Rebate on Viking 128MB CF from amazon refused

[jcs]

There was a deal a while back -- a good price at amazon on a 128MB CompactFlash card from Viking, and there was a $25 rebate offered.

I only ordered it because they tossed in the rebate -- amazon's good price wasn't quite good enough to get me to order.

Well, I'm still composing my oh-so-persuasive letter to Viking, but here's what has happened with the rebate:

The rebate form states your rebate request must be postmarked no more than 15 days after the date of purchase. I thought that was a little too restrictive, but seemed like a doable rebate offer.

So I ordered one on May 19. Now amazon, of course, dated my receipt 5/19/01.

On 5/25 amazon sent me email -- your order has been shipped. Okay, that's cutting it close -- I requested standard shipping, so I knew it wouldn't travel very fast. That's also bordering on unacceptable service from amazon since all items in the order were available for shipment at the time of order (or so my order receipt claims).

Now it gets even stickier. My package sat in "waiting for pickup" mode in Kentucky (Kentucky?? what's up with that??) for 4 more days. UPS showed it in their system, but not moving, from 5/25 - 5/29 (Friday-Tuesday, so even though it includes a weekend, I contend 4 days is way too long).

Finally, on the road. But it was pretty clear that it wouldn't arrive in time for me to meet the conditions of the rebate.

The rest is equally ridiculous. The three-legged blind syphilitic directionally-challenged camel that UPS used to bring the package from Kentucky to the Houston area made lots of lengthy stops, and finally deposited my package in a distribution depot in the Houston area (after several days transit time).

It sat in the Houston distribution depot for another 4 days awaiting delivery.

I think I've lost count by now of how long that package took to get here.

A lot longer than 15 days.

I sent off my rebate request promptly, and since I didn't want to confuse anyone I didn't include any explanation of the delay -- that seemed to be a sure way to get the rebate refused.

Naturally, they refused it.

So, Viking is getting a letter, amazon is getting an email about their shipping department, and a copy is going to planetfeedback and ugetheard, just because this is all so moronic, and UPS is also going to hear from me, and I'll probably copy planetfeedback and ugetheard on that too.

Viking, I think, is the most blameless in this little melodrama, but they still need to pay me the rebate.

Somebody is going to give me that goldarned $25 rebate. I don't care who.

So, anybody who did this deal expecting the rebate, watch out.

<Gee, I feel better already. Blood pressure returning to normal. Chest pains and heart palpitations subsiding. Just imagine how much better I will feel after I get all those letters written.>

[sydnie]

Good luck! Not to rub it in, but just to share a story of "the other side" -- I bought a new flat ViewSonic monitor last fall w/ $100 rebate which stated it had to be submitted w/in 30 days of purchase. Well, I screwed up and maybe 90 days later -- significantly past deadline, and nearly to expiration of their promotional period -- I ran across the materials and said OMIGOD I FORGOT!

So I sent it in anyway, worth risking 33 cents (at the time) for $100! And the rebate was processed and issued, no question. So sometimes you win, despite your worst efforts!

Again, good luck to you in this "good fight." I would hope that a printout of the "details" page from UPS tracking would convince Viking that you did your best to comply.

P.S. During week of July 4, I sent an eBay purchase by 3-day UPS -- it took four days to arrive -- called UPS and they are supposedly refunding the entire shipping charge. Not sure how this applies in your case but they were pretty "user-friendly" about it (we'll see if the refund shows up!).

[bestmidwest]

Oh yeah...you are so right that somebody needs to send you that $25..and it should be Amazon, because they tell you something has shipped when really all they've done is issued an electronic call tag or something to UPS...so everything takes MANY more days than they say. Good luck with this fight, and let us know how it turns out. I was going to do that deal, and thank God I didn't.