21 Days sounds very fishy!!

Today I was processing several rebates I got on items the same day at Fry's in Austin, and was shocked to be told my Corsair Rebate had to be postmarked within 21 days!! While all the other rebates are 30 days, only Corsair chooses to require such an odd number of days for postmarking.

 

To make matters worse, I called customer NO service and was asked for my name and was told that I should have been aware of the policy since in 2006 I was rejected for a previous rebate due to the 21 day policy.

 

Now I am steaming as I had no idea I have been RIPPED OFF twice now by this intentional policy!! I feel as though this policy is intended to force customers who purchased items thinking the rebate terms were standard and reasonable would miss the deadline.

 

Also, since the deadline is NEVER told to the customer at time of purchase, only after the web page is consulted, I FEEL REALLY RIPPED OFF.

 

I will now be filing a complaint with the Texas Attorney Generals Office, the BBB and Fry's Electronics.

 

I had no idea Corsair was so hard up that need to use underhanded policies to create grounds for rejecting rebates.

We are very sorry that you have had this issue with your rebate. Our policy of 3 weeks/21 days is clearly stated on the rebate form and has been the same for quite a few years. We do our best to make these policies conspicuous and it is never our intent to use any tactic to deprive customers of their rebates. So, it's not really fair to say that we use underhanded policies as they are clearly displayed and have been so since before 2006.

 

Please check your private messages. We'd like to work towards some sort of resolution on this with you.

...Our policy of 3 weeks/21 days is clearly stated on the rebate form and has been the same for quite a few years. ...

 

21 days is odd, despite it being policy. I ordered a Power Supply from new egg in July because it had a $20 rebate. and then left the homestead to travel for my summer vacation. I get back open the package install the product (works wonderfully by the way) then start filling out rebate stuff and notice that i'm already overdue.

How any company can close there eyes and say it's policy is beyond me. There are transaction standards for reasons. If I can't get resolution I'll just note it in my review, no biggie. But a 20 in my pocket would make me just a little happier.

You stated you ordered it because of the rebate. Did you read the rebate form before you purchased it and/or went on vacation?

You stated you ordered it because of the rebate. Did you read the rebate form before you purchased it and/or went on vacation?

 

Sure on NewEgg it said offer expires .... that was enough information for me at the time. The last time I ordered anything and had less than 30days to mail in a rebate form was ummm.... NEVER.

Then again I typically buy from local brick&mortar stores like staples, bestbuy, etc...

Like i said, its no biggie. I'll just give my opinion in the review.

imniceguyeddie: Fair enough. Have you emailed / called Corsair about this? Contact info: http://www.corsair.com/contact/default.aspx

 

GuyInAustin: Don't forget to check your PM from YB if you haven't already.

Below is my take home receipts from Fry's. I beg you to show me where it states that I have just 21 days to return my rebate forms. As you can tell by the date of my initial post and my initial purchase I was sending in my rebates within the 30 days I have normally been accustomed to in prior transactions with other reputable manufacturers. As you can see I purchased several items that day, the Raidmax power supply and the SoundBlaster headphones also included rebates, and imagine that, both granted 30 days. I did get a private message inviting me to call the same lovely people who already rejected my rebate requests twice. I will not jump through any further hoops to get something I should have got without all this additional effort of posting on a forum, praying someone with some sense of honor and decency would come to my assistance. At this point, you know who I am, in fact your computers can tell you my exact address and phone number. Your barely friendly customer service person told me my street address whenI called in, not the other way around. Instead I have requested a sit down meeting with the office of consumer affairs here in Austin Texas, one of the benefits of living in the capital city. I also have made inquiries of my local State House and Senate members in an effort to reform Texas Rebate Statutes in an effort to standardize the time a company can require a customer to comply with procedures for rebates. Also we have discussed just the issue I am pointing out in this forum, that NEVER is the consumer told at time of purchase the seemingly shortened time period within which to apply for a rebate. I shouldn’t have to go to a website that I am given the address to only after the consummation of purchase to find out the procedures and deadlines involved. There is a hole in your system, and I aim to plug it up now. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me!! I wont be fooled in the future with this calculated time shortening tactic, even if it literally takes an act of (Texas) congress. Thanks for the offer to have me come back again for my $20 from 2010 and my $20 Rebate in 2006, hat in hand, but I am one angry customer now.

My offer is to interevene on your behalf and help you get your rebate. I'm not going to leave you dangling in the wind but I cannot help you if you will not conact us. Please read your PM and contact us if you want my assistance.

 

FYI, your picture is way too big so I removed it. We'll state for the record that you are correct and that the Fry's receipt does not state the rebate eligibility period. That information is on the actual rebate form.

Although bumping an old thread,

 

I came in here to post that the exact same line of thinking has happened to me.

I have posted quite a few rebates through the years, all of them following the same 30 day postmark requirement.

 

Well, after buying my new computer from many different components, I ended up with 6 rebates from 5 different companies.

 

As it had been a good time since I sent any rebate in, I checked 3 different rebate timings from date of purchase.

 

Company A: 30 days

Company B: 30 days

Company C: 30 days

 

After checking 3, I was under the impression nothing changed. Unlucky, and probably unbelievable to you, one of the companies of the two not checked was yours. Comes with the territory of a post such as this I suppose.

 

Anyways,

3 different companies, similar types of products, all 30 days.

 

So here I am filling out my rebates after 23 days. Have all my UPC cutout, finally have all my forms printed out, no printer at home making this somewhat tedious, and have everything signed and labeled.

 

Putting everything in the forms, no problems.

 

I then come to Corsairs rebate form.

21 days.

What?

 

Go through the rest of the rebates.

30 days

30 days

30 days

 

Filled out 5 others, no problems. Will send them tomorrow morning with no expected problems.

I will probably send the corsair rebate postmarked late just to receive the "denied" letter as a memento of sorts. What's the price of a stamp for a memento of a life lesson anyways?

 

I understand I should have gone through all 5 companies and checked the specific date of each one, but as a consumer I feel that to be a ridiculous requirement, even in retrospect. Should I read the fine print to see if there is anything regarding glue or tape being used to attach UPC to specific area's of a form? Size of paper used? Color or black and white acceptable?

Maybe I should, but I never will. I will stop doing whatever action requires me to take such an action that in my opinion, is ridiculous.

 

These are all things you are lawfully allowed to do, but for me as a consumer to be expected to look for things that are out of the ordinary in an entire system can be quite the tedious task, and can be applied in every aspect of a contract between supplier and buyer. At the end of the day, there isn't enough time to go through every single possible loophole in all forms of contracts we have within our society. So instead, we rely on the reputation and social standards created.

 

For the rebate standard: There should be a industry standard. In fact, there seems to be a industry standard. Sorry, a general rebate standard for ALL industry's. It goes past the generally specific (computer components) industry of Corsair.

 

Basically, there is a social contract of adhesion for rebates. And corsair violated that contract. Of course the very nature of a social contract makes it useless in any court of law. But the effect of the violation is still very useful.

 

I completely understand it is your right legally to set the rebate dates to whatever you wish them to be.

 

And you need to understand all ramifications of such an "unfriendly" policy that your customers have are their right to have.

 

I just found it interesting there was another topic about this. So I decided to post my thoughts. Albeit biased, I find it worth posting.

 

I won't claim to contact different regulatory agencies within Texas regarding the rebate process and your companies shocking negative reflection versus that of the industry standard in respect to postmark dates.

I did indeed notice the positive response in attempting to aide his concern and I do applaud that, but at the end of the day, some of the damage is already done and is irrecoverable.

 

Basically, I write here to express my disappointment on the policy.

 

If it was 30 days and I failed to postmark, I would be perfectly fine accepting it and moving forward. It was expected and to fight what is expected for something of this nature isn't something I am for.

 

But the difference between the standard and your left field date being the difference has made me an unsatisfied customer of your company for something that has nothing to do with what makes your company, your company.

 

 

I leave you with the the underlying sentiment of this entire post;

 

I am a disappointed customer.