Rebate Fail...recourse?

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Over the years, it's been 50:50 odds on receiving rebates. The biggest offender seems to be those rebate centers which offer a choice of purchase proofs such as UPC from the box OR, proof of purchase from the retailer.

 

[0roo0roo]

normally they have online sign up and tracking of rebates now. i've gotten some even turned in a bit late.

 

[Golgatha]

It's always nice to see both sides of the story but sorry, I pretty much think they were correct.

No, they were completely and utterly full of shit, had no legal feet to stand on, and they knew it. I was completely willing to go to small claims court over this one. I sent high resolution scans of all submitted materials to both the processing company and eVGA, and yet they continued to ask for unnecessary documentation (like a picture of my motherboard, which would have required partial disassembly of my computer for crying out loud) and continued to deny my rebate.

 

[Golgatha]

Step 2 has always worked for me. Whenever I get that "you'll have to resubmit" I just tell them that the next batch of paperwork I send out will go to the Attorney General of my state and I include his name and phone number. That's the point where they always cave. It's a numbers game to them, they have to only pay out a certain number of rebates and reject enough to not exceed their quota. They will approve X and deny Y right off the bat. Of the people denied only some will follow up. Those people will be told to resubmit and only a small percentage will do it. When they know that you know how to play the game and will take steps to cause them trouble they'll approve quickly and just screw somebody else to make the numbers work out.

Yes, this recent eVGA debacle was the one and only time this step did not immediately work for me, which was why it was that much more irritating.

Edit: In all fairness - Chris B. (eVGA CS Manager) was the light in the darkness, and he finally got the rebate request approved for me. By the time he got involved though, I had already followed through with reporting them to the BBB, MO Attorney General, and FTC.

EVGA is here to assist any of our customers that have a problem with their rebate requests and you simply need to email rebates@evga.com if you should have a problem and we will work with you. Please allow up to 1 business day for a response and if you should have more questions after your receive a response please reply to the representative assisting you and they will continue to work with you or email me at chrisb@evga.com.

 

[Old Hippie]

No, they were completely and utterly full of shit, had no legal feet to stand on, and they knew it. I was completely willing to go to small claims court over this one. I sent high resolution scans of all submitted materials to both the processing company and eVGA, and yet they continued to ask for unnecessary documentation (like a picture of my motherboard, which would have required partial disassembly of my computer for crying out loud) and continued to deny my rebate.

It would require partial disassembly of my computer to get a clear shot of what they are asking for. I could do this, but why should I have to? I have fulfilled the requirements of the rebate contract, have resubmitted the scans of the required materials as evidence to eVGA, and this is far and above what the contract requires of me.

You were looking to make a point rather than go the extra mile.

Company's Final Response Company's Final Response - Posted 11/10/2011 EVGA received an email explaining a issue with this customers rebate claim. After further research we did find that the UPC sent in was not able to be scanned or properly read to verify the rebate. EVGA requested that the customer send in a simple picture showing that he did still have the board in his possession due to this invalid UPC code to assist. The customer decided that he did not want to assist with providing this information showing that he still had the product and then we found out that he had made a backup of the paperwork before it was returned with a copy of the UPC that was able to be verified through a forums post. Once this paperwork was received the customers rebate request was approved. The customer could have simply worked with us directly as we were trying to communicate with him through email, but he decided to submit unnecessary claims when we were simply trying to help him. EVGA always processes a rebate request if it is a valid request and can be verified and once verified his request was approved for processing and will take 6-8 weeks to complete.

Their final response is exactly what I see.

Sorry.

 

[dr150]

I rarely run into a scenario when rebates don't pay out.

But when it happens, I have EVERYTHING photocopied. They usually have a fax number and I ask for a person TO fax to for direct accountability. Then I follow-up with them later in the day to ensure that they received the fax. This leads to immediate resolution and usually get the check in 2 weeks.

Most all rebates are handled by 3rd party rebate corporations, so they have a good system in place to handle resolutions of "not received" rebates...as long as you have the photocopies, of course!

 

[Golgatha]

You were looking to make a point rather than go the extra mile.


Their final response is exactly what I see.

Sorry.

There is probably some truth to this statement. From my perspective I had fulfilled the requirements as stated in the rebate contract and I was very, very annoyed at the thought of having to partially disassemble my computer for what seemed an open and shut case (seeing as I had already sent them high resolution scans of everything I originally submitted). I wasn't willing to go the extra mile, but I had fulfilled the requirements of the rebate contract already, so there shouldn't be a need to do so in my mind.

Also, their response is a complete and utter lie regarding the UPC and forum post. They received the high resolution scans, which included the signed and dated UPC code, two days before I posted on their forums.