I bought myself a Brother MFC-7820N multi-function device about 10 weeks ago. It's got some bugs, but on the whole I'm very pleased with it.
Even so, I won't buy from Brother again.
Why?
It came with a $50 rebate. I don't make buying decisions based on rebates, but this was enough money it was worth submitting. After 8 weeks I wrote the rebate site asking what had happened. No response. Now it's been 10 weeks. I don't have time to pursue this further.
I'm human though. And humans, as we know, are programmed to punish cheaters. It's a large part of what has made us a successful intensely social species. Brother cheated. Logically, since the device is worth more to me than what I paid for it, I should still recommend buying it. In this case though, I'll go with my biological imperative.
I won't buy from Brother again. Cheaters.
I'm the same way with BenQ. I bought a 17" monitor from newegg.com mostly based on the rebate as I was looking for monitory <$200 w/ or w/o rebate. This was the one that fit the bill that particular week.
ReplyDeleteI sent in the rebate w/ return receipt. I have a little green slip with the name of the person who received it. I emailed the address given on the rebate form, got an email back saying that all BenQ rebates are being routed to the BenQ number. I call them and they say the rebate company is the one to call. Classis run-around. My next step is either contacting someone in state government (attorney general's office?) or small claims court, I guess. No way they'll show up, and I'll get the court cost back plus the rebate.
I'm glad you're doing this. It's a service for all of us.
ReplyDeleteFor me the rebates are a test. Is this a good company - or not? If I get the rebate back, the company is in the running.
If I don't, they're blacklisted.
I'm not really surprised you had trouble with a mail-in rebate. It's pretty well known they are scams and rely on people either:
ReplyDeleteA) Not ever sending it in
B) Filling out the form incorrectly/forgetting some required item, or
C) Never keeping an extra copy of everything to follow up when the rebate has not shown up.
Generally, I now make a copy of everything and send the rebate in with some form of delivery confirmation. It makes your case much stronger when you can tell the company that you have proof they received it and are willing to provide copies of any of the required documents, should they claim something was missing. You'd be surprised the number of rebate checks I've recieved after calling and checking up on the progress. It may be Brother's problem, but some larger retailers (such as amazon.com) are also notorious for never sending out rebate checks.