The Rebate Rip
The Big Sale Signs in
newspapers and on TV say "Just $400," then the hated words: "after mail
in rebate."� The mail in rebate totals $300 so the cost of the item in
the store is really $700.� If it is a real rebate then why can't they
give it to me at the cash register and let me pay the actual price of
the item? The answer is that it is NOT a rebate but a loan to the
manufacturers.
In the above case you are loaning the manufacturers $300
for eight to 10 weeks, that is the time most companies say they will
return the rebate money.� Many take much longer, like four to six
months. Some companies never return the money.� One consumer I helped,
when we were preparing a CBS 48-Hour Magazine Program, had to wait
one-year.
Rebates are a new method that companies have found to
loan themselves millions of dollars and not have to pay interest or get
a "real" loan. In 2004 it is estimated that the industry took in
$5-Billion dollars in rebate-money.�� Also, it is reported that
companies made $2-Billion-Dollars off of rebates that were not
collected by consumers.� That means 40 percent of the consumers who had
rebates coming to them never collected the money. Rebate revenue is
especially high at gift-giving times like Christmas. People who receive
gifts can't get the rebates because they do not have receipts on
presents.�
This is a new way to get Billions of Dollars out of
consumers without paying them a dime.� The only way to stop this is by
telling the retail stores that you will not pay the higher price for
the rebates.� Some electronic retailers started advertising this
Christmas Season that you could buy a major product like a
computer,without rebates tied to the price.� | |
