Dell Rebate Hassle to Death

email back to Dell :

``I can't resubmit it because I mailed it to you! It's gone. You have it.

You surely have the record that I bought the system. You surely have
the price I bought it at, which offered a $100 rebate. You surely have
the record that I have received no rebate.

I don't feel it's worth my going to court exactly for $100, but I do post
that _Dell does not honor rebates_ whenever the matter comes up, to warn others
about the practice.

Your choice.''

 

The main reason that companies use mail-in rebates is the probability that
they won't have to pay the money. They make it very tedious and unpleasant
to collect.

Dell is among the most obvious. They have all of the information that they
require you to send to them already in their databases. They got all of it
when you bought the computer. Why, then, would it require 8 weeks for them
to send you the rebate? Because the hassles they give you during those 8
weeks are intended to make you give up trying to get the refund.

They finally paid my mail-in rebate, after several confusing conversations
with their India-based representatives. I don't know for sure, but being
able to mention in my emails that I had a return receipt confirming that
they got my rebate application may have provided some motivation for the
final payoff. It cost me a couple of bucks to get a rebate of more than a
hundred bucks. They still jerked me around for weeks. Considering that I did
everything by the book and still got a significant hassle, I can just
imagine how their less-attentive customers are treated.

Mail-in rebates are the hallmark of a scumbag corporation.

Luc

 

Some context would help. If there was a real problem with rebates, this
newsgroup would be flooded. Personally, I've bought 8 or so systems with
rebates and they've paid every single one.

This should not be a problem. Just send them another copy of your paperwork
and they'll honor it. I'm sure you would have kept a copy for a $100
rebate.

Tom

 

You're in good company. A Wikepedia article says Tivo kept 5
million dollars in rebates. It says something like 60% of the rebate
offers overall get redeemed.

Dean

 

And your time is worth nothing?

 

Some companies are better than others. I went round and round with the company
handling Western Digital's rebate program over a check that never seemed to
arrive. It took over 5 months to finally receive and that was only after I
became incredibly abusive to each person I spoke to..,. calling them thieves and
questioning their competence and the fluidity of their company. Haven't bought
another WD hard drive since.

OTOH, companies like Staples are an absolute delight to work with in regards to
honoring a rebate. Frankly, they do it the way all companies should be required
to do.

 

I do not find that it helps to become abusive to the peons who
are answering the phones, although it may make you feel better
in the short term. I find that it's more helpful to send
letters of complaint to the president of the company and to
file complaints (alleging intentional rebate fraud) with the
Attorney Generals of the states in which the manufacturer and
rebate processing company are located.

LOL! For a markedly different perspective about Staples
rebates, please read
<http://stuff.mit.edu/~jik/staples-story/>.

 

no cross-posting please, reply only to alt.pc-clone.dell where this was
read...

you can obtain copies of your packing slip and your invoice when you log on
to dell.com and look at your order history. it really isn't a big deal.
you may also find that they dell forums are more help than this group (who
can't help you process your rebate but can only help you vent your anger).
i have never had a problem with dell rebates. well ok, one time i had a
problem... i submitted a claim for $300 in rebates for a two pc purchase and
received a check for $450. i called the rebate department to see how to go
about returning the extra and they said they did not know of any way to
return a rebate and to just keep it... that's exactly want i had wanted to
hear.

 

Context : I sent the stuff in, nothing happened.

A query produced the suggestion that I send it in again.

That was my answer. I don't have a copy. They have it.

$100 isn't enough to seek out a copier in some distant store against the possibility
that mail would get lost. Mail doesn't get lost unless it's deliberate, more or less.

This is my only Dell system, so they're one for one, a pretty high failure rate.

 

I never talked to anyone on the phone; it was all done by email. I started out
playing by the rules and being nice. When that didn't work and three months had
passed I became progressively not so nice. By the end I was a gaping asshole.
That's when I finally got my money.

 

None of that matters. They don't WANT to give you that money, and, as
you saw, they will use any little technicality they can to justify
keeping it.

Congratulations - looks like you've joined the club.

 

Sorry, but if you didn't bother to copy it, you're out of luck. They
process millions of rebates. Occasionally they get lost. I guarantee that
on the form you filled out, it properly cautioned you to keep a copy.

Tom

 

Let's face it, if Dell was intentionally denying rebates, this newsgroup
would be flooded with complaints. It's not. Mistakes happen. Always make
copies.

 

You could have purchased a scanner for less than $100.00 and used that to
make a copy of the rebate materials for itself.

 

Talk to someone in customer service.

Journey

 

They don't get lost. There's an address on the front that keeps rerouting the
mail until it gets where it's supposed to go.

Dell can however set up a flakey mail processing center, where getting lost is
quite likely. That's their responsibility.

As to keeping a copy, they have all the records of it that they need.

No doubt they process millions. Nevertheless they ``lost'' mine, one for one,
100%, and don't seem inclined to honor it.

I'm sure they don't mind if it post it, is all.

 

If it's a mistake, you'll be the first to hear about it, when I post that
I got my rebate. Don't hold your breath.

 

Well, let's see... Five minutes at the post office counter may have some
value, but I didn't charge them. I was already at the post office to pick up
mail from my post office box.

Luc

 

You've stated that foolishness twice, and it is no better the second time.
Two seconds on Google will give you an idea of just how widespread this
problem with Dell rebates truly is. Some of the first things that popped up
were:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/computers/dell_rebates.html
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=15019
http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2003/commentary030410JF.htm

You assume that many participants of this newsgroup would be complaining,
and there have been postings of problems here, but in general, computer
customers have been cowed into silence by the pervasive atmosphere of bad
customer service, bad tech support and general scumminess by computer
companies. Measuring the lack of an uproar is a foolish way to prove the
absence of a problem.

Luc

 

Call them up, complain, ask to escalate. How long have you had the
computer? I've had Dell offer me $100 in their accessory store, $100
cash, free 3 year warranty upgrade, free upgraded extended battery,
and a free printer.

It can be a hassle, but it's likely that you will be able to get
something. As long as you know that you're on moral high ground and
did everything right from your end, then you should feel free to try
to make things right, in some form or another.

Journey