TigerDirect And Onrebate.com Scam

[isellhere]

Onrebate.com is a big SCAM and getting worse day by day. As a veteran 'rebater', I've seen this pattern before and I could tell you from past experiences that this will not get better and they will eventually be shut down. My advice: do not use Onrebate.com no matter how much money you 'think' you're saving; this advice also applies to all online retailers who use Onrebate.com especially TigerDirect.com which I heard is closely related to Onrebate.com. It's far much better and cheaper to look for sales at legitimate retailers like Best Buy, Circuit City and the likes.

This is my history with Onrebate.com :
(keep in mind that I'm an experienced rebater, who follows all the rebate requirements to the letter, and NO mistakes were made on my part in ANY of the submissions)

During 2005 I had 11 rebates, 6 were paid within 8 weeks with no issues; 4 I had to call to correct a mistake they claimed was there but really wasn't and had to fax my documents again to them (same exact documents that they claimed were invalid) paid within 12 weeks; and one I had to wait 19 weeks !!

During 2006 I had 12 rebates, 6 were paid within 3 weeks (by paying extra fees for the 'No Wait Rebate'; and the other 6 I had to resend documents again because they claimed my filing was late or I sent wrong UPC code or product does not qualify etc, 5 of them were paid 'eventually'.

That leaves one outstanding rebate. Details as follows:

12/23/06 filed for $10 rebate online, paid $1 for 'No Wait Rebate' (to be paid within 3-5 business days)
12/28/06 mailed rebate submission as required.
.
.
01/29/07 called was on hold for 1 hour then was told that they're still processing December's submissions, but if I wanted I could resend my documents by mail, so I asked what would that accomplish and the guy said nothing really since we didn't get to December yet, so I said why should I resubmit then and he said don't submit if you don't want to!! I then told him that I paid for the 'No Wait Rebate' which meant according to their site that my claim would be processed within 3-5 days of RECEIPT and he said no, it's 3-5 days from them actually processing it !!! As this was useless I just hung up.

2/12/07 The Rebate was denied Insufficient documentation - Incorrect UPC barcode !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2/13/07 I called again and told them that I'm looking at my copy of the submission and the UPC is correct,
after being on hold for another hour they said that I will be getting my check within 5 days (no apology, no explanation, not a thing)

and that was that, I still DID NOT GET MY CHECK !!!!!!!!!!!

Nice 'NO WAIT REBATE' !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My final comments: Unless you have a lot of free time and a lot of patience and a strong will to lose hard earned cash do not be tempted by the rebates offered through Onrebate.com, stay away from TigerDirect.com since without their scamy rebates they're not any cheaper that REAL stores, if you insist on dealing with them MAKE COPIES OF EVERYTHING YOU SEND, USE CERTIFIED MAIL, and follow up on your rebates.

Do not under estimate the money these scammers are making by avoiding payments. Do a search on Onrebate.com scam and see the 1000's of people who got ripped off. I assure you there will be a class action lawsuit against them, so make sure to write your complaint on this great site, and the BBB and the attorney general of your state and the state of Florida. That's the only way they will be stopped.

[elroy]

I've been buying pc parts for 10+ years and have collected thousands of $$ in rebates.
This thread is just one of many threads on the internet regarding Tigerdirect and the reason I wouldn't spend one penny there and never have. When it comes to rebates if you're not dealing with a reputable business you're going to get hosed. Period!

[wenmang]

One thing puzzles me is that you know they are bad, why do you continue using them?

[gofishben]

My purchase of a Plextor Digital Video Converter came with a $50.00 rebate and seemed like a good purchase. Not so! While the product is fine, the rebate advertised is a scam and I've written a mile of emails attempting to resolve the issue and have discovered that few companies are as adept at insuring that customers never receive a rebate as TigerDirect.com and its sister company, OnRebate.com. The two companies (both are owned and operated by Systemax, Inc.) employ practices that are purposeful and gauged to deny customers promised rebate checks and, if fraud can be defined as gain through deception, their practices are certainly fraudulent in nature.

The strategy employed by TigerDirect and OnRebate is simple; merely confuse, delay, deny the rebate, demand additional paperwork or documentation, approve the rebate claim if the customer is really persistent, then delay some more until the customer becomes totally frustrated and decides that the dollar value of the rebate is not worth the effort. My most recent experience would suggest that some rebates are 'declined' automatically since the reasons for their rejection are bogus.

My claim has been rejected, approved and then rejected again with reasons given for the denials having no basis in fact. The latest rejection came just a day after I was notified by Ronaldo Marin, an OnRebate Customer Service Advocate (through the Florida Better Business Bureau) that my rebate would arrive by June 7th. In spite of Mr. Marin's assurances to the Better Business Bureau and to myself, it's now June 13th and there is still no sign of a check or further word from OnRebate.

I have contacted both the SE Florida Better Business Bureau and the Florida Dept of Agriculture and Consumer Services Bureau of Mediation and Enforcement. Both are attempting to help mediate the issue and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services personnel advise me that, "The most important thing that can be done is for consumers to report these issues (and any other issues) and concerns to our department."
They also indicated that, "if a pattern of 'unethical and/or deceptive' practices is determined then the department can seek assistance from various agencies and the Office of the Attorney General in conducting an investigation." Filing complaints with their office is probably the best way to insure fair treatment as regards rebates ever arriving and shutting down the unethical business practices.

I encourage anyone who has had an experience like mine to contact these folks so that this pattern of unethical behavior can be investigated and the Rebate Ripoff stopped.

Last, I will copy and forward a copy of this complaint to Tigerdirect and OnRebate along with my contact information and invite either company to attempt to 'slug it out with me' in court or anywhere else; I've kept and maintained meticulous documentation of this petty little drama and am eager to share it with anyone having a legitimate interest in seeing Tigerdirect.com and OnRebate.com held accountable for their deceitful and unethical business practices.

[frostbitetwice]

There is only one last course of act with TD and that is your attorney general's office and the FTC. Anything else does not matter as TD does not care one red cent about it reputation or the lack of it. GL, dude.