Newsletter
Where's My Rebate
It's a way for you to save money on a fancy appliance or new cell phone.
Rebates are not only a hassle but they are now under heavy scrutiny. You
may need to hire Indiana Jones to track down where your mysterious rebate
check has gone. It takes a lot of grunt-work to fill out rebate forms
and make sure you have everything required to get your savings. Many companies
are accused of intentionally making it hard for you to get your rebate
back.
We will discuss some of the problems that come with rebates and what potential
changes are coming to make rebates easier to collect.
It is hard to find an electronic item or new cell phone that doesn’t
have a rebate attached to it. When shopping for an item and you find that
it has a great rebate, ask yourself, “Why don’t they just
put it on sale for the rebated price?” Because companies are betting
that you are not going to take advantage of the rebate or make a mistake
when filling out the rebate so they do not have to honor it.
When purchasing an item with a rebate it is important to thoroughly examine
all the details so you send all the right information the first time.
This way it is not sent back to you and you miss the deadline and don’t
get the savings on top of a lot of wasted time.
In defense of many companies, the obstacles that comes with mailing in
a rebate are to protect them from fraud. By making you send in tons of
proof they can justify the rebate and know that it’s not someone
who wants to claim free money for an item that they did not purchase.
Unfortunately, it makes it very frustrating for honest consumers who are
looking to save money on the items they legitimately purchased.
Rebates can be misleading when it comes to advertising. You may see an
ad that reads save $200 and in little print at the bottom of the ad is
the asterisk that reads “after mail-in rebate.” There have
been cases where companies have advertised the price after the rebate,
which can mislead people into coming in to purchase the item only to find
out that the price only applies after the rebate.
Ways to avoid this headache is to avoid rebated items all together. Let’s
say that you are looking to buy a new digital camera. You find one that
you like for $199 and there is a $75 dollar mail-in rebate. Instead of
diving right into the purchase and turning in the rebate to get your $75
dollars back in a couple of months, take some extra time to shop around.
You may find the same camera or a similar one for the price of the rebate
already accounted for. Wait a week or two, if they are offering that big
of a discount then they might drop the price of the camera all together
and you will still take advantage of the savings faster than if you had
to wait for the rebate. You can even use the rebate to help you negotiate
prices with a competitor.
With rebate complaints rising every year, some companies are changing
their policies to make it easier to claim rebates or are even eliminating
them all together. Companies are using online forms to redeem rebates
that may help eliminate the extra time that mailed in rebates take. They
can also track their rebates online. Instead of a customer service representative
trying to find out where your paperwork is, they can just put in a confirmation
number and receive an update on your rebate.
If you have not received a rebate or feel like you have had to jump through
too many hoops in order to redeem a rebate, you may want to file a complaint.
If you have not received a satisfied answer from the company you may want
to contact the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) to file a formal complaint.
When looking to purchase an item that has a rebate attached, make sure
that you can afford the price listed without the rebate. Don’t pay
what you can’t afford because you are counting on the rebate. You
may not see the rebate for a couple of months and it is not worth screwing
up your budget. Rebates are a way for you to save money and you shouldn’t
disregard them completely, just make sure you explore all of your options
and be thorough to ensure the best results.
Resources:
www.ftc.gov - Federal
Trade Commission
www.bbb.org - Better
Business Bureau, features reports on company efficiency and customer service.
www.RebatesHQ.com
- Find and track rebates online for a quicker and easier return.
www.RipoffReport.com
- Lists some rebate complaints that consumers have had.
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It is our policy at Pioneer Credit Counseling not only to help people get out of debt, but also educate in sound budgeting practices.
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