Hundreds of Unopened Rebate Slips Found in Trash
Wondering why you didn't get the $3.50 rebate for your Vastech USB hub you bought in May? Well, it's because Vastech took all the rebate slips and threw them in the garbage, unopened.
As Dean Takahashi writes, "In all of my years of reporting, I have never encountered such outrageous behavior against consumers," and while the amount of money at stake here is small, the principle is a large one. 1,300 people went to the trouble of sending in their mail-in rebate forms to this small Silicon Valley firm, and in response Vastech simply chose to ignore them. Possibly worse, all of those rebates contained at least some personal information: Names, addresses, and probably portions of credit card numbers on any receipts included in the envelope.
Takahashi tracked down the CEO of the company and he offered both excuses and an apology. If you've been waiting for your rebate, feel free to send a complaint to support@vastechinc.com and demand your money directly.
Vastech isn't the first company to completely blow it when it comes to rebates. In fact, many consumers have been burned so often by not getting the money they've been promised that they simply ignore any offered rebates or refuse to buy from companies that offer them. A few retailers have listened. Two years ago, Best Buy announced it would phase out its internal rebate system, though it still seems to offer them in some capacity and via third-party sellers. Still, rebates show no sign of slowing down. They're just too profitable for the vendors who use them to sell their gear.
Got a gripe about the rebate process? Feel free to air your dirty laundry here.
False advertising
The Federal Trade Commission has taken action for false advertising against a number of companies that have abused the rebate system, said Matthew Gold, a staff attorney for the FTC in San Francisco. The companies must pay the consumers. Retailers can be held liable if the manufacturers don't pay as promised. In some cases, states have brought criminal fraud actions against companies.
The Better Business Bureau of Silicon Valley reports that it has processed 51 complaints about Vastech since February 2006. Of those, 49 went unanswered by the company in the past year. The BBB considers that an unsatisfactory record.
"We tried contacting Vastech a few times with no success," said BBB spokesman Zach Vander Meeden.
This is a ridiculous system that invites abuse. All the discarded letters I looked at were postmarked around May and were found in the garbage just days after being sent. It makes you wonder how often this happens.
I certainly don't trust Vastech at this point, even though Tan offered to sign rebate checks in front of me and requested the unprocessed rebate forms, which I plan to return to him. And I think Fry's Electronics should take care of their customers if Vastech doesn't. Imagine the surprise that Shu Wong got when I called and said he wasn't likely to get his rebate check. "It's only $3.50," he said. "But that's wrong." Comments
posted by LadyIrene @ 10/04/2007 05:37:00 PM
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