I got involved in the recent Staples/Office Max Office XP rebate deal. While filling out the piles of paperwork a question occurred to me that I was hoping some former/current employee at a rebate processing center might answer.

Q: What (default) action is taken when a rebate request is received and the only way to verify that it was mailed on time is the postage cancellation stamp and the latter is illegible?

-also-

Q: What action is taken when a rebate request is received and it is obviously late? What if only by one day?

-finally-

Q: Are rebate centers bound to attempt to resolve problems with incorrect data etc. on rebate forms or do those just find their way to the circular file? I imagine that would be the case for those evil publisher's clearing house type places, that those places are just looking for a chance to disqualify you so they don't have to spend more time processing those requests. It isn't the same for rebate centers is it?

-Skipper