Western Digital Rebates - Scam

[Ripped Off]

I bought two hard drives both different model numbers from Future Shop for
Christmas gifts.
I called today asking where my rebates were. The rep said that they did not
receive them. I was then advised to resubmit my photocopies (glad I had
them).

During this process, the rep said:

1. both different models of the hard drive had the same promotion code.
2. She then proceed to tell me that the amount of the promo is different
then the one on my rebate forms
3. The promotion is good only for one person/household/address

So, according to the rep, even though I bought two units, I would only get a
rebate for one. I made a formal complaint to the Canadian Competition
Bureau about this unfair tactic. They will investigate.

 

[Jerome B #36]

Go back after futureshop for failing to state this in their promotion.
I have time and time again looked at their advertising and it never
states on any of the rebate deals that there are limits to quantity per
item type.

 

[JAD]

There are many "1 per household" offers, got caught once....it sux but then I always read the fine print now
....

 

[Ripped Off]

Yes, except in my case the fine print is printed on the sales slip AFTER the
transaction has taken place. And yes, always read the fine print. Don't
assume.

: There are many "1 per household" offers, got caught once....it sux but
then I always read the fine print now

 

[JAD]

well then I would say you have a good case

 

[Melvin Klassen]

Go back after futureshop for failing to state this in their promotion.
I have time and time again looked at their advertising and it never states
on any of the rebate deals that there are limits to quantity per item type.

Read the fine-print on the rebate form:

http://www.futureshop.ca/Rebate/rebateform.asp?RebateID=220810032599&l
ogon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fsweb7

BRAND/MODEL: WD Caviar SE 120GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
UPC: 718037104683
REBATE AMOUNT: $50 USD
OFFER DATE: January 2, 2004 to January 8, 2004
POSTMARK BY: February 8, 2004

Offer is limited to one rebate per name/customer/address.
Offer is limited to one rebate per name/customer/address.
Offer is limited to one rebate per name/customer/address.
Offer is limited to one rebate per name/customer/address.
Offer is limited to one rebate per name/customer/address.

QED

 

[352606]

I have been hit by a similar rip off.

After Thanksgiving Best Buys advertised the Samsung 17" LCD model 175v,
with $200 of rebates to make the final price $270. Circuit city offered
the Samsung model 174v LCD 17" with rebates of $150 for a final price of
$300.

The Circuit City rebate went through with no problems.

I just got two post cards denying me the Best Buys rebates.

One card denied the rebate saying I had the wrong UPC code.
I have xerox of what I sent and it is the UPC off the box.
The monitor is still in the box, unused, and there is a place
where the UPC was cut off the box. It matches size and shape
of the one attached to the rebate forms and sale receipt.
(Because IT IS the one off the box!)

The second card said the rebate was denied due to multiple
submissions. They consider the CC and the BB's sales to be
identical offers, even though two different retail chains
selling different models of monitors for different rebate
amounts.

Unbelievable!

Not sure what the next step is. I guess I will take the BB
monitor back to the store and see if I can get a refund.
Otherwise I guess I have to argue with somebody.
Store manager? Customer service? As a last resort
I guess I can challenge the VISA charge.

I have had a good run with rebates in 2003, until this.
Just got my rebates for the WD200 I bought in November, too.
But I will never buy from Best Buys again.

 

[Ripped Off]

Sorry, that's not an acceptable practice according to Canadian Competition
Bureau. Future Shop says they will give me the rebate amount back or I can
return the drive for a full refund (do you think they smell a lawsuit?) They
know they screwed up. And, think about it. Just because it says something
in writing, doesn't make it LEGAL. You buy two different items but it may
be the same rebate code (that's NOT your problem). You are entitled to get
two rebates. Of course, the work around is to have a rebate in a friend's
name and address. Again, , that's not a fair practice. The CCB doesn't see
that it is and that's ALL that matters. Also, this online rebate is NOT the
same as the one I bought in **October**. Do you have a print out of my
sales receipt? I didn't think so.

:
: > Go back after futureshop for failing to state this in their promotion.
: > I have time and time again looked at their advertising and it never
states
: > on any of the rebate deals that there are limits to quantity per item
type.
:
: Read the fine-print on the rebate form:
:
: http://www.futureshop.ca/Rebate/rebateform.asp?RebateID=220810032599&l
: ogon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fsweb7
:
: BRAND/MODEL: WD Caviar SE 120GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
: UPC: 718037104683
: REBATE AMOUNT: $50 USD
: OFFER DATE: January 2, 2004 to January 8, 2004
: POSTMARK BY: February 8, 2004
:
: Offer is limited to one rebate per name/customer/address.
: Offer is limited to one rebate per name/customer/address.
: Offer is limited to one rebate per name/customer/address.
: Offer is limited to one rebate per name/customer/address.
: Offer is limited to one rebate per name/customer/address.
:
: QED
:
:
:

 

[Melvin Klassen]

Sorry, that's not an acceptable practice according to Canadian Competition
Bureau. Future Shop says they will give me the rebate amount back or I can
return the drive for a full refund (do you think they smell a lawsuit?) They
know they screwed up. And, think about it. Just because it says something
in writing, doesn't make it LEGAL. You buy two different items but it may
be the same rebate code (that's NOT your problem). You are entitled to get
two rebates. Of course, the work around is to have a rebate in a friend's
name and address. Again, , that's not a fair practice. The CCB doesn't see
that it is and that's ALL that matters. Also, this online rebate is NOT the
same as the one I bought in **October**. Do you have a print out of my
sales receipt? I didn't think so.

FutureShop is offering a full refund on something you bought in
OCTOBER ?
Backup your files, and take the offer, and buy a bigger/faster
hard-drive,
with a longer warranty, from some other store, and end up with cash in
your pocket.

It sounds like FutureShop is willing to do _anything_ to transform you
into a good customer.
Is that bad??? )

 

[Bob Davis]

I have been hit by a similar rip off.

After Thanksgiving Best Buys advertised the Samsung 17" LCD model 175v,
with $200 of rebates to make the final price $270. Circuit city offered
the Samsung model 174v LCD 17" with rebates of $150 for a final price of
$300.

The Circuit City rebate went through with no problems.

I just got two post cards denying me the Best Buys rebates.

One card denied the rebate saying I had the wrong UPC code.

I had a similar experience with Office Depot on a UPS offered for $35 after
a $30 rebate. After six weeks I hadn't heard anything so I checked the
website given on the rebate form, which said the rebate had been denied
because the UPC code did not match the correct item. I checked the rebate
form and the store receipt, and both had the same SKU#, and the description
of the item received was identical to that in the ad. The UPC code itself
did not indicate anything that I could discern.

I called the number given on the form and talked to a guy with an Indian
accent, of course, and asked him why the SKU#'s and descriptions matched,
but there was an alleged problem with the UPC code. He kept me on hold for
about two minutes and came back with the revelation that I had been
approved, which later showed up as such on their website. A friend had a
similar experience on a WD drive bought from Outpost (Frye's), and it took
very little to persuade them to approve the rebate after first being denied.

I have a theory that many of these rebates are refused without justification
because the companies involved figure a percentage of these will not
respond, and they thus gain from it. If they do, there seems to be little
ado gettting the denial reversed, as evidenced by my ordeal, my friend's,
and one similar experience I had two years ago. I think these rebate
schemes are becoming borderline scams in some cases, and it involves the
biggest corporations that you tend to trust, like Office Depot or Western
Digital.

I think if you raise hell you'll get your rebate, as in my experience the
defenses produced by the rebaters are very thin.

 

[tomcas]

I expect we are going to be seeing many more posts exactly like yours in the
near future. Yesterday and today I called both OfficeMax and Bestbuy to
inquire about rebates that were denied recently for reasons ranging from
missing UPC symbols, to missing receipts, to claims that a submission was
never even received. To my amazement all the disputed claims ( 7 total) were
promptly approved including the one they said they never received. I didn't
have to raise hell, all I had to do was ask. Something is definitely up. Be
forewarned, Bestbuy likes to play the game where they tell you at 8 weeks
they are still looking at your submission and when you call back on the 10
week they tell you they can't find it and it's too late for you to resubmit
your copies.

 

[DaveW]

The Rebate is being offered by Samsung , not Circuit City or Best Buy. So
your complaint is with Samsung. And yes, if you read the fine print, you'll
usually find that the MANUFACTURER limits its rebates to one per home
address. So I'm not really suprised.

 

[Michael Black]

The Rebate is being offered by Samsung , not Circuit City or Best Buy. So
your complaint is with Samsung. And yes, if you read the fine print, you'll
usually find that the MANUFACTURER limits its rebates to one per home
address. So I'm not really suprised.

But when has truth ever gotten in the way of a rant?

Michael

 

[Matt]

The Rebate is being offered by Samsung , not Circuit City or Best Buy. So
your complaint is with Samsung. And yes, if you read the fine print, you'll
usually find that the MANUFACTURER limits its rebates to one per home
address. So I'm not really suprised.

I had a problem with a Belkin rebate once and after failing to get
anything from Belkin, I got satisfaction (and the rebate amount!) from
OfficeMax ([email protected]).

 

[289425]

So I'm not really suprised. <

Well, I am, because I did not even get the one. Samsung denied one
saying it was not the right UPC code, when it was. Then they denied the
second saying "only one". I don't think I can let them have it both
ways.

 

[289425]

There is an article in this months PCWorld magazine about rebate
problems.

Seems the "fulfillment house" that handles Samsung, among other clients,
has the worst complaint trail of any such company.

I will be calling in this week to harangue them about my denied rebates.