Rebate offers sound great, but can be tough to track
By NANCY PARADIS
Published August 22, 2004
On May 1, I purchased a warm/toasty microwave and was given a $30 rebate form, which I sent in the same day, along with all the other requested material. It is now August and I have neither received the rebate nor a response to the letter of inquiry I sent in July.
I had to mail the original receipt along with some other material so I cannot include these for your information. Thank you in advance for your service.
- C.G. Wells
Ah, we see it's time to trot out our tips on submitting rebates again. Unfortunately, without copies of your rebate materials, Action is unable to help you. Read on for more information on rebates and how to best ensure that you receive them.
Historically, consumers only collect on a very small percentage of rebate offers. In 2002, the figure was reported as 5 percent. Not surprisingly, the greater the value of the rebate, the higher the rate of claims.
Getting the rebate can sometimes prove difficult, however, and often involves complying with a long list of terms buried in the fine print on the back of the rebate forms. To make matters more complicated, many companies do not handle rebate requests themselves, instead turning them over to fulfillment houses. Try tracking down problem rebates in such cases!
Manufacturers have long used rebate offers as a way to get consumers to buy their products. We always urge readers to not make purchases based on rebate offers, but recognize that they can be hard to resist, particularly as the amounts increase.
Here is Action's advice on getting rebates:
First, make sure you send in the offer by the expiration date. It won't do you any good to buy a product in the hope of getting a rebate if the offer has expired. Pay attention to the wording of the rebate. We have encountered rebate requests that were denied because they were to be mailed on, not by a specific date.
Keep meticulous records. Make a copy of everything you send and make a note of the date you mail your request. Unfortunately, this is where you made your mistake. Absent copies, you have no way to prove that you did mail it in.
Keep the box or carton your purchase came in until you get your rebate, in case you get a card back requesting something you neglected to send in. Before you pitch the box, however, make sure you won't need it if you have to return the product for exchange or repairs.
If you don't get the rebate within the specified time, write to the manufacturer, enclosing a copy of everything you sent in. (The manufacturer's address is generally on the product.)
Do not write to the rebate company. Special post office boxes are often set up to handle rebates, and once the offer expires, they are closed. This could be why you never received a response to your letter of inquiry.
Finally, if you have a problem collecting a rebate, let the appropriate regulators know. In recent years, state and federal regulators have cracked down on misleading rebate offers. Under the Federal Trade Commission's Mail or Telephone Merchandise Rule, companies are required to send rebates within the time promised or within 30 days. Although the FTC does not become involved in individual consumer problems, it does look for patterns of possible violations of the law, and information from consumers is vital to its efforts. Complaints may be made at toll-free 1-877-382-4357, or online at www.ftc.gov
Class-action payment disappointing
I wrote and asked you last September when the checks for the settlement of the class-action suit against the makers of Synthroid, a synthetic thyroid hormone drug, were going to be sent out. You replied that the checks had not yet been mailed.
I checked again in June by calling the number for the attorneys handling the settlement and was informed that my claim was in the computer along with my new address, and that all checks had gone out by the end of 2003. Over the next week I received two phone calls confirming my new address. Three weeks later, I received a check for $106.
I have been taking Synthroid since 1992, and was one of the first to file a claim back in 1997. I feel that after waiting seven years I should get more money. I am also concerned about the people who haven't received their portion yet, given what I had to go through by way of phone calls and letters to get mine. Thank you for all your help.
- Geraldine Goins
There's not a thing we can do to get you more money, regardless of how long you took the medication or how long you've been waiting for your settlement check. According to a Cox News Service story that appeared in the St. Petersburg Times on June 17, distribution of checks in the amount of $71 or $106 to more than 800,000 claimants in the class-action suit began Dec. 16. So you received the maximum amount. If you have additional questions, call the Synthroid marketing litigation toll-free hotline at 1-800-853-4853. Information is also available online at www.synthroidclaims.com
- Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, e-mail action@sptimes.com or call your Action number, 727 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request.
We will not be responsible for personal documents, so please send only photocopies. If your complaint concerns merchandise ordered by mail, we need copies of both sides of your canceled check.
We may require additional information or prefer to reply by mail; therefore, readers must provide a full mailing address, including ZIP code. Names of letter writers will not be omitted except in unusual circumstances. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
