Sandisk Paranoia

So today I get a postcard from Sandisk, my rebate has been denied-- they say I didn't enclose the UPC code from the carton. Well, that was two months ago, and frankly I can't say whether I did or not. It's certainly well within the realm of possibility that I forgot. On the other hand, who would keep the carton for two months after cutting it up? Next time I'll be taking a photo before I seal the envelope.

Venting because I'm out $50...

Why shouldn't I be paranoid with the whole world against me?....

Rebate denial is fast becoming a big scam. Most companies use contract services to handle rebates and the services are promised a percentage of monies from unclaimed or incomplete rebates. The services are less than scrupulous and sometimes will deny what is actually a complete rebate submission. Canon went through this a couple of years ago and now offers "instant rebates" at the time of purchase instead of mail-in rebates.

The best solution is to photocopy everything you have to submit for a rebate and then if it's denied, resend it and keep making a nuisance of yourself. With enough pressure, the company will usually cave and send the rebate. One thing that seems to work well is threatening to expose them to the media...

Thanks, that's good to know, but who has the time...

they did this to me. call the 800 # and speak to a customer service rep. apparently the rebate processors scan everything electronically and the rep found the "missing" UPC code and resubmitted the rebate claim. I didn't have to send anything else in.

I don't do rebates anymore. Tiger direct took me for 50.00 and would not talk to me about it. I also got a torn up check that the bank refused to process. Had to eat that one too. No more.

I got hosed on the Sandi*k rebates last summer for $180 (or was it $160?? I forget)...and I called multiple times and what not until I simply said screw it...never buying another Sandisk product. I can live quite easily w/o them and they me so life goes on but no more rebates (mail in) for me. I broke my decades old rule about no mail-in rebates and darned if I did not indeed get screwed again.

As John said, it's a scam. Manufacturers pay outside companies $X based on what they agree is a likely number of rebate claims. Out of that money, the rebate processor has to pay staff, costs and rebates. The best way to make more money is to wrongly deny claims. Or, an easier way is for the processor to file for bankruptcy, which recently happened.

There's a reason most rebates are mail-in instead of instant. Canon is a stand up company in my book because of their instant rebates.

dan

dan j wrote in post #7199030
As John said, it's a scam. Manufacturers pay outside companies $X based on what they agree is a likely number of rebate claims. Out of that money, the rebate processor has to pay staff, costs and rebates. The best way to make more money is to wrongly deny claims. Or, an easier way is for the processor to file for bankruptcy, which recently happened.

There's a reason most rebates are mail-in instead of instant. Canon is a stand up company in my book because of their instant rebates.

dan

You know what is amazing is that the business model is actually legal. Given that the fulfillment company's compensation is fixed and not based on the actual valid rebates processed. Of course the company offering the rebate, in this case SanDisk, already KNOWS the fulfillment company cannot be trusted so they only pay on a fixed price basis. That alone explains it to me...if the offering company cannot trust the fulfillment company why are we consumers supposed forced to deal with them to begin with?

Yeah, it's really disappointing that so many, otherwise trustworthy, companies use these "fulfillment" companies.

dan

I did exactly what they wanted me to do, I accidently threw out the original packaging before I got around to mailing in the rebates. I swore when I bought the 3 8gb's that I would get the rebate, but I was stupid and paid for it ($70).

These rebates drive me crazy. They are designed to screw the customer timing wise and submittal wise. I have no doubt that like insurance companies, they deny submittals across the board to knock out a high percentage of the cash liability. According to the consumer action line, only 60% of rebates are paid out.

In the end, I have no one to blame but myself.

this happened to me before too...can't remember the manufacturer, but that's not important...when i was notified it was canceled i called and stated emphatically that i included all necessary documentation, i had done numerous rebates in the past and know how they work...they pretty much took my word for it and my check arrived in a couple weeks...

I always scan every item required to be sent in to qualify for the rebate (just in case) but never have had any problems, maybe scanning it all makes me watch that I fufill all the requirements. You have to attend to every detail or they WILL refuse the rebate. I recieved my Sandisk rebate, no problems.

I had this happen on a $100 rebate for an Epson printer I got free after rebate for buying my DSLR. They actually had sent my submission back to me. The original envelope I used to send everything in was stapled to the letter. And guess what I found inside that envelope... yep, the original UPC code. I just called them up and the rep I talked to had me fax a copy of everything back to her attention, and I got the check a few weeks later.

I'm as weary about rebates as the next person, but I did two different rebates last year for Sandisk, and I got my check/gift cards from them very promptly, and both added up to $115 or so.

I almost lost $250 in the Sandisk rebate, but I made copies. I don't see why they just can't do instant rebates on everything now.