Posted by
Scottie on Thursday, February 22, 2007 9:40:06 PM
Leave it to capitalism to create a market for outright misrepresentation. Have you noticed that you cannot purchase electronic devices, software, or computer equipment without being fed a line of horse-puckey? The advertised price is NEVER the actual price of the product. It is the price you will ultimately pay after being forced to loan money to a third party IF it is eventually paid back. And that’s a pretty big IF.
What incentive does the “rebate” company have to give your money back to you in a timely fashion, if at all? The terms for recovering your money, euphemistically referred to as a “rebate”, are set by the third party. And therein lies the problem. The original vendor doesn’t care; they already have their money. You can’t turn to a competitor that doesn’t rely on this scheme, because all of these supposedly reputable companies have entered an unholy alliance with these modern-day usurers. And your collection costs are never factored into the equation. To have any hope of collecting your money, you had better send your claim certified mail (add $5.00) or be prepared to produce copies of everything you sent in for the inevitable “We can’t seem to find it, could you send us another copy of your claim form and your receipt?” ploy. Then be ready for the “We’re sorry but your claim was received past the deadline” gambit.
I have looked for products that do not have this inconvenience attached. I’ve even tried to buy software directly from the vendor online, but to no avail. The marketing geniuses have grown too cleaver by half with this scheme. I guess to borrow a phrase from Lewis Black, “They must think we’re just meat with eyes!” How is it possible for consumers to overlook this obvious fraud and continue to go along with it? How is it possible for companies to willfully add this added layer of complication between themselves and their customers and suffer no ill effect in the marketplace?
I’m waiting for a company to break this unspoken agreement and deal with me directly as a valued customer without these usurious intermediaries. And you can bet once this logjam is broken, the whole thing will come down like a house of cards. Until then, I will continue to send complaint letters to these supposedly reputable companies. Only now, I can just send in a link to this article and automate the complaint process. If you’re tired of this scheme, and tired of being treated this way, leave your comments below. This has got to stop. It’s dishonest and inconvenient to the customer at best; and it’s outright fraud at worst.
Scottie