TigerDirect - Onrebate - Systemax rebate ripoff scam dishonest fraud Miami Florida

I purchased an Xtatix Mp3 Player from TigerDirect on 11/23/06 which came with a $50 rebate. The rebate had to submitted to the TigerDirect sister company, OnRebate.COM. Both companies are owned by Systemax, Inc.

My rebate was received and processed by OnRebate.COM, but the payment was never issued.

--SCANNED COPIES OF THE REBATE FORM AND PURCHASE RECEIPT ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST--

They also charged a $5.50 3-day processing fee -- it was not processed in more than a month. Here's a rebate history as displayed on OnRebate.com website:

Rebate tracking #BAKMM4NK4NRRD6QC

Status Date/Time
User applied for OnRebate 11/29/2006 6:37:42 PM
Email was sent for Confirmation 11/29/2006 6:37:42 PM
Email was confirmed by the user 11/29/2006 6:40:40 PM
Printed out the rebate registration, awaiting receipt of documentation 11/29/2006 6:40:50 PM
The Rebate was accepted 12/29/2006 7:48:01 AM
X Payment Sent

--SCREENSHOT OF THE ABOVE REBATE STATUS PAGE IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST--

As you will notice, there is no date next to the "Payment Sent" as the payment was never sent. I received an email from OnRebate.com on Dec. 29, 2006:

"OnRebate.com pleased to inform you that your rebate has been processed on 12/29/2006.
You should receive payment into your PayPal account by 1/3/2007. Please contact us if you have any additional questions."

--FULL EMAIL MESSAGE IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST--

The payment did not arrive on 1/3/2007, so I sent an email message asking why my payment was not sent on 1/4/2007. It was ignored.

--FULL EMAIL MESSAGE IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST--

I called OnRebate.com on 1/19/2007 at 1-888-222-9300. A gentleman from their customer service answered the phone. He told me that rebate was not processed because "it was stuck in our system". When I asked him to elaborate, he repeated "it was stuck in our system".
He said that the processing fee of $5.50 will be refunded since the payment was not issued in "3 business days" and that I will receive full $50 rebate in 7-10 business days.

Fast-forward to 2/7/2007, more than 7-10 business days later. I called OnRebate again using the same number and a lady answered the phone. She said her name is "Julie". After giving her rebate tracking number, I was told exactly the same thing. "The $5.50 fee will be refunded. You will receive your full $50 rebate in 7-10 business days." I asked why did I not receive it already. The answer was "It was not sent to our accounting department.". I told her that I already spoke to a gentleman weeks ago and he said it would be processed in 7-10 business days, it did not happen. She said, "There is no record here saying that you called." After telling her that I will pursue other options in recovering my money, she decided to check with the accounting dept. "Yes, your call was received and they did receive a request to process your rebate. They are waiting for funds from the "Sponsor Manufacturer" (exact words) and then the funds will be deposited automatically." I asked, who exactly is "Sponsor Manufacturer". She said she did not know. I asked her to check with the accounting dept. She did and said "The sponsor manufacturer is XTA". I could not find any information on this company and she did not have any contact information.

As it stands now, the rebate was supposed to be issued on January 3, 2007. It is now February 7, 2007 and I am continuously being given a runaround by the OnRebate employees which blame their "system", then "sponsor manufacturer" with nothing getting done in the process.

A simple Google search reveals that there are literally hundreds of complaints about TigerDirect/OnRebate rebate scam. I have no other option but to file a series of complaints and do what is in my power to notify every potential TigerDirect customer about their shady rebate practices. I hope this gets resolved soon and I will no longer waste my time with either TigerDirect or OnRebate.

Alexander
Toronto, Ontario
Canada

Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Tiger Direct

Click here to read The *EDitorial: The Marketing Rebate Rip Off ...Manufactures invent reasons why not to pay the consumer