Canon Rebate Poll

Reefbone wrote in post #2680094
Well as suspected most people get their rebates without issue BUT it is a little unnerving that almost 40% have some kind of problem. Sounds a little like they have institutionalized making problems for folks. It's hard to believe that many people make a mistake submitting their rebate.

Granted the poll is hardly scientific and the sample is small compared to the amount of people that frequent the forum. (524 currently online as of this posting).

If you haven't voted.. please make your voice known by clicking in your experience.

It might help if this thread were in Cams or lenses or both, or maybe a link.

Canon Rebate people are some of the blindest sons of **** in the world.

I cut-out, and mailed BOTH product UPCs for the double rebaits, and they mailed me a non-complience saying there was a problem with my UPCs and they were not included.

I even put them in a ziplock sandwitch bag so they dont get lost, and staples it to the rebait form.

I dont know WTF the problem is, but its a total waist of time dealing with these people. I did make copies, and was told to send in a copy of the correction...

Lets see if I get my money for my 100mm Macro and MT-24EX ring flash... I almost rather not deal with it and have a virgin BOX!

I also got screwed on my 20D rebait.

I know im following directions, ive done rebaits for many other products in the past.

Reefbone wrote in post #2638452
Not intending this to become another Canon Rebate program blows thread but it seems that so many people have had problems.

I was just wondering the ratio of successes to problems. I realize you may have had full success one time and not another so please choose your answer based on your worst experience. Anyway your response is valued at least by me if not anyone else. Please participate.

Thx

johnstoy wrote in post #2638519
Got rebate within 5 weeks, from this fall promo. 06-07...$290.00...Did have to make 2 follow up phone calls to correct my address...

Reefbone wrote in post #2638534
Then you should have answered 'Had a problem in the past but - Got full payment.' . Not the 'Never a problem' reply that you did. Jeez.. problems right out of the gate.

So you want the poll to show that the rebate program's overwhelmingly flawed? Address problem could very easily have been that they couldn't read his writing. And one problem from the four (I've participated in with this company) should show as "I've had a probblem", never mind the succssful ones? For the record, I've had 7 rebates (Canon, SanDisk and Memorex) successfully handled by the company; no failures, no hangups, nothing gone wrong. They're processing #8 now (SanDisk) with current status "Processing, Error(s): None".

Jon wrote in post #2683583
So you want the poll to show that the rebate program's overwhelmingly flawed?

I don't understand how you got that from what I said. I never said anything about how I wanted the results to come out.

I'm glad you have had good success with your rebates. I hope it continues for you.

No problem with last years rebate (580EX & 50 1.4 ), Buuuut, this years,, I kept checking the status online, looking for $760, (5D, 24-70 2.8 & 15fish),,on the day they did post step 2, it was only for $700 :

An immediate call prompted a response, and the Gal on the other end said she could see the problem, and would "re-submit" for the $60, but that they would be seperate checks.

So the next day I check, and now the same tracking # (prior day showed $700), shows, check for $60 approved, and mailed (in one day?) but no mention of the $700 ,

Another call and a less than helpful guy told me " these things take 4-6 weeks, blah blah blah:o ,,

So I wait and call again the next (business) day, (mon last week), and luckily I get the original girl, (same id #) she appologizes and gets her super on the phone while Im on hold, he shows her my $700 in the "history" and they promise to expedite the second check

The $60 came that afternoon,, tomorrow we are a week out from the last call, soo I think its time for another call,,time will tell

good luck to all

I'm based in the UK, I've had aboput 4 rebates from Canon now, all with no problems at all, takes about a month to process though.

sumnrfam wrote in post #2693681
No problem with last years rebate (580EX & 50 1.4 ), Buuuut, this years,, I kept checking the status online, looking for $760, (5D, 24-70 2.8 & 15fish),,on the day they did post step 2, it was only for $700 :

An immediate call prompted a response, and the Gal on the other end said she could see the problem, and would "re-submit" for the $60, but that they would be seperate checks.

So the next day I check, and now the same tracking # (prior day showed $700), shows, check for $60 approved, and mailed (in one day?) but no mention of the $700 ,

Another call and a less than helpful guy told me " these things take 4-6 weeks, blah blah blah:o ,,

So I wait and call again the next (business) day, (mon last week), and luckily I get the original girl, (same id #) she appologizes and gets her super on the phone while Im on hold, he shows her my $700 in the "history" and they promise to expedite the second check

The $60 came that afternoon,, tomorrow we are a week out from the last call, soo I think its time for another call,,time will tell

good luck to all

Well, check #2 came today, ,,$700, so it looks like things went pretty smooth this year also

Jon wrote in post #2683583
So you want the poll to show that the rebate program's overwhelmingly flawed? Address problem could very easily have been that they couldn't read his writing. And one problem from the four (I've participated in with this company) should show as "I've had a probblem", never mind the succssful ones? For the record, I've had 7 rebates (Canon, SanDisk and Memorex) successfully handled by the company; no failures, no hangups, nothing gone wrong. They're processing #8 now (SanDisk) with current status "Processing, Error(s): None".

Well, I for one do see the Canon Rebate program as flawed. I have delt with Young America rebates many times in the past as well, for hard drives, flash drives, CDRs as well as many other items and never had a problem...always got my rebate. I have delt with Canon rebates once and got the rediculous response that I was missing 1 of 3 warranty card copies.....that were all three copied onto the same sheet of paper. After a phone call I was almost instantly told that they indeed had all 3 warranty copies.
I considered myself lucky that I was given a bogus rejection that involved the warranty cards....worst case scenario would be sending in new copies, but what really gets me is that it was in fact a bogus rejection (all the cards were copied on the same sheet of paper so what could be ANY reasonable excuse for not being able to count to three).
I feel bad for those with other, more troubling rejections, such as lost in mail, or missing UPCs, since they will require more effort to remedy.
I have not voted yet, since I have not recieved my full rebate amount yet....but 60 days after mailing, I will vote one way or a the other based on whether or not I recieved my rebate in the 60 day time frame specified on the rebate form.
RD

Congratulations to all who have received their expected rebates from Canon. I'm happy for you. For the rest, you are not alone. I too have unwittingly joined the consumer ranks of what seems to be Canon's unpredictable rebate debacle. Having read countless reports of how particular Canon is regarding rebate rules, I took great care to comply with every detail. I submitted all required information for my purchases which included a canon 5D, the 580EX and two of their L-series lenses as part of their "double your rebate" promotion. Even if it were not doubled, I would have been due a rebate of in excess of $375. That was back in early December. It is now mid February and they claim no record of my submission. One of the requirements was inclusion of the "original" UPC, indicating that a copy was not acceptable. Consequently, I didn't make photocopies of the UPC. Why would I if they're not acceptable? Silly me. Now that my submission with the original UPC's is "lost", they will not accept a claim without copies of the original UPC symbols. Ah Haaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! It seems we have a minor Catch-22 here. After speaking with several folks at the rebate center, all I have for my troubles are an "I'm sorry" or two.
I called to complain to Canon USA because it is actually separate from the rebate group. They said they would respond within 24-48 hours. (wish me luck)

As if this rebate nonsense wasn't bad enough; to make matters worse, my NEW 5D is now on its way to the canon factory service center for a mysterious focus problem! So......don't feel too badly about your rebate follies. As they say, things could always be worse. I wish all of you who are expecting rebates the best of luck! MAKE COPIES OF E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!!!!

closeup wrote in post #2708814
Congratulations to all who have received their expected rebates from Canon. I'm happy for you. For the rest, you are not alone. I too have unwittingly joined the consumer ranks of what seems to be Canon's unpredictable rebate debacle. Having read countless reports of how particular Canon is regarding rebate rules, I took great care to comply with every detail. I submitted all required information for my purchases which included a canon 5D, the 580EX and two of their L-series lenses as part of their "double your rebate" promotion. Even if it were not doubled, I would have been due a rebate of in excess of $375. That was back in early December. It is now mid February and they claim no record of my submission. One of the requirements was inclusion of the "original" UPC, indicating that a copy was not acceptable. Consequently, I didn't make photocopies of the UPC. Why would I if they're not acceptable? Silly me. Now that my submission with the original UPC's is "lost", they will not accept a claim without copies of the original UPC symbols. Ah Haaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! It seems we have a minor Catch-22 here. After speaking with several folks at the rebate center, all I have for my troubles are an "I'm sorry" or two.
I called to complain to Canon USA because it is actually separate from the rebate group. They said they would respond within 24-48 hours. (wish me luck)

As if this rebate nonsense wasn't bad enough; to make matters worse, my NEW 5D is now on its way to the canon factory service center for a mysterious focus problem! So......don't feel too badly about your rebate follies. As they say, things could always be worse. I wish all of you who are expecting rebates the best of luck! MAKE COPIES OF E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!!!!

Sorry to hear that closeup...yeah , make copies of everything, even the cut out upc's. I even used a postage meter and made copies of the postmarked envelope....and watch the postage...Mine was .63 due to weight of envelope.

I'm sure someone will come along and post that they got their rebate without a hitch to make us all feel better...

Tom

I was only paid one rebate check for my 28-135mm IS lens but never got the one for the my 30D. Called the rebate people and was told that they do not have a record of the camera's UPC in their system. I told them that they were in the same envelope when I mailed it. It was partly my fault that I never made copies of the UPC codes so I didn't argue.

I just hope Canon does something about the obvious flaw in the rebate company they're using. I love rebates and never had a problem until now. Oh well, I guess there's always a first time.

Congrats to all that received all their rebate checks and for those who haven't....I feel your pain and frustration.

Peace,
Yanis

Yanis wrote in post #2709081
I was only paid one rebate check for my 28-135mm IS lens but never got the one for the my 30D. Called the rebate people and was told that they do not have a record of the camera's UPC in their system. I told them that they were in the same envelope when I mailed it. It was partly my fault that I never made copies of the UPC codes so I didn't argue.

I just hope Canon does something about the obvious flaw in the rebate company they're using. I love rebates and never had a problem until now. Oh well, I guess there's always a first time.

Congrats to all that received all their rebate checks and for those who haven't....I feel your pain and frustration.

Peace,
Yanis

Either Young America is deliberately losing and denying rebates to increase profit, or their employees are rifling the envelopes and submitting the rebates for themselves. I have seen posts on another forums that suggest both possibilities.
Maybe if Canon forced the clearing house to keep a record of who (if anyone) got the rebate for any given serial numbered item, there would be alot of people looking for jobs down in Texas.

Tom

When I called (still no update on my rebate, sent in Dec) and stated I'd sent it registered, so I had a signature of who took the envelope, the guy didn't seem too happy about it.

Apparently whoever signed for it, managed to lose it, as there's no record of it 9 weeks on now. Luckily, thanks to the forums, I did photocopy it all, and have faxed it over. Will let you know what I hear.

Hi all, just wanted to add my experience, which is in progress. Bought the 5D and the 50mm 1.4 to qualify for double rebates. The claim site shows no errors, processing the check for $640. I made separte copies for each warranty card, made copies of everything, including the UPC's.

Meanwhile, I also bought the 20-700 2.8L IS and the 430EX, double qualification again, made separate copies but this time attached the UPC to the warranty card copy by crossing opposing corners with the staple, so it's secured (preventing loss) but not actually affixed. Hope this satisfies em!

Wishing everyone luck, looks as though we all may need it!

StealthLude wrote in post #2682898
I almost rather not deal with it and have a virgin BOX!

closeup wrote in post #2708814
One of the requirements was inclusion of the "original" UPC, indicating that a copy was not acceptable. Consequently, I didn't make photocopies of the UPC.

After my problems I was thinking that in the future I might just submit without my UPCs so I can keep the box intact and then just fax them a copy of the box UPCs when they come up "missing".

Thanks to all who voted. I'd call this poll a success.