Anyone else have trouble getting HomeDepot to honor their rebates?

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

This is the 2nd time i've had to fight for months to get HomeDepot to honor their rebate. This is a "buy 3 appliances, get a $250 gift card" deal and this is the 2nd time that HomeDepot had jerked me around and claimed that I did not submit the required paperwork, submitted a duplicate request, etc... What a crock! It will take me months and many hours of phone calls/emails to get this rebate, but I will not back down! Fortunately, I've done everything online so I have an email trail to prove that I've complied with their requirements. What a hassle!

These fargin' bastages drive me nuts and I WILL NOT buy any other HomeDepot products that come with this rebate racket! i will stop by the local HeomDepot where I bought the applicances to let them know their rebate center in Wixom, MI is populated by idiots and crooks!

Joeaksa · 08:31 AM

Art,

Email or PM me when you can. I used to work with the company doing the rebates for Home Depot and if its still the same company can help.

Joe

Rot 911 · 08-17-2007, 07:38 AM

I am starting to think rebates are as big a scam as the extended warranties. They force you to jump through all these hoops and then try to deny the rebate hoping you will give up. Why not just give you the rebate in the store?

VINMAN · 08-17-2007, 07:48 AM

There are a bunch of lawmakers in in New Jersey that are trying to get a bill passed that would require retailers to give rebates at the time of purchase. No waiting period or mail in. On the spot.
Of course the stores are not happy about this. But enough consummers have complained about rebate practices, that it has become a big issue.

the · 08-17-2007, 07:53 AM

Yep, rebates are a big scam. They count on and "encourage" most to just give up. That's how they make their money.

LeeH · 08-17-2007, 07:55 AM

I firmly believe that denying rebates is standard operating procedure. I had Ace Hardware deny one. Sent in my photo-copy and they sent the check. Months later Ace had a big sale and I bought a bunch of stuff. I made a point of taping every UPC to a sheet of paper writing out what each UPC was for. Before I mailed it I had my wife look it over to make sure it was complete. They paid all but the largest which was $10 on a cordless drill stating that I didn't send the UPC. Sent in my copy and they sent the check.

My wife just swore yesterday that she'd never spend another dime at Walgrees after they started pulling the same stuff on their rebate program. I think they assume most people won't send in the rebate and of those that do they'll deny a certain percentage.

Joeaksa · 08-17-2007, 08:40 AM

One day we were flying somewhere. My boss was in back with a friend and I just happened to walk back for a while. They were there with a big mail bin (the white plastic ones) full of envelopes. They were tearing the ends off of them and dumping the contents out in another large pile.

Looked at the pile and it was $10, $20, $50 & $100 Home Depot gift cards. Asked were they came from and it was a real surprise.

My boss started the company that started rebates. At one time they did all the rebates for Home Depot, Dell Computer and Costco. He made a point of telling the people that if everything was filled out that the people got their rebate, period. There was no trickery at his place.

The gift cards that they were opening up were ones that "bounced," that is ones that someone had filled out the paperwork and our company had sent them to their houses, only to have the people move or leave and not have a forwarding address. I looked at a couple of envelopes and sure enough they were all stamped with "moved and no forwarding address" on each one.

The pile was huge and I asked what happened with the cards, only to be told that HD did not want them back and that our company kept them. I grabbed a large handful and used them as tips for the ground guys and gals who helped us with the plane.

Its been a wild ride in the rebate market and my owner sold his company years ago because the profit margin was just not there. The "fly by night" companies are now taking over and getting help from illegals or foreigners, many who cannot read very well and who could care less if the address is correct or not. Look at your rebate and if it says El Paso, Douglas AZ, McAllen Tx or the like all the work is being sent across the border to be processed. One of the good ones was in Buffalo or Niagara Falls, as they took the work across to Canada. They work for a bit less than we do and quality was excellent.

Its a shell game at times. I keep copies of everything I do with a rebate and so far (knock on wood) have gotten every rebate check or gift card I ever applied for.

Joe

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

Rebates ARE a scam. They're simply a form of "phishing" for personal information. I went through absolute HELL with Earthlink a few years back over a rebate for internet service. Same with a couple of items I bought at Fry's Electronics (who is notorious for using rebates as a sales incentive).

Now, I don't even look at rebate as a factor in price comparison. I assume I'll never see it and base the price comparison on EXACTLY what I pay out-of-pocket to take the thing home, right then and there. That's a fair basis of comparison.

Rebate companies are banking on X% of people (probably a large %) never sending the rebate form in, sending it in incorrectly, or being able to dodge/stonewall/avoid paying out in order to maximize revenue. I have no doubt that these tactics are deliberate. None.

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

Joe,

Thanks! The people I've talked to in the past were at the Home Despot facility in Wixom, MI. you have to "run the gauntlet" and are put on terminal hold, hung up on several times, routed and bounced to several mental midgets who require you to explain in detail what happened, then they tell you they have to transfer the call... This goes on ad nauseum until they get you to give up, only thing is, I'm not going to give up, so it will take numerous phone calls and emails to get my $250 gift card.

I will be the "customer from hell" and I will persist until I get the rebate that is coming to me. I will not do this again, from now on, if I don't get an in-store rebate, I'll move along and shop elsewhere...

TerryH · TerryH's Garage

You have to almost laugh at some of those rebate forms. They are so small you need an electron microscope to read and write your info on those tiny lines. Then you get to wait 3-6 months for your rebate. They have always been a pain in the ass since they were conceived.

Long ago I stopped using rebates as an incentive, but rather as a deterrent to buy something/somewhere else.

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

I like the inline rebate forms, where you enter info from your sales receipt, but even with those the companies still try their level best to screw you out of your rebate and I'm being polite!