Cyberrebate DO NOT honor their rebates! Avoid purchasing from them!

I purchased six items the first week in July of last year from them. I meticulously photocopied, cut upc symbols, filled out the proper forms, and sent all six into Cyberrebate. I recieved confirmation of my rebates for 3 of my 6 purchases in October, and recieved a check several weeks later.

This is where it started to go all wrong.

I checked my account on Cyberrebate regularly, waiting for the remaining three items I ordered to have their rebates approved...and waited...and waited. The rebates remained in "pending" status until after Christmas!

Tired of waiting, I emailed Cyberrebate to inquire as to what's going on. They emailed back saying that they never recieved my other six rebates. I found it suspicious that not only did they leave me in some sort of "pending" limbo, and that I had sent all six rebates in at the same time, with exactly the same methods, but also, the 3 rebates remaining happened to be the 3 most valuable rebates!

I emailed more requests, and they just said I had to fax in the materials again. So, gritting my teeth, I faxed in to Cyberrebate (at an ADDITIONAL cost of $15 at Staples) all my documents for ALL six purchases.

A week later, my status on my account changed to "rebates expired". The crooks said my rebates had expired at the end of September, conveniently after I could do anything about it! You'll have noticed they didn't indicate anything wrong until there was dick all I could do about it.

To add insult to injury, they made me spend additional time and money faxing rebates to items they KNEW they weren't going to honor! I called their customer service center, and was basically given a "tough luck, sucker" response. Absolutely no apology, excuse, or justification for their actions. Obviously, my documentation was fine all along. They were just stringing me along, hoping I'd give up.

I want you to know that I've made many of purchases online from dozens of companies, enjoyed many deals from this forum, and this is the first time I've been defrauded.

It is my sincere hope that the moderator allows this thread to be seen so other people can respond or at least be aware of the dangers of shopping at Cyberrebate. Cyberrebate is a classic example that proves if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

That's terrible.

This kind of experience is what makes me very glad of my general policy for buying things with rebates: No matter how good a deal it is AFTER the rebate, I won't buy it unless I would be willing to buy it at the price BEFORE rebate.

I've never had cause to regret this policy, and I'm sure it has saved me a lot of grief.

i am not surprised to hear stories like this. they overcharge for items and can only make money by refusing to honor rebates since they otherwise would not make money.

sorry this happened to you.

Sad to hear your story. For me, cyberrebate looks like a gimmick to get your money and hope the customer get fed up and give up when it breaks down.

Anyhows, I personally will only buy items for the price of it's worth with rebate being a special bonus, whether it comes to me 6months later. I don't depend on the price of an item + rebate to decided if an item is worth it or not.

A dvd price at 20bucks for 160bucks in rebate is just crazy.
A dvd price at 20bucks and -10bucks rebate is something i'll buy just cause i can forget if i will ever receive my rebate.

"If it looks to good to be true it usually is!"
Sorry you got cheated, hope some learn from your mistake. I for one would not even consider ealing with this company in the first place, and warned people from doing so. I forsee many more stories just like this one in the near future. Again, sorry for your loss.

My policy too.
That's why I would never buy their $170 DVDs.

I hope these vampires go bust. Bad word-of-mouth should destroy this predatory crooks. Etailers like this are killing the online DVD industry! Damn their souls!

On a side note about Cyberrebate...

I got a mailing from them today in the mail. It was a fold-out brochure that listed all the "free" products you can "buy" from them. I hope this doesn't cause more people to purchase free stuff (which is an oxymoron in itself) from them. I would never buy a $800 mixer or a $170 DVD. It sounds like we're spending for the government!

OWU497, at minimum you should file a report w/ the BBB. Going to some of the other online places that let you rate/give feedback about sites would probably be a good idea too.

I just checked on my "rebate" and the status said it was missing materials. I called and emailed them and apparently was was missing is my placing the rebate code underneath my return address on the envelope.

Sigh, I'll dig out my photocopies and send it again. I do not remember the forms stating that I had to do that and am glad I only bought something for $14.95 (to get mypoints credit) in case this keeps up and I don't get it back.

I just dug up the forms and unless I'm blind I do not see where you need to write the rebate code underneath the return address.

[Edited by jimbo on 04-26-01 at 05:58 PM]

Thats a great policy to have. I actually take the same approach, having been burnt a few times.

Another good approach is don't pay for an item you cannot afford if the rebate does not go through. I know this seems like common sense but alot of people get burnt on the shadiness of rebate centers.

J