BUY.COM And TCA Fulfillment Services Deceptive business practice rebate ripoff New Rochelle New York
I purchased the Princeton 19" LCD monitor from BUY.COM with the promise of a $100 rebate.
The invoice date was 3/15/2005
The ship date was 3/24/2005 (it took them 9 days to get it to a truck!)
Since I chose ground shipping, it took another 7 days to arrive from CA to PA. The rebate stated that I had only 15 days FROM THE INVOICE DATE to get the postmark on the envelope with the required rebate items.
Since it took 16 days for me to receive the monitor - it was impossible to get the rebate promised.
When you look at the time it took them to get the monitor out to a truck (9 days!!), it isn't hard to imagine that this must be a planned deceptive strategy.
WHO pocketed not only this rebate but the many hundreds of others across the country and Canada. Maybe the IRS should look into this as well.
I did, BTW, keep all my forms, emails, receipts, etc. - this is a class action worth being a part of!
Dave
Kingston, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Holly
Newport Beach,California,
U.S.A.
Princeton has switched rebate companies
#3UPDATE Employee
Mon, June 06, 2005
We at Princeton are pleased to announce that starting 05/31/05, we will be changing rebate companies from TCA Fulfillments to Parago, Inc. We felt this change was necessary in order to ensure more timely rebate processing and better customer service. We want our customers to know that we are listening, and it was due to their feedback that we felt that this change was necessary. We are confident that, as our rebate processors, Parago, Inc. will provide the kind of customer service indicative of the Princeton name.
So, in summation, rebate purchases made before 05/31/05 will continue to be handled by TCA. To check on your TCA rebate, please go to www.wheresmyrebate.com or call 1 (800) 390-2344. Otherwise, rebate purchases made after 06/01/05 will now be handled by Parago. To check your Parago rebate, please go to www.rebatehq.com or call 1(888) 643-3215. If you have any questions or concerns as to your rebate please contact the Princeton Sales team at 1 (888) 668-7566 option 1 and we will direct you to the Sales representative who can help resolve your issue. We appreciate your continued business and your patience as we make this transition.
Holly Chandler
Inside Sales Account Executive for the Western United States
Princeton Digital USA Corp.
Dave
Kingston,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
how about getting rid of rebates
#3Author of original report
Mon, May 23, 2005
After complaining to BUY.COM about the rebate problem I had they sent the following email: Since your experience with the order did not live up to our high standards, we have issued you a credit in the amount of $100.
The credit was in fact issued to my credit card and I am satisfied with the order. The monitor is also operating well - so far :)
As far as ordering from BUY.COM, I probably will again (if I see a good deal) but it won't be with a rebate attached. They still need to allow for more time (30-90 days) to get the rebate information mailed out.
To create situations where getting your rebate is improbable (if not impossible) only creates dissatisfaction. After all, if a consumer buys an item at an agreed upon price, that rebate feels like it's your property. If companies offering rebates feel they're losing money, why not lower the rebate? Or how about getting rid of rebates (goodbye TCA) and offer free shipping? Maybe some of us really are buying because of the product not necessarily because of the rebate!