- Report: #113440
Complaint Review: Hewlitt Packard - Compaq - Internet
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Hewlitt Packard - Compaq
www.hp.com Internet, U.S.A.
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Hewlitt Packard/Compaq REBATE SCAM! RIP-OFF! Mesa Arizona
DON'T EVER EVER EVER EVER buy anything that has a Compaq/HP Rebate on it EVER. I bought a computer from Circuit City (whose escalation line has been nothing but sympathetic and extremely helpful in getting ANY of my money back) on August 1. I then proceeded to look over a $150 rebate from CCity, $100 rebate (look at the $100 there) from HP, and another $50 rebate from HP. I made sure to look over the forms very carefully because I know so much as a smudge of ink anywhere would make the rebate null and void so I proceeded to the post office with my three rebate packets and mail them certified to make sure I could track it and show that they received it. Week 1 goes by and all three rebates are shown as received. All is good and well.
Week 2 rolls around and my monitor begins to have pixels on the screen go out. So with the 14 day-return policy at Circuit City I return the model for the EXACT SAME ONE. I even CALL HP/Compaq to inform them of the EXCHANGE not RETURN and they say it should be no problem with the rebates. I leave with my new monitor, and so far all is calm. Week 5 or 6 rolls around and I already received the $50 rebate from HP and I'm thinking man that's awesome, the $100 rebate from JP that was sent in on the exact same day must be on its way... (WRONG!!)
Week 8 rolls around and there is my $150 Circuit City rebate, no problems. About a day or so later I get an envelope that looks like another HP rebate...I'm thinking, this cannot possibly be true, all my money before it was even promised...and then my sweetest dream became one of my biggest nightmares. I open up the letter and there sitting in from of me is a letter stating "We appreciate your purchase, but your submission for the *************** Rebate offer was declined for the following reason: Our records indicate that one or more of the serial numbers provided was returned for refund at the business of purchase."
Ok so I kept my cool, minor screw up...even though I did verify the exchange with them. I called them back and they were extremely rude and told me there was nothing they could do about it. So of course not being one of those customers that just bites their tongue and lets it slide...I call up Circuit City's Customer Service desk. There was a Manufacturer's Rebate Escalation Line 800-241-1343 that I could call for denied claims. In fact THERE WAS something that could be done about it so the lady on the phone contacted HP and got everything squared away for my $100 rebate (NOTE $100 AGAIN) and I should receive it within the next 2-3 weeks. I was pissed about the wait but I figured it was worth it.
Week 12 rolls around AND STILL NO CHECK. So I call the escalation line again and the lady was nothing but nice and calls HP again ONLY TO FIND OUT that the check had been returned nearly 3 WEEKS AGO......but no one ever bothered to contact me about it. So she gets on the phone with a supervisor at HP's rebate department and has them verify my address (THAT THEY HAD SENT 2 PREVIOUS LETTERS TO) only to find out that MY ADDRESS HAD BEEN CHANGED...they had taken my apartment letter off, making it impossible to get to me. FUMING AT THIS POINT I demand for them to cut me another check but apparently there is some 30 day waiting period for them to put a stop payment on a check. At this point I LOST IT demanding to have another check cut and sent to the RIGHT address. Luckily for them they complied and I verified my address SIX (YES SIX!!) TIMES to make sure it was going to get to me. Yet it was going to be another 2-3 week wait.
WEEK 14....ok my roommate brings the mail and here is another envelope from HP....I'm looking at it, she is looking at me....it feels like I'm waiting for a freaking acceptance letter from my dream school or a ransom note for my dog....I'm dreading opening it, she's dreading me going ballistic and burning the entire building down (yes it's $100 but to a college kid it means food on the table for the next month and a half)... so I rip off the sides, fold open the check to find... ***DRUM ROLL PLEASE*** that the check is for $50... NOT $100... (refer to the references made above if this is not shocking to you)... ok... I'VE HAD IT OFFICIALLY AT THIS POINT...I will speak to no one except for a supervisor when I call back... I call the escalation line....they can't do anything... I call HP and the lady tells me it's only for $50 even though it says $100 on the rebate form...I then proceed to talk to someone else and apparently there are 2 separate $50 checks... I WANT ONE CHECK IN THE AMOUNT OF $100... "no can do" so I expressed my dearest gratitude at this point and told the woman what I really thought of her and her rebates and told her to do whatever she needed to do to get ANOTHER $50 check... GUESS WHAT??? 4-5 FREAKING WEEKS TO CUT ANOTHER CHECK... even though this is attempt NUMBER 4 at trying to get this check... and it only took 2-3 weeks for the past 2 attempts... needless to say I was not a happy camper... It was the same rebate as the other $50 check I got... why another four weeks you may ask? BECAUSE IT WON'T BE PROCESSED UNLESS YOU CALL AND COMPLAIN ABOUT IT...it's their way of scamming you out of $50 i suppose.
I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER COMPAQ OR HP PRODUCT EVER AGAIN....HOPEFULLY YOU WON'T EITHER... don't put yourself in a position to go and spend $300 more on a computer that you think you will be getting the $300 back for anytime soon... maybe by this time next year I can actually enjoy this computer I am pounding the keys away on now... but I don't see that happening anytime soon in the near future. Go for the less expensive model with no rebates or legitimately spend the $300 on a more expensive machine and don't fiddle with this rebate bull crap.
Not
Nowheresville, New Jersey
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Hewlett-Packard - HP
Click here to read The *EDitorial: The Marketing Rebate Rip Off ...Manufactures invent reasons why not to pay the consumer
Week 2 rolls around and my monitor begins to have pixels on the screen go out. So with the 14 day-return policy at Circuit City I return the model for the EXACT SAME ONE. I even CALL HP/Compaq to inform them of the EXCHANGE not RETURN and they say it should be no problem with the rebates. I leave with my new monitor, and so far all is calm. Week 5 or 6 rolls around and I already received the $50 rebate from HP and I'm thinking man that's awesome, the $100 rebate from JP that was sent in on the exact same day must be on its way... (WRONG!!)
Week 8 rolls around and there is my $150 Circuit City rebate, no problems. About a day or so later I get an envelope that looks like another HP rebate...I'm thinking, this cannot possibly be true, all my money before it was even promised...and then my sweetest dream became one of my biggest nightmares. I open up the letter and there sitting in from of me is a letter stating "We appreciate your purchase, but your submission for the *************** Rebate offer was declined for the following reason: Our records indicate that one or more of the serial numbers provided was returned for refund at the business of purchase."
Ok so I kept my cool, minor screw up...even though I did verify the exchange with them. I called them back and they were extremely rude and told me there was nothing they could do about it. So of course not being one of those customers that just bites their tongue and lets it slide...I call up Circuit City's Customer Service desk. There was a Manufacturer's Rebate Escalation Line 800-241-1343 that I could call for denied claims. In fact THERE WAS something that could be done about it so the lady on the phone contacted HP and got everything squared away for my $100 rebate (NOTE $100 AGAIN) and I should receive it within the next 2-3 weeks. I was pissed about the wait but I figured it was worth it.
Week 12 rolls around AND STILL NO CHECK. So I call the escalation line again and the lady was nothing but nice and calls HP again ONLY TO FIND OUT that the check had been returned nearly 3 WEEKS AGO......but no one ever bothered to contact me about it. So she gets on the phone with a supervisor at HP's rebate department and has them verify my address (THAT THEY HAD SENT 2 PREVIOUS LETTERS TO) only to find out that MY ADDRESS HAD BEEN CHANGED...they had taken my apartment letter off, making it impossible to get to me. FUMING AT THIS POINT I demand for them to cut me another check but apparently there is some 30 day waiting period for them to put a stop payment on a check. At this point I LOST IT demanding to have another check cut and sent to the RIGHT address. Luckily for them they complied and I verified my address SIX (YES SIX!!) TIMES to make sure it was going to get to me. Yet it was going to be another 2-3 week wait.
WEEK 14....ok my roommate brings the mail and here is another envelope from HP....I'm looking at it, she is looking at me....it feels like I'm waiting for a freaking acceptance letter from my dream school or a ransom note for my dog....I'm dreading opening it, she's dreading me going ballistic and burning the entire building down (yes it's $100 but to a college kid it means food on the table for the next month and a half)... so I rip off the sides, fold open the check to find... ***DRUM ROLL PLEASE*** that the check is for $50... NOT $100... (refer to the references made above if this is not shocking to you)... ok... I'VE HAD IT OFFICIALLY AT THIS POINT...I will speak to no one except for a supervisor when I call back... I call the escalation line....they can't do anything... I call HP and the lady tells me it's only for $50 even though it says $100 on the rebate form...I then proceed to talk to someone else and apparently there are 2 separate $50 checks... I WANT ONE CHECK IN THE AMOUNT OF $100... "no can do" so I expressed my dearest gratitude at this point and told the woman what I really thought of her and her rebates and told her to do whatever she needed to do to get ANOTHER $50 check... GUESS WHAT??? 4-5 FREAKING WEEKS TO CUT ANOTHER CHECK... even though this is attempt NUMBER 4 at trying to get this check... and it only took 2-3 weeks for the past 2 attempts... needless to say I was not a happy camper... It was the same rebate as the other $50 check I got... why another four weeks you may ask? BECAUSE IT WON'T BE PROCESSED UNLESS YOU CALL AND COMPLAIN ABOUT IT...it's their way of scamming you out of $50 i suppose.
I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER COMPAQ OR HP PRODUCT EVER AGAIN....HOPEFULLY YOU WON'T EITHER... don't put yourself in a position to go and spend $300 more on a computer that you think you will be getting the $300 back for anytime soon... maybe by this time next year I can actually enjoy this computer I am pounding the keys away on now... but I don't see that happening anytime soon in the near future. Go for the less expensive model with no rebates or legitimately spend the $300 on a more expensive machine and don't fiddle with this rebate bull crap.
Not
Nowheresville, New Jersey
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Hewlett-Packard - HP
Click here to read The *EDitorial: The Marketing Rebate Rip Off ...Manufactures invent reasons why not to pay the consumer
3 Updates & Rebuttals
BOB
MESA,Arizona,
U.S.A.
HP SCAM REBUTTAL
#2UPDATE Employee
Fri, January 14, 2005
I WORK IN THE HP REBATE CENTER, I SEE AT LEAST ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND SUBMISSIONS COME THROUGH FOR THESE OFFERS A MONTH IF NOT MORE! NO EXAGGERATION! I APOLOGIZE THAT THIS CUSTOMER HAD A HARD TIME GETTING HIS REBATE, & THERE ARE ALOT OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE ISSUES CLAIMING THEIR REBATES AS WELL, IN THIS CASE THE CUST DID WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO DO & THINGS DIDN'T GO THROUGH AS PLANNED. BUT MOST OF THE ISSUES I SEE EVERYDAY ON A HANDS ON BASIS WITH CUSTOMERS GETTING DENIED FOR REBATE IS BECAUSE THEY DO NOT READ THE TERMS & CONDITIONS OF THE REBATE FORM, OR THAT THE RETAILER DID NOT CORRECTLY COPY OUR TERMS & AGREEMENTS BEFORE THEY PUT THEM IN THE SYSTEM TO PRINT AS A RECEIPT UPON PURCHASE! MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO RECIEVE A MANUFACTURERS REBATE FORM RATHER THAN THE RETAILERS "REBATE THERMAL REDEMPTION FORM" DO NOT GET REJECTED FOR REBATES IF THEY READ THE RULES. YOU HAVE TO READ THE FINE PRINT, DO NOT TAKE THE RETAILERS WORD FOR IT BECAUSE HALF THE TIME THEY DO NOT HAVE A CLUE WHAT THE HELL THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT, OR THEY WILL TELL YOU ANYTHING TO SELL A PRODUCT! I ALWAYS SUGGEST TO CUSTOMERS THAT THEY GO ONLINE TO HP SHOPPING.COM & PULL UP THE MANUFACTURERS VERSION OF THE REBATE BEFORE THEY MAIL IT OR BEFORE THEY PURCHASE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE COMPLYING WITH THE CORRECT TERM * AGREEMENTS PROVIDED BY US! WE ARE NOT TRYING TO SCAM ANYONE, OF COURSE WE DO MAKE MISTAKES AS WELL, WE ARE HUMAN, BUT FOR THE MOST PART IF YOU FOLLOW THE CORRECT RULES YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE A PROBLEM RECEIVING YOUR REBATE! THERE IS ALSO A 1-800 # TO CALL AS WELL IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS REGUARDING THE REBATE RULES THAT APPLY, IN MY OPINION MOST OF THE COMPLAINERS FILING THESE STATEMENTS ARE MAD BECAUSE THEY DID NOT RCV A REBATE BUT THEY DID NOT FOLLOW OUR RULES OF QUALIFICATION. ALOT OF CALLS I GET AFTER TELLING THEM WHERE TO LOOK FOR THESE RULES ON THE FORM, DO FIND IT & SEE WHY WE HAVE DISQUALIFIED THEM, THE FINE PRINT IS THERE FOR A REASON! JUST READ IT! SINCERELY BOB BANANSKY CUSTOMER SERVICE & RESOLUTIONS SPECIALIST
BOB
MESA,Arizona,
U.S.A.
HP SCAM REBUTTAL
#3UPDATE Employee
Fri, January 14, 2005
I WORK IN THE HP REBATE CENTER, I SEE AT LEAST ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND SUBMISSIONS COME THROUGH FOR THESE OFFERS A MONTH IF NOT MORE! NO EXAGGERATION! I APOLOGIZE THAT THIS CUSTOMER HAD A HARD TIME GETTING HIS REBATE, & THERE ARE ALOT OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE ISSUES CLAIMING THEIR REBATES AS WELL, IN THIS CASE THE CUST DID WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO DO & THINGS DIDN'T GO THROUGH AS PLANNED. BUT MOST OF THE ISSUES I SEE EVERYDAY ON A HANDS ON BASIS WITH CUSTOMERS GETTING DENIED FOR REBATE IS BECAUSE THEY DO NOT READ THE TERMS & CONDITIONS OF THE REBATE FORM, OR THAT THE RETAILER DID NOT CORRECTLY COPY OUR TERMS & AGREEMENTS BEFORE THEY PUT THEM IN THE SYSTEM TO PRINT AS A RECEIPT UPON PURCHASE! MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO RECIEVE A MANUFACTURERS REBATE FORM RATHER THAN THE RETAILERS "REBATE THERMAL REDEMPTION FORM" DO NOT GET REJECTED FOR REBATES IF THEY READ THE RULES. YOU HAVE TO READ THE FINE PRINT, DO NOT TAKE THE RETAILERS WORD FOR IT BECAUSE HALF THE TIME THEY DO NOT HAVE A CLUE WHAT THE HELL THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT, OR THEY WILL TELL YOU ANYTHING TO SELL A PRODUCT! I ALWAYS SUGGEST TO CUSTOMERS THAT THEY GO ONLINE TO HP SHOPPING.COM & PULL UP THE MANUFACTURERS VERSION OF THE REBATE BEFORE THEY MAIL IT OR BEFORE THEY PURCHASE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE COMPLYING WITH THE CORRECT TERM * AGREEMENTS PROVIDED BY US! WE ARE NOT TRYING TO SCAM ANYONE, OF COURSE WE DO MAKE MISTAKES AS WELL, WE ARE HUMAN, BUT FOR THE MOST PART IF YOU FOLLOW THE CORRECT RULES YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE A PROBLEM RECEIVING YOUR REBATE! THERE IS ALSO A 1-800 # TO CALL AS WELL IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS REGUARDING THE REBATE RULES THAT APPLY, IN MY OPINION MOST OF THE COMPLAINERS FILING THESE STATEMENTS ARE MAD BECAUSE THEY DID NOT RCV A REBATE BUT THEY DID NOT FOLLOW OUR RULES OF QUALIFICATION. ALOT OF CALLS I GET AFTER TELLING THEM WHERE TO LOOK FOR THESE RULES ON THE FORM, DO FIND IT & SEE WHY WE HAVE DISQUALIFIED THEM, THE FINE PRINT IS THERE FOR A REASON! JUST READ IT! SINCERELY BOB BANANSKY CUSTOMER SERVICE & RESOLUTIONS SPECIALIST
Tim
Mesa,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Circuit City return for refund
#4UPDATE Employee
Fri, December 31, 2004
Sorry to hear about your problems with your HP rebate. The Circuit City return for refund program was very short lived and rather difficult for many of the reasons you quoted, but it also sounds as though you've encountered a few other issues. I'll get to those in a few. The Circuit City return for refund program was intended to screen out only the customers who were attempting to collect their rebates on returned products, but due to the way that Circuit City (and most other retailers) process their returns, exchanges, deductions, additions, and other product returns from the same original purchase were all listed together as returns for the HP product. Because of the "bad" data, there really was nothing that the rebate center could do once the error showed up - we had to rely on Circuit City to research every single return to ensure the process was done correctly. Even HP's corporate office could do nothing to solve the problem sicne all other parties were relying on the data from Circuit City's systems. As you might imagine, since this problem did not even arise until thousands of rebates had already been input into our system, there was quite a backlog and more than a handful of (rightfully) impatient customers. Now to address the other issues, when a check is returned there is generally no way to contact the customer since the address is obviously not a reliable method at that point, but due to the sheer volume of mail being handled, it is the only method that can be done within reasonable timeframes. I'm sorry this puts the onus of responsibility on the consumer, especially when you've already had a difficult time. However, if a check has been returned a stop-payment should not have been necessary and a supervisor at the center should have known this. If you remember this supervisor's name, please let me know. As for the $50 checks, it sounds as though you purchased a desktop PC, a monitor, and a printer, as is usually the case with most consumers. In any instance where a customer's submission under the $100 offer only partially qualifies, a partial payment will be issued. The Circuit City return program was only set up to decline returned PCs, so the monitor was paid. If I'm reading you correctly, the last two checks were $50 and $50, likely for the printer and the PC respectively, totalling the $150 you should have been expecting from HP. I agree that this was a ridiculously long processing time, which is why HP has discontinued the Circuit City return for refund program. I have only one more piece of advice, which is that if you ever apply for a print cartridge offer, apply early. The first few submissions tend to fly through without a hitch. Toward the end of the offers, you're fighting with an enormous number of other customers who have submitted before you did for a limited supply of gift packs. It's not worth it.
