Company bankruptcy puts rebates at risk

[Newsjock]

Source: KGO-TV

If you're expecting a rebate check or have one that hasn't been cashed yet you should listen up.

Many people don't realize that when a company offers a rebate, the check actually comes from a third-party known as a rebate fulfillment center.

One of the largest fulfillment centers has filed for bankruptcy and some rebate checks out there could bounce.

CPG Marketing in Tampa Bay has laid off most of its staff and filed for bankruptcy. The company is contracted to process rebates for dozens of retailers and manufacturers.

... "By depositing a bounced check, its going to cause problems for you and you may incur a fee that will exceed the value of the rebate. If we're talking about a $10-$15 rebate, a bounced check fee is going to be near $30 in many cases," says Joe Ridout of Consumer Action.

Read more: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/7_on_your_side&id=6512826

[truthisfreedom]

1. Sucks.

Idiocy.

[melm00se]

8. rebates/coupons

serve a purpose and it's end result is not overly visible to the casual observer.

the major purposes of coupons and rebates are:

1) Gives an incentive (lower net price) to the consumer to buy a specific product, during a specific time period - yeah for the consumer!!

2) Allows the retailer/distributor to realize their profit margin on the original "shelf" price and not on the discounted net price. - Yeah for the retailer!! (IOW the manufacturer takes the margin hit, not the retailer)

3) Allows the manufacturer to temporarily lower the price on a product for any number of reasons (new product introductions, high inventory levels and the like) and then have the price return to "normal". - yeah for the manufacturer.

this is the classic win/win/win scenario. where things get screwed up is with the mail in rebate (my personal scourge and something that some retailers, notably Best Buy, have completely abandoned). Fulfillment houses staff low skill/no skill employees who get paid as little as possible to get the job done and sometimes these employees (I am sure sometimes as the behest of the company and/or client) take shortcuts to hit their numbers (IE they are told "work until this basket is empty" - you can imagine there are 2 ways to empty that basket and 1 of them involves a dumpster).

All in all though, coupons and rebates serve a legitimate business purpose which impact (and mostly in a positive manner) all levels of the supply chain: manufacturer, wholesaler/distributor/retailer and consumer.

[Indiana_Dem]

2. Yes. It happened to me! I just got the notice in my email!

I just cashed a $20 rebate check from Panda Internet Security. I had bought the software and got a rebate check. I cashed it yesterday. No problems. Then I got this email from Panda today saying DON'T CASH it! They said they'd reimburse for any more fees incurred because it will bounce.

[ksimons]

3. great management - we'll pay the fees but can't afford to pay just the check nt

[Ex Lurker]

4. so they charge you if you DEPOSIT a check that bounces now?

that hardly seems fair.

[liberal N proud]

6. Most banks have done that for years

[rsmith6621]

5. Rebates Should Be Outlawed.....

.....I don't buy product that offer savings via a mail in rebate....either give me the savings at the register or I don't buy....they are counting on you forgetting to mail the offer in..

[skids]

7. The whole coupon/loyalty card racket...

...needs to be gutted. It's a huge waste of time. I can see
the need to bundle some items for sale when you need to liquidate
some merchandise that isn't moving, but other than that just
friggin reduce the sticker prices. I'm sick of pulling a
loyalty card out of my wallet and remembering those silly little
coins at the grocery counter, but if I didn't I'd get gouged.

[Robb]

10. The supermarket is "paying you" for their research

There's a lot of data to be mined on shopping habits with those loyalty cards. I imagine it helps the supermarket decide what to stock, when and how much of it.

[stox]

9. Take them to small claims

The responsibility to pay off the rebate lies with the retailer or manufacturer of the product. Just because they pawned off the payment to a third party is not the consumer's responsibility. If enough people file in small claims, the retailers and manufacturers will quickly rethink how they handle rebates.