BBB rarely if ever engages in any political ballyhoo but when I found a 2006 article quoting NY Senator Charles E. Schumer as asking the FTC to standardize rebate procedures, well I gave a big “yahoo”! Rebates or as called by Sen. Schumer “fools gold” can be the post holiday bait-and-switch. They lure consumers to purchase full price retail items by marketing lower prices through mail-in rebate.
The catch? It is estimated between 40-60% of rebates are never redeemed. Two sources quoted over $400 billion (with a “b”) worth of rebates are offered – meaning millions go unclaimed! Beats the heck out of offering a discount, a good old fashioned “sale” on a product and letting everyone benefit from the low price – or at least from the company’s perspective. And this year, according to CreditCards.com, retailers are increasingly opting to provide rebates in the form of pre-loaded cards as opposed to paper checks. Therefore, to get the benefit of the new “rebate cards”, a consumer must now SPEND more money.
So outside the fact that rebates promise financial rewards AFTER the full price purchase, what else could be wrong? Consumer Reports’ survey indicated 70% of consumers have taken advantage of manufacturer rebates but of those, 21% report they were unsuccessful in receiving the promised rebate. Typically, they didn’t receive anything or were turned down on a technicality.
If you purchase a particular holiday gift or buy a specific brand when to fulfill a need (say a set of tires), then follow these tips to make sure you actually get the low price promised:
1. Get the rebate form – at the store or download and print if shopping online
2. Don’t wait – some rebates have a time window for redemption do don’t miss the deadline
3. Read instructions (the small print) very carefully and follow directions verbatim! If they tell you to use a blue pen, do it! If they tell you to “check” rather than “circle”, then do it! Remember, they have something to gain if your redemption is declined so do it right this time!
4. Keep the packaging – rebates often require UPC bar codes or other parts of the packaging to be included with the paperwork so don’t throw away your boxes and DON”T cut/tear through the bar codes when ripping them open Christmas morning!
5. Make copies of everything and mail your rebate request via certified mail (if value is substantial)
Finally, if your rebate doesn’t arrive on time or not at all, notify FTC www.ftc.gov and file an online complaint, notify Maryland Attorney General and send a complaint to www.bbb.org.
Be careful out there. The holiday season is as good as gold to scam artists. If I could offer only one piece of advice during the holiday season I’d tell you not to click or download unknowns, or perhaps how you didn’t win the lottery or a sweepstakes so don’t cash that darn check. Oh, and if that holiday job or loan sounds too good to be true, hey, it is. But instead I think we’ll go with this, and I’ll simply say; check your credit card and bank statements online every day and be sure to set out cookies and milk or whatever your ritual is that evokes the wonderful spirit of the holiday – peace and hope.
Talk soon, happy holidays, Angie
