CANON USA Rebate Program

Resubmitted my warranty for the 30d and submitted a new set for the 70-200 f/4. I hope they dont mess up this time. Every piece of paper has my name on it, including the UPC.

I submitted two new ones, today...sent them through the mail, registered, with return receipt. Two lenses...

1) Printed Web Rebate qualifying letter -- qualified the two lenses online.
2) Copied 2 sales receipts including the UPC Codes from each box, twice (one copy for me, one for them).
3) Copied the Warranty cards for both lenses on the same sheet.
4) Stapled the UPC Codes to the Copied receipts!
5) Stapled ALL forms together, and sent it in an envolope, as mentioned, registered/return receipt.

That's what I did for the first set of rebate forms, and now this one. Have not had any issues as of this time.

Good luck.

Fraud...............

This is like dealing with one of those NY scam camera places that do the bait and switch, lie to you, etc. Too bad that this is so common in rebates, it isn't even news to the media anymore.

I sent mine in three weeks ago. I just called today as nothing shows on the web site as even being received. I mailed it Express Mail, verified delivery, guaranteed two day delivery. Canon has received my package per the USPS.

The guy said, only three weeks, give it six to eight weeks before it even shows on the web site as arrived at their center. He says they get millions of rebate requests per week. Come on, it is not a surprise that they were going to get these. If they gave a damn, they would have hired the people to do the job, simple!

When I stated how Canon was taking a beating here, and I was polite, saying I knew none of this was his fault, he said, well, lots of people out there are complaining because their stuff was lost in the mail. Huh? He said when there are millions of submissions, the postal service normally loses about 1% of all mail. I said, wait a minute, my understanding is the odds of losing a piece of mail is almost like hitting the lottery, it just doesn't happen that often. He stuck to the story that oh no, about 1% of all mail is lost, and with millions of entries, that is in the hundreds of thousands of lost rebate forms and to make sure I had copies of everything as he knows lots of people made the mistake of not making copies.

There you go...... that is how Canon is playing the rebate game.

Say it is lost, and then find out how many people copied everything. For each person that failed to make copies, it is like Canon (or the rebate company that they hired) just found a gold nugget. If they do this to hundreds of thousands of people (1%) and they also know that many people won't send in rebates for one reason or another, or they miss the deadline, or they actually do forget to send in one of the components required, Canon is talking about saving millions and millions of dollars. And of course, Canon will blame the post office and the rebate company THEY hired.

What if they are caught, red handed fraud? They will say it was the company they hired, post office, whatever, and then pay a penalty of some kind, maybe a million or two at most. They have already ran the numbers and know, gee, we will still come out ahead by millions of dollars, and only a few will leave Canon as a result, if any. Let's face it, people who just bought brand new cameras or lenses aren't the most likely to walk away so soon, even if something like this.

For Canon and their rebate "employee:" this is a win-win-win. For us, it is just another hassle for the little guys of the world taking it in the shorts. And no, I am not the usual conspiracy theorists who looks for a conspiracy under every rock, or a guy who hates big business, etc. But the evidence keeps stacking up that says at best, Canon doesn't care about its rebate customers very much, and at worst, Canon has conspired to milk money out of the program by screwing some of its customers. Standard rebate crap. And I have to believe that at some conference table somewhere within Canon, this whole scenario had been played out in detail and they made their decision based on what bottom line was the highest, NOT what ethical ground was the highest!

This is one terrific web site, and it has power beyond what it uses. IT would be great to see this site officially, somehow, flex its influence in this matter, and possibly other matters, to the benefit of all. Polite, quietly, politically, and ethically apply the influence of this site to make Canon get it right next time at the least. Ok, that is a rant, and I am glad we have this site so as to rant. With luck, Canon marketing is looking at this thread as a segment of its customer base and realizing maybe they did not make the best decision on this particular rebate and next time they will do better. Off the box now. Sorry for the rant again. Peace.

http://www.businesswee​k.com …nf20051123_4158​_db016.htm

TeamSpeed wrote in post #2714606
http://www.businesswee​k.com …nf20051123_4158​_db016.htm

Thanks for the link. Great article.
Quote "Indeed, processors and companies offering rebates insist that there is no intentional effort to deny them... Rather, companies say, the rules are aimed at stopping fraud."

Yeah right! Good story that it's only about fraud.
The hurdles that are built in to the redemption process are so important that the rebate clearing houses even market their services to the manufacturers by claiming lower redemption rates then their competitors.

inthedeck wrote in post #2714354
I submitted two new ones, today...sent them through the mail, registered, with return receipt. Two lenses...

1) Printed Web Rebate qualifying letter -- qualified the two lenses online.
2) Copied 2 sales receipts including the UPC Codes from each box, twice (one copy for me, one for them).
3) Copied the Warranty cards for both lenses on the same sheet.
4) Stapled the UPC Codes to the Copied receipts!
5) Stapled ALL forms together, and sent it in an envolope, as mentioned, registered/return receipt.

That's what I did for the first set of rebate forms, and now this one. Have not had any issues as of this time.

Good luck.

Way to go ITD,
Should be noted that this only protects yourself on your end, but still will not keep you from being selected sucker of the day by Y.A., and having to jump through the hoops to get it straightened out. But there is nothing more to do but hope...I sent in a second rebate last week as well...took every precaution except for the registered/retuen receipt mail.
I guess though, that once Y.A. realizes that more of us are making backup copies...then more submissions will just be mysteriously lost in the mail.
Tom

Well here's my sad story, 3 submissions in order:
30D, 17-40L, and a 580EX total rebate due $320 (received, but wrong amount)
50mm f1.4 total rebate due $20 (no records of it at all)
5D, 24-105L total rebate due $700 (no records of it at all)
For a grand total of $1040
I got my first rebate check and it was for only $290 so I call the number and asked WTF, Jason told me it was an error and he would void the check and issue me a new one for the total of $320, it would be mail to me it 2-3 weeks. 5 weeks later (this Monday) I called the same number again and talk with Shanon (very nice lady btw) who said she was going to esclade my stuff up the chain of command. She told me I would be contacted by someone with the next 5 days. Wednesday evening I recieved this email:

Dear Adam Bloomer,

Thank you for choosing Canon. We value you as a Canon Customer and appreciate the opportunity to assist you. I apologize for the delay and inconvenience experienced in having your rebate processed.

My name is Brad. I am the Canon liaison to the rebate house. Your rebate has been escalated to me. Please be assured that your rebate will have my personal attention.

I understand the issue at hand is that you are inquiring about the status of your Canon rebates. I understand that you should have three submissions in the system. I was only able to locate one submission for you.

Please fax, email me with an attachment or mail in to me copies of all of your UPC barcode for all products purchased, as well as copies of receipts and any other documents that you have. If you did not make copies of your UPC barcodes, then please fax or email me photos of the product boxes, showing the holes where the UPC's were cut out. Upon receipt of your documents, I will be able to better assist you with your rebates.


Thank you,

Brad
Canon Customer Care - Rebates
Ph: 757-413-2885 x 2385
Eastern Time 1 - 8 pm
Fax: 800-231-9243

or

Canon Rebates
PO Box 2338
Chesapeake, VA 23327

Early this morning I fax all my copies of all my stuff to him, then called him this afternoon to make sure he received it all (20 pages). He did receive it all and it is now being looked over again. Should hear back from him in the next 3 or so bus. days. Hopefully this will take care of my issues. Brad did tell me that Canon is very unhappy with this rebate house and most likely will not be using them again.

Sorry this is long winded.
Adam

dave.richards wrote in post #2713745
I did call them. They told me to wait until I receive the letter in the mail, then send them copies of the UPC's. I am wondering if this exact same thing has happened to anyone else and what the resolution was.

Dave, who did you actually call? YA or Canon? I had the same problem as you and I called Canon. They put me on hold to "check" and 5 minutes later said there is no problem and they'll be sending a check out.

I've actually had great luck so far. I've sent in three seperate submissions, all were approved the first time and I've already cashed the first check. So far so good. But, I have taken copies of everything just in case.

Great link about rebates. As we said, there are millions involved and for every rebate they "lose" "deny for "cause" whatever, puts more cash in their pockets. Rebates should be spelled F R A U D.

Links removed, some reason they no longer work! Sorry.

Joe, the only link that worked for me was the second one.

Jeff Solenberg wrote in post #2726040
Joe, the only link that worked for me was the second one.

You're right. Earlier today they all worked, and I read the articles. I have no idea why now they are gone? Sorry. I've now removed them.

Joe

Here is how to get your rebate money.

http://forums.dpreview​.com …rum=1032&messag​e=22104260