OnRebate, Parent Company Systemax Endurance test through ever-changing obstacle course to redeem still missing rebate Miami Florida

I bought Trend-Micro software at Staples.com. The rebate offered was for $40, to cover the entire cost of the software, and was specific to Staples. The rebate form was on their website, and I downloaded it when I purchased the product. It said the rebate could be fulfilled by submitting the following:

"valid UPC code (begins with the numbers 733199, all other UPC do not qualify) cut from bottom of package AND a copy of confirmation email OR dated invoice/sales receipt with a purchase price of $25.00 or greater."

Since the packing slip had the words "This is not an invoice" printed across it in large letters, as many sellers do to prevent customers from thinking they're being sent a bill when they've already paid, I did not know if it would count as the invoice, but note that the rebate form says to submit a copy of confirmation email OR dated invoice/sales receipt, so I submitted the UPC code, the rebate form and a copy of the email confirmation.

To qualify, the product had to be bought at Staples between 09/02/07 and 09/08/07. My email confirmation showed that I had ordered the product 09/04/07, and stated that the rebate submission must be postmarked before October 4. I mailed the submission the day I received the product, 09/08/07. On September 21, I received an email from OnRebate saying they had received my rebate documentation and it would be processed within one to two weeks. This email also contained a link to a "Track Rebate Status" page for my submission on their web site, where they post a link that allows you to download a .pdf file of photocopies they make of the documentation you send them.

On October 5, I received an email from OnRebate saying:

"Your Rebate was declined for following reason(s)

- Copy of Receipt/Invoice or Packing List is missing"

"Ordinarily, applicants are only given one chance to completely and properly apply and submit for rebate offers, however we at onrebate.biz want to help you qualify for this rebate so we've contacted the manufacturer sponsoring this rebate on your behalf and made arrangements with them to allow you to re-apply for this rebate.

Please follow these steps when resubmitting your rebate application:

1 - You can resubmit for this rebate at the following address: http://onrebate.biz/customer/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
2 - Reprint and sign your rebate application from the Rebate Status page by clicking on the link that reads "Print Your Rebate".
3 - Include any missing information that fulfills the reasons why your rebate application was originally declined.
4 - Send your printed rebate along with all required documentation to the PO Box address indicated on the rebate application. For your convenience the rebate application contains a mailing label with the preprinted address.
5 - Please be sure to re-apply within 30 days from the date that your original rebate application was declined. This is the maximum timeframe we were able to negotiate with the rebate sponsor."

Gee, they "negotiated" another chance for me to submit documents other than the ones the original rebate form specified were acceptable. How helpful. Ok. The same day I received that email, October 5, I followed all the above instructions, downloading a rebate form from their website and sending it, along with a copy of the Packing List and a cover letter, to the address on the rebate form, as specified in the email.

On October 21, having heard nothing from them, with no changes to be seen on the "Track Rebate Status" page for my submission on their website, and mindful of the time limits, I emailed to inquire about the status of my second submission, the one they had requested because they "wanted to help me qualify for this rebate." I received a reply October 22 from Tavares of their customer service dept., saying:

"The following requirements were not met: - Copy of Receipt/Invoice or Packing List is missing

Please resubmit the required documentation needed to:

Rebate Center Resubmission's
P.O. Box 443430 Miami, FL 33144

Mail your invoice and rebate form

Upon receiving copies of the required documentation, we will gladly process your claim."

The email of October 5 had specified that I was to mail the Packing List and rebate form to the address on the form, which was in Tyler, TX, which I had done, but I now made another copy of the Packing List and sent it with another copy of the rebate form from their website to this new address in Miami.

On October 24, photocopies of the second set of documents I submitted were added to the .pdf file on the "Track Rebate Status" page, but I heard nothing further. On November 5, I emailed customer service again, having now supplied twice the only item they said they required to make my submission complete. I received this response, again from Tavares:

"Thanks for your email."

"As per your request your information will be forwarded to the Processing Department for further review."

By November 28 I had still heard nothing further, and the "Track Rebate Status" page showed no new response, although the documents from the 3rd submission I had made were now part of the .pdf file available there, so I emailed customer service again, listing each step I had fulfilled in response to their requests, and saying I expected payment. Tavares replied thusly:

"We are very sorry to inform you that your rebate application does not meet the sponsoring manufacturer's conditions for approval and therefore has been denied.
In order to qualify for the rebate, you must have met and complied with all the terms and conditions as set forth by the manufacturer in the rebate offer.

The following manufacturer requirements were not met: Wrong Country Code

Copy of Receipt/Invoice or Packing List is missing
- Postmark date is outside offer's time limit"

I responded to this email by pointing out that I had supplied them with two copies of the Packing List within the thirty day period they had specified following their email of October 5, that the postmark date both of my original submission and the two following submissions were within the time periods specified, and that this was all documented by the .pdf file available on their own website which showed photocopies of all the documents they had received from me, including the envelopes for each, which showed the documents' postmarks. I attached a copy of that .pdf file, which I had previously downloaded from the site, to my email.

I further pointed out that in all our previous correspondence, there had been no mention of a "wrong country code" and I had been assured that all that was needed was submission of the Packing List - twice. I don't know what "country code" Tavares has suddenly, after two-and-a-half months, discovered is wrong, but I bought the software from a USA retailer, my billing and shipping addresses are in the USA, and the only code associated with the software was the UPC. I noted that the original Staples rebate form had specified about this code only that it must begin with the numbers 733199, that the UPC code I submitted did so, and that this was also documented in their photocopied documents.

That 's where the matter stands. I stated in my email of Nov. 28 that if my check was not forthcoming, I would file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, and state Departments of Consumer Affairs. I filed the complaint with the FTC this evening, and will file the others tomorrow. I encourage the many other people who've had bad experiences with this company to do the same. These agencies do pursue problems with companies which act in bad faith if they receive a significant number of complaints, but people often don't file them because they don't know how or think it's complicated. You can fill out a simple form online with the FTC describing your complaint at https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01

Or, go to http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/complaintresources.htm
This is the Federal Citizen Information Center page which has links to many different federal agencies where you can file complaints about many kinds of businesses, including retailers, airlines, banks, spammers, etc. Scroll down and you will find links to the FTC's online complaint form under both Retailers and Consumer Products.

I don't know if OnRebate's service reps are paid on commission and make more in relation to how many claimants they eventually wear down, or if some of them are just competing for the "Employee of the month" parking space, but thievery is thievery and OnRebate's customer service dept. clearly sees it as part of their job to do everything they can to avoid paying rebates.

The emails say that it's "the manufacturer"'s requirements that are preventing fulfillment, but Trend-Micro did not create this ever-changing set of obstacles.I'm not even sure they contracted with OnRebate to fulfill the rebates; that may have been Staples, as this rebate was Staples-specific, I think. In any case, OnRebate has already been paid, and it is they who are throwing up obstacle after obstacle, and changing what they say they need every time I promptly fulfill their requests.

I read rebate forms carefully before I buy a product, to be sure that the item qualifies. I submit rebate requests within a few days of receiving the product. I address the envelope, check the address on the rebate form again, assemble all the required documentation and check each item against the list of requirements, then make copies of each item in the submission before mailing it, and note the date it was mailed.

Because of these precautions, I have never been refused a rebate, including one from OnRebate some time ago, until now. Their business practices seem to have changed for the worse, as this experience has been like some kind of bad carnival ride.

Mary
San Diego, California
U.S.A.