

The courts have recently ruled that the retailer is legally
bound to honor the rebate.

I am hopeful that this ruling will help bring about the demise
of the rebate scam.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| malch@malch.com Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"John" <John@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:4594782d$0$16750$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>I know that the institution of rebates is meant to rip you off so I'm quite
>anal about paying attention to the details and ALWAYS sending in the rebate
>with delivery confirmation. The delivery confirmation at least minimizes
>the "Sorry, we never received your rebate" or "Sorry, we didn't receive
>your rebate in time" excuses.
>
> I read the rebate forms several times looking for the "gotcha's". I know I
> go through way more trouble than I should for $20-$50 but it's the
> principle. They make it as annoying as possible to claim a rebate so that
> most people won't bother. I'm the one that bothers.
>
> I send in my rebate to Canon along with all the rebate form, purchase
> receipt and I cut out the UPC code from the box and put that in the
> envelope. My new tactic is to use wide tape and tape the UPC code to the
> rebate form.
>
> I checked on my rebate status just now.
>
> Error(s): An original qualifying UPC was not included
>
> Yep. No matter how hard I tried, Canon still managed to screw me over.
>
> Since they want "an original" qualifying UPC", my copy won't suffice.
>
> Canon, the next time I'm in the market for a product I'll remember this
> incident.
>
You know, I wonder about these rebate centers. I've had that exact same
thing happen to me twice in the last half-dozen years; once for a Sony
rebate and once for a Hitachi rebate. I wonder if these rebate centers
aren't scamming the manufacturers somehow, and cheating some percentage of
customers, while still accepting the money from the mfgrs.

Rebates are such a RIP! Just give me a good deal up front, with no BS.
I got ripped off on a 30.00 rebate on a Netgear networking kit one time.
They rejected my rebate because my address was a PO box. What bullshit.
I guess that was a good enough excuse for them.

Not everyone has the luxury of home-delivered mail - some of us live in
small towns.






"John" <John@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:4594782d$0$16750$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>I know that the institution of rebates is meant to rip you off so I'm quite
>anal about paying attention to the details and ALWAYS sending in the rebate
>with delivery confirmation. The delivery confirmation at least minimizes
>the "Sorry, we never received your rebate" or "Sorry, we didn't receive
>your rebate in time" excuses.
>
> I read the rebate forms several times looking for the "gotcha's". I know I
> go through way more trouble than I should for $20-$50 but it's the
> principle. They make it as annoying as possible to claim a rebate so that
> most people won't bother. I'm the one that bothers.
>
> I send in my rebate to Canon along with all the rebate form, purchase
> receipt and I cut out the UPC code from the box and put that in the
> envelope. My new tactic is to use wide tape and tape the UPC code to the
> rebate form.
>
> I checked on my rebate status just now.
>
> Error(s): An original qualifying UPC was not included
>
> Yep. No matter how hard I tried, Canon still managed to screw me over.
>
> Since they want "an original" qualifying UPC", my copy won't suffice.
>
> Canon, the next time I'm in the market for a product I'll remember this
> incident.
>
>

Malcolm Hoar wrote:

In article <4594782d$0$16750$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>, John <John@nospam.net> wrote:



I know that the institution of rebates is meant to rip you off so I'm quite anal about paying attention to the details and ALWAYS sending in the rebate with delivery confirmation. The delivery confirmation at least minimizes the "Sorry, we never received your rebate" or "Sorry, we didn't receive your rebate in time" excuses. I read the rebate forms several times looking for the "gotcha's". I know I go through way more trouble than I should for $20-$50 but it's the principle. They make it as annoying as possible to claim a rebate so that most people won't bother. I'm the one that bothers. I send in my rebate to Canon along with all the rebate form, purchase receipt and I cut out the UPC code from the box and put that in the envelope. My new tactic is to use wide tape and tape the UPC code to the rebate form. I checked on my rebate status just now. Error(s): An original qualifying UPC was not included Yep. No matter how hard I tried, Canon still managed to screw me over. Since they want "an original" qualifying UPC", my copy won't suffice. Canon, the next time I'm in the market for a product I'll remember this incident.



Try contacting the retailer from whom you made the purchase. The courts have recently ruled that the retailer is legally bound to honor the rebate.


What court and what state?


I am hopeful that this ruling will help bring about the demise of the rebate scam.

John wrote:
> Yep. No matter how hard I tried, Canon still managed to screw me over.

I have successfully gotten 3 rebates (all at the same time, a package
deal about this time last year) from Canon. Took a while, but they did
pay off.



> Since they want "an original" qualifying UPC", my copy won't suffice.

I'd try appealing to whoever is appropriate and sending the copy with
all the documentation that you have...might just do the trick. Never know.


> Canon, the next time I'm in the market for a product I'll remember this
> incident.

I can certainly understand the sentiment...have had some NOT pay off on
rebates (have a data base set up for when to expect the money back etc).
But you know, I have somewhat recently taken the approach that I will
*not* play the rebate game. I look for the "instant rebate" or the best
price without the rebate trying to encourage the folks that don't
indulge in this garbage. I've heard a while back that Best Buy was going
to be rebate-free sometime RSN...that was about a year to 1.5 years
ago...guess they're not rushing in to anything. <g>

Just wanted to let you know that Canon has paid off in the past (at
least for me).

Tom

"John" <John@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:4594782d$0$16750$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>I know that the institution of rebates is meant to rip you off so I'm quite
>anal about paying attention to the details and ALWAYS sending in the rebate
>with delivery confirmation. The delivery confirmation at least minimizes
>the "Sorry, we never received your rebate" or "Sorry, we didn't receive
>your rebate in time" excuses.
>
> I read the rebate forms several times looking for the "gotcha's". I know I
> go through way more trouble than I should for $20-$50 but it's the
> principle. They make it as annoying as possible to claim a rebate so that
> most people won't bother. I'm the one that bothers.
>
> I send in my rebate to Canon along with all the rebate form, purchase
> receipt and I cut out the UPC code from the box and put that in the
> envelope. My new tactic is to use wide tape and tape the UPC code to the
> rebate form.
>
> I checked on my rebate status just now.
>
> Error(s): An original qualifying UPC was not included
>
> Yep. No matter how hard I tried, Canon still managed to screw me over.
>
> Since they want "an original" qualifying UPC", my copy won't suffice.
>
> Canon, the next time I'm in the market for a product I'll remember this
> incident.
>
>

I think most companies factor in that you forget to send in the rebate
rather than trying to scam you. By law they have to provide the rebate
check unless the company goes under.

One company I used to know, you have to call in and asked the status of the
rebate first before they would cut the check.

Another company has so many UPC labels or UPC look alike labels (a few on
the retail box plus couple more on the inside) that I send everything that
remotely look like the UPC. Don't know the intend was to confuse but I had a
rebate for $100 and they said I didn't send in the real UPC.

If you purchase a few items with one receipt and all the rebate forms
required the original receipt then you're kinda screwed.

I had a few different promotions form the same company with only one receipt
but they only send me one rebate with the smaller amount.

I have good luck with rebates from Costco and Microsoft - that's like money
in the pocket.

Don't do rebates much anymore, just not worth the extra effort.

In article <i60lh.17089$hI.2268@newssvr11.news.prodigy.net>, boyhowdy wrote:

>>The courts have recently ruled that the retailer is legally
>>bound to honor the rebate.
>
>What court and what state?

My bad. It wasn't the courts per se, it was the FTC:

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/03/compusa.htm

They have and are holding retailers liable for non-payment
of manufacturers rebates.

The OP should certainly file a complaint with the FTC.
The more complains they get, the more pressure there
will be to end this silly rebate nonsense.



--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| malch@malch.com Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In article <45948e29$0$20076$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>, tom <tvanderpool.1@juno.com> wrote:

>I can certainly understand the sentiment...have had some NOT pay off on
>rebates (have a data base set up for when to expect the money back etc).
>But you know, I have somewhat recently taken the approach that I will
>*not* play the rebate game. I look for the "instant rebate" or the best
>price without the rebate trying to encourage the folks that don't
>indulge in this garbage. I've heard a while back that Best Buy was going
>to be rebate-free sometime RSN...that was about a year to 1.5 years
>ago...guess they're not rushing in to anything. <g>

A few major retail chains have already announced their
intent to phase out all rebates. Complaining (on a large
scale) really works.

If you don't receive your rebate, please, please give
the manufacturer, the retailer and the FTC, lots of
grief and hassle. Collectively, consumers can put an
end to this scam.


--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| malch@malch.com Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, I consider myself to be a true rebate guru ... hundreds per year
(although not as many as in past years now that OfficeMax and some other
stores are cutting back on them). And I get virtually all of them.

I've been in the situation that you describe. The fact that the issue
is that they claim that you didn't send in a qualifying original UPC
code, which you obviously no longer have, does not mean that all is
lost. I have protested quite a few such situations, and they have
always been reversed and the rebate approved. The one requirement here
is that you have a copy of everything that you sent in, including the
UPC label (Obviously it's not going to be the original - that's ok, the
copy is good enough for a protest/resubmission). Protest the denial,
and in the protest include a copy of the original rebate submission
(with the UPC) and a copy of the delivery confirmation. Let them
explain why they denied it.

[Note: It could be that you sent in a bar code but not a UPC bar code;
this happens a lot, although usually only to rebate "newbies" who don't
know what a UPC code is. Lots of products have tons of bar code labels
on them, only one of which is the UPC bar code label. Another
possibility is that the UPC code on the product was not on the list of
qualifying UPC codes supplied to the rebate processor by the rebate
sponsor. This is OFTEN a mistake; sometimes, however, there was no
rebate on the product that you bought, although there was one on a VERY
similar product. Either way, this is also worth protesting and denials
are often reversed. Note that the same product sold in different stores
can have different UPC labels, one of which qualifies and the other of
which does not. This is common for products sold at warehouse clubs,
for example (a product sold at a warehouse club like Costco or Sam's
doesn't qualify for a rebate while the exact same product sold at Best
Buy does, and they have different UPC labels.]

A couple of comments: MOST of the rebate firms and the rebate sponsors
are NOT out to screw you or deny you the rebate (but yes, there are a
few exceptions], and they are usually reasonable when an issue arises
(again, there are exceptions). We've had quite a discussion of this
recently in another newsgroup (Dell), and my experience is typical of
people who do a lot of rebates. More than 90% of rebates work just fine
with no issues if you follow the directions. A small number, less than
10%, will involve some type of post-application correspondence.
However, if you follow the instructions and appeal when necessary, you
will get more than 99% of your rebates.

Officially, is no "delivery confirmation" for envelopes (very
unfortunately), only for packages. The official USPS policy is that you
can only do delivery confirmation for packages or letters that are more
than 3/4 of an inch thick. Some postal clerks, however, either don't
know this or don't enforce it and will sell you a delivery confirmation
anyway. [I think that this whole policy is a mistake by the postal
service, but that's another matter].

However, I have never found this to be an issue. Of all of the rebate
denials that I have dealt with (a few dozen in 5 or 6 years out of at
least 600 to 1,000 rebates), the issue has NEVER been that the rebate
was just "lost". Not even once. Further, delivery confirmation and,
especially a return signature, can actually slow down the process (and
some rebate processors won't even accept rebate submissions with return
signature cards that have to be signed for). What you can do on a
letter is a lesser known service called a "Certificate of Mailing",
which you can get on a letter. It proves that the letter was mailed,
although not that it was received by the recipient. But problems with
missing/wrong UPC labels or receipts, or non-qualification for whatever
reason, are the bulk of problems.


John wrote:
> I know that the institution of rebates is meant to rip you off so I'm
> quite anal about paying attention to the details and ALWAYS sending in
> the rebate with delivery confirmation. The delivery confirmation at
> least minimizes the "Sorry, we never received your rebate" or "Sorry, we
> didn't receive your rebate in time" excuses.
>
> I read the rebate forms several times looking for the "gotcha's". I know
> I go through way more trouble than I should for $20-$50 but it's the
> principle. They make it as annoying as possible to claim a rebate so
> that most people won't bother. I'm the one that bothers.
>
> I send in my rebate to Canon along with all the rebate form, purchase
> receipt and I cut out the UPC code from the box and put that in the
> envelope. My new tactic is to use wide tape and tape the UPC code to
> the rebate form.
>
> I checked on my rebate status just now.
>
> Error(s): An original qualifying UPC was not included
>
> Yep. No matter how hard I tried, Canon still managed to screw me over.
>
> Since they want "an original" qualifying UPC", my copy won't suffice.
>
> Canon, the next time I'm in the market for a product I'll remember this
> incident.
>
>