Jane Auburn
New member
I suspect this rebate scam has been going on for many years. This just happens to be the first year that folks have started to voice their opinion about the matter online and found others with the same complaints.
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Canon, take notice!
- Thread starter Jane Auburn
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Bob Krueger
New member
Hello, everyone. I'm a new member here and, seeing that some in this thread have asked for others' experiences with Canon rebates, I'm posting this message to relate my somewhat mixed experiences with this program.
In April of 2003, I purchased a Canon EOS 1vHS film body from B&H. At that time, Canon was offering a $150 rebate for the HS version of that body (with the PB-E2 power booster). Upon receipt of the body, I immediately sent the required documents to the rebate center to claim my $150.
Approximately one month later, I received an e-mail from the rebate center stating that my rebate check of $100 was being processed. I called the center and explained that $100 was not correct. The $100 amount was for the EOS 1v without the PB-E2; the correct amount for the camera with the booster was $150. I got the distinct impression that the gentleman to whom I was speaking didn't have the faintest idea what I was talking about, so I asked to speak to a supervisor. He asked me to hold. After about five minutes, he returned and said that he had not been successful in locating a supervisor and gave me a phone number to which I should fax all of my information again. There seemed no point in arguing with this individual further, so I did what he asked. I also sent copies of Canon's own rebate paperwork to demonstrate that the correct amount for the product I had purchased, in Canon's own words, was $150, as well as a cordial cover letter explaining everything in the package and my prior phone conversation.
I never heard from the rebate center again, but I received a check for $100 several weeks later. At that point I called Canon's customer service number. I spoke to a gentleman there named Greg (I never did get his last name, but he was very helpful in turning my thus far negative experience into a satisfactory one, so I mention his first name in the hope that someone somewhere he will give him credit for that). Greg listened to my story and asked me to fax the information that I had about the purchase to him. I faxed him the B&H invoice and a few other things like a copy of the warranty card, and within a week I received another check, this time from Canon, not the rebate company, for $50!
I faxed Greg again after receiving the $50 check and thanked him for his help. In that fax, I also suggested that Canon might want to reconsider what compnay they use to process their rebates, since when the rebates go wrong, it's Canon most consumers blame, not the real culprit. Given the continuing saga with at least some customers' Canon rebates, I guess my suggestion didn't carry much weight.
In November of 2006 I once again purchased a Canon product with an active rebate - a pair of 15 X 50 IS binoculars with a $100 rebate offer. After reading this thread and not having heard anything about the status of my rebate since that purchase, I went to Canon's rebate inquiry site last Friday and found that it has indeed completed the processing step and is awaiting check approval. I presume that I will indeed receive the check one of these days.
So given my experiences thus far, what have I learned from Canon's rebate system?
1. Be prepared to wait, sometimes for several months, to get the money. Rebates often don't turn around quickly. This has been my experience with ALL rebates, not just Canon's.
2. Be prepared, using good backup records of the claim, to fight for the rebate by contacting Canon customer service if necessary. Canon's intentions with their rebates are, I think, good ones. If you have a problem and they can help you, they will.
3. Problems with the rebates are a function of the rebate company and not Canon (except for perhaps having chosen the wrong company to handle their rebates), and certainly not Chuck Westfall's. As the Manager of Technical Information, he has no direct connection to the rebate program.
My personal preference is to shop for discounted prices rather than rebates. At the best of times rebates are minor time-consuming hassle, whereas discounts are immediate. I buy what I need when I need it, and if there's an active rebate on the item I accept the hassle of filing for it and hope the check will arrive. If it doesn't, I'll invest a reasonable amount of extra effort in fighting for it. If I still don't get it, oh well, I'll live.
Well, I guess that was long-winded enough for a newbie.
In April of 2003, I purchased a Canon EOS 1vHS film body from B&H. At that time, Canon was offering a $150 rebate for the HS version of that body (with the PB-E2 power booster). Upon receipt of the body, I immediately sent the required documents to the rebate center to claim my $150.
Approximately one month later, I received an e-mail from the rebate center stating that my rebate check of $100 was being processed. I called the center and explained that $100 was not correct. The $100 amount was for the EOS 1v without the PB-E2; the correct amount for the camera with the booster was $150. I got the distinct impression that the gentleman to whom I was speaking didn't have the faintest idea what I was talking about, so I asked to speak to a supervisor. He asked me to hold. After about five minutes, he returned and said that he had not been successful in locating a supervisor and gave me a phone number to which I should fax all of my information again. There seemed no point in arguing with this individual further, so I did what he asked. I also sent copies of Canon's own rebate paperwork to demonstrate that the correct amount for the product I had purchased, in Canon's own words, was $150, as well as a cordial cover letter explaining everything in the package and my prior phone conversation.
I never heard from the rebate center again, but I received a check for $100 several weeks later. At that point I called Canon's customer service number. I spoke to a gentleman there named Greg (I never did get his last name, but he was very helpful in turning my thus far negative experience into a satisfactory one, so I mention his first name in the hope that someone somewhere he will give him credit for that). Greg listened to my story and asked me to fax the information that I had about the purchase to him. I faxed him the B&H invoice and a few other things like a copy of the warranty card, and within a week I received another check, this time from Canon, not the rebate company, for $50!
I faxed Greg again after receiving the $50 check and thanked him for his help. In that fax, I also suggested that Canon might want to reconsider what compnay they use to process their rebates, since when the rebates go wrong, it's Canon most consumers blame, not the real culprit. Given the continuing saga with at least some customers' Canon rebates, I guess my suggestion didn't carry much weight.
In November of 2006 I once again purchased a Canon product with an active rebate - a pair of 15 X 50 IS binoculars with a $100 rebate offer. After reading this thread and not having heard anything about the status of my rebate since that purchase, I went to Canon's rebate inquiry site last Friday and found that it has indeed completed the processing step and is awaiting check approval. I presume that I will indeed receive the check one of these days.
So given my experiences thus far, what have I learned from Canon's rebate system?
1. Be prepared to wait, sometimes for several months, to get the money. Rebates often don't turn around quickly. This has been my experience with ALL rebates, not just Canon's.
2. Be prepared, using good backup records of the claim, to fight for the rebate by contacting Canon customer service if necessary. Canon's intentions with their rebates are, I think, good ones. If you have a problem and they can help you, they will.
3. Problems with the rebates are a function of the rebate company and not Canon (except for perhaps having chosen the wrong company to handle their rebates), and certainly not Chuck Westfall's. As the Manager of Technical Information, he has no direct connection to the rebate program.
My personal preference is to shop for discounted prices rather than rebates. At the best of times rebates are minor time-consuming hassle, whereas discounts are immediate. I buy what I need when I need it, and if there's an active rebate on the item I accept the hassle of filing for it and hope the check will arrive. If it doesn't, I'll invest a reasonable amount of extra effort in fighting for it. If I still don't get it, oh well, I'll live.
Well, I guess that was long-winded enough for a newbie.
Hi Bob,
I read your post with interest, since it is of your experience. However, I would take issue with who is to blame. It is quite clearly canon. If they have a problem with some components/materials in their cameras, do they pass the blame onto their suppliers, are you expected to deal with their sub-contractors? It is exactly the same - if they are passing it off as a canon rebate - it is part of the canon deal, it is part of their quality of product. They can't have the penny and the bun, unless you let them.....
If half of you are chasing the rebate company, the other half chasing canon - then they have already divided and conquered.
It is, of course, the result of corporate greed, and individual's greed, for believing in the something for nothing ethic.
Now every canon employee is part of that company, part of that family. They carry some of the dirt, they are being partly paid by the money that canon are fraudently collecting from you, their customers. Its the squeaky wheel that gets the oil - if you can't sqeak loud enough, get together and get the courts to act. If you don't it will get worse. Canon's intention with their rebates is the same as every other company - to shift stuff, to make money. Your guy greg, was I guess, just doing his job, that's all. If canon were concerned, they would sort it out for everybody, it is not difficult, but there is no reason for them to do so, is there? They are just behaving as bullies, simple as that.
Best wishes,
Ray
I read your post with interest, since it is of your experience. However, I would take issue with who is to blame. It is quite clearly canon. If they have a problem with some components/materials in their cameras, do they pass the blame onto their suppliers, are you expected to deal with their sub-contractors? It is exactly the same - if they are passing it off as a canon rebate - it is part of the canon deal, it is part of their quality of product. They can't have the penny and the bun, unless you let them.....
If half of you are chasing the rebate company, the other half chasing canon - then they have already divided and conquered.
It is, of course, the result of corporate greed, and individual's greed, for believing in the something for nothing ethic.
Now every canon employee is part of that company, part of that family. They carry some of the dirt, they are being partly paid by the money that canon are fraudently collecting from you, their customers. Its the squeaky wheel that gets the oil - if you can't sqeak loud enough, get together and get the courts to act. If you don't it will get worse. Canon's intention with their rebates is the same as every other company - to shift stuff, to make money. Your guy greg, was I guess, just doing his job, that's all. If canon were concerned, they would sort it out for everybody, it is not difficult, but there is no reason for them to do so, is there? They are just behaving as bullies, simple as that.
Best wishes,
Ray
Bob Krueger
New member
Ray West said:
I don't necessarily disagree with that, in that the rebate processing company is acting as Canon's agent in processing their rebates. As such, the responsibility for their actions does ultimately lie with Canon, probably legally as well as morally. But the point I was trying to make, I guess, was that it wasn't the direct actions of Canon, in my case at least, that caused the SNAFU, and that in the end, given the chance, it was Canon that acted responsibly and fixed things...except, of course, the selection of the processing company.
Actually, in the case of my 2003 experience, which was my first with Canon's rebates, I initially thought I was dealing with Canon itself when I protested the incorrect amount. In the initial re-fax of documents, I even said as much in the cover sheet when I said "I spoke to Shawn at your rebate center..." and "...your own paperwork says..." And when I later called Canon customer service, I began the conversation with Greg as though Canon itself was at fault for the incorrect amount. It was Greg that pointed out that I had been dealing with another company up to that point. I'm sure there are still many consumers out there who think that their rebates are being handled by the company under whose name the rebates are published, although as more and more of them experience problems that are published on the Internet, that number is no doubt shrinking.
Will_Perlis
New member
How about taking a pragmatic approach instead of getting into a philosophical debate about collective guilt and the proper apportionment of blame?
1) Rebates are one of Canon's marketing tools
2) Canon employs and pays the rebate company
3) Therefore, Canon has the leverage
4) So, if there are problems Canon needs to hear about those
5) Otherwise the system will not be changed.
1) Rebates are one of Canon's marketing tools
2) Canon employs and pays the rebate company
3) Therefore, Canon has the leverage
4) So, if there are problems Canon needs to hear about those
5) Otherwise the system will not be changed.
John Craig
New member
Someone elsewhere proposed perhaps insuring the mailpiece with the rebate forms for the $600-$700 or whatever value... if the fulfillment center (Young America) claims non-receipt.. let the USPS battle it out when they start getting all of the claims..
Jane Auburn
New member
Jane Auburn
New member
I see class-action litigation coming Canon's way. If you live in or around Virginia, take note of this:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1032&thread=21768840
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1032&thread=21768840
Joel Slack
New member
Interesting.
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As is common, there is a lot of hearsay -- "I heard of a person who...". That always gets my "zero percent truth" meter allowance ("Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see.").
In any event, it seems the most common complaint was "loss of the UPC". I used to worry about that little UPC code getting lost in the shuffle when placed in an envelope along with all the other materials, which are typically at least the larger portion of a letter size sheet of paper.
So, I always tape my UPC code to a blank area of one of the sheets being submitted, or to a separate sheet, if needed. This makes it much less likely that when the envelope is opened, that that little UPC code slips to the floor and gets disassociated from my submission.
Besides, don't you have to tape the UPC code to something, so you can run it through your all-in-one fax/copy machine, so you have copies of everything sent?
In any event, it seems the most common complaint was "loss of the UPC". I used to worry about that little UPC code getting lost in the shuffle when placed in an envelope along with all the other materials, which are typically at least the larger portion of a letter size sheet of paper.
So, I always tape my UPC code to a blank area of one of the sheets being submitted, or to a separate sheet, if needed. This makes it much less likely that when the envelope is opened, that that little UPC code slips to the floor and gets disassociated from my submission.
Besides, don't you have to tape the UPC code to something, so you can run it through your all-in-one fax/copy machine, so you have copies of everything sent?
Bob Krueger
New member
Just thought I'd post an update to my experiences with Canon's rebates. I received the $100 rebate check for my binocular purchase from Canon today. It took a little over two months, but otherwise I had no problems with the process this time.
Scott B. Hughes
New member
The conspiracy theory continues to erode.
Jane Auburn
New member
What conspiracy theory?
It's no theory that thousands of users are having horrendous problems with this rebate fiasco.
Any time there's a problem there's always some bozo claiming that it doesn't exist because he/she hasn't had it.
Witness the U.S. health care system....
Will_Perlis
New member
Some documentation that "thousands of users are having horrendous problems" can be found exactly where?
The usual internet BS can be discounted by a factor of 100 at least. Following directions is difficult, outrage is cheap and easy. Clearly Young America and Canon need to clean up their act but the hysterical equating of this to US health policy or even the clubbing of poor fluffy baby seals is just a nonsense rant better saved for use in stalled traffic.
The usual internet BS can be discounted by a factor of 100 at least. Following directions is difficult, outrage is cheap and easy. Clearly Young America and Canon need to clean up their act but the hysterical equating of this to US health policy or even the clubbing of poor fluffy baby seals is just a nonsense rant better saved for use in stalled traffic.
Scott B. Hughes
New member
And for every problem known, some nut case desides to carry the banner. <shrug?>
It's been a few years, but we received due rebates on a couple lenses and flashes, as I recall.
Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Please qualify all statements with depth of evidence. Wild accustions degrade one's valid arguments and one's stance loses weight.
Also since we do not censor, we must be self-balanced. I think we are.
Asher
Also since we do not censor, we must be self-balanced. I think we are.
Asher
John Craig
New member
Here's an informative bit on how rebates are handled.. mind you, I can't supply evidence whether the linked account is true; likewise I can't supply evidence to the contrary.
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1032&message=21962854
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1032&message=21962854
G Dan Mitchell
New member
Regarding Rebate Issues
While not everyone encounters a problem, there have been plenty of reports from people who had infuriating problems with their Canon rebates despite doing everything correctly. The most troubling pattern often goes something like this.
One wonders how many purchasers just give up when told that their application is not valid.
It is widely known that sellers do not mind if you fail to apply for a rebate - but that is the buyer's problem. What is more aggravating is when the handling of a legitimate rebate request devolves into what appears to be an attempt to get the rebate applicant to give up.
And, yes, I did have this bad experience with my last Canon rebate. There was nothing wrong with my application at all, but I never could get the rebate processing company to give in and send my check. I finally contacted Canon directly and within days my check was in the mail. My experience mirrored that reported by Deborah Kolt in virtually all particulars, right down to having stapled the UPC codes to the other paperwork.
After that experience I chose not to purchase a 5D and lenses under the current rebate and I would be very unlikely to go for a Canon rebate again.
Lessons: Be very careful with rebate materials, mail them early, make copies of everything, follow up if you see any delays, do not give in if you know you are right, contact Canon directly if necessary...
... and think twice about trying to save money via a rebate. They may be a good deal, but similar deals may be available eventually without the rebate hassle.
Do let Canon - or other manufacturers - know when you have a bad rebate experience. They probably understand that when their rebate processing contractors treat their customers shabbily the customers believe that this reflects on Canon's reputation for fair dealing and integrity.
While not everyone encounters a problem, there have been plenty of reports from people who had infuriating problems with their Canon rebates despite doing everything correctly. The most troubling pattern often goes something like this.
- Buyer carefully fills out all rebate materials and submits them on time, accompanied by UPC codes and copies of receipts
- Buyer pre-qualifies the rebates at the rebate web site and waits.
- Buyer is informed by the rebate processing company that something is wrong - the codes are not valid, etc.
- Buyer is positive that he/she did everything exactly according to instructions.
- Buyer contacts rebate service and may or may not encounter any of the following: problem is immediately solved and rebate mailed, angry telephone representative hassles buyer, after some period of hassling the representive "gives in," etc.
- Depending upon what happens at the previous step, the buyer takes additional action - for example, contacts Canon directly.
- Persistent - and now fairly angry - buyer finally gets the check that he/she deserved.
One wonders how many purchasers just give up when told that their application is not valid.
It is widely known that sellers do not mind if you fail to apply for a rebate - but that is the buyer's problem. What is more aggravating is when the handling of a legitimate rebate request devolves into what appears to be an attempt to get the rebate applicant to give up.
And, yes, I did have this bad experience with my last Canon rebate. There was nothing wrong with my application at all, but I never could get the rebate processing company to give in and send my check. I finally contacted Canon directly and within days my check was in the mail. My experience mirrored that reported by Deborah Kolt in virtually all particulars, right down to having stapled the UPC codes to the other paperwork.
After that experience I chose not to purchase a 5D and lenses under the current rebate and I would be very unlikely to go for a Canon rebate again.
Lessons: Be very careful with rebate materials, mail them early, make copies of everything, follow up if you see any delays, do not give in if you know you are right, contact Canon directly if necessary...
... and think twice about trying to save money via a rebate. They may be a good deal, but similar deals may be available eventually without the rebate hassle.
Do let Canon - or other manufacturers - know when you have a bad rebate experience. They probably understand that when their rebate processing contractors treat their customers shabbily the customers believe that this reflects on Canon's reputation for fair dealing and integrity.
Nill Toulme
New member
In the FWIW column — googling "state attorney general" and "rebate" produces 154,000 results. Adding "Canon" to that search reduces it to 12,300.
"Canon" + "rebate" + "scam" produces 249,000 hits...
Nill
~~
www.toulme.net
"Canon" + "rebate" + "scam" produces 249,000 hits...
Nill
~~
www.toulme.net
G Dan Mitchell
New member
Bob wrote: "I went to Canon's rebate inquiry site last Friday and found that it has indeed completed the processing step and is awaiting check approval. I presume that I will indeed receive the check one of these days."
Uh, maybe not. My last rebate was encouragingly listed as "awaiting check approval" for something like a month and a half or longer... before it ran into additional problems necessitating a complaint directly to Canon.
But good luck with that!
Uh, maybe not. My last rebate was encouragingly listed as "awaiting check approval" for something like a month and a half or longer... before it ran into additional problems necessitating a complaint directly to Canon.
But good luck with that!
Bob Krueger
New member
Bob wrote: "I went to Canon's rebate inquiry site last Friday and found that it has indeed completed the processing step and is awaiting check approval. I presume that I will indeed receive the check one of these days."
Uh, maybe not. My last rebate was encouragingly listed as "awaiting check approval" for something like a month and a half or longer... before it ran into additional problems necessitating a complaint directly to Canon.
But good luck with that!
Well, I did, in fact, finally receive the check. It took another month or so, but it did arrive. Canon's rebates are not alone in being slow. All but a very few of the ones I've filed for from various companies like Fry's, HP, and others move like a tortoise race. I had one from some minor electronics purchase once (can't remember the specific purchase now) that took something like six months, but the check for even that one did eventually arrive. The only one I've ever had to fight for was the Canon 1vHS purchase, and the rebate company was simply and totally unresponsive regarding correcting the amount of their check with that one, so I got the balance from Canon itself.
I try to shop for up-front deals rather than rebates whenever I can. For me, rebates are just to much of a pain to deal with unless I have to. The sellers, of course, seem to increasingly prefer to offer the rebates. They learned that from the car industry, I think. Discounts are money not in their bank from the get-go. Incomplete rebates are still accumulating interest.
Stephen_Pace
New member
For what its worth, this is my 2nd round with Canon rebates. The first, for my 20D, hit a snag as I sent the wrong upc . After I was notified, I sent the correct one and got the check in 30 days.
I've sent my 5D and 17-40 rebates in January 15th and waited for 4 weeks for the online status to show recieved, which it did last week. A few days later it was processing and then check approved. Thursday I recieved an email stating the check is on the way, 2 to 3 weeks to arrive.
I agree the system could be better. My expierence has been fair.
FYI, YMMV
Stephen
I've sent my 5D and 17-40 rebates in January 15th and waited for 4 weeks for the online status to show recieved, which it did last week. A few days later it was processing and then check approved. Thursday I recieved an email stating the check is on the way, 2 to 3 weeks to arrive.
I agree the system could be better. My expierence has been fair.
FYI, YMMV
Stephen
Stephen_Pace
New member
And one more thing,
No beating up on Chuck. He is gracious(courageous or perhaps crazy) enough to make himself available to us in these and other forums; so lets not shoot the messenger. There are precious few reps that interact with the public this way. I've had my issues with Canon but I've always gotten timely and candid responses from him. I wish other companies would follow suit.
S
No beating up on Chuck. He is gracious(courageous or perhaps crazy) enough to make himself available to us in these and other forums; so lets not shoot the messenger. There are precious few reps that interact with the public this way. I've had my issues with Canon but I've always gotten timely and candid responses from him. I wish other companies would follow suit.
S
Thought I'd add my (2nd so far) good experience with Canon rebates.
I had bought an EFS 60mm macro lens last fall, soon after the current Fall 06 rebate started, and just held on to the paperwork, figuring that I would likely pick up something else before the rebate period was over, and therefore, I could double my rebate on both items.
A couple of weeks ago, I ordered and received a 580EX flash, and submitted the rebate paperwork. I was a little nervous, because the rebate instructions said that I had to include the UPC/serial number codes from each box, and lo and behold the flash box doesn't have the serial number included in the UPC patch area (nor on the warantee card), like the lens box does.
I figured that in spite of what the paperwork was asking for, since the flash was listed on the rebate coupon as being eligible for the rebate, that it really shouldn't be a problem. So, I pre-qualified on the web site (which only requires UPC codes, not serial numbers), and submitted my paperwork with the pre-qualified submission printout, as instructed. I included the original UPC/serial number from the lens box, and the UPC from the flash box (and or course, made photocopies of everything submitted). The sales receipts were the printed out invoices from B&H, which don't exactly look like store reciepts, but it was the closest thing I had that showed the order/purchase date and price.
Within two weeks of submitting my paperwork, I've received an email confirming that all is good with my submission, and to expect my check within 2-3 weeks. I've also checked the progress of my submission on the online site, and it shows 'no errors', and about to move into the 'check approval' process.
So far, the *only* two rebates that I've never received (and these were non-Canon related ones) were due to *my* errors:
One was a submission for two Western Digital drives (I was building a RAID-0 array for video editing), and discovered that I could only get a rebate on one of them, having failed to read the 'one rebate per household/address' fine print. I find this kind of restriction annoying. There are a lot of cases where I
may wish to buy exactly two of something (two hard drives for use as a RAID array or one as a backup
to the other, or two camera flash cards of equal size). I guess you just have to be careful about those
kinds of restrictions, and be prepared to deal with them effectively.
The other was a small check from Sandisk that I failed to cash before it expired. Although in theory the fulfillment house owes me the money, so far various state laws have not upheld the right of the consumer to collect old funds that were forfeited when rebate checks expire.
In many states, unclaimed funds are required to go to an 'escheats' fund run by the state. Folks that believe they have unclaimed funds there can submit a notarized request to get those funds from the state. For example, I discovered I had some money in my state's fund from a long-ago uncashed insurance check. So far, fulfillment houses have claimed immunity from having to place all their unclaimed funds into their state's escheats fund, but some states attorneys general have taken up the fight to get this changed.
I had bought an EFS 60mm macro lens last fall, soon after the current Fall 06 rebate started, and just held on to the paperwork, figuring that I would likely pick up something else before the rebate period was over, and therefore, I could double my rebate on both items.
A couple of weeks ago, I ordered and received a 580EX flash, and submitted the rebate paperwork. I was a little nervous, because the rebate instructions said that I had to include the UPC/serial number codes from each box, and lo and behold the flash box doesn't have the serial number included in the UPC patch area (nor on the warantee card), like the lens box does.
I figured that in spite of what the paperwork was asking for, since the flash was listed on the rebate coupon as being eligible for the rebate, that it really shouldn't be a problem. So, I pre-qualified on the web site (which only requires UPC codes, not serial numbers), and submitted my paperwork with the pre-qualified submission printout, as instructed. I included the original UPC/serial number from the lens box, and the UPC from the flash box (and or course, made photocopies of everything submitted). The sales receipts were the printed out invoices from B&H, which don't exactly look like store reciepts, but it was the closest thing I had that showed the order/purchase date and price.
Within two weeks of submitting my paperwork, I've received an email confirming that all is good with my submission, and to expect my check within 2-3 weeks. I've also checked the progress of my submission on the online site, and it shows 'no errors', and about to move into the 'check approval' process.
So far, the *only* two rebates that I've never received (and these were non-Canon related ones) were due to *my* errors:
One was a submission for two Western Digital drives (I was building a RAID-0 array for video editing), and discovered that I could only get a rebate on one of them, having failed to read the 'one rebate per household/address' fine print. I find this kind of restriction annoying. There are a lot of cases where I
may wish to buy exactly two of something (two hard drives for use as a RAID array or one as a backup
to the other, or two camera flash cards of equal size). I guess you just have to be careful about those
kinds of restrictions, and be prepared to deal with them effectively.
The other was a small check from Sandisk that I failed to cash before it expired. Although in theory the fulfillment house owes me the money, so far various state laws have not upheld the right of the consumer to collect old funds that were forfeited when rebate checks expire.
In many states, unclaimed funds are required to go to an 'escheats' fund run by the state. Folks that believe they have unclaimed funds there can submit a notarized request to get those funds from the state. For example, I discovered I had some money in my state's fund from a long-ago uncashed insurance check. So far, fulfillment houses have claimed immunity from having to place all their unclaimed funds into their state's escheats fund, but some states attorneys general have taken up the fight to get this changed.