Seagate, Parago $40 Mailed-in rebate for 250MB external disk drive Fraud Scotts Valley California

Summary:
Place of Purchase: Fry's Electronics
Date of Purchase: 5/18/05
Rebate Submission Date: 5/26/05
Expected Rebate Amount: $40.00

My attempts to resolve this matter with Promotions Customer Service have only led me in circles:

On 7/28/05, I realized that my rebate payment was late, so I visited seagaterebates.com. The tracking info stated my submission was invalid due to product limit exceeded. However, I had only submitted one rebate for this item. I emailed customer service for assistance.

With no reply 10 days later, I emailed again. Hector replied to me on 8/8/05 stating that they located duplicate entries for my rebate info in their database, and Since you only submitted one rebate, the second record was an error. I was told the mistake would be fixed and my rebate would arrive in another 30 days.

On 9/22/05, I still had not received my rebate or any follow-ups on the status. I emailed and received a reply from Beverly stating once again that I had duplicate submissions. I replied citing my previous communication with Hector which acknowledged their mistake; I pointed out that I have received NO check payments from this program. A reply from Charlie asked me for a different email address to process my claim, so I supplied one.

I replied to the email again on 9/23 explaining that more than 4 months had passed and the excuses were becoming unacceptable. I clearly stated that if I did not receive my rebate within 10 days, I would be forced to report my experience to consumer agencies. I have waited over 3 weeks to give them sufficient time to respond, but have received no additional replies and no payment.

I submitted all required documentation for participating in this program for only one submission. The rebate is valid and I should have been reimbursed.

CompUSA case has already set a precedent on rebate fraud; hopefully some lawyer out there have enough interest in taking on a class action sue on Seagate as well. We should not let companies like Seagate get away with it.

Ray
Austin, Texas
U.S.A.