I recently made quite a few purchases at Office Depot after seeing a sales ad of theirs offering some very good prices after completing mail-in rebates. Although most of these rebates allow up to a month (or more) to send in the rebates, one of them had a time period of only two weeks, which I overlooked.
The rest of them I sent in were rejected after they claimed that I made the purchases outside of the allowed timeframe. Luckily, I kept photocopies of the rebate forms, sales receipts, and UPC codes. I spoke with their phone reps who had me re-fax the receipts (only one was to a toll-free number; I had to pay for the other calls). I now am supposedly going to receive the rebates in another “4 to 6 weeks”. If I hadn’t been so diligent in keeping photocopies of everything, I’m sure I would have had no recourse when they falsely rejected my rebate.
When these companies offer great prices on stuff “after mail-in rebate”, it is in their interest to make the process as difficult as possible. They count on a certain percentage of purchasers failing to meet the rebate requirements, and when they do make a mistake, they make it difficult for you to dispute it. So, be sure to:
- Read all rebate terms and conditions and follow them to the letter. You will not be given any leeway if you miss the postmark deadline, send a photocopy when they ask for an original, etc. Remember, Office Depot and others want you to screw up and give them a reason to keep your money.
- Keep photocopies of all rebate forms you submit (mail-in form, receipt, UPC codes, etc.).
- Write down when you mailed them in.
- Record the time, date, and name of anyone you speak with in regards to the rebate (such as disputing their rejection).
- Keep all records regarding pending rebates in one place, and as you receive the checks in the mail, check them against your records.
- Always follow-up on rebates when you don’t receive them in the time specified.
All rebate forms have a phone number you can call with problems. You will usually be placed on hold for quite a while (again, to try to get you to give up) but eventually you will speak with someone about your problem. Remember, Office Depot and others want to make it so difficult to get your money back that you give up and say “forget it, it’s not worth the ten bucks to go through the hassle.” Don’t let them get away with stealing your money!
March 18th, 2005 at 4:09 pm
I too was a sucker for these great ads that showed desktop(E-MACHINES) at incredible low prices at the La Mesa , CA Office Depot Store. But only to succumb to their postcard scam. I received a postcard from the rebate service center, saying that I did not include one original UPC/ or Original receip. Which is bull, because I double checked evreything and all my UPCs were cut from my box and originals they put on a paper I also send it to them. Office Depot should be responsible for customer’s rebate, when they are aware of the consumer’s problems taking place with their rebate source, And for Office Depot not to inform the consumer at the time of the problems going on with their rebate source is negligent and leaving them responsible, because they are printing the rebate receipt from their stores. thank you Robert R. Martinez
March 19th, 2005 at 12:15 am
I bought a chair from Office Depot on 12/30/05. It offered a $40 rebate. Purchases from 12/25/04 thru 01/01/05. Postmarked by 01/15/05 and received by 01/22/15. I made photocopies of my rebate. (I used to work for Best Buy in customer service, so I knew the importance of keeping records!)My mom bought the same chair from Office Max. Her rebate was for $30. She received hers weeks ago. I still haven’t received mine. My aunt bought the same chair the same time as me from Office Depot. She hasn’t gotten hers yet, either. On the website, both of ours show status as: "qualified. being processed." This is what it has said every time I’ve checked. I feel I’ve been more than patient. I sent an email tonight. Curious to see if I’ll get a response. If not, guess I’ll have to call. At least it’s a toll free #. I am a little wary after seeing this posting, though. Sure hope I get the money. The rebate was the only reason I bought the chair. Otherwise I would have gotten a cheaper chair–it’s for my 8 year old son! He certainly doesn’t need an $80 chair!!!
March 21st, 2005 at 3:47 pm
Mine is even worse, I just called them because it has been about 6 months since my purchase and they tell me that they never received it. I could understand one of my envelopes that I’ve sent get lost in the mail but not three, and that’s how many I’ve sent. Two were to the same address but I put them in two different envelopes and the third was to a totally different address all together. What are the chances that the UPS lost off three of them and they just happened to be my rebate forms??????? I made copies of all the upcs, rebate form, and receipts and we’ll see what excuse they’ll give me.
March 28th, 2005 at 1:08 pm
I too have been cheated out of my rebate for computer pkg. I saw among all of the receipts, and confusing instructions, the final date 4/2…I missed the one to Office Depot that only gave me days to send. I too think this is designed to cause mistates, to avoid paying. I was late by a couple of days, but they also lied and said I didn’t include documentation and upc codes…..I did, and have the copies to prove. When I spoke to their rep (who would not budge}I said I’m not giving up, and am sending a letter to the state consumer services dept. (along with copies of this web page.} I spent a lot of money in their store (they left me on hold), and I will not shop there anymore.
April 12th, 2005 at 2:29 pm
I had a similar experience with a mail in rebate at Best Buy through Compaq a few years back. I filed a claim against Compaq in small claims court. The case was settled out of court, and Compaq made good on the offer by giving me not only the rebate amount, but also the costs I incurred by having to file the claim.
April 12th, 2005 at 2:51 pm
Update from Granny in Vero
I have received notice from Office Depot that they have reconsidered and approved my rebate. Their rebate website indicates it has now been approved. When I was disapproved, I contacted the FL Consumers Service, State attorney general, and the BBB. I also received a call from the store, stating that the manager could have arranged payment. When I called the store, I was put on indefinite hold, and when I called the rebate center, they disconnected.
April 14th, 2005 at 9:00 am
In early January I purchased the E-Machiene bundle offering a $300 total rebate. as of april 13, I have received
2 $49.95 checks. These folks still owe me $200. I have call the rebate center and they tell me that I failed to send them a copy of the origional sales slip.
I now have done that, so it’s a waiting game. I am sure that I sent the sales slip in the first time.
April 15th, 2005 at 8:24 am
I contacted Office Depot about offering FREE merchandise that didn’t ring out as free, even with the rebate. It only cost about a dime in the end, but it is still false advertising. I contacted them and received a credit that MORE than covered the difference, the store mgr and the district mgr both contacted me to see if I was satisfied. I still haven’t rec’d the rebates, but they are processed by an independent company so my gripe with Office Depot has been resolved. Will shop with them again, but agree that the rebate company is not very good.
April 15th, 2005 at 10:01 am
Thanks for the comments everyone, my original post was just kinda blowing off steam but it definitely looks like I’m not alone!
To Deb Harrington: I disagree that Office Depot is not responsible for the poor service of their rebate company. Office Depot is the one advertising the rebates, and they should either ensure that any company performing services for them takes care of their customers, or else look for a new processing company.
I know that I have stopped shopping at Office Depot as a result of all this. There’s one right downstairs from where I work but I’d rather drive out of my way than give them my business.
April 15th, 2005 at 10:53 am
Granny in Vero…this is how my state replied to my complaint"
The Florida Attorney General’s Office is in receipt of your email
regarding your concerns with Office Depot. Attorney General Crist asked
that we respond.
Complaints are used to develop information about patterns of business
activity which might indicate the need for formal investigation or legal
action by our office. We will keep your correspondence for future
reference. If a pattern is discovered, what originated as a private
dispute between buyer and seller may become a matter of broad public
interest and thus warrant the Attorney General?s intervention under the
state?s consumer protection laws.
The FTC has taken several actions against companies involving
rebate-related complaints. The FTC’s website provides information about
rebate processes and provides further contact information:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/rebatealrt.htm
Other irate rebaters may find this helpful.
April 24th, 2005 at 10:09 am
I too am a victim of the rebate scam. We’ve had problems in the past but found that Office Depot is absolutely the worst that we’ve had to deal with.
They will claim that the rebate center (in Office Depot’s case ExpressGroup is a separate company). Folks as we all know it this is BS. OfficeDepot can control this if they wanted to. They ARE responsible and should be held accountable.
Our story is quite similar to everyone else’s experience but will say this:
We took the time to do everything in the beginning absolutely ‘perfectly’ in our original mailing. We even sent the mailings by certified mail to ensure we had a record of when they’d (ExpressGroup) received them.
About 2 months later after discovering a month and half later that one of our rebates ( in the amount of $150)had been posted ‘rejected’ on their website we began a series of phone calls and emails. After many phone calls to both ExpressGroup and OfficeDepot we finally got E-Group to admit they had supposedly made an error (ahem yeah right!)in posting our rebate request to another ‘expired rebate offer’. I won’t post all the details here since it would take too long but caught ExpressGroup in lying to me twice. In the end we were ‘required’ to mail in copies of everything once again (we fortunately made copies of everything).
Our orinal mail in claim for the $150 was back in late Nov’04 and to date (late April) we’ve not received our rebate but at least now see their site showing that rebate is now being processed. Yet I remain very angry to have gone through this ordeal.
Had we not demanded they process our rebate claim I can say we’d never have received it. I will not shoot myself in the foot but can’t imagine ever buying anything from Office Depot again after the way they treated us on this issue. It was really quite outragious.
Seems someone has got to be able to uncover this for what it is – - CONSUMER FRAUD; and hope that one day some consumer advocacy group or law firm will one day put a stop to it. If it is a law firm I frankly hope they make millions off retailers like Office Depot; maybe even better yet a federal DA office might find a way to put some of the management in jail for milking consumers these however many years they’ve been ripping people off.
April 24th, 2005 at 3:14 pm
Thanks for your post T-Bone. As to someone doing something about it, I’m not gonna hold my breath, but I AM going to vote with my wallet.
Best Buy has recently announced that they will phase out ALL mail-in rebates. They will offer their customers savings via other means, such as instant rebates at the cashier. I will certainly go to Best Buy whenever possible if they actually follow through on this plan.
April 25th, 2005 at 8:17 am
I bought an HP printer with $50 rebate about mid Sept 2004 from OfficeMAx while visiting in concord CA and mailed all "required" copies of receipts and whatever, well in time. After about eight weeks a card from OfficeMax was to my home address about Oct 30, 2004 that there were "new requirements" and I needed to fill out a "new" card and send it back to be received before NOV 1st, 2004. Basically, OfficeMax had changed the goal posts for the rebate, I could not meet the deadline and was thus ripped off. My new year resolution, don’t go for rebates or buy one get one free catches ! They are basically spam !! I look for what I want, buy it if am happy with price and forget the hassle.
April 26th, 2005 at 6:30 pm
I had the same experience on the purchase of a new HP computer system.
2 rebates, one due in 45 days, the other in 20! I missed it by 2 days.
HOWEVER, after a couple of calls, I returned to the local Office Depot store where I purchased the system and spoke with two managers who had listened to and understood my issue with such a short rebate turnaround.
Thank you to JEFF and JULIE for listening and making it right! They kept me as a customer!
May 2nd, 2005 at 11:54 am
Office Depot is the worse for paying rebates. I have called over and over, finally being given another address for a second submission. called and told I would recieve a return call. Called Office depot only to get hung up on after waiting through bsuy signals. Now I get through – and to much time as past and they can do nothing about the rebate?? do not depend on Office Depot!!!!
May 13th, 2005 at 2:15 pm
I sent in 4 rebates for a pc I bought at Office Depot. 2 of the rebates were mailed to the Express Group. Trust me I was VERY careful to submit correctly and on time. I looked on their website and saw that the 49.99 one went through but the 150.00 one didn’t show up. I emailed them to inquire about it before the 12 weeks were up and the rep said that it had qualified on 2-1-05. She said wait 12 weeks from that date and if you don’t see it contact us. It never showed up so I contacted them again and asked specifically about the 150 dollar rebate. The next rep said so sorry but it is not anywhere in our system and you are past the expiration date. What happened is the 1st rep had made a mistake (on purpose I imagine) and was looking at the 49.99 rebate that had qualified on 2-2-05 and made me believe the 150 one went through. Well of course I protested since they are the ones who caused me to miss the exp date. The same rep said they would accept a resubmission but must call 1-800 # for further instructions. I got "disconnected" and called back. Had to go over it again with another rep who told me they couldn’t do anything at that number as they had no authority once the expiration date passsed. She said the rep must have got approval from a supervisor. So I emailed the rep again and she said sorry… can’t help you even though she said she could.
My next step is to send my husband to Office Depot to see if the manager is going to help. It won’t be pretty. We will see if they own up. If not I will not only never do rebates again with ANYONE, but I will never shop at Office Depot again and will tell everyone I know not to shop there. Also the business I work at sometimes buys from them but not if I have any say. I like what the person above said about Best Buy giving you the rebate at the register. I will possibly shop from them instead.
I predict you will start to see them suffer from this in the long run.
May 26th, 2005 at 2:07 am
I’m a businesswoman and a consumer so I see both angles. I spent numerous dollars on technology items (often at Office Depot since I found them to be the best customer service wise) and dealt with my fair share of rebates.
I know the business purpose of rebates is to jack up one quarter’s financial earnings, with payout on the next quarter (hence the long delay) There is also "fiscal accounting" benefits too. The purpose is not, and never has been, to scam customer. It’s just plain common sense folks. In retail SERVICE industries, you want to RETAIN customers not rip them off for a couple hundred bucks. This isn’t naivity talking. It is basic business survival. Only an company composed of idiots would sacrifice millions over comparative pennies.
Now as a consumer, I’ve had my issues to. Early on I made the mistake of not paying enough attention and lost out by not sending in on time or sending a copy when I should have sent the original. Sure I was mad but it was my own fault in those cases.
LESSON 1: Read and take your time. If the money is important to you, then 10 extra minutes is not that much to ask.
I’ve sent in rebates and been told that they were lost and I had to resubmit. If I was Scully or Mulder I would say that is ‘fishy’ but then I know of X-mas cards I sent that get lost too.
LESSON 2: Make copies of everything and for high dollar ($100 or more) spend the extra 50 cents to get it certified so you have you signature. Again, if receiving the money is important to you then you’ll make the effor to receive it.
With those lessons in practices I can’t recall a single rebate issue I have had with Office Depot (or any other company for that matter) in the last 3 years=a span of at least 20 different rebates for easily $900 or more.
Sure, it’s not the easiest process in the world but when is anything that’s worthwhile simple and easy? I think too many people get caught up in the "I’m owed this mentality" like they have a god given right to get a dirt cheap price on what they want, when they want it, and how they want it. That’s not how life works. Good things come along but it is YOUR responsibility to keep an eye out for it and it’s YOUR responsibility to invest the little extra time and the little extra effort it takes to capitalize.
To me it just comes down to common sense.
June 3rd, 2005 at 1:18 pm
I puchased a flash drive from Office Depot based on their ad which stated $20 off after rebates– $10 from the manufacturer & $10 from Home Depot. When I mailed in the rebate slips, both called for the original UPS packaging. I sent the original to the manufactuer & an adhesive bar code from the package to Office Depot hoping that the would accept it. They rejected it because it was not the original. I then sent them the following response:
"The Office Depot ad in the circular, & at the store where I purchased it, stated that the Cruzer flash card is $20 off after rebates–$10 from manufacturer & $10 from Office Depot. Both rebate slips called for the original ups code–I sent the original to the manufacturer and included what I thought was the Office Depot sticker ups (adhesive sticker ups coded). I feel that advertising $20 off & requiring two "original ups codes" makes this impossible, & therefore is false advertising on your part. I will never shop at Office Depot again!!!"
Talk about scams!!!
June 5th, 2005 at 6:42 am
Same old stuff. I bought an HP Pavilion Desktop after Office Depot offered $150 rebate. After 4 months… nothing. I pulled up their WEB site only to learn that my rebate claim was rejected because documents were "missing". No documents were missing, they got the UPC, the sales receipt and the copy of the Rebagte receipt. Evidently this is an Office Deport scam that is impacting thousands of their customers.
June 8th, 2005 at 9:26 am
Status of Office Depot Rebate Complaint:
Email From Office Depot:
Thank you for contacting Office Depot regarding the rebates in question. I first wanted to apologize for the inconvenience you have described, for that is not the intention of Office Depot, or The Express Group. We at Office Depot truly value your business and never intend to inconvenience a valuable customer like yourself in any way.
I want to assist you, by researching the required information to process and forward this rebate to you. Could you please respond directly to me with your address, contact information, and day time phone number. I am checking with the rebate center documents department, and if you could please send me via fax or email (561)218-4972 a copy of your receipt, and any rebate information pertaining to this offer. When you send this information via fax please reference report (560090A) to expedite this process.
I look forward to your response in the near future to correct the situation at hand. Thank you for choosing Office Depot.
Sincerely,
Brian M. Bartlett
Executive Customer Relations
Office Depot Inc.
bbartlett@officedepot.com
"Taking care of business"
My Response:
Thanks for responding to my concerns, regarding the Sandisk Cruzer rebate. At the time of purchase, the sales person in the Livonia, Michigan store presented me with two rebate slips (one from the manufacturer (Sandisk) & the other from Office Depot (The Express Group). He was puzzled that both required the original upc code, since the ad promised $20 off ($10 each from Sandisk & Office Depot). To resolve this discrepancy he recommended that I send the Original ups code to Sandisk, & a copy of the upc code to Office Depot.
When I opened the packaging, I noticed there was an adhesive bar code inside (in addition to the ups code), and I assumed that it was included in the package to satisfy the Express Group rebate requirements, and so I sent this in with the rebate.. Obviously it was not, because it was rejected by the Express Group because I did not send the original upc code.
My main issue is not so much the $10, but the ethics of advertising $20 off on an item that was impossible to redeem because of the impossibility of sending two original upc codes.
Since this was a very small rebate, I did not keep a copy of my sales receipt –both Sandisk & The Express Group have them. I have attached the correspondence from Sandisk & The Express group for your records
June 15th, 2005 at 11:28 pm
I am in same situation, it seems this happens more often than not. I am owed, yes Ashlyn, owed $300 from VOOM , rebate advertised by Brandsmart. I believe that when I purchase a product, in my case a $3000 50′ HDTV, advertised as $2700 with rebate, bransmart and voom are both responsible and should be help accountable for the deals they make with their customers. I signed a contract stating that if I signed up for horrible 6 months voom satellite service I would received the $300 within 6 to 8 weeks. Well they had no errors or difficulties sending me my monthly bills, which were paid right on time. However, they have not kept their end of the bargain. Its been 6 months, no mistakes in submission, no problems with receipts, just plainly processing on their web site. The last I got from voom after calling for the past months and getting the usual its being processed , is that my submission was never in the system and I must have been calling some other place else since they have no records of my phone calls, jajaja. Now that is something. So now my submission is being processed again shows as if it was received last week and the processing time takes 6 to 8 weeks. What do you think about that, call brandsmart they say to call voom, call voom they say call brandsmart. So now all I can do, and will do, is file complaints with any one that will take it and their mother in order to get the word out, I now these voom rebates where offered for several months, therefore I should not be the only one in this boat. Class action suit, small claims court, BBB, FTC, hey however will listen ABC, CBS, heck CNN, but I will get my rebate. It is the consumers legal right to receive what is promised, now that is common sense.
June 22nd, 2005 at 11:42 pm
Ashlyn, are you even reading people’s posts? We follow the instructions to the letter, and still Office Depot and The Express Group constantly find ways to deny legitimate claims or stall until it’s too late to seek recourse. There is obviously a pattern of stonewalling and foot-dragging here. And regardless of whether they use a third party processing firm, it is Office Depot’s responsibility and no one else’s to make sure their customers are taken care of.
July 2nd, 2005 at 2:00 pm
I was rejected for a mailin rebate of $100.00 for an HP Officejet all-in-one. I tryed to call the 800 number 5 times and received a message call volumn was too high, call back later abd disconnected.
I called the local sonoma county store where I purchased the item and they refunded the rebate for me. Kudos to them but I will probably not ever purchase a rebate item at office depot again.
July 2nd, 2005 at 2:02 pm
You do have recourse when mail-in rebates are fradulantly rejected!
File a complaint with the postal service. This is frad through the mail!
August 23rd, 2005 at 2:20 am
I also purchased the bndle from Office Depot and sent in both proofs of purchase, my rebate was rejected, they said I only sent in one. I know I sent in both, I made sure of it. There was also a rebate from the manufacturer I got both of those with no problem. I purchased on 7-1-05 and I faxed and faxed and faxed the other one in but they said that they did not get it. So I mailed it in and I have not heard anything from them yet.
August 23rd, 2005 at 5:20 pm
I was also take by the Office Depot/HP scam. I called the number because I was 2 days late and they said it was okay, they have a grace period. Called to follow up and they said that it was rejected because of post mark. It cost me $150 on a product that was not worth it. In addition the HP 2550L printer I purchased was an absolute bust. I’ve already paid for it two times over in the price of toner and drums. Do not purchase this item!!!
August 30th, 2005 at 4:41 pm
My friends and I have rebates from office depot not received. After several months when we called the rebate center, the reps said the rebate checks had been issured. When we asked if they could be re-issured since we had never received them. The reps said it were out of the 90 days re-issure time limit and couldn’t be re-issured. They are wasting your time and make a lot of trouble to you. It’s not worthy to buy rebate deals from Office Depot. Wait for deals from other sellers.
August 30th, 2005 at 5:01 pm
To S. Webber:
I got the similar problem too. This doesn’t make sense. It sounds like "I borrowed your money and haven’t given it back to you in 90 days, so I don’t need to return the money any more". I’m not sure if there’s any way to solve this problem.
September 6th, 2005 at 4:26 pm
Same old story. I bought a cell phone last year which came with 3 rebates. 2 came back but one didn’t, the $150 biggest one. A few months ago I called them and the rep said oh we couldn’t find your record because I ported my old number to this new cell phone. The rep said he would resubmit the rebate for me. A few month later the online status still said resubmit and I email them again. They said 60 days past and my rebate was void!
Yesterday I went to the local Office Depot where I bought the phone and confronted with the asst. manage with every single piece of evidence, original box and packing, receive, photo copy of all the rebate forms with clearly all the information there including both new and ported phone numbers.
The manage questioned me why it told me so long to complain. I said is that my fault of being nice? Giving you guys too much time to work it out? He was pretty much speechless after all. He said he will calll me back. Will see.
October 1st, 2005 at 12:16 pm
Thanks so much for all the comments everyone has posted—you helped me take IMMEDIATE and DECISIVE action when I did not receive my $40 rebate as promised. Four days after the time limit for receiving the rebate expired, I went online to the Office Depot rebate page, only to find that the SKU number and manufacturer number and model number for my product were not listed. The message said simply, "Sorry—no such rebate."
So I immediately called the Home Depot store where I purchased the item, asked to speak to the manager, and described my problem. She asked for my name and the manufacturer and the date of purchase, and somehow SHE was able to pull up plenty of information about my rebate—and what it said was that I needed to resubmit my claim. (Note: I submitted everything exactly as instructed, to the proper address—there was NO REASON why I should have needed to resubmit ANYTHING.)
The manager said, "Come on over and we’ll just take care of your rebate here at the store, okay?" So I’m on my way now to get my $40.
Thanks so much for warning me about the problems you have all encountered. Maybe the Office Depot manager heard in my voice that I MEAN BUSINESS (and I do—my next call would have been to the newspaper, and I would not have given up until a story appeared on this issue). Or maybe the store is really trying to address this issue. Who knows? I doubt that I will ever buy another product there based on the promised rebate, though.
October 3rd, 2005 at 6:47 pm
I have tried to search for "rebate agencies on epinions dot com. I could not find a category. Is there a place where we could tell each other about the companies that follow thorough with the MIRs and companies that dont? I wish I had read about the ordeals that people have had with "expressgroup" earlier. I am facing problems with this company and also "rebateshq.com". Is there no way to hold these people accountable?
October 12th, 2005 at 4:08 pm
To continue my story…
It turns out the asst. manager David never called me back. Two weeks later I went to the store again and they had another asst. manager Susan. Not to mention I had to talk through a couple persons, explaining the situation again and again before I got to Susan. I got to the point straight asked Susan what she could do. She said she couldn not do anything. I asked her why you wasting my time and kept on asking me questions if you could not do anything. She asked me leave her store because I had a bad attitude.
Well I just downloaded a small claim petition. Will meet them in court.
November 17th, 2005 at 9:46 pm
Office Depot Rebate Scam
On June 26, 2005 I purchased a Toshiba laptop from OD Torrance CA store in response to a newspaper ad of that morning, which promised a $250.00 mail-in rebate. I paid particular attention to complying with ALL conditions of the rebate terma as communicated by OD to me in the newspaper ad as well as the rebate slip which was handed to me with the cashier receipt. The rebate instructions included the statement: "If you have not received your rebate after 12 weeks of mailing, please visit http://www.officedepot.com/...".
After the elapse of 12 weeks, I followed up with the rebate center. They then advised me, by email, that I am not qualified to receive the rebate (their terminology) because I have not responded within the 14 days they have now for the first time advised as their requirement, to a purported email message they now claimed they have sent to me back in July of 2005, "to verify your address". They referenced "their internal guidelines" which would indicate this is a systematic scam and not a low level clerical error. They never claimed that my application was incomplete or late, after they found out from me that I had certified mail receipts and copies of the documents submitted.
I have made several more attempts, all inwriting, to the "Express Group" to point out that this retroactively introduced condition amounts to a deceptive practice. They never made any claim in this correspondence, that I did not follow their advertised procedures with my rebate claim, merely that I did not answer their purported communication within 14 days, back in July, when they discouraged me from following up the rebate application until late September, when the 12 weeks have expired.
Incidentally my email works fine, my email address has not changed in 5 years, my residence address shown on the rebate application has been the same for almost 40 years, the printed address sticker I used has my correct Zip and Zip+4 on it. This "verifying the address" is a scam they thought up for those rebate applicants who had all bases covered and documents to prove it.
I have written a certified, return receipt letter to Mr. Steve Odland, CEO of Office Depot Inc. at 2200 Old Germantown Road, Delray Beach, FL 33445, the main office of OD as advertised on their web site. It was returned to me signed for receipt on November 2, 2005. I attached copies of relevant documents. Mr. Odland must be busy thinking up new scams, because neither he nor any of his numerous assistants have bothered to answer or come up with any other excuses.
I have contacted the Federal Trade Commission through their web site and have provided the full details of this scam. They have accepted my complaint and advised me, that "if a company decides to offer a rebate or coupon plan, it must fully disclose the material terms and conditions of the offer and must provide the promised rebate. If a company systematically fails to do so, it may be engaging in deceptive or unfair practices in violation of section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act".
Obviously the FTC will not pursue individual small scams. But they will pursue systematic fraudsters if they receive sufficient number of complaints to indicate that a racket is going on.
Let everyone who has been ripped off by the rebate scam artists, submit well documented complaints to the FTC as well as to your State Attorney General and we will yet see these crooks sent to where they belong.
November 19th, 2005 at 8:30 pm
I’ve also been scammed. I bought stuff from buy.com and ExpressGroup was their rebate company. After 6 months of nothing, I finally called up EG. Hilarious how EG actually gave me this excuse: that buy.com was not on their list of valid sellers! And shut me off.
And I also want to say I completely disagree with Ashlyn in St Pete. Fiscal quarter my ass. If the purpose of these companies was NOT to scam customers, then why is getting a rebate so tough? So rigid? Why is the rebate procedure still set in stone age? With today’s internet access, we are still forced to do things like mail-in (lost mail excuse lol), CUT upc codes (when filling in a serial# online will do), and getting rejected with no repeal when the fact that we bought the product legit is STARING IN THEIR FACES.
I’ve no idea what kind of businesswoman you are, Ashlyn, but I’m glad I wasn’t trained at your school.
November 29th, 2005 at 7:23 am
Well if people actually followed the process than rebates would be paid in full.
December 2nd, 2005 at 2:16 pm
>Well if people actually followed the process than rebates would be paid in full.
I have done some rebates with office depot in the last two years. The above comments are 90% true. The actual problem may be with the company that processes the rebate, not office depot, although it is related.
One example for the 10%: A rebate for a chair. I was given a rebate receipt, and I used it for the rebate. The rebate was rejected saying "missing copy og original receipt". After I provided a copy of the original receipt, I was told UPC was missing. That was not right because I did submit the UPC. That caused a long fight. I got the rebate finally.
My suggestion:
1. Ignore rebates under $10. It does not worth the time if anything goes wrong.
2. Keep copies of all submissions and review them once a while.
3. Keep pursuing if anything goes wrong.
4. If that bothers, do not do rebates ;-)
December 27th, 2005 at 1:51 pm
THIS IS THE BIGGEST CROCK OF SHIT..OFFICE DEPOT IS A THIEF.People go to jail where Im from for stealing
January 3rd, 2006 at 3:41 pm
I cannot imagine why Office Depot and others have not been slapped with a class action suit by now. The rebates are a scam. My latest is for a Toshiba laptop rebate for $ 250 broken into 2 separate rebates of $ 150 and $ 100. I mailed both of them to Las Vegas on September 8, 2005. I received a check for $ 150 on December 15, 2005. I then sent an email on December 18, 2005 requesting an update on the missing $ 100. NO REPLY. Nada! So today, after a long telephone wait I spoke to Ms. Cassandra who told me that they never received the rebate request and that it was probably lost by the United States Post Office! Gee, poor USPS. Of course, she also informed me not to bother re-submitting the rebate request because it had expired on October 8, 2005. She really had problems understanding that the 12 week process time and waiting period that is stated in the rebate offer makes re-submitting any request impossible! Now should I write to head thief Mr. Steve Odland at Office Depot or what? I really don’t have the patience to start with the FTC and State consumer guys, so doesn’t anyone know an agressive and hungry attorney?
January 4th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
have submitted two rebate to office depot each of $60 for same purchase because it had two rebate promotion for purchase of LCD monitor.
I mailed each separately with all document like UPC bar code, receipt etc. with double checking it’s in place.
When I haven’t got any reply from them, I called them. What they mentioned that I they got the rebate forms with but no UPC bar code and receipt.
When I insisted that , I double checked before mailing, they asked me to resubmit everything and cut the phone saying thank you sir, have a nice day.
January 6th, 2006 at 7:15 pm
I agree with Raymond. OD is the most dishonest company there is when it comes to honoring rebates and customer service. I wish I could sue their theiving asses off…
February 6th, 2006 at 11:11 pm
office depot has changed rebate clearing houses now. their rebates are now finally being processed by a reputable rebate company that actually knows what theyre doing.
its too bad they made this decision after many years of bad publicity. i predict office depots rebate problems are a thing of the past.
February 9th, 2006 at 9:18 pm
I bought an HP computer from Office Depot the day after Thanksgiving 2005. It was advertised "$50 HP rebate and $150 Office Depot rebate". Both companies wanted the original UPC symbol. I sent the original to HP, and the cash register receipt, description of the product from the box side, serial number and model number, and UPC NUMBER to Office Depot. Rebate denied! I called and emailed OD and their response was not that I hadn’t proven I had purchased the computer from them, but that I hadn’t complied with the "terms of the rebate policy" by not sending them the UPC. In later correspondence, they said I could send a copy. If that was in their original request, I would have made a copy. Bottom line: don’t trust rebate offers ESPECIALLY if made by Office Depot!
February 10th, 2006 at 11:48 am
Several people have gotten caught out with dual-rebates both requiring the original UPC.
Read the rebates BEFORE buying. If they both want the original, assume that you will only get the larger one and send them the UPC.
Check out my guide to Rebates. It’s a bit old but has some good info in it.
Prang
February 11th, 2006 at 12:04 am
Purchased COMPAQ laptpot on Dec 3/05 with 2 rebates, one fron HP and the other one from office depot. I received the $30 from HP but I am STILL WAITING for the $150 from od. Where can I contact them????? Please advise!!!!! Thank you.
Dissapointed in Seattle
February 11th, 2006 at 12:06 am
Purchased COMPAQ laptpot on Dec 3/05 with 2 rebates, one fron HP and the other one from office depot. I received the $30 from HP but I am STILL WAITING for the $150 from od. Where can I contact them????? Please advise!!!!! Thank you.
Dissapointed in Seattle
February 11th, 2006 at 12:07 am
Purchased COMPAQ laptpot on Dec 3/05 with 2 rebates, one fron HP and the other one from office depot. I received the $30 from HP but I am STILL WAITING for the $150 from od. Where can I contact them????? Please advise!!!!! Thank you.
Dissapointed in Seattle
February 13th, 2006 at 7:21 pm
http://www.expressgroup.com...
Go to this site! or call:
1-800-741-1365
All my rebates have been processed OK.
March 14th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Got a sandisk thumb drive because it had a rebate at Compusa. Rebate was for $40 but when I checked the rebate status online guess what – it said rebate was only for $20 and it said there was an error "reciept does not show valid purchase of sandisk product". I called and my rebate was approved but for only $20 not the $40. Compusa.com still has that rebate form online and its says $40 off.
March 31st, 2006 at 3:51 pm
I just got off the phone with the Office Depot rebate system. We bought a Toshiba laptop computer with a $200 rebate and a Canon printer with a $50 rebate. I mailed both rebates well within the time frame and have received the $50 rebate from Canon but the Office Depot rebate was rejected saying the postmark was too late. They tell me the postmark was 12/31/05. I mailed the rebate from my office and hadn’t even been in my office since 12/22/05 so it was mailed long before that!! I am fuming. I asked for documentation of the post mark but they can’t provide that. I am planning on filing a complaint with the BBB and sending a letter to the main office. I have been doing rebates for years and have NEVER had this problem before. Looks like it’s a common problem with Office Depot rebates.
April 14th, 2006 at 8:50 pm
Rebaters, go to this new site that I just found out about: http://rebatereportcard.com/
It’s a site to collect and rate rebate experiences. It has only recently started so there’s not a lot of info, but if everyone contributes it could become a valuable resource.
April 16th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
I am waiting a rebate from Sandisk which I sent out 17 WEEKs ago. Their web site said it was proceessing.
I will sure call them everyday.
April 21st, 2006 at 5:10 pm
Hello after reading all of your comments I decided to call the corporate office and spoke to Brian he is on my case and said he will handle my rebate problems 150 and 100 dollars for Hp DV5029us Laptop wish me luck
Corporate # is 561-438-4800
April 21st, 2006 at 5:40 pm
Corporate Office Depot 561-438-4800
April 24th, 2006 at 10:23 am
I purchased a KDS 17″ LCD monitor with a $70 Office Depot rebate on 11/28/05. I submitted all necessary rebates on time including the original UPC code from the box. I called the rebate center for the status, I was told that my rebate was lost, and I was further asked to resubmit if I had a copy of the rebate. On 02/24/06, I sent my the copy of the rebate to the following give address:
Officedepot Customer Service
Attn: Resubmit Dept
POBox 42930
MESA, AZ 85274-2930
On 04/24/06, I called again for the status of the rebates, I was told that “The offer has been closed, we are sorry, and we apologize …”
How can they do the business in this way? Any suggestion to get the rebate I deserve?
April 25th, 2006 at 11:35 pm
My husband bought a computer package from Office Depot in November. He paid over $1,000 in-store, and was supposed to get almost $500 in mail-in rebates. He sent in copies of the receipt, proof of purchases, barcodes, everything they needed. About 2 months later, both of the big rebates ($150 & $100) came back denied saying he hadn’t sent in the barcodes. The barcodes were cut off the boxes and sent to them. They finally told him (after several phone calls) to go back to the store and get them to make him a copy of the barcodes and send them back in. How much sense does that make? He does that, and after 2 more months, they’re denied again, this time saying because his purchase was not made in the store. What?! He went into the store and paid for the computer and got the receipt and all the rebate forms to mail in. How did he not buy it in the store? It’s been over 5 months and we’re still getting the runaround.
April 30th, 2006 at 11:35 pm
My experience with Office Depot was very similar to those described above. I met all the deadlines and requirements, but was told that a copy of the UPC had been omitted, and it was too late to send in another copy (the time they say one should check to see the status of the rebate is after the expiration time of the offer; hence it is impossible to correct any deficiencies, either real or contrived). I wrote to Office Depot corporate headquarters in Florida, and they promptly mailed me a check for the amount of the rebate. It was charged to "Customer Relations".
May 1st, 2006 at 6:01 pm
I ran across this blog while searching to see if a number I had just called was toll free. If anyone knows anything about 877 numbers email me at Becki0629@yahoo.com. I called this number regarding 2 mail in rebates that were declined on two cell phones i purchased MONTHS ago. When i called the number they said i failed to show proof of purchase although i sent in the upc (bar) codes off the box. This is all the rebate requested, now I am required to send in copys of my reciepts….thank god i save everything! and i of course will recieve my rebate in 4-6 weeks, although i have already waited well over 10 weeks! I am a little peeved but I am going to give it a shot anyway…once again if anyone knows about (877) 370 2599 being toll free or not please email me.
May 1st, 2006 at 8:35 pm
I received MY Office Depot rebate rejection postcard today: "…unfortunately your submission for the Office Depot rebate offer was invalid for the following reason(s): – Limit one rebate per Household/Business". My story sounds the same as everyone else’s here. As did almost everyone else on this site, I submitted ALL required forms – double checked all submission criteria – for the January ‘06 Toshiba laptop rebate: receipts, UPC’s, serial numbers on time (the day after the purchase) and did make photocopies of all (I’d had trouble with previous Office Depot rebates.) I called the number on the card, was on hold for half an hour, was told that they do not handle rebates from before Oct. 05 and to call another number. I was connected to the service for Circuit City rebates; the representative there tried to be helpful by giving me Toshiba’s online rebate site, but the Jan. rebate was no longer listed there. I checked the officedepot.com site, only to find that my rebate was invalid (though they DID note that the last postmark was 2/14/06 – a MONTH after I mailed it out); there was no way to respond to the finding online. When I again tried to call the original phone number printed on the postcard, I was cut off twice, and finally could not get through at all as "all circuits [were] busy". If they have a new service that handles their rebates, it does not appear to be doing any better job than the former service. This time, after having lost hundreds of rebate dollars this past fall on two other eMachine bundles, I WILL contact the Better Business Bureau AND forward this site on to them. The FTC, too. I teach and have all summer to deal with this (our central office will not allow us to use purchase orders there, either.) Probably a company NOT to invest in…. I have emailed Office Depot directly. Wish me luck; looks as if I (and everyone else) will need it.
May 2nd, 2006 at 9:21 pm
I bought the emachine bundle from Office Depot 03/26/06 and mailed the rebate on 03/27/06 certified, return receipt. On May 1,2006, I received their cheesy postcard denial. Reason: "Limit one rebate per Household/Business". I have never received a rebate from Office Depot. On the day of purchase, I prepared my rebate forms while in the store and made copies. I made sure that all my i’s were dotted and t’s crossed. I never dreamed that they would pull this stunt. A lesson learned: Always check for blogs first. Office Depot has wasted too much of my precious time and money. It will be a cold day in hell before, I make another purchase from Office Depot.
Since I see that there are so many complaints on this blog, perhaps a Class Action Lawsuit is in order. I would rather an attorney make money than Office Depot. Are there any attorney’s out there interested? I have everything fully documented as do others. Please leave your name and number on this blog. Many of us will surely contact you.
Oh, by the way, I also purchased the
H & R Block Taxcut program along with the emachine bundle. I mailed the $10.00 rebate exactly as instructed. They sent me a denial letter that the upc that I removed off the box was not correct. They returned everything to me except the upc that I sent. There are no other upc’s to send them…not that I would bother. They have no intention of paying either. I won’t ever waste my time on rebates again…it’s just another way to cheat and deceive consumers. I wonder if their stock holder are aware of the way they increase their profits?
May 4th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
I got suckered on their KDS 19" LCD, $70.00 Rebate. I got a check for $30.00!!! I called the store and spoke to a rep. and he claimed that he got several calls about this issue. I asked to speak to the Manager and told them that if they don’t redeem the rebate that they advertised, that they will be contacted by my attorney. I was then informed to call the 800 #. I told the manager that this is fraud and I will report it to the B.B.B. as well. I was told that if there is no resolve, that they would issue me a store credit. After the phone call, I thought about it and I am going to ask that CASH or a CHECK be issued for the difference. If this happened to you, you need to contact the store that you purchased it from and press them. I will not stand by and let them take my money, other wise, I wouldn’t have even purchased this particular LCD! I would have gotten the ViewSonic model.
May 10th, 2006 at 10:52 am
I too have had bad experiences with Office Depot rebates. I recently sent in a rebate ($180) for a laptop computer. The postcard I received said that the receipt I sent in was not for the computer. The only 2 items on the receipt was a computer and printer. The date I was to reply was the day I received the postcard. After asking to speak to a manager, he looked at my records and told me that I would receive the rebate in 3 weeks. It’s been a month and I still have not received the rebate. I was looking for a number to call when I found this website. Now I’m not sure if I’ll ever get the rebate but I’m sure not going to give up yet.
I’m also getting the run around on the rebate for the printer. Just got off the phone with them. It would be interesting to see the percentage of people that actually receive these rebates!!!
May 15th, 2006 at 8:04 pm
I bnought a Toshiba Laptop with a $ 300.00 rebate, in September last year, up to this date have not get any mail with my rebate.
I possitive sure that this was a scam, and I am also a victim of Office Depot fraud announcing the mail a rebate, which I will never get. Until I take another actions. Which I will.
May 28th, 2006 at 12:23 pm
I am also having problems getting a rebate through the processing center. Their "lame" excuse: "The request was not postmarked within the time frame stated on the rebate form." That was a complete lie. I sent it within 15 days. Receipt stated rebate expires in 30 days. Over the phone they gave me one postmark date, and then I checked the rebate website, and found a different date postmark date. Here’s the direct place to complain in writing.
I got the mailing address to complain:
OFFICE DEPOT
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
18671 LAKE DRIVE EAST
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
May 31st, 2006 at 3:09 am
I bought a computer set up I was told I would recieve 2 rebates $ 50.00 from canon printer and $ 150.00 from emachines a total of $ 200.00
June 6th, 2006 at 2:12 am
I just bought a Toshiba laptop from OD supposed to have a $200 rebate. After reading all the complaints I’m going to take it back tomorrow. Sorry for all your problems but I think it might have saved me one, thanks. If more people would Google "office depot rebate problems" they might feel a little pain. I just got burned on a Tiger Direct $30 rebate. Lesson?
June 11th, 2006 at 3:04 pm
I am also a victim of the Office Depot rebate scam. I purchased a Toshiba laptop computer from them in May. My reject notice came on June 10th. I’ve already gone to the store and screamed at the manager. I’ve also submitted a claim with my credit card company (MBNA) to help me fight for this rebate. I will never shop at Office Depot again.
June 12th, 2006 at 1:02 pm
I have never gotten an Office Depot rrebate without a fight. Even though I am very careful to follow the instructions, I always have to send my photo copies of all paperwork to eventually get my money. Surely there are enough victims for a class action suit by some hungry lawyer.
June 12th, 2006 at 11:29 pm
I bought a notebook hpzv6130us from office depoit. There were 2 seperate rebates put out by the company. after submitting them they sent a notice saying only 1 rebate form per household. If they only allow one then they shouldn’t offer 2 rebates on the same product. When I called them back they said no problem we will send it in 1-3 weeks. If has been 6 weeks and I still haven’t receied my rebates. I am out a total of $150.00. I will nver shop at office depoit again; I will take my business else where. I spent a total of 1000.00+ this year never again.
-k-
June 20th, 2006 at 4:40 am
I too jumped through every hoop needed to process an Office Depot $200 offer. and I kept all copies. After some weeks passed I received a post card telling me that my request was rejected because of their rule of "only ONE rebate per household!" I had never requested 2 rebates!
So I brought with me a witness when I took all my photocopied hoopjumpings to the storemanager, with an accompanying letter, that if I don’t receive the rebate I will take the matter to my local Consumer Protection Agency, to the Better Business Buro and to my Attorney General’s Office. Leaving the copies and my letter with the office manager I had him sign the envelope and explained that I am addressing him as the AGENT of Office Depot, therefore he is legally responsible. He promised to take care of the matter.
By the time I got home, there was a message on my answering machine by the store-manager’s secretary, explaining that "they have cleared the problem with my refund, and that within 2 months (!!) I should receive my refund."
I immediately called back, and asked the secretary to put her message into a written note, addressed to me. She said she would.
She never did.
4 weeks later, I received the following message in my e-mail, (take note of the wording!):
"Thank you for participating in the Office Depot rebate!
You should be receiving your request in the mail within the next 2 – 3 weeks. To check the status of your rebate in the future, you can go to the Rebate Center at http://www.officedepot.com.
You will be unable to reply to this email because it has been automatically generated, please direct any inquiries to the Office Depot Customer Care Center at 1-866-541-0284.
For details on Office Depot’s privacy policy click here:
http://www.officedepot.com/...
xxxxxxxx — end of e-mail — xxxxxxxx
NOTE: Office Depot’s wording: "Thank you for participating in the Office Depot rebate!" — (I didn’t know that an OD REBATE was a participation sport or game!)
Cont: "You should be receiving your request" — (this implies that I was asking for a REQUEST instead of a REBATE) !
The links and phone number in their e-mail also are dead-end.
The Office Depot’s practice of blatant rebate-scam should be taken to a national media outlet, like FOX or a similar venue.
If I don’t do it myself within the next few weeks, I would follow anyone who would organize us angry, ripped-off consumers — to initiate action as a group!
I will continue to check in on this thread. Best, jasowas
June 28th, 2006 at 10:03 am
I was denied by Office Depot for the same reason: "Only one rebate per household/business". I called and they assured me that it was an error on their part, Did they ever make and "error" in favor of the customer? I still have not received my rebate check. These people simply put are CROOKS!!!
July 14th, 2006 at 6:45 am
OFFICE DEPOT SUCKS. AVOID REBATES. Do not shop at office depot, they are scammers. I was sold a computer with false information, their so called processing is so long that you would think that it was done by hand without the assistance of technology, they will hang up on you if the wrong button is pressed. I wish I had seen this blog before making my purchase. This piece of crap computer is not worth the frustration.
July 17th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
I GOT MY REBATE!
This might not work for you, but here is what I did: (You can read my letter to Office Depot, but eleven, that’s 11 days after my certified letter was received by Office Depot I received my $150 rebate check). 1. Our laptop was purchased on 3-20-06. On 6-22-06 I emailed Office Depot that I had not recieved my rebate. I first tried the Rebate Center, but it would not take my information. So I went to Customer Service and emailed, giving my purchase date and saying that I had not received my rebate check or heard anything about it. Eleven days later my email was answered with the reply that there they were not able to find record of receiving my order, and asked me to resubmit. This is a copy of the letter I sent by Certified Mail with a
Return Receipt.
June 29, 2006
OFFICE DEPOT
OFFER#OD6302130
P. O. Box 72955
Detroit MI 48272-6635
Dear Sirs:
It has been about three months since I applied for my $150 rebate. I tried to check on the status of the rebate through your rebate center, but was unable to get a response after following the directions.
I happened to notice some inter net blogs regarding problems with Office Depot rebates, and after reading countless complaints from individuals who did everything required of them and still did not receive any or all of their rebates, I lost hope that I would have any success.
So this is what I am going to do: I am going to send a copy of this letter by certified mail, and also send a copy to the store manager in the Oklahoma City Office Depot where we purchased our laptop.
If you do not contact me within ten days of receipt of this letter (I will have the certified mail receipt), and if I do not receive my rebate of $150 within six weeks of the date of receipt of this letter, I will definitely file a small clams suit in Oklahoma City. Promises that I “should” receive my rebate at a time later than six weeks after receipt of this letter will not keep me from filing suit.
At the same time, if I do not receive my rebate as indicated above, I will vigorously pursue the filing of a class action suit against Office Depot. From the number of people that responded to just a couple of blogs, there must be thousands of people who have had similar problems.
In the small claims suit, the manager of the Oklahoma City Office Depot will be also be named.
If I am not contacted within ten days of receipt of this letter, I will proceed with the suit, and after I file it, I will follow through on it regardless of any promises, which I will be surprised if I receive.
Sincerely,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
cc: Manager, Office Depot, 820 SW 74th St., Oklahoma City, OK 73139
As I mentioned at the first, eleven days after my Certified Letter was signed for, I received my $150 check in the mail. It might not work for you, but it did for me. I recommend a book written by a Small Clamims Court Judge: Winning in Small Claims Court, by Judge William E. Brewer. I fully intended to file and pursue a class action suit, but SUPRISE, I received my check! I hope this may be of some help, hope and encouragement to some of you who read this. Good luck!
July 19th, 2006 at 6:01 pm
After sending in my rebate and getting no reply after several months, I inquired about the delay and was told to resubmit, which I did immediately. Another six weeks with no rebate and no correspondence. I finally went down to the store and explained my situation to the store manager, who also tried to pull up my file. He couldn’t even find reference or any info concerning the original rebate offer. He apparantly empathized with my situation, as he credited my card to the amount of the rebate. I am sure that most people might have more of a problem than me, but it’s worth a shot. The manager of the Office Depot in Orlando on St. Rd. 436 did the right thing and it is worth noting in the world of runarounds and red-tape.
July 25th, 2006 at 1:21 am
I advise anyone who wants to let other potential buyers know about the Office Depot scams to have some small pieces of paper printed up with something like OFFICE DEPOT REBATE SCAM go to http://www….. and you can put this website address or any of the other blogs addressing this issue on the piece of paper. Put them on brightly colored pieces of paper. Make about a 100 copies and visit your local Office Depot and leave them in as many places in the store as possible where they won’t be detected until the purchaser gets home (like slip it into the edge of a box of anything you see advertised with a rebate). This way the customer can still return it before sending in the scam bate.
August 1st, 2006 at 9:02 pm
SanDisk rebate Scam.
This is blatantly a scam. I purchased a mini sd card from Circuit City with a $20.00 rebate. I followed all the instructions and mailed the rebate in March of 2006. It is August now, and still no rebate. I phone ScamDisk and the first rep. Brittany states that the computers are undergoing their daily updates <This mind you is during business hours which I find extremely difficult to believe> please call back in two hours. I wait three hours and phone back and get Lauren. lauren states that there is no record of my rebate searching by my name and address. OK, how do I get the rebate I ask, I’ll enter your information in the system and we’ll get is processed for you. Great <progress>, now "In order to finish the processing I have to get a supervisor to approve the rebate, however currently there is a 30 minute wait and we are not allowed to keep customers on hold for that long, I suggest you call back tomorrow"
Growing frustrated I agree.
Call back tomorrow after incredible hold times I get Lauren again. I give her my information she states the wait time for the supervisor is 3 minutes <kewl> progress, ut not quite. the call is disconnected. Now I’m getting pissed <my wife is laughing> but it’s principall now and it is becoming very clear that all they are trying to do is see who gives in first <a battle of attrition> that I refuse to lose. I phone back and get lovely Brittany who remarkably tells me that the rebate is showing in their system as being sent on June 1, 2006 but it was returned by the Post Office <you see it very clearly now>. Now I’m fuming because now miraculously it is their system. I am assured that the rebate will be processed within 30 days and I am provided a rebate tracking number <this is insane>.
I will be taking this up with my local and state government and I will be suing SanDisk.
August 9th, 2006 at 12:34 pm
I bought a Memorex memory stick with a $12 rebate. They say they sent a check, another check, and now I’m waiting for a third check that I still haven’t received. Very annoying. Way too much hassle for $12, but I’m not letting them rip me off.
August 10th, 2006 at 1:22 am
I bought a toshiba m55-s1001 laptop from Office Depot on 5/28/06, it has $200 mail-in rebate, unfortunate, I did not scan the mail-in form which comes with the receipt, now they ask me to resubmit the info. does anyone happen to have that mail-in form scanned? would be really appreciate if you can email me that!! my email is yohoo63 at hotmail.com
August 10th, 2006 at 11:05 am
In the 7/26/06-7/29/06 circular Office Depot stated that Norton Antivirus 2006 purchased for $39.99 in store would be free after submission of two $20.00 rebate forms. While completing the forms I noticed that the instructions said not to include both forms in the same envelope, and that each form required an original upc code cut from the bottom of the box. The problem is there is only one upc code on the box. From 7/31/06 to 8/09/06 I attempted to find out how to collect on both rebates. Calls and email to Office Depot produced no results. Symentec, apparently the parent company for Norton answered my first email requesting additional information which I sent twice. They did not respond. Yesterday I went back to the store that I purchased it from. Intersetingly, they do not have a customer service desk and referred me to "any cashier."
The cashier had no idea what she was talking about. After countless hours devoted to trying to get a straight answer I requested my money back. The disc was still sealed in it original envelope so I did get a refund. By the way, before going back to to Office Depot I made a last ditch effort to contact Symantec by calling 866 206-8880 the number Office Depot printed on one of the rebate forms for Symantec Rebate Status Hotline. When I called, I was informed by an electronic voice that the number had been changed to 10 15 15 800 and the cost would be $4.99.
Office Depot has lost a 7 year customer over this rebate fiasco!
August 12th, 2006 at 6:06 am
I too have been denied a rebate for a Canon product purchased at Office Depot–the Canon Pixma150 printer. Office Depot advertised a free printer with the purchase of a laptop, but "free" meant that I would need to mail in one $50 rebate and 2 $20 rebate forms. I followed all the instructions diligently and kept copies of everything. The Office Depot mailer and rebate form said the rebate was good for purchases between June 25 and July 1, 2006. I made my purchase on June 26, yet my rebate was denied because the purchase was not within the eligible period.
After 3 phone calls, faxing all copies yet again, and 3 follow-up emails, Canon finally informed me that the rebate period in Alaska came one week later, so tough luck. Office Depot falsely represented the rebate dates, and so far they have behaved very rudely and are yet unwilling to accept responsibility.
All of my time is not worth the $50, but out of principle I would like to get what was promised. I am sorry to see that so many others have been duped by rebate offers as well. Consumers beware in future.
August 23rd, 2006 at 12:16 am
Well, I sent in my rebate materials (I have copies of it all) for a Compaq Laptop; rebate is $200; met all the deadlines. Sent it in 6/22/06; have been tracking it on the Office Depot Rebate center and it’s been stuck on step 2 for 6 weeks. Per their website my submission is without error (no mean trick)but there seems to be a problem getting to Step 3 (cutting the check). I can only imagine. What’s interesting was that HP also had a $30 rebate on the machine and I received that in less than two weeks. I’ll begin a campaign to the $200 soon – but in the meantime – Office Depot gets none of my custom and I bad mouth them every chance I get. This is truly a scam worthy of a class action suit.
August 24th, 2006 at 2:26 pm
Office Depot Rebate – Rip Offs
This is about Office Depot Rebates.
I bought a laptop June 27 and mailed in the $200
rebate 2 days later.
August 21, I received a postcart refusing my rebate because
The request was not postmarked within the time frame. Why???
Think about this:
1 rebate refused = $200 for Office Depot
10 rebates refused = $2000 for Office Depot
100 rebates refused = $20,000 for Office Depot
1000 rebates refused = $200,000 for Office Depot
and to think this is world wide.
Please send this to all your email clients so they will not
be riped off like I was.
August 26th, 2006 at 12:59 pm
I bought two laptops and a desktop six months ago and have yet to receive the $320 rebates due me FROM OFFICE DEPOT.
Interestingly, the manufacturers’ rebates arrived without a problem.
I resubmitted the OD rebate forms to the Young America resubmit address–and I too was VERY VERY careful re: accuracy from the beginning–and am still waiting. I have just called the local store mgr and am planning to contact the NC & US Attoneys General, the BBB, and NC Consumer Protection Agency if the runaround continues. On second thought, regardless of whether I get the money or not, I’m still going to call. I suggest all of you do the same.
BTW, if any of you are thinking of setting up a website, do NOT search for the site name availability until ready to purchase. I made that mistake and found that those names were mysteriously "taken" shortly after I didn’t purchase in the beginning.(and they were weird names) Huh. But I’m sure the "new owners" would sell the site names at a hefty profit if I contacted them…no actual "sites" exist in cyberspace for them, btw.
August 26th, 2006 at 2:51 pm
On May 1, 2006, I purchased an emachine T3418 package from Office Depot. The reason I bought the package was because of the $300 rebates. The sales person told me to certify my information to emachine and cannon. When I received a post card saying I had not sent in the correct information, I sent them (emachines), a letter telling them of my intentions to contact the Better Business Bureau and my attorney if I did not have my $300 rebates within two weeks. When I did not receive my checks, I contacted the BBB and filed a complaint. I have received an email saying two $50 checks were mailed on 8/23/06. I’m still waiting for conformation on the $150 rebate and the $50 rebate from Canon for the printer. My advice for anyone is to contact the BBB by way of email as I did and file a complaint. You will get faster results.
August 30th, 2006 at 12:19 am
waiting…for almost 15 weeks now. First OD sent out my rebate check to the wrong address, then when it got returned back, they are not willing to send it to the correct address. Status on the site shows processing, CSRs dodge my questions. Sure, I too will call them everyday.
August 31st, 2006 at 11:08 am
I FOUND OUT HOW IT WORKS! Somebody may have shared this insight already but there are too many stories to read. I too was a victim of this scam and was able to get to the bottom of it.
After checking online to find out that my rebate was being denied due to lack of UPC, I called. I had copies on everyting and knew that they had the UPC because I sent them a 5X8 piece of cardboard that required a special enevelope & postage.
When I called, "Varlan" told me the same thing. No UPC… I needed to resubmit. I threw a fit. I exclaimed that if they missed a huge piece of cardboard, they’d definitely miss a photocopy. I wanted a fax number. He explained that he’d give me an address that would be opened by "actual people". Huh? Who opened it before? "A machine" he responded. If the machine can’t read it right off, it says it isn’t there. At this point I’m irate and ask for a supervisor so that I can get that fax number (typically they won’t give you the fax number unless you’ve made two previous submissions).
"Kyle" jumps on the phone and I demand the fax number. He explains that since the offer had already expired that it would have been denied again by the "actual people". He offers to submit it for me via his interface and explains that I’ll get the check in 4 weeks.
I was appauled. No doubt this system is set up for failure. Had I followed "Varlan’s" direction I would have been denied 2 more times… and probably given up.
These people are CROOKS. Never buying from Orfice Depot again.
September 7th, 2006 at 11:50 am
I also had some trouble with an Office Depot rebate on an HP computer. First they told me my claim was rejected because I didn’t met the terms of the rebate. It turned out that they claimed I bought another brand of computer instead. Luckily, it didn’t take a lot of effort to get them to correct the error and then process my rebate. I eventually received my check, but I had to be diligent to contact them after my initial claim was denied and be forceful with them to make sure they realized it was THEIR error and that they needed to correct it. Who knows if the "error" was done on PURPOSE or not?
September 12th, 2006 at 1:19 pm
It would be interesting to know how many have read these comments, and not added their own horror stories. I’m fairly early in my efforts to get the $150 in rebates owed me. I received my "denial" for not sending my rebate forms and "proofs" on time to Office Depot, which is absolutely untrue. I, too, have copies of everything, so I will continue my quest, helped by all the comments on this web site
September 20th, 2006 at 4:07 pm
Office Depot has a new scam to avoid rebates. Last week they advertised Windows XP upgrade with a $70 rebate if purchased by 9/16/06. Not surprisingly, the stores did not have the product in stock but on-line they claimed to have the product in stock.
I ordered the software along with one other item at 2:00 a m on 9/16/06. I received an email reply dated 9/16/06 at 2:14 a m acknowledging the order and indicating that the software was to be shipped, it was not on backorder. The receipt even shows that the order total $ included the software.
When the package arrived, the software was not included. The packing slip said it could not be shipped. When I called on 9/20/06, I was told that the product was in stock and it could be sent out that day, but my receipt would be dated 9/20/06. Thus, no rebate.
The customer service person also denied that I had received an acknowledgement confirming the order.
Clearly, Office Depot did not want to pay the rebate so it simply did not ship the product by the deadline date. It certainly had the product in-stock according to its website on 9/16/06 and the fact that just a few days later it was available.
Obviously, they have lost a customer and in the long run will lose more than the rebate amount from my company.
September 20th, 2006 at 11:22 pm
Hey folks? Does the following canned response from "Customer Care" look familiar? I too was duped by these scam artists and no matter what questions I ask or what facts I point out, I keep getting the same response, verbatim. Something is very wrong with Office Depot. It definitely looks like a scam. The response mentions "our client." It appears that Office Depot has contracted out their rebate program. The million dollar question is: Does the corruption exist only at the Office Depot Rebate Center, or is it merely a front for the top Office Depot Executives? I cannot shop at Office Depot anymore. This is sad because the local owners/operators probably are not involved in any corruption.
"Thank you for visiting the Office Depot Rebate Center.
We apologize our answer could not be more satisfactory to your
situation. Our client supplies us with very specific instructions as to
the submission requirements consumers must meet to receive their item.
Regrettably, we cannot do anything more from here.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and hope you
will continue to enjoy our client’s fine products.
If you have further questions, please call 1-866-541-0284.
Thank you again for visiting Office Depots Rebate Center and have a
great day!
Sincerely,
<first name deleted>
Customer Care"
September 23rd, 2006 at 3:51 pm
success: I finally collected my rebate from Office Depot. How? I emailed the Better Business Bureau in Topeka, Ks and they sent a letter to the office manager of Office Depot and they got results. In about 5 days I had my rebate.
September 25th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
"Sept 25" Had to call again for my rebate. Said it would be mailed in 3 days."April 4,1st email" Thank you for contacting the Office Depot Rebate Center. We certainly thank you for the additional information that you have provided us. At this time, we have processed your $50.00 rebate and ask that you would allow 2-3 weeks to receive it. "2nd email"Your submission for the Office Depot rebate is currently being processed. You will receive another email when we have shipped your check. To check the status of your rebate in the future, go to the Rebate Center at http://www.officedepot.com p.s. No "additional info" was sent. Must have thought it was a resubmission or sent wrong "standard" email.
October 11th, 2006 at 8:46 am
I bought an eMachines bundle with an HP printer in May from Office Depot. It had a gob of rebates, from OD, eMachines, and HP. I also bought an additional HP printer at that time, and OD’s cash register said it was eligible for the eMachines bundle rebate too. So I put together all the info and sent off all five or six of the rebates. OD and eMachines paid up, but HP is claiming that there never was any rebate offer related to eMachines computers, and is thus denying my rebates, $120 total. Office Depot customer support has been singularly unhelpful. E-mail support has been worthless – I e-mailed them twice, and except for an autoresponse I got nothing back. I called them, but they didn’t know what to do with my problem. The hapless rep finally said she’d just connect me to billing. I got pretty upset — how in the heck is billing going to help me with this? My next step will be to visit the store, copies of documentation in hand, but I’m thinking that I’ve basically lost out on this.
I would not have bought this system other than at the price after rebates. I’ve learned: don’t buy that way again.
jim
October 18th, 2006 at 8:05 am
I bought a laptop computer at Office Depot that had a $150 rebate because of the rebate. Two months later I got a notice saying the purchase was not qualified. Now, at office depot the rebate form prints out as a receipt if your purchase is a qualifying purchase…duh! Anyway I kept copies of everything bet they were hoping I wouldn’t. I am going in the store today to make them take care of this. What a scam! BUYER BEWARE!
October 22nd, 2006 at 9:49 pm
Well, like so many others, I may be a victim of the OD scam. I purchased a laptop on July 3, 2006, sent in the $200 rebate offer within a couple of days and am waiting…and waiting…and waiting. The website shows "processing". I have called the rebate center 4 times and each time am told it may be another 2 to 6 weeks. I asked just what does "processing" mean? All they have to do is look at the form, see the receipt and pass it on. There was no UPC involved. I even called their customer relations in Mesa, AZ and was told by the rep that he would forward my call to the ‘real’ rebate people who could help me. As it turned out, the call went to the same rebate center I had been calling all along. I also tried to submit a form from their web site describing my problem but after I clicked the ’submit’ button, I got some screwy "Not authorized to use this site" crap. Anyone willing to share an email address to OD that will be read by someone who cares?
I appreciate many of the comments I have read here and will first take my case to the store where it was purchased, then a letter to the corporate level, then to the BBB, AG’s office and FTC. I agree that a class action suit might get some attention.
On the positive side, I was treated very well by a CSR from Circuit City on another rebate who personally took my information by phone and resubmitted for me. I almost fainted. I had checks within 2 weeks. This issue with OD is the first time I have had to wait this long for a rebate but I can see the writing on the wall and am convinced that if I am not aggressive, I will get nothing.
October 24th, 2006 at 7:21 pm
I WORK at Office Depot and I get as frustrated as you all do. Because, I help people out with thier rebate forms to make sure everything is as it should be. I mean I help to the point of addressing the envelope. And I make sure they have plenty of copies for thier files. And still they get rejection notices saying that they did not put the requested paper work in such as reciept or UPC code. IF you do not get your go to the store and tell them you will never shop there again. The management have the authority to give it to you in store. They were supposed to stop ALL mail in rebates in March and have the savings in store, but I guess they figured that they would not get to rip people off as easily. Fight for what you have coming….
October 25th, 2006 at 6:57 pm
In defense of Office Depot (the company I work for), customers have to PAY ATTENTION when filling out the rebate forms. Yes, rejection of a rebate can be as simple as (incorrectly filling out the SN, or UPC code, or not properly mailing the forms off in a timely manner.
The fact that some "customers" still call Office Depot- "HOME" Depot just comes to show the lack of incompetence a customer has when they cant even get the name of the place they purchased the product from right in the first place ! Rules are rules and I have brought thousands of things from Office Depot, and Best Buy involving rebates and have NEVER had any problems with them, you just have to fill them out correct..
When I am dealing w/ a customer, I make sure whenever they are purchasing a product, to make copies of their rebates,recepits, and bar codes. Circle the SN and barcodes to send in, circle the address to where the rebate is going to be mailed to, circle the POSTMARK date, and last FILL out the actual rebate for them, so the only thing they have to do is drop off the envelop at the post-office simple as that, and give them my business card so they can remember me if they have anyproblems they can call and ask for me personally.
Bottom line, the rebate system is made to benefit BOTH customer and retailer with good prices, and good profits, so if YOU got mad because you INCORRECTLY filled out a rebate, and is worrying, why your money isnt back yet, then dont worry , Office Depot will start a training class on how to send rebates in since nooone and their mama seems to be having problems with the rebate system.
October 25th, 2006 at 8:12 pm
I work for OD, and before that several other retail stores. In defense, I have gotten every rebate I have sent off for. Just make sure you follow the directions completely, and you mail it off ASAP. Also make sure you make copies. If for some reason you don’t get a rebate, you can come back to the store, and a lot of the times, if the situation is legit, they will give you the rebate on the spot, but you have to keep track of all the paper work.
Yes I know rebates stink, but if they didn’t have mail in rebates, then you wouldn’t get half the deals you get with instant discounts. So mail in rebates really do help you out in the long run.
I have a rebate I’m waiting on as we speak. Just give it 6-8 weeks.
October 26th, 2006 at 12:00 pm
Torre and OD Employee, you must not be actually reading the complaints here. We all specifically stated that we filled out the forms correctly, to the letter, and kept photocopies of all paperwork. That’s not the issue.
The issue is that Office Depot and their fulfillment company still "lose" rebates and ask that they be resubmitted, then say they are outside the rebate period when they do resubmit.
And Torre, you have no room to ridicule people who refer to "Office Depot" as "Home Depot". Your spelling and grammar are terrible. It’s called a "spell checker"; you may want to give it a try sometime.
October 27th, 2006 at 7:08 pm
On January 29th I got a Compaq from Ciruit City Store.They told me every thing to do with the Information on the papers he gave me and told me that I needed to mail in the rebate with the tags from the box and the receipt. And I put a letter with my address and phone number. Plus I sent it to them registered mail so they would have to sign for it when delivered. At there mailing office or maybe mailing room with both of my compters. I got one in 2001 and one in 2002.The first one they had on record but not the second one. I sent both of them in to Compaq the same way. I called them every year about it and all them say is thay where missing the receipt and to send a new one so I do and then thay tell me they have to and all i have to do is wait till the check to be ready with in 6 to 8 mouths and that it always takes this long and there isn’t any thing thay can do about it. so every year I did the same thing hoping I maybe some kind of light about it all but at the end. All I got was yelling back from the people that worked there and them acting like I was some dumb dumb and didn’t know what I was talking about and didn’t want to help me in any way. As to say HAHA we have your money and there isn’t any thing you can do about it all. Then they give me THIS web site to write to the owner of HP. Which is isn’t. But I look at it this way there isn’t anything called a rebate. Its just a scam to get your money. Tell you what when you spend alot of cash like over $2,400.00 on a scam and then you get burned its stay’s with you for life. Now I hope no one buys a HP and Compaq to run them out of business…
October 30th, 2006 at 6:49 pm
Sorry Toby if I “ruffled” your feathers w/ my comments! I guess you can’t handle someone giving a different point of view.
I understand when it comes to certain rebate issues Office Depot is not the best in the world when it comes to handling them. I understand that im not totally 100% on Office Depot’s “side”.
The point I am trying to make is that people are NOT going to admit they made a simple mistake when filling out a rebate, that’s why it takes twice as long for people to get their rebates back. Also it is NOT Office Depot’s responsibility to honor a rebate issue after the Rebate effective date has come and gone. Whatever issues customers have with their rebates they need to take it up with the company who sponsors the rebate. It’s easy for people to sit here exaggerate the “truth” and say I sent in all this stuff over and over and never got my rebate, but yet they never tell or admit that they waited ’til the last minute so send off the rebates and they probable got to the center too late, or they misread a bar-code label.
There have been soo many customers that have come into my store w/ rebate issues and guess what Toby? WE took care of them all because they admitted they made a mistake and wanted to know if we could help them in getting their rebates back. All it takes is simple HONESTY, if you have a rebate issue..
First off, come in the store with some RESPECT, don’t come in and act like you are entitled to something that was probably your fault…because if you do, we have no problem telling you to go through the rebate center and send you on your little merry way..also don’t LIE. If you bought an HP notebook in July with a 200 dollar MIR, returned the notebook and got a Toshiba with a 75 dollar MIR don’t lie to the manager and convince him you should be getting that 200 dollar MIR.
Anyway, speak with a MANAGER, tell him/her that you screwed up your rebate(s) and wanted to know if there was anything they could do to help you…guess what Toby? 9 times out of 10 the MANAGER will honor the rebate and give the customer whatever rebates they were missing, and on top of that you will still probably get your other MIR that have taken forever to receive.
Gee Toby, I guess you NEVER hear about the Office Depot employees actually taking care of customers who have had rebate issues in the past.
October 30th, 2006 at 7:09 pm
No, I have no problem with different points of view; otherwise I would have simply deleted your comment instead of replying. My problem is with your ad hominem attacks on people when you yourself don’t know who you are talking about. I sure hope you don’t call your customers "incompetent" when they come into the store.
I can’t speak for everyone else but what I do know is that there have been multiple times where I followed every single direction correctly but the rebate handling company simply stonewalled me. That’s great that a manager can help out sometimes but I don’t believe I should have to make another trip back to the store to correct a problem that Office Depot’s handling company (Express Group) created in the first place.
The whole point here is that it’s way too difficult to get what I was promised when I purchased the item. I’m sure there are many satisfied customers but I’m not one of them. If I fill out every form and follow every direction to the letter, and mail it all off in plenty of time, there should be no reason for me to keep checking back up on them. I even admitted in my original post that I screwed up one of the rebates and didn’t deserve to get paid back for that one. But for the others, I shouldn’t have to keep calling Express Group or Office Depot or make repeated trips back to the store.
Office Depot has a serious problem here and I intend to let everyone know about it. The fact that this story is in the top ten Google results for "Office Depot rebates" means that others must agree with me.
October 31st, 2006 at 12:58 am
I have sent in rebates to various companies (and I follow the instructions to the letter, and keep copies), and I’d estimate that 10% have needed some sort of follow up, but a couple of times I’ve been sent stuff above the terms of the rebate (once a Nascar cap, another sample of the product – a pack of 3 razors), but it is annoying to have to chase these.
I’d prefer in store instant rebates
November 1st, 2006 at 5:04 pm
Toby, I understand the message you are trying to convey about Office Depot’s rebate issues. Yes, this is YOUR website and you have the right to “delete” my, or someone else’s comments if you don’t like them..that’s your right. The only reason why I came to this website was because a user posted it in another form, and the only reason I am replying is because I am bored at the current moment and have nothing else to do.
I am NOT attacking people (”customers”) on here by calling them incompetent whenever they are coming into the store. I do not know anybody on here, so I think it’s ludicrous to assume I just like calling customers incompetent because they have issues with Office Depot. About 95% of the customers I deal with at Office Depot are civilized, respectful and understanding customers. Do most of the people who post on your site this type I just described? YES !. The only way a customer is incompetent in my book is if they lie, or take out all their problems on everyone else which is the last 5% which happens to come in to the Depot from time to time.
When it comes to the actual rebate issue itself, I admit (just like I did in my second reply) that Office Depot is slow and needs to address the problem or get rid of the MIR program altogether. I have sent e-mails to my Regional V.P. because my store gets customers just like you; who have filled out everything correctly and seems to be having problems with their rebates not coming back on time ( 6-8 weeks, or 2-3 months). Also we can ONLY help customers who have rebate issues that are “sponsored” by Office Depot, NOT HP, Compaq, or all the other name brands that have rebates attached to their product, you have to call them ! The way to know whether you have a “HP Rebate”, a “Compaq rebate”, or a “Sony rebate”, is to simply look at the mailing address and see if it specifically goes to that vendor’s rebate center (which has a different policy).
I don’t know Toby, if I was you I would have had a stronger rapport with the manager who was involved in your situation. Yes, you don’t have to drive back and fourth to the store everyday to check on your rebate status, but again if I was you and I was concerned about my rebates, I would have been calling the store or corporate at least 2 or 3 times a week. Yes, I am married and have 2 kids so I am busy just like you which means if I am a dependent on that 150 to 300 MIR that I am missing, then I am going to fight like heck to get my rebates whether it entails my driving to the store or calling corp offices, I gotta do what I gotta do.
Bottom line is that the customers who are having issues with rebates represent a small minority. I am not saying that to poke fun or humility, but the reality is you guys represent a small percentage. You have the right to let everyone know that you have had a problem with Office Depot rebates and you want others to voice the same , but the reality is that if Office Depot has been having this “problem” 1 of 2 things would have happened. OD would have stopped the rebate program and/or the BBB (Better Business Bureau) would have launched a SERIOUS investigation by now.
November 3rd, 2006 at 2:54 pm
I don’t beleive Office Depot and Meritline are scam, I beleive that Verbatim corporation is a scam. I have received rebates from Ridata Ritek many times, but with Verbatim, a big corporation, did not return the money for me.
From now on I don’t buy Verbatim media, and I hope that you will do the same
November 7th, 2006 at 11:06 pm
I wont bother with the details. But guess what? I also put my trust in Office Depot. Their rebate scam convinced me that it was a mistake. You will need good luck on your side when sending in your rebate information. Buyer beware of the smiling crooks.
November 8th, 2006 at 11:24 am
I recently purchased a Hanns 17" lcd monitory from Office Depot with a $80 mail-in rebate. I filled out and submitted all the rebate paperwork requested as requested about 1 month ago. Today I got an email from rebatesHQ saying that my rebate was invalid because it was missing an order number.
I went to the rebatesHQ website which is unfriendly and unintuitive and tried to send them an email asking where I could find the order number. It asked for a manufacturer’s name but Hann wasn’t listed. I could have submitted with a different manufacture I suppose but then I would have received an email saying that no such rebate existed for that manufacturer. I gave up on the rebate. I then searched the web for a phone number for rebatesHQ. NO PHONE NUMBER was given on the rebate form to call for customer service. I found 3 different numbers listed on another person’s blog and so I called one of them. By this time I was so fired up with frustration.
It took me a while to get connected to a live person. She told me to submit my order number. Duh!!! If I had an order number I would have. (It turns out that online orders supposedly have an order number but in-store purchases don’t. Later on an Office Depot cust rep told me to use the order number on my receipt. Great idea but there was NO order number on the receipt). Anyway to make a long story short, the rebatesHQ person validated my rebate when I asked to talk to her manager. As of this posting, I see that my status has changed to valid and being processed.
I then called Office Depot cust service to register a complaint. I talked with another person who gave me no satisfaction at all. When I asked to speak with her manager, she said he was in a meeting and that if I wanted to talk with someone else I would need to call back. She finally gave me the corporate office number in Del Rey Beach FL. There I talked with a nice gentleman, Kem Worsham, who logged a complaint and gave me some attention. I gave him this blog to look at, Office Depot has a serious problem that they need to look into. He assured me that Office Depot will honor all manufacturer’s rebates. If you don’t get satisfaction from the manufacturer they will give you your rebate. I suggest that if you have issues you contact him at (561) 281-4723.
Now I have to wait and see if I get my rebate. My real problem here is similar to someone stealing $100 from my wallet. This person gets caught and returns the $100 from me. He says he’s sorry and that it was a mistake but no harm done. True, I have my $100, but he broke the law and should still be punished. When valid rebates aren’t approved & processed as promised, the law is broken. Just because they come through with the rebate doesn’t make what they did right. We shouldn’t have to threaten to get what is owed to us.
November 9th, 2006 at 1:28 pm
The majority of you whiny complainers probably didn’t take the time to read your rebate receipts. It is not the job of the underpaid and overworked employees of Office Depot to hold your hand and explain every little nuance of how to get your rebate. That, unfortunately, is your responsibility. Before you buy anything with a rebate, make sure you understand what it takes to actually get that rebate. Ask questions if you don’t understand, don’t wait until you are denied and then come back to the store bitching about YOUR OWN ignorance.
November 10th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
Regarding YOU ALL SUCK’S comment: It sucks. He thinks the blame is on the victims who should be more diligent, not the perpetrators who design roadblocks in the rebate process. Here’s one such roadblock to watch out for: Rebate forms printed at the cash register may be longer than 11 inches by design. The date is at the top and the mailing address is at the bottom. When you copy this form onto 8.5" x 11" paper you can’t get both the sale date and mailing address on one sheet. Symantec and Webroot are trying to screw me out of three rebates on software purchases at CompUSA. I sent in copies of the rebate forms requesting the missing rebates. But since the mailing addresses weren’t on the copies I sent to them, they said I must have sent the originals to the wromg address. In fact I really don’t know where I sent the rebate forms since the addresses aren’t on my copies of the rebate forms. I only know I sent the forms to the correct address that I read on the forms.
November 12th, 2006 at 12:20 am
Here is another scam by Office Dept. On Memorial Day I purchased from them a 27″ HDTV with a $150 rebate. The $150 rebate consisted of TWO separate rebate forms for $75 each addressed to the same mailing address. Each form asked for the original cash register receipt and the original UPC label. So of course I filled out both rebate forms and mailed them together in the same envelope with the cash register receipt and the UPC label. After more than 2 months I received a check for $75 only. I called them immediately and complained, where is my other $75? Their answer was “we received only one rebate request”. I told them I mailed both forms in the same envelope. I was told that “I was supposed to mail each rebate form in separate envelops”. Of course this was never mentioned on either order form. After some screaming, they asked me to fax them copies of both forms which I luckily kept. Waiting for two more months and still no rebate check. I called them again and the same story, we received only one rebate request. I faxed them AND mailed them all copies again. It has been almost 6 months since my purchase and I am still waiting!
November 15th, 2006 at 6:55 pm
So where are all the Office Depot employees that defending their company? How do you explain this scam? They obviously received both rebate forms initially and later via Fax and Mail. If it is not a scam why would a legitimate company will look for excuses not to meet their obligation???
BTW, this rebate was mailed to Office Depot directly and not to some processing house.
November 16th, 2006 at 6:49 pm
Ron,
First off, in regards to your MIR issue, who "sponsored" the rebate ? Was it Office Depot, Olevia, Samsung, Viewsonic etc. You can find out by looking at the top of the MIR where it should say "75 Office Depot Mail in rebate" If it says that(Office Depot), then you have a LEGIMATE complaint. If it says Viewsonic or another vendor then you have to deal with them.
Just from reading your situation, it sounds like you got an inadvertent 75 MIR and was only supposed to get ONE. (Since both MIR were to be mailed at the same address). YES, I know we are supposed to still honor the rebate, thats why I suggest you speak w/ the store manager and/or district manager where you purchased the monitor from and tell them of your situation.
November 17th, 2006 at 11:06 am
Torre,
Both rebate offers were sponsored by Office Depot and addressed to them. NO, I did not mail 2 duplicate rebate forms and asking to be paid twice. They advertised this offer as $150 rebate and not as $75 not even as 2 rebates of $75. They never claimed that this rebate was for $75 and not for $150. Their excuse was "I was supposed to mail EACH $75 rebate in a separate envelope", this is BS and a SCAM. Like I said, the mailing address on the rebate was the same. The only difference on the forms was that one of them said Offer #xxxxxxxxxx1 and the other said Offer #xxxxxxxxxx2.
November 20th, 2006 at 7:10 pm
Torre…why don’t you buy a rebate product at your local office depot store, submit it, and in 2 months when you still haven’t received a check, let’s see how you rate the company.
Like many of the other posters, I used my rebate form like a check list. I made sure every item was filled in, attached all documentation, reviewed that I had all the forms inside the envelope, and mailed it off. Also like many of the others posting to this site, I received MONTHS of run around. I finally loaded the chair I purchased up and returned it to the store I purchased it from. I WILL NEVER NEVER NEVER purchase from office depot again.
This scam is criminal and definitly needs to be prosecuted.
November 21st, 2006 at 2:20 pm
It is shame, for OD to became such a bad player at rebate game. I always like OD, and had no problems with their rebate, but this year, the rebate has been slow to come and very slow to show up on the online tracking site. Most the rebate place takes their time to process the rebate, it is OK, but at least you check the status say after one month or so, you will able to find the rebate in their system, not OD. after almost 2 month, nothing shows up and their phone system won’t give you a person to talk to. You have to wait for 3 month. I hope the FTC will do something about OD. also i will not buy anything with OD rebates again. Because 1. You won’t get it for at least 6 month. 2. you won’t get it if you don’t bother to check and waste your time on it.
Shame on you, OD.
November 22nd, 2006 at 10:11 am
I will bet almost all of you people are over the age of 60-65 yrs. of age. I work at Office Depot in the computer section and know for a fact that I get my rebates back [yes, long period of time 8-10 weeks] but I never have a problem getting them back. do you all realize that office Depot sels tons of theses computers and other products with rebates and if they had problems with all of these customers they would be out of business. I have had customers bring in their rebate forms filled out and ready to send and when I look then over I always find wrong or missing info on the forms. common guys it’s just 2 or 3 things they want. Older people have a tough time folowing instructions so that is why I bet you all are in the over the edge group [like myself almost 60] or just can’t follow directions well. It’s plain and simple to do. Do I wish they did away with rebates-yes, but as of yet they have not so if you shop and purchase if you can’t follow instructions don’t be so cheap and pay the regular price.
November 22nd, 2006 at 8:30 pm
Mike, you are an IDIOT and I am not 60 YET! I followed your stupid rebate to the letter. I mailed in many other company’s rebates and never had such problems. At the rate OD is alienating their customers they eventually will go out of business. FYI, they already closed ALL their stores in the Phoenix area.
November 26th, 2006 at 9:03 am
Hello, I was wondering if you have had problem with your M55-S1001.. I know batteries are faulty on most of them.. please visit my website to see problems I had.. Best regards.
groups.msn.com/toshibadefectcase
November 29th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
Mike, I am 38 years old and the Manager of the IS department for the company I work for. I cannot help but feel that I have the basic skills necesary for filling out a rebate form.
I think OD is working this scam like the insurance industry. 1 – Deny all claims the first time, 2 – Make unreasonable requests from anyone who protests, and 3 – Prolong the payment as long as possible to discourage people who have made it past steps 1 and 2.
I think we ALL need to push our government representatives to enact laws that either require rebates to be paid in a timely manner (8 – 12 weeks is WAY to long) and/or do away with rebates all together.
December 1st, 2006 at 12:19 pm
Rhett , actually I had that issue before of where I purchased a external Hard Drive involving me getting a 50 MIR from Office Depot and it took a little longer than expected. I was no exception to the rule, I had to call the rebate center just like everybody else. The person who I spoke with was very rude and disrespectful, telling me ” its in the mail”, and I replied by saying ” I was supposed to receive it 2 weeks ago”, and she just hung up on me. Yeah I was pissed as hell, but I e-mailed my RSVP, and discussed it with my manager POLITELY and I got my rebate in a couple of days.
My point is Rhett is that if you feel like you are being scammed, then I advise you to seriously get your district attorney involved and have your case investigated.
December 1st, 2006 at 12:28 pm
Ron,
Have you ever discussed this with a manager in person ? If not then you will have to bear some of the responsibility whether you like it or not. ..
FYI-multiple rebates going to EITHER the same address/ or different addresses that are attached to an item itself MUST be mailed in separate envelopes, this policy has existed since the creation of the MIR system.
Like I said AGAIN(in my earlier posts) you can approach this issue respectably to a STORE manager, or come in with an attitude like Office Depot owes you the world..and then some to you and we will have no problem sending you on your little merry way .
Happy CHRISTMAS to everyone on here and to the rest of the world.
December 4th, 2006 at 3:11 am
Torry,
This is part of the OD scam to have multiple rebates mailed to the same address. Why would a reputable company have multiple rebates for a SINGLE item with the same mailing address if it is not a scam? You say all rebates “MUST be mailed in separate envelopes, this policy has existed since the creation of the MIR system”. Where does it say that? I did not read it on your stupid rebate form! You and all other OD employs just trying to defend their miserable company.
I am not going to beg for my money any more that OD stole from me. I am going to take some legal actions.
December 4th, 2006 at 12:00 pm
Ron,
I am having difficulty trying to understand how OD is “scamming” you out of your money by having “multiple rebates sent to the same address”.
Before they revised/or abolished their rebate systems, Best Buy, Comp USA, etc all had the same (special rebate specials advertising formulas) that Office Depot have in place right now. But for some “odd” reason, Office Depot has this “conspiracy” to “scam” people out of the money even though OD makes millions of dollars from revenue, profits and SOME sales.
The comment about all rebates must be mailed in separate envelopes this policy has existed since the time…… meant use COMMON SENSE.
Yes I do have the right to defend Office Depot, but I suggest you (just like Rhett) go to your local District Attorney and have your situation investigated. I don’t….. and I REPEAT I don’t like it when good hard working people like yourself have to go through this crap, but if you have a case then get the DA involved and perhaps your local State Governor involved, because they will get to the bottom of this.
Finally, I don’t want you to beg for money you should get the money you deserve.
P.S. Here is contact info sodland@officedepot.com- Office Depot CEO Steve Odland
Corporate Address:
Office Depot Corporate
2200 Old Germantown Road
Delray Beach, FL 33445
December 6th, 2006 at 9:31 pm
Torre,
You are as stupid as everyone else responding that works at OD and trying to defend their miserable company. “I am having difficulty trying to understand how OD is “scamming” you out of your money by having “multiple rebates sent to the same address”.
What don’t you understand; I purchased ONE item not a “system” with multiple components and rebates. OD advertised my TV with a $150 rebate, NOT two rebates of $75 each. I received two almost identical rebate forms for $75 each to be mailed to Office Depot with identical address. Both rebate forms asked for the original UPC label and cash registered receipt. I mailed both forms and labels in the same envelop. After 70 days I received a check for ONLY $75 and their excuse was that “I was supposed to mail each rebate form in a separate envelops”, I will repeat, this is a SCAM and total BS.
I guess, I am only an dumb Electronics Engineer with 30 years of experience and I don’t have the “COMMON SENSE” as you have to mail each rebate in a separate envelop.
December 7th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
I dont shop at office depot because of both the poor customer service and the rebates I was supposed to get back. I gusess from reading your comments torre that you seem really concerned with everybodys rebate problems and seem to help them which is something I didnt get at office depot.Torre are you a manager?
December 7th, 2006 at 9:22 pm
LMFAO
*Shaking my head and sighs*
Ron,
I try and help you and be sincere about your problem and all you have is im "stupid as everyone else responding that works at OD and trying to defend their miserable company".
Im gonna leave the "rebate system" analogy alone because it’s obvious you have PROBLEMS understanding my analog between your "situation" and Office Depot’s Rebate system.
It seems like you DISREGARDED the last portion of my last reply.. and just seems to be so gung-ho on implying that I am "defending this miserable company". I am NOT going to get into CHILDISH-like behavior with you because I respect other users who post on this fourm…AND the WEBMASTER, and personally I think you should do the same.
Finally, If you feel like "EVERYBODY" (Office Depot) is out to get you and "scam" you out of all your money, then maybe you should skip the hiring of lawyers and investigators to look into your case…you should just call the NAACP, and see if they can fight your cause, because obviously I tried to help and it didnt work.
P.S. If a MATURE person wants to discuss their rebate situation with me, ill be glad to try to help if possible.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:28 pm
I decided to sue Office Depot. I went to discuss the denial of my form – for the same reason, I didn’t include the UPC code. They listed my rebate denial on a web site where I was considered responsible for finding it. I was never notified – cost of a stamp too much. The store manager had a bad day I guess she referred me to the out of state rebate people. It was not her problem. This is the not my fault and fuck you asshole rejection. So I notifed them in writing of my intent to sue and will go for treble damages. Winning is no longer the point. For me, these cheats have pissed me off. I will not let them off the hook even if they send me a rebate. I want them in small claims coudt. The typical sceario goes as follows. Thier attorney will get the case shifted from small claims to district court so an attorney can represent them I will show a copy of the above list and even if I fail, I will sue them again in another municip[ality until they decide it’s cheaper to settle. If you are unwilling to spend some of your time to make them do their time, you will always be abused by these professional bastards. I got my money from Micro Center after they had nothing but complaints over their practices and I ahve filed a number of complaints with various legal entites regarding their predatory rebate procedures. Microcent’s hoods according to their spokeswoman made over two millin from interest on the rebates after their retu red the rebates, which they resisted intentionally.
So add some anger to your complaint ans screw these fucks to the wall even if it costs you. They will change when the assinations begin.
December 19th, 2006 at 1:14 pm
Well, after 7 months of screaming, yelling and wasting my time, I finally got my money from OD. One thing for sure, me and my family will NEVER shop at OD again and who knows how many thousands of people read these stories and will do the same.
As far as Office Depot, they are too stupid to understand and to fix these problems. All they can do is try to defend their pathetic and miserable record.
December 20th, 2006 at 12:24 am
I got a $200 rebate check from OD for a HP notebook. I deposited the check, but it got returned and the reason of return is "payment stopped". I called OD to ask them why. First they told me they just printed the check on that day and had scheduled to send out within a few weeks, and told me it’s not possible that I got the check already. Then later the rep told me, "o… it’s the check that we sent out about 3 months ago… there’s no reason showing in our system why it was stopped…. i believe it is because u didn’t cash it over 2 months, we stopped it to protect our ownself!"
This is totally radiculus!! Because it says clearly on the check "VOID AFTER DEC 21. 2006" and today is DEC 19. 2006, which is not even passed the expiration date!! The rep told me that the date could be mistakenly printed. He told me the check was printed on 09/22/06 and normally OD gives a 3 months period for us to cash the check. And they stopped my check cause I didn’t cash it over 2 months, and actually it’s not even 3 months yet. Isn’t this so contradicted??? I asked the rep who’s responsibility of the mistake on the check, and he told me the responsibility that they owned is an apology! He even said "…which I’ve been apologized to you 7 times already!" He also told me to ask for the bank to wavie the $6 processing fee?! Can anyone tell me would the bank offer to wavie the processing fee because the check writer made a mistake??
The rep even said that I made a BIG DEAL out of the $6, and said that "It’s our free money to you, it’s up to you to take it or not."??????!!!!!!! What kind of attitude is this??
Then I asked if I couldn’t cash the next check that they send to me on the next day it arrived at my mail box because I am traveling out of town, is it possible that they would stop the check before the indicated expiration date? Guess what answer he gave me, "YES!"
In this case, what is the purpose of putting an expiration date on the check??
December 21st, 2006 at 7:23 pm
Fortunatly, this is a SMALL percentage of people who has this problem with Office Depot. I hope you guys will try to find a common ground to come back and shop at Office Depot again. We are a respectable company that is willing to go above and beyond for the customer (YOU !). Just because you guys have a problem with one store dosent mean the entire company is a "pathetic" and "miserable" company.
By no means please dont interpet this as me "begging" for everyone’s business, because I believe everyone should have the right to shop wherever they wanna shop. I believe every company has a flaw and if you find that flaw (no matter how small or big it is) will that deter you from not shopping there anymore.
AGAIN I am here to try to help anyone.
*Merry Christmas and Happy 2007 to everyone on here*
December 29th, 2006 at 10:34 am
What course of action can I take if "Office Depots Rebate Center" states that they mailed my $50 rebate check (which I never received!) and states that I cashed the rebate check (which I never cashed!)?? Nothing I suppose.
Here is the form e-letter they sent me:
Thank you for visiting the Office Depot Rebate Center. We apologize our
answer could not be more satisfactory to your situation. Our client
supplies us with very specific instructions as to the submission
requirements consumers must meet to receive their item. Regrettably, we
cannot do anything more from here. We apologize for any inconvenience
this may have caused and hope you will continue to enjoy our client’s
fine products. If you have further questions, please call
1-866-541-0284.
Thank you again for visiting Office Depots Rebate Center and have a
great day!
Sincerely,
Lucy C
Customer Care
January 2nd, 2007 at 3:32 pm
My experience with OD (Oh Damn, or Office Despot, pick one) was today. The register form gave a Tempe, CO address with an Arizona zip code for Offer #6022, a $12 rebate.
Guess what? There is no Tempe in Colorado, and the Office Despot Customer Disservice line advised that there is no Offer #6022. The ad is clear, the website has the offer that applies to the item if purchased before 1/7/07. So I called Customer Disservice again and escalated to a Supervisor. He said that, although he saw the ad on line, there was no rebate and that he offered his apologies.
I asked what would happen if I mailed in the request with all of the required documentation. He said I might get a letter back explaining that it was an invalid application, or I may get nothing at all.
Bottom line, if OD offers a mail in rebate on anything it advertises, ignore the rebate and pay the full retail expecting nothing in return.
I’m going to Best Buy whenever I can.
January 3rd, 2007 at 10:43 am
I bought a 42 TV from Office Depot the day after Thanksgiving. It had a two rebates, one for $200.00 dollars and the second one for $300.00 dollars. I also bought some other cheap stuff that had $10.00 and $20.00 rebates.
All of the cheap rebates made it into the Office Depot reabate system. It took 4 emails before the $200.00 one was “FOUND” . I am still writing emails and complaining about the $300.00 dollar rebate.
I WILL NEVER SHOP AT OFFICE DEPOT AGAIN.
I am telling every one I know, what a hard time they have been giving me.
My only hope is that I will convince someone else to not shop at office depot.
January 5th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Read below, it is a great laugh, I gave Young America the link to see the rebate form and they write back to me telling me it is not their rebate.
From: JBCYBERREP3 [JBCYBERREP3@young-america.com] On Behalf Of Office Depot
Sent: Friday,
Subject: Office Depot –
Thank you for visiting the Office Depot Rebate Center. Unfortunately, we do not handle this particular promotion. A majority of the rebates are directly supported by Office Depot, however some rebates are supported by specific manufacturers. While we do not have the address or contact information, you might be able to find it on your copy of the rebate form that you sent in. We are sorry we cannot be of assistance at this time.
Have a good day.
Sincerely,
Andy B.
Customer Care
Sent: Thursday,PM
To: Office Depot
Subject: RE: Office Depot –
Here is the rebate I am looking for .
Refund Requested: $300.00 HA4802013
Here is the rebate on your web site
http://forms.young-america….
January 5th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Thats all sickening to read. Whats worse is that the PEOPLE who work at these stores are bigger idiots than anyone can imagine.
At one office depot in the Charlotte, NC area, I went looking through the aisles for Epson photo paper. I looked and looked and then decided to ask. The girl behind the print/fax/shipping counter said "Office Depot doesnt sell Epson paper, hasnt in long time".
I didnt even acknowledge the absurd answer even as I showed her the advertised "Buy 1 get 1 free Epson photo paper". I found it about 5 minutes later and went up to her and said "So…. Office Depot DOESNT sell Epson photo paper anymore????". Either her boss or another higher-up was very close by and turned his head as I dropped the photo paper right where I was standing and walked out yelling "YOU, my dear, are a blazing idiot and have cost Office Depot THIS SALE plus many more as a result".
January 5th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
oh, by the way, havent you people learned to NEVER buy a product with a rebate? Never!!!!
Tell the management that if they want to sell the product then they take the rebate off the top and submit the forms or they can kiss your ass in Macy’s window.
January 9th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
I am having the same problem with the day after Thanksgiving sale at Office Depot. I have a $200 mail-in-rebate and also a $20. I mailed them on 11/27/06, and they still say they haven’t processed it yet. They said I had to wait 60 days for processing time. The only problem is by that time it will be past the expiration date and they will tell me they never received it. I hope I found the solution. I mailed them again to the re-submit address and this time I sent them "certified"! I am highly dissatisfied, and I will never shop Office Depot again!
January 12th, 2007 at 8:37 am
Currently experiencing Office Depot Rebate Fraud. Purchased a Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 on 10/01/06 Advertised for $19.99. Of course I had to pay $29.99 at the register and file a $10. I filled out all paper work, documented and copied everything everything because I have dealt with Office Depot Fraud before and mailed it to YOUNG AMERICA, MN.
Well they have used a new fraud on me. Since I had documented the mailing and they couldn’t claim they did not receive it on time they simple processed it under a totally different expired rebate offer. They processed the rebate for a HP Notebook computer. It is amazing the creativeness of the Fraud these criminals will commit.
After 3 communications to the Rebate Office via e-mail with a response for each one that it was received they refused to respond to me even though their web site promises response within 48 hours (Further Fraud). Finally after I threatened a law suit they replied to my an e-mail to fill in the information requested. Apparently the people in the rebate office can not read English because every bit of information they requested was on the e-mail they replied to. This is just furthering their fraud. I will file complaints with Florida Attorney General and FTC. Please write your attorney general. Maybe we can get them to sue Office Depot like they did with CompUsa. Office Depot Must be Sued. Please Help. Please take the time to file complaints, it is the only way to stop their criminal behavior
January 13th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Wonder where Torre went? He’s the Office Depot apologist who defends them and their practices.
January 14th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Ron
you say I’m an idiot. well if you are almost 60, but not yet. then your brain is over the hill. you are stupid and cannot follow simple directions. I probable buy 1-2 items /week and as I’ve have said before they usually ask for 2 to 3 items. If you cannot do that simple things then crawl back into your cave and get a life. your just a cheep bastard and face it. Office Depot dosen’t need customers like you. Every day I see customers like all of you and I think you ar all pathetic. Thousand and thousands or rebates are handled and a few stupid people just don’t get the technology. I get people like you asking to hook up a simple phone they just purchased. gee I think phones have been around for a while and if you can’t do it use a string and 2 orange juice cans. Stepping off the podium.
January 14th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
Den R you must be Suish.
January 17th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Here is the address of the corporate snake who told me she had no doubt I sent in my correct claim form and codes:
Debbie White, Office Depot, Inc.
2200 Old germantown Road
Delray Beach, FL 33445
I told her if she had no doubt about my submission where was my check? I sent her the internet lsiting on OD’s site and a copy of the UPC code from the actual drive.
I am sick of the stall and they are making a lot of money off of snooks like us. I repeat: sue them til they bleed money. They deserve no better.
Bob Train
January 17th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
There’s a class action against CompUSA and its rebate scam – we’d like to hear from people who’ve been scammed by them.
If interested, email compusaclassaction@yahoo.com and take it from there
January 18th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
We need as class-action suit against Office Depot too! I just got an e-mail reply from them about my $200 and $20 rebates. They tell me that they’re expired now and can no longer issue them! This is BS! I sent the rebates twice….the 2nd time I sent them certified and I have the receipt proving that they were ALL received by the expiration date. They are really beginning to piss me off!
January 18th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
I just got back from Office Depot. I spent an hour there witgh the manager on the phone with the rebate center. The rebate center seemed "astonished" that I was being given the run-around. But I must say the manager stepped up to the plate and handled the situation as best as he could. He faxed all documentation of the rebate information to the rebate center and recived a confirmation. They still say 2-4 weeks though! The manager said he will make sure I get my rebates. I told him if not, then I’ll pack all that s**t up and return it for a full refund and bring my business elsewhere. i guess we’ll see what happens from here.
January 21st, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Walter,
As I have said BEFORE on this board, I believe Office Depot needs to either IMPROVE their Rebate system, or get rid of it all together.
ALL companies are NOT perfect and has programs that need to be fixed..you (along with others on here) may be working for a company that is currently "ripping" off customers as we speak. *wink*
January 30th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
$300 MIR 42inch Plasma TV (Offer #HA4802013)
Office Depot replied to my email stating that this was not their offer. So I responded stating to check their own form at http://forms.young-america…. This is an Office Depot offer. I fulfilled all 4 requirements: forms, receipts, UPC and mailed before deadline. Still awaiting their response. This might be a cause for a class action lawsuit.
February 3rd, 2007 at 11:54 am
My HP rebate refused because of poor copy of instructions made by Office Depot
I just had an $80 HP rebate refused because the store gave me 12 loose sheets for four rebates on a laptop system – two of them had in bold letters "mail before 1/30/07", the other two, poor store made copies(Office Depot) had "45 days" in weak gray color – missed those (of course).
… From Paul at HP: "All HP rebates are 45 days, the store should have told you. … nothing I can do..".
*** Caution with HP **** and Office Depot ***
February 9th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
HEY PEOPLE ARE YOU IDIOTS OR WHAT, YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, BUY THE PRODUCTS BETWEEN THE OFFER RANGE, POSTMARKED BEFORE THE LAST POSTMARK DATE, MAKE COPIES OF EVERYTHING YOU SENT IN, IF IT’S MORE THAN ONE REBATE; MAIL IN SEPARATED (EVEN IF IT’S SAME ADDRESS), READ, READ, READ AND THEN COMPLAIN, I DID ALOT OF REBATES AND I DON’T HAVE ANY COMPLAINS ABOUT IT, I ACTUALLY HAVE COMPLIMENTS FOR THEM THANKS FOR THE MONEY THEY GIVE ME BACK WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS, AND IF ANY OF U DON’T PAY ATTENTION TO THE RULES ISN’T THE COMPANIES FAULT, EVERYTHING IS WRITTEN ON REBATES FORMS, TIEMFRAMES, THAT YOU HAVE TO KEEP COPIES, UPC’S BARCODES, PLEASE THE HEAD IT’S NOT ONLY TO WEAR HAIR AS WELL U PEOPLE CARRY BRAINS AND THAT SUPPOSE TO BE USE AT ALL THE TIME EVEN WHEN YOU ARE ASKING FOR MONEY AND THEY ARE GIVIN YOU CERTAIN RULES TO GET YOUR MONEY BACK, IF U MESSED UP ISN’T THEIR PROBLEMS, MY SORRY TO ALL THE PEOPLE TO ALL THE PEOPLE HOW COULDN’T GET THE MONEY BACK, SIMPLY YOU DIDN’T USE IT
February 10th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
I purchased a Lenovo PC from a MN office depot in October, mailed in my rebate forms and here it is Mid February, and still my $150 rebate hasn’t arrived. The website is useless. The phone # is impossible to get thru to talk to a live person. Today I went to talk to the manager at the store. She tried to tell me it hasn’t even been 3 months. I tried to tell her that her math wasn’t correct, she got even more angry, said I was yelling at her, then said 90% of the time customers are the ones making the mistakes. I’m meticulous when it comes to rebates, I did everything like they asked, and got all the other rebates that came with my computer, just not office depots. She says she’ll check on it…hopefully she will, we’ll see. I was treated rudely and I will avoid all rebates in the future – if it’s not an instant rebate, it’s not worth your trouble. The person who wrote the email calling everyone on this site an idiot…he should re-read his posting before sending it…his writing skills make him look like the idiot.
February 27th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
I normally do not shop looking for rebate offers, but I do send them in when available. After a couple of denials due to a postmark deadline or only 1 per household, you quickly learn to be careful in submitting the proper documents on time. Right?
On August 27, 2006, I purchased an HP computer/monitor from Office Depot with $150/$50 rebates from OD and HP. After several months, I inquired on the status of the rebates. In both cases, a tracking number was issued, and in both cases, a check was supposedly mailed out. On Feb 1, 2007, I asked they reissue the checks since I never received them. Surprisedly Office Depot responded by stating they would put a stop payment on the initial check and reissue a second. End of Feb 2007 and still no check from either rebate offer.
A true SCAM! No more rebates for me from Office Depot or HP.
March 7th, 2007 at 1:00 am
got a laptop for xmas and mailed in the rebate in dec 06. I do this all the ime and don’t have a problem. Feb o7 they sent me a decline because the ups was missing. totaly a lie. I then called the processing company and, guess what, the missing ups magicaly appeard. the agreed that I did everything right and they were going to process the rebate, in four to six weeks. Don’t expect anything back from Office Depot if you do get something, you will have put lots of hours into it, it is smarter to pay more and spend your time earning money and not talking to some Office Depot Dummy
March 7th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Our law firm is working on a class action lawsuit against CompUSA for the very rebate scams you are blasting about here. If you know anyone who has been the victim of a CompUSA rebate scam we would love to talk to them. e-mail me at Gclark@keefebartels.com.
March 9th, 2007 at 1:43 am
No $300 plasma rebate for me here either!
March 10th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
My husband and I bought several items at the after Thanksgiving sale too. We finally received the 200.00 rebate for our TV, but not the 300.00 one. It took several phone calls just to get them moving on the 200, now it looks like I’m going to have to call them again. We also bought cordless phones with a rebate and their company totally messed those up. It shows in their system that we didn’t send the original UPC, when we actually did. We’ve called them several times and they said it is a “glitch” in their system and it’s an error on their part. They also stated they can’t figure out how to cut the checks with the “error”. We are not idiots, and we read all of the fine print on everything and did EVERYTHING by the letter. We’ve also bought several items from other places in the past that had rebates and usually have problems only now and then. This has been the WORST, and we will never shop with OD again. It’s one thing to have a problem, it’s another to continuously have a problem and continue ripping people off. I’m sure that there are plenty of people that just give up, so it makes it worth their while to continue such a fraudulent system. DON’T give up!
March 21st, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Well, I am sending my $150 rebate form certified today. I also downloaded a mail-in form and am sending it along too, just for good measure. Let’s see how it goes. They only asked for two things… the rebate form, (or copy) and the receipt, (or copy).
March 21st, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Still no $300 plasma rebate for me as well. Office Depot says they have received and processed it but it does not show up on their website. They also say to wait another three or four weeks in an email I sent. Over four months now and nothing. I think it will turn out to be a big ripoff. Has anybody received the $300 rebate. Received the $200 one a month or so ago. NO idea what to do now except wait!
March 26th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
I say we all just go take something at equal value of the rebate OD stole from us. I’m giving them one last chance and them I’m going to get whatever I want gratis.
March 27th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
I too have been waiting for months for a rebate, Nov. 22, 2006 and still nothing. If you want to put the hurt on Office Depot, do as I have, quit buying from them for rebated items. I just purchased a new computer, but didn’t get from OD. I have a friend who has been waiting since last Fall for a rebate on his laptop. They are going to hurt themselves in the long run. BUY ELSEWHERE!
March 31st, 2007 at 10:01 am
I purchased a Hanns monitor from Office Depot on Oct. 16, 2006, mailed all the correct information the following week, and the $80 rebate request was confirmed as received for processing on Nov. 10th (according to the RebatesHQ.com website). During Multiple visits to the RebatesHQ.com website to track the status it appeared that all was going well, and in February the rebate had been approved for check processing. Well, SURPRISE — on March 25th I checked back for the status again and saw the following:
*****
Please be advised: Parago, Inc. is a provider of rebate processing services for its clients. As a rebate processor, Parago works on behalf of Wintergreen Systems to receive mail, perform data entry services, receive customer service calls, print checks, and perform other services associated with its promotions. For the submission in question, Parago performed data entry on the submission, and forwarded the information to Wintergreen Systems for approval and funding. To date, Parago has not received such approval and funding from Wintergreen Systems. Until Wintergreen Systems forwards additional funding for the promotion in question to Parago, Parago will not be able to mail any additional consumers checks under the promotions. We apologize for any frustration this has caused, and will process the reward as soon as we are provided the required funding and approval by Wintergreen Systems. In the meantime, we suggest you contact Wintergreen Systems directly, at:
Wintergreen Systems
2510 Sterling Avenue
Elkhart, IN 46516
(574) 295-9054 ext. 110
*****
Can you say CONSUMER FRAUD?
Anyway…..I called that number, and received a recorded message saying that due to the high volume of calls I should contact them at their website Wintergreensys.com. No response yet, and I’m doubtful this will get me anywhere.
Today I’m going to pack up my 5+ month old monitor and take it back to Office Depot for a full refund (unless the’d like to give me $80 on the spot), and go to Best Buy.
DON’T PURCHASE ANYTHING FROM OFFICE DEPOT THAT HAS A REBATE!
I wish I’d had the forethought to look for this blog BEFORE I purchased anything from OD.
March 31st, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Just a quick response regarding anyone that has mailed in a rebate for the Hanns monitor and has yet to receive it. There were major problems with Wintergreen honoring these rebates. The last I had heard was they went bellyup. Due to a great number of complaints Office Depot will be honoring these rebates. Please contact your local Office Depot store for further information on the # to call.
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:09 pm
DEAR FRIENDS I’M LOOKING FOR SOMEONE THAT IS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE OFFICE DEPOT MAIL IN SCAM!!!
>PURCHASED A TV BEGINNING OF NOVEMBER 2006
>MAILED IN RIGHT AWAY ENVELOPE WITH RECEIPTS AND COPY
>CONTACTED AFTER 2 MONTHS “it’s too early”
>CONTACTED AFTER 3 MONTHS FEB 2007 “they never received my letter”
>RESUBMITT N. 1 BY FAX WITH
>CONTACTED “it takes at least 17 business day to retrive the FAX”
>RESUBMITTED ESCALATION N.2 BY fax
>CONTACTED AFTER 14 business days (only 10 required due to priority)
>I’M NOT ON THE LIST, they never received anything
>WENT TO OFFICE DEPOT, THEY RESUBMITTED ESCALATION N.3 BY FAX
>ESTIMATED FURTHER WAITING TO OPEN FAX 10 DAYS
>WENT TODAY AND STILL I’M NOT THERE ON THE LIST.
>I FOUND OUT THAT AFTER I’M ON THE LIST WILL TAKE SEVERAL WEEKS FOR REBATES CHEQUES!!! if they have arrive
>TALK WITH OFFICE DEPOT, NOTHING THAT IT CAN BE DONE!!!! > THEY ARE SIMPLY STALLING, THEY ARE TRYING AND EXPECTING THAT YOU GIVE UP.
5 months and counting!!!!SHAME ON YOU OFFICE DEPOT!!!!!!!!!
what a bunch of CROOKS!!! simply WHITE COLLARS CROOKS!!!I might loose my 100 dollars rebate but next I will stand in front of store and inform others customers.
Location: LOWER MAINLAND
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:46 pm
I purchased a printer on 06/13/06 from an Officer Depot and I had to fill out 2 rebate forms to get total of $100 check, one for $25 and the other one for $75. On 07/01/06, 08/07/06 and 08/16/ 06, I received e-mails stating that “you will receive another email when we have shipped your check”. So, I’ve been waiting for my rebate checks to come and I forgot about the whole thing. Today on 04/02/07, I was going through my old paper works and found out that I never received any rebate checks from Office Depot’s rebate center. I contacted the rebate center and spoke with a customer service lady but she replied to me that I was too late for the call and there is nothing she could do for me. Why is that too late for my rebate checks? I just want my rebates that were promised to me when I purchased my printer. Why does that matter how I made a late call to get my rebate checks. I did follow all of the instructions and used my money to send out those rebate forms in the mail. After all it is my money, isn’t it? I hope this is not a scam so they don’t have to pay people. I am really hoping that, that is not the case. I also spoke with Mr. Patrick (supervisor) his ID# 53812 and I could not understand what in the hell he was trying to say to me at all. Actually, He made me more upset, lol… I e-mail this matter to their customer service, so I guess I have to wait and see what they are going to do. Damn, I hate waiting for rebate checks because I will forget about it. I think that the Best Buy is going the right direction with getting away with rebate BS. By the way I filed a complain on Federal Trade Commission’s web site and also Ripoffreport.com.
April 3rd, 2007 at 10:20 am
Well, after many phone calls, we’ve FINALLY received the 300.00 rebate from our TV purchase. We are still waiting on a 190.00 Lenovo computer rebate and two rebates (one for 50 and one for 20) on phones that we purchased. Like I said earlier though, I will NEVER buy anything from this company again.
April 6th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Add me to the list of victims. Rebate mailed in Sept 2006 (leather office chair). Still not received in April 07. Website says they’ve completed “3 of 5″ steps (!). I did call a customer service number and a snippy lady with a Canadian/upper Midwest accent said she would get me my $30 check in 5 to 7 business days. We’ll see. I directed her to this website when she objected to my characterization of the program as a scam. Her excuse: “computers aren’t human”. Gimme a break.
April 8th, 2007 at 8:02 am
I work for the rebate center that handles rebates for Office Depot and several other clients,Office Depot is by far the client that I have seen honor all rebates that are submitted correctly, and their terms and conditions are minimal (only the receipt and rebate form copies are accepted) As far as the Haans monitor rebate , this was being handled by another fulfillment company which went out of business,Office Depot is looking after the rebate through our company I have never seen a rebate rejected that was submitted correctly. Sometimes errors are made in the processing center,such as entering in a duplicate submission,or a type o on a post mark date,but these are easily corrected with a simple phone call. Just follow the terms and conditions and you will recieve your rebate…..
April 10th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
I tried to check the status of my rebate on a laptop i purchased and the site said that NO REBATE submission was found. the rebate was for $150 and that’s alot of money to the working people,so what can be done?????????????????I am thinking about notifying the Better Business Bureau and inform them of the so call REBATE SCAM that OFFICE DEPOT is running on its customers!!!!!!!!!!!
April 17th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
I live in the northeast and we have an Office Depot here in Taunton, MA. I found it interesting that in this weeks flyer, there were many options for computer purchase “rebates”, which as a matter of course, I never use. What caught my eye was their inclusion of an INSTANT rebate, but only for a spanish language model of a HP machine. I called and asked if they were punishing english speaking people by making them mail rebates or if they were after the illegal invaders’ business since they now have many credit cards from banks like Bk. of America. I was immediately put on hold by a confused person and no one ever came back. I like the Office Depot stores, but unfortunately their inability to even answer me,and I was in no way rude, offends me. I believe all businesses should require licence identification to use credit cards. It seems to be a good way to avoid chargebacks for cards now closed for nonpayment, etc. There is always a delay in processing the closure of a credit card, and entering the information in all systems. This can cost honest,legal, businesses in a significant way, by making sales for which they will not be paid. I am very glad to know that I was correct to avoid getting involved with any so called rebate purchases. Everyone should be cautious in these matters.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
teg-online.com (The Express Group) is a fraud. I have several incorrectly rejected rebates with them.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
I too have a problem with Office Depot rebates One rebate of $150.00 had to be done though the store where the purchase was made as i never received the rebate. Another purchase of a 32 inch HD tv has never shown up on the on-line rebate center and I sent in the rebate papers over 2 months ago. Office Depot will finally find out that sales will suffer due to the difficulty of having the rebates dealt with properly. I will probably not buy anything else from Office Depot that involves a rebate.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:17 am
I spend 9 hours a day answering the phones to you lot. And beleive me Office Depot is one of the most Lenient companies we work for.
Those of you that say you’ve been denied due to the UPC (not UPS as you lot seem to call it) are probably talking about manufacturer’s rebates that have nothing to do with office depot as the UPC is not a requirement for Office Depot.
Most calls I get where I find no record in the system are due nearly always to the general stupidity of you USAans. You send them all in one envelope to the address of an accompanying manufacturer’s rebate, then claim it’s our fault even though the addresses to send them to are clearly marked on the rebate forms. Or the classic calls go something like this….
Thank you for calling the Office Depot rebate centre.
YOU DON’T SPEAK ENGLISH!
I am english sir, I speak English.
I WANT TO TALK TO AN AMERIKKKAN, A WHITE AMERIKKKAN!
Can I help you sir?
WHERE’S MY F’ING REBATE?
When did you mail out the form sir?
FORM, WHAT FORM? NOBODY TOLD ME I HAD TO SEND IN A FORM!
Yes sir, you need to apply for a rebate in order to receive it.
THIS IS A SCAM! YOU’RE ALL CROOKS! GIVE ME YOUR SUPERVISER!
I mean come on. You should hear the sort of garbage we put up with.
I mean, I do think these rebates are a joke. But having a go at some people working in a call centre ain’t gonna solve nothing. In every other country in the world they just knock money off of items in shops before you buy them, but no, in a country so hell bent on capitalism and in a country with such a stupified uneducated populace as the US you lot will fall for anything.
Try doing a google for ‘call centre exploitation’ instead of ‘where’s my 10 dollar office depot rebate?’. Do you have nothing better to do than winge about not receiving something because you’re too stupid to read a form.
Blimey!
Thank you for calling the Office Depot rebate centre and have a nice day…..
April 20th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
I am also dealing with an Office Depot rebate scam for a $100 rebate on a Brother Fax machine purchased in November ‘06 and promptly mailed. I’ve checked the website and the status remains in perpetual “verification process” mode. Two phone calls to the rebate call center in India have prompted the same response: “It should be another 3-4 weeks sir for the check to be mailed.”. Well I’m over it and am now sending a demand letter to their corporate office and copying the FL attny general and the attny general in CA where I’m located. Unless people complain to their government officials these practices will continue. It’s astonishing to me to see the number of complaints like this and how it continues. You also need to stop doing business with companies who seem to want to profit on rebate “slippage” I’m certain there are throngs of people who don’t bother to take the time to follow-up on their rebates and just let them ‘fall through the cracks”.
April 27th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
..i was so mad about their rebate program but i feel better right now because i know that it’s not only me who got these problem and i promise to myself that i won’t buy anything from them anymore…and i won’t buy any “mail in rebate” again whatever it is…
May 3rd, 2007 at 12:18 am
how about this idea. a big class action law suit. united health care had to pay one for 200.000. i only got 20.37 but it sent a great big message. dont do it again. and amessage was sent by e mail from a judge to a very many people about the results. thats free infermation to more people at one time youall will get any where.
May 8th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
After contacting OfficeDepot 3 previous times for my 150.00 rebate check on my Toshiba notebook, I contacted the BBB, they told me to contact them again and tell them I had talked with the BBB and to ask when the check would be mailed, as my required validation period had been exceeded by 120 days, I did so by email knowing that i would received the same story, I contacted them on May 3rd and they replied on May 3rd, 2007 and told me to expect my check within 5-7 days, it is May 8th, 2007 and to my surprise, I received my check for 150.00 today. I advise everyone to do this, cant hurt!!!!!!!!
May 12th, 2007 at 1:47 am
Another Victim of OFFICE DEPOT rebate scam. Bought a maxtor hard drive from these criminals with a $50 rebate never got it. called them and emailed them several times, every time, OFFICE DEPOT response is that they will send the check and wait 30 days!
When will the law intervene and stop such practices? Sadly, these corps will do what they do, regardless since there is no one able to stop them. They will continue to make millions off these unclaim rebates.
Thank you OFFICE DEPOT you just lost another customer. OFFICE MAX here I come.
May 15th, 2007 at 10:06 am
My letter to the CEO of Office Depot:
Steve Odland
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Office Depot Corporate Support Center
2200 Old Germantown Road
Delray Beach, FL 33445
Re: How I became an Office-Depot Hater re: order 386117941 (or 701011552)
Dear Mr. Odland,
I am a long-time Office Depot customer (via the web and your retail stores) and wish to let you how you completely alienated me.
Recently, my wife made an error ordering an item via your web site using my company account. I began what I assumed would be a straightforward return procedure.
Alack, no. Eight phone calls later, shuttled back and forth between “Tech Depot”, “Office Depot”; two broken promises of callbacks (from a “Susie” at 866-345-3139 extension 28068); sad-sack apologetic explanations of the confusion you all have betwixt your entities: end result, you’ve taken a heck of a lot of my time and I’m still where I started.
I feel taken by you.
I ponder whether the problem be that your management is disorganized or if rather it’s all calculated to make returns such a burden that customers will simply give up. The former is disconcerting; the latter outrageous.
It’s a given that I’ll never shop again at Office Depot, and that I’ll go out of my way to warn all my friends and colleagues. But further I’m going to explore the blogoshere to let others know in wholesale fashion about your management failure (at best) or outright chicanery (at worst).
May 15th, 2007 at 10:28 am
I am on contact #3 for my Maxtor Hard Drive rebate of 50.00
You guessed it, I am “30 days from my rebate” , YA right!
I am going on 6 months and will be taking my communications to the Office Depot store manager and BBB. I will also be taking all 175 complaints from this blog to the store manager. Hmmm, see a pattern here?
June 11th, 2007 at 10:36 am
I am also a victim of Office Depot retaining rebates and giving the customer a sack of garbage after you try to chase down your rebate. I purchased a Gateway computer and Brother fax, copier, and scanner in March. At the end of May I called in and was told they didn’t receive the upc number on the brother and had no record of the computer! How did you not know about the computer when receipts were copied on the same piece of paper! They had not received the upc so I had to re-submit. Office depot needs to be sued and maybe then they’ll stop stealing money from consumers, I’m still waiting.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
I just got screwed by Office Depot on TWO rebates. I thought I would search for some blogs where I could spread the word and sure enough, all I had to do was google “mail in rebate scam” and this is the first one that popped up. I have purchased dozens of items over the last few years with mail-in rebates and Office Depot is the only company that decides not to honor them.
June 14th, 2007 at 11:45 am
I also purchased 2 items totaling a $225.00 rebate due to me. I had so many problems, just the same all of you have stated. Here’s what you do:
GO TO OFFICE DEPOT
COMPLAIN TO THE MANAGER
ASK HIM/HER TO CALL THE REBATE CENTER FOR YOU
I did this. He re-faxed it to them from Office Depot and I got my checks 2 weeks later! It took 5 months, but had I gone to Office Depot from the beginning, it would have been sooner. Listen to me and GO TO OFFICE DEPOT AND COMPLAIN TO THE MANAGER.
July 12th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Well I Can 100% agree with what all of the people on this form are saying. I myself work for office depot right now and can tell you that every rebate that we offer may say that you will get in in 4 to 6 weeks… well thats far from the truth i have see some take up to one year just for 4 dollars ! the company is really split on how it feels about customers getting their rebates some really care others could give a shit less. the fact of the matter is it 100% depends on what store you buy from and the mood of the associate that your dealing with. if you are kind and calm with them they will call the rebate center for you and get everything worked out for you. but if you call them stupid assholes well you get the idea. Just thought some people would like to know all of this
July 16th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
I too am a victum of the Office depot Maxtor $50 rebate offer from January. I called the useless call center with no results. I have a photocopy of my paper work & they tell me the offer is closed, so I can’t get any rebate. They refused to provide me with any supervisor (per Vicky, employee ID# 55029, in Minesota) With prior rebates taking upwards of 6 months to process, how do you know when an offer closes? I will never buy rebate items from Office depot & will make SURE none of my friends do either. I plan on going to my Senators office or contacting the attorney general for fraud.
July 20th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Well, after I cooled down, I took the photocopy of my rebate( post 182) that I did not get and went to my local Office Depot today & asked for the store manager. I politly explained my situation after calling the rebate center about my $50 maxtor rebate and to my amasement, she gave me my rebate on the spot!
I was shocked!
July 23rd, 2007 at 8:20 am
Good for you Ann! I have mentioned before that offers should be mailed “certified” so you will have proof of the date mailed and received by the rebate center; however, people have already mailed it off by the time they come to this site.
July 30th, 2007 at 10:48 am
Rebates are the least of Office Depot’s unethical behavior.
July 31st, 2007 at 10:51 am
Well You Act Like An *** To The Employees I Can Almost Bet That They Will Act Like One Back To You. Same Goes With Being Nice. But It Sounds Like Most Of The People On This Post Are People Who Have Nothing Better To Do Than Call Fraud On Office Depot.
With Love: An Office Depot Employee.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:26 pm
And the OD scam saga continues. I purchased a hard drive w/ $50 rebate in February. Sent it in on Feb. 4, and began to check the web site for rebates. They didn’t list it for a long time, then eventually showed the postmark date of 3/1/07. This was a complete fabrication, because it was sent 3 1/2 weeks earlier. Then I waited for the processing. Like others who commented here, it became stuck on “validation step,” and a check wasn’t cut. When I called 4 months after sending the rebate forms, they said they had made a mistake, that the check should have been sent, but wasn’t. They said it would be sent in 7 days. After 3 or 4 weeks, I called when the check hadn’t arrived. They said they had mailed it to an incorrect address. They said they would send the check to the correct address in 7 days. No check came, so I again called today – 6 months after the rebate was sent – and told that the check had not been sent to the correct address, and that they did not have the correct address on file. This is a complete scam on the part of OD, and an insult to the faithful, former customers. I’m not quite sure why some shrewd attorney hasn’t gotten wind of this scheme and filed a class action on behalf of disgruntled customers. I’ve purchased my last item at OD. From now on, it’s Staples for me.
August 5th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
BOBBY WINSTON…
When you wrote your letter to corporate, did you get a reply of any kind??
August 9th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
… i send in between 10 and 20 rebates per year and never have i not got my money… sometime i do have to call the rebate center and re-fax the upc or some thing they claim they did not get… as for office depot… off all the retailers i deal with they are the most helpful.. if you go in to a store they are great at calling the office depot rebate center for you as long as you sent in the original rebate on time even if you did it wrong they will let you resubmit up 2 90 after the cut off date…… if it is an office depot rebate all you need send in is a copy of the sales slip and the rebate form.. the only rebates requiring upc are from the manufacture…. so if you have to send in a upc it is not an office depot rebate… also if it has a rebate go in to the store and buy it don’t order online cause you will not get a register recpite just a delivery invoice and that can cause problems…
August 12th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
I wish I would have checked on the net for the kind of fraudulent business practices Office Depot engages in before buying a laptop and then being stiffed for the $200 mail in rebate. I will try to get the word out what a sleazy and unethical company they are.
August 19th, 2007 at 11:19 am
I recently purchased an all in one laser. I just checked to see if the status of the rebate is posted yet. I came across this site and now I am concerned. If it isn’t posted soon I am taking it back to the store. If enough cosumers do that maybe it will get their attention. By the way..they have to refund on anything purchased with a credit card.
August 20th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Office Depot. I also followed instructions to the letter, to comply with the rebate offer. I should recieve a rebate for $300. After numerous trips to the website and many phone calls later, always the same excuse, “call back in 7-10 days, I will take care of this matter personally” Well, now the offer has expired and no rebate. I made note of every phone call and contact person. Now they say we have no record of anything and those people you spoke to don’t work here and the employee numbers they gave you do not exist. “Please call back in 7-10 days and I will resolve this matter for you, personally”. One lie after the other. Bottom line, don’t buy at OFFICE DEPOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 21st, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Here is their newest tactic. I was pricing computers online and Office Depot had a great deal on a toshiba notebook. $450 after mail in rebate. Well they sent me the computer, but no rebate form. I gave it a couple days and called the number on the website. Eventually, I got a supervisor Phil I told him my rebate form was never sent with my purchase. He confirmed on his system that one should have been sent, so he called the rebate office (which he said was a part of office depot) on three way and spoke with a supervisor who said the rebate never existed. I will also never shop there, and would love a class action suit to stop this criminal practice from happening to others
August 31st, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Even up here in Canada, Office Depot is playing the same scam.
PURCHASED A Toshbia Labtop needed for work in December 2006. Already have an Apple Computer that works great at home. MAILED IN RIGHT AWAY ENVELOPE WITH RECEIPTS AND COPY to a Canadian Address. No UPC asked for. All the info already on the form printed by the store.
CONTACTED AFTER 2 MONTHS “it’s too early”
CONTACTED AFTER 3 MONTHS April 2007″still too early
Told to wait another month “nothing yet”
Beginning of July “resubmit copy to different address in the USA. “they never received my letter”
Called again Middle of August. “Too Early”
Called back at End of August 2007. Resubmit by fax.
What a load of hogwash. Before Business Depot moved into the area. Office Depot was the only game in town other than Grand & Toy (a Canadian Company). They closed there branch and B Depot gets all my business because when I have had to send a rebate form in for sandisc, etc. The cheque was in the mail when they said it would be. Office Depot has lost my custom as they say in the UK. But from reading the previous comments I don’t think Office Depot cares. 8 Months to piss in the wind.
September 6th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Two years ago I bought a desktop computer with several rebates totaling $350. I ALWAYS read and follow ALL instructions thoroughly and then make copies of everything I send in. One by one the rebate checks arrived all except two (the largest amount $100 and a smaller $50 amount. I received notice that they did not receive all the necessary attachments for these two amounts. OF COURSE I HAD THE COPIES of what I had submitted and sent them with a LETTER indicating that I am a very thorough person and the oversight was with the rebate people. I DID FINALLY RECEIVE ALL REBATE CHECKS DUE ME.
September 11th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
I purchased 4 lap tops from Office in July. 2 of them had 300.00 rebates each. One had a 80.00 rebate and the other $150.00. I bought them seperately and now OFFICE CHEATO DEPO
has told me that I only qualify for 1 rebate of $300.00 and another rebate of 80.00. They are cheating me out of $450.00. I agree that a class action should be brought against them. All of the rebate requests and receipts were mailed at the same time so it is not a matter of me not sending in the request in time or the correct information. They should not be allowed to get away with this. Everyone should contact the brand name company and complain to them as well because maybe they will care a little more about their name being associated with a company who cheats its customers. I know I will be contacting Toshiba.
September 13th, 2007 at 3:42 am
Here’s the scamming OD deal! Toshiba laptop for $800 ($799.99) and $200 Office Depot rebate. Bought one and reviewed the rebate. DOES NOT state limitations on 1 per person or 1 per household on the rebate form. So, I bought another one the next day.
So far one rebate is pending (phase 3) and the other rebate has been rejected, reason limit 1 per person, per household. What a fricking scam! The rebate form does not state any limitations. However, I reviewed the rebate form again. There is a clause stating {Office Depot reserves the right to modify the rebate promotion.} What does that mean? I guess they (OD) can change the rebate terms to their liking and advantage? WHAT A CROCK!
I guess, I’ll be modifying my buying and spending terms…
NO MORE BUYING FROM OFFICE DEPOT AGAIN!!!!
PERIOD!!!! CASE CLOSED!!!!
WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND! THE CROOKS at Office Depot will meet Bubba some day in the shower at Sing Sing prison! Don’t drop the soap!!!! LOL!
September 20th, 2007 at 11:19 am
WELL….after all sorts of problems….I see on the OD webrebate site my check has been mailed to me 9/19/2007.
I have had such a problem getting my lousy $30.00 rebate on a Brother Fax Machine.
FIRST they say I did not submit the proper documention…then they said they did not receive my “resubmit” material(which was the physical cardboard UPC code from the Fax Machine box)
As a precaution I sent the resubmit material with a delivery confirmation….tip—USPS does not want to do delivery confirmation on an envelope unless you use certified mail…(extra money). BUT…you may use a small padded envelope…as this is considered a “package” by the USPS. A USPS employee advised me to do that…
Anyway…after several phone calls…to OD I finally got my rebate check authorized…NOW…let’s see if I get the check.
My belief….is that Office Depot would love nothing better than to NEVER pay a rebate…so best document everything…send in the rebate forms with a delivery confirmation(if the rebate is a large amount..even five bucks to mail it is worth it to have documentation)
The ONLY way I got my rebate authorized is when I could tell the customer service supervisor my USPS delivery confirmation numbers…they checked it online..and saw I had in fact mailed it…AND…OD had received it well within time constraints.
Too bad we need to be SO cautious…I will think LONG and hard before I ever shop at OD again!
November 2nd, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Office Depot Scam!
Boycott Office Depot!
It’s a scam operation. They’ve no intention to honor their
rebates.The hundreds of testamonials to their ineptness &
dishonesty should be evidence enough.
Buy nothing involving rebates.They’re dishonest ads to get you
to their store & their rebates mean nothing to you.
“Let the Buyer Beware!” False advertising, false claims,
False rebates.
Boycott Office Depot! Put them out of business. Crooks!!
Write your Congressman for an investigation into this
practice.So many people affected. They’ll run with it.
What politician wouldn’t love the attention?
Hud Wilson
November 5th, 2007 at 10:57 am
I too am being scammed by Office Depot, I bought a Toshiba computer and they say they never received my forms.. BS!!!! Is ent in many at the same time, I received all except the Toshiba for $200.00. I am going to threaten them with going to the better business bureau
November 6th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
I have also been scammed by OD. Bought a digital camera where they promised 12% reward points on the purchase. When I didn’t receive them on my account, they said I was supposed to “sign up” for that special offer, although the people at the store knew nothing about a “sign up”. AND their customer service department has been aloof, arrogant and couldn’t care less. I hope some plaintiff atty firms are mining these blogs for a ripe class action opportunity – because here it is.
November 18th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Until the FTC comes down on OD with false advertising charges, the best way to deal with them is to consider the item price [b]before rebate[/b], and ignore the “Mail-In Savings” fraud. I still prepare all the paperwork, photocopy it and mail it in, and have [b]actually received[/b] one ($5.00) rebate check out of the 12 I’ve submitted.
All the others get no response or a postcard claiming that I failed to do something like submit a cash register receipt, or failed to circle the price of the item.
Occasionally the pre-rebate price is a good one. Otherwise I shop at honest stores where they don’t engage in rebate advertising scams.
December 1st, 2007 at 3:55 am
Just like everybody here, I had the same experience with Office Depot: they claimed I didn’t mail the receipt, so I wouldn’t get the $150 rebate for a Toshiba Laptop. After filing a complain with the FTC, BBB and District Attorney, Office Depot miraculously found the receipt and now they are issuing me my rebate.
December 2nd, 2007 at 9:56 pm
i work at office depot and wanted to say this
1. office depot sales people dont make commission so we dont care before or after the sale.
2. we do make commission on warranties. only 5% though.
3. i have never had a rebate problem. probably cause they know im an employee.
4. we sell warranties for the little commission we get not to help you.
5. the warranties are for profit not to help you so you will most likely get cheap service if you get service at all.
anything else? message me on yahoo messinger or email be back and ill tell you whatever you want to know. officedepotkid@yahoo.com
December 7th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
I have been waiting from 5/28/07 for a rebate from zone labs for there zone alarm. I have emailed and talked 5 times It’s we have to review it give us 7 to 10 days give us 5 to 10 day’s another 3 to 5 day’s. Today is 12/7/07
December 13th, 2007 at 7:57 am
I had a similar rebate denial on a computer and they agreed to send me the $150 due, plus a $50 gift card. I had to go to the BBB of South Florida and the Caribbean. (Go to your local BBB site and file the complaint for the company headquarters in Delay Beach and it will be directed to the local BBB office.) The BBB acted very quickly. However, I’ve told them and Office Depot that the matter is open and unresolved until I have the settlement in my hands.
I strongly suggest you go beyond the company to regulatory agencies. Another technique is to google “office depot,” your product name, approximate date of your purchase, and “rebate.” By doing this, I found cached pages showing that Office Depot had continued to advertise the rebate after I had made my purchase. I believe this was helpful in the settlement.
Here’s a customer service name at the company if you can use it:
Ingrid Morley
Sr. Customer Relations Assistant
Executive Customer Relations
Office Depot, Inc
2200 Old Germantown Road
Delray Beach, FL 33445
T: 561-438-0117
F: 561-438-6907
ingrid.morley@officedepot.com
Good luck.
December 22nd, 2007 at 2:53 pm
I posted 12/7 Talked to all rebates 12/11 & 2 times 12/21 they are still reviewing zone labs & FRY’s never ever will I shop there again.
December 29th, 2007 at 2:15 am
No wonder they have the lowest prices. They don’t pay on there rebates.
Their ads are strange in the sense that they are the only onew who post pricing before rebates, almost as if to say you might not get this so count on it.
Goin to BBB!
December 29th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
There are two types of rebates from office depot offered either by office depot or a manufacture. There is no problem with a manufacture rebate. But you have to fight to get your rebate offered by office depot. They will deny your rebate with excuse like “invalid UPC code”, “mail not recieved”, “wrong purchase date” etc. Make a copy of your rebate. The Office depot rebate offer started with OD15xxxxx. Don’t touch them.
December 29th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
“I believe all businesses should require licence identification to use credit cards.”
–Wow, that would be awesome – unfortunately, the agreements with ALL credit card processing companies prohibits this.
“I myself work for office depot right now and can tell you that every rebate that we offer may say that you will get in in 4 to 6 weeks… well thats far from the truth i have see some take up to one year just for 4 dollars”
–Really? You must not work in Tech, because anyone that does would have proper grammar and punctuation.
“i work at office depot and wanted to say this
1. office depot sales people dont make commission so we dont care before or after the sale.”
–99% correct. I just so happen to care whether or not the customer gets a good deal. And the managers like to complain about market basket, so not getting complained to is some sort of motivation.
“2. we do make commission on warranties. only 5% though.”
–Again, correct. Best plans are all the replacement plans (digital cameras, MP3 players, printers, chairs). They get you the full purchase amount back in a gift card, you just need to buy a new warranty. The two stores closest to me (as well as ours) will accept the replacements in the store, so you don’t have to wait for it to arrive.
“3. i have never had a rebate problem. probably cause they know im an employee.”
–Don’t think the rebate centers can tell.
“4. we sell warranties for the little commission we get not to help you.”
–Maybe that’s how you do it, but everyone I know sells replacement plans and repair plans to help the customers. Large TV’s are something you don’t want to be stuck with if it breaks; cameras are small and get damaged easily (especially the lens motor), just like MP3 players. Printers never seem to last long (Brother inkjet heads, HP rollers). Chairs… well, they come with a 3-5yr warranty, but getting our replacement plan extends it and covers the manufacturers warranty, so instead of getting it repaired, you get it replaced at any point for 6-7yrs.
5. the warranties are for profit not to help you so you will most likely get cheap service if you get service at all.”
–The warranties are indeed for profit (by OD), but you will NOT get poor service.
If you EVER receive poor service (through the phone or in a store), then speak to a manager. They will ALWAYS be able to help you. You can ALWAYS escalate and have the problem resolved. I’ve even offered to conference call Symantec with a customer for a rebate because they didn’t want to honor it (our rebate forms printed wrong). I was ready to get the CEO of OD and Symantec on the phone for this customer (had the numbers the next day) and threaten to have all their products pulled from our shelves (we don’t get that much from them anyways – any tech associate that catches you will offer you something better).
Our rebates print out at the register, but you want to go to a kiosk in the store and click the “Find your Rebate” link. It’ll let you find the EXACT rebate you need (make sure the dates are right) and you can print it off. Occasionally, the POS system is wrong and prints off multiple forms that need the original UPC, and if the rebate center for ANY company sees this they’ll deny the rebates. Printing them off the kiosk will make sure you don’t have problems like that.
Remember, if you don’t receive your rebates in 10 weeks (2.5 months) then go talk to the manager. They can ensure it is sent out, or they can give you a direct refund if it’s necessary.
December 30th, 2007 at 9:46 am
I purchased a Compaq notebook for my daughter and submitted the rebate to be told it was out of date, I’ve contacted the BBB, will never shop Office Depot again.
January 1st, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Back in the summer, Office Depot offered a rebate on Quicken 2007 software for $50. The price on Quicken was $59 so the net price to me was only $9, so I upgraded from Quicken 2005 to Quicken 2007.
In about two months my rebate check came and to my complete surprise, the rebate check was for $100 instead of $50. I called the Office Depot rebate telephone number and the lady I spoke with said I could either cash the check or they could cancel and re-issue a new check for $50.
It only took me about a New York second to realize it was fool’s folly to take the chance to wait for a re-issue of a new check, so I cashed the $100. My mama didn’t raise no fool!
January 7th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Small dollar amount but still aggravating. I purchased a case of paper for $42.99. The offer was a $19.00 rebate. Submitted all the materials, receipts, etc., on time. Received a postcard stating: “The receipt you submitted did not show the purchase of a qualifying product.”
Well, they’re dealing with the wrong person here. I document carefully every rebate I send. Called the 866 number, held for approximately 23 minutes. After putting me on hold twice to check their records, “Audrey” informed me that there was no problem with my rebate, that I had submitted all the required documentation. Well, duh!!! I knew that.
I agree with the above comments. I believe Office Depot probably rejects rebates randomly, assuming that most people did not document their submission and will not take the time to call or re-submit.
Office Depot should be ashamed of themselves.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:19 am
ok well the reason u proablly didnt get your rebate may be because you either didnt fill out the info right or the rebate date was invaid when u sent it out and if u really didnt recieve the rebate you can sue that conmpany its illgeal also its proable not office depots rebate considering 90 percent of rebates are from the manufacter so you would be mad at depot u should be mad at the manufactor
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:22 am
I recently purchased a computer bundle at Office Depot that offered a $200 rebate. I followed the instructions to the letter and photocopied everything. I mailed the rebate certified paying sum $5.50 to do so. Upon receiving the green USPS return receipt by mail I checked the website: OFFICEDEPOT.COM/REBATE CENTER
to verify the rebate progress. It showed no submission found.
I emailed the contact email address and was emailed back stating that “they had no record of my submission”. I emailed back stating that I had a return receipt with the person’s name who accepted the return receipted letter with “YA FULLFILLMENT” stamped as accepted. (YA FULLFILLMENT is Young America).
I have yet to hear anything more about the rebate status and have re-emailed young america twice and checked the rebate status over and again. Will post progress later.
January 25th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Just called the Office Depot rebate center about the Panasonic Phone $20 Rebate. The reps (she) told me that I purchase the wrong product (told me the SKU number didn’t match the one in their system), therefore unqualified for the rebate. I checked the copy of rebate form and everything is right. I asked them why the cashier printed out the rebate form along with the receipt, if the item I bought was not qualified for the rebate. She said she doesn’t know. Told me that nothing she can do about it (because the system won’t allow it) and hung up.
I called back a couple minutes and another reps told me that it looks like I had sent everything correctly and I should get the check in 3-4 weeks.
I will never buy from OD again, no way after wasting my time on the phone. It’s a rebate scam from OD to treat the customer like that. Maybe they hope that we will never call or forget about the rebate. Always make a copy of your rebate, even so they still can say we’re not qualified because we purchased the wrong product. Never happens to me before until yesterday with Office Depot Rebate.
Btw, it’s about 3 months they hold my rebate check (maybe total 4 months if they really send it).
STAY AWAY FROM OFFICE DEPOT REBATE!!!!
February 18th, 2008 at 3:30 am
A.R. I can not belive that this has been going on for so long. I recently had the same problem w/ a $200 rebate on a compaq. I did not send it return reciept just stamped it and mailed it at my post office where I work trusting it would get there. When I checked it was not showing up online. I called and they told me to wait another week. It’s already been nearly two months. It should be online by now. I was told if it doesn’t show up in a week to call back and they may ask me to resubmit my information (that it may have been lost in the mail). I have lost my copies and will have to go to the store and have them research my sale and reprint a reciept. I thought I was just the unlucky person to have my mail lost until I saw all this. I did notice a lawsiuit involving Office depot and rebates. Does anyone know anything about that? I know one thing, this experience has caused me to lose interest in shopping at Office Depot. Scam me once shame on you, scam me twice shame on me.
February 21st, 2008 at 7:39 pm
I am not surprised to find all these complaints here. Office Depot as a part of policy is systematically cheating its very own customers (who are otherwise loyal to the store for reasons such as proximity, etc) through these rebate scams. I bought Altiva Wireless-G Notebook Network Card on 11/23/2007 and sent all the paper work along with two receipts (an email receipt and a store receipt which I picked up from the store when I went to collect the network card) and copies of all proof-of-purchase, rebate form, etc. I have not heard from them yet. When I checked the status online (which they fortunately have) in January they said receipt is missing. So I sent copies of both receipts in January again. And their website still says receipt missing. They are out to CHEAT. I tried calling them at the telephone number on the rebate form and no human being to answer. I am looking to see which government authority I should complain to (in addition to Better Business Beauru). Also can anyone please tell me which number to call to speak to a human being at Office Depot? Thanks in advance.
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I had the same problem with Office Depot: rejecting my rebate for silly and stupid reasons. Tried to contact the customer reps and none of them are willing to solve. It was a waste of time. I contacted BBB in South East Florida (as Office Depot headquarter is registered there) and filed a complaint. BBB transferred the complaint to them and my rebate issue was fixed in 2 days!!
If anyone has the same issue, file a complaint to BBB and they have very good and reliable people to have you guys out.
(www.bbbsoutheastflorida.org)
February 28th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
The number I called was 1-866-541-0284.
It took a while to get a real person but be persistant. I am going tomorrow to get new copies of all my reciepts. Hope that turns out ok.
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:51 am
Sometimes your local Office Depot can make things right. Mine did.
On 2/11/08 I bought an APC 750va Universal Power Supply (computer Battery Backup) advertised with a $15 rebate. Office Depot Item# 212752. Rebate was rejected due to my sending in “invalid UPC” — even though it was the only one on the box. I am meticulous about how I submit rebates, no way could I have made a mistake.
APC makes two UPS with similar performance characteristics: BE750BB and BE750G. The photo in the Office Depot advertisement was BE750BB, the unit in their store was BE750BB, the unit I bought (that scanned to the same item number specified in their rebate ad) was BE750BB and when they scanned it at checkout it AUTOMATICALLY generated the rebate form with the proper Office Depot item number (and that item is also listed on their website). The photo on their website for that item is BE750BB. (”If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck…”). BE750BB and BE750G are VERY different in appearance — could NOT be mistaken for each other. BE750BB is the only 750VA UPS that Office Depot sells on their website and in retail stores. They DO NOT SELL the BE750G. Problem: their computer says the item they are selling is BE750G (wrong!!) and that’s the only unit the rebate is honoring. In the rebate center’s view, I bought the wrong unit. I trust that was a simple data entry mistake.
I took my tale of woe with all the evidence to my local Office Depot store (esp. rejection notice & correspondence, evidence they were selling the BE750BB NOT BE750G). My Office Depot store manager issued the rebate as a store credit to my credit card. Their credit also included sales tax, so it wound up being for a little more than the original rebate amount.
Thank you Office Depot for making things right in my case.
March 3rd, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I purchased a Brother printer from Office Depot in January. I promptly mailed everything off. Today, I got a notice of denial, because I was ‘outside the qualifying dates’.
After several hang ups on the customer service line, I tried the website. It says my $20 rebate for Microsoft Office was denied.
Okay, but I’ve never purchased Microsoft Office, and I’m waiting for a $50 rebate on a Brother printer. The offer numbers were no where near the same – MS Office: #OD7102370
Brother printer: #BR1202149
There was no other information available for my name and address.
March 12th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Looks like I am in the process of becoming another OD rebate victim. I purchased a Compaq Notebook computer on 1/8/2008, and sent in the forms for a $30 rebate and a $150 rebate. I sent the $150 rebate via certified mail with delivery confirmation. Today, I received a postcard from OD saying that I did not include a receipt. I have copies of all of my paper work that I submitted, and the prominent document that was in the envelope was the printout from the OD store that says ‘Office Depot – Customer Receipt’ in large type on that form.
I am supposed to mail in the receipt (again) along with the postcard before next Wednesday. So tomorrow, back to the post office to mail another copy of the receipt via certified mail with delivery confirmation.
I have purchased dozens of items in years past for which I have received rebates. I know the drill of complying with the list of documents to be submitted, when to mail them by, etc. , so I know that they definitely received a receipt. It looks to me like the OD rebate people are going out of their way to throw hurdles into the process, due to the sizeable amount of the rebate. In this case, they’re hoping I don’t mail it back within the week.
Based on other people’s experiences with OD rebates, I will not buy anything from OD in the future based on their rebate offers. I will stick with relatively reputable programs like Staples EasyRebates.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
I purchased a Toshiba Laptop on January 2, 2008 from Office Depot and am still waiting. I have been given the run-around by both the rebate center and the store. It looks like another rip-off. Now I know why they offer rebates and not the final selling price. It is another way to reach into a person’s pocket. It has certainly soured my opinion of Office Depot.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I work for Office Depot if you have problems with the rebate process first contact the store you purchased from then if they are not helping which unfortunately does happen please call the district manager for your area or our corporate office. I work in the district store for my area and have seen first hand the effort that has been made for customers who were dissatisfied with their service. No store manager that wants to continue to work for Office Depot wants a complaint from his store to make it to the desk of the district manager.
So Please give your store a chance to make it right. I understand the frustration you have with rebates. I have it ten fold because I do not want a customer of mine to be unhappy with the store after we try to make the shopping experience as positive as it can be and the rebate company messes up the situation.
Above all if you can not get satisfaction at your local store step up to the district or region level and your problem will be handled. If you look at the bottom of your receipt there should be an email or website to visit for customer compliments and complaints. If you use that service the emails go directly to the district manager and they get forwarded to the store manager that should take care of you. They are required to respond to you within (I think) 24 hours.
April 6th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
DLS cont”d. There is a $ number on the OD financials stating the amount of annual rebate default income. That should be a revealing number. Perhaps one should buy one share of OD and demmand copies of the corporate fincials to pick up the unearned and unconscionable windfall income.
Would this be a good 60 minute or 20 20 expose’??
April 9th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Similar story with Office Depot rebate program.
I bought a HP laptop, and had to submit one rebate to HP for 50 dollars, and one rebate to Office Depot for 150 dollars. I got my rebate from HP, but no news on Office Depot. I checked online, and no record what-so-ever of my submission. I sent out the two letters together, and how interestingly, Office Depot did not get it but HP did? Unfortunately, I am new to this game, and I did not make copies of my submission. All I have is my credit card statement that says I purchased the computer. So, I need to resubmit the forms, HP rebate center says, and I need the receipt, and the rebate form. I can get the receipt from the Office Depot headquarters, but they tell me there is no way I can get the rebate form. It’s a frig’n rebate form! and they made it harder than landing on the moon to get another copy! I don’t know what I can do next! I think I am going to go office depot and try to complain to a manager next. It’s such a scam, and I have learned my lessons about making copies of everything.
Fei
April 21st, 2008 at 9:59 pm
i have not received any rebat from officedepo since 2/22/08,could you please let me know what can i do?
May 1st, 2008 at 4:33 pm
I got my check! After several fax attempts, phone calls and much annoyance, I finally recieved my $200. I ended up sending my rebate form to the Office Depot Resubmission Dept.
I sent the form by certified mail to: Office Depot Customer Service Resubmission Dept. P.O. Box 317006 El Paso, TX 88531-7006 Within 10 days it showed up online and within 15 days I had my check. Faxing the re-submission to: Fax # 1-866-238-3145 at least for me was a dead end road. Calling didn’t offer much help either. Once I got info saying that the purchase date was invalid. They were going by the date on the emailed reciept from office depot. I had to circle the purchase date and refax it. The next phone call said they have no record of the submission. I explained the last time I called the associate even told me the date of the reciept. I explain they had to have record. Still yet I had to send it in again. Finally I sent it by mail. Just make sure to document every phone call, fax, and submission. Keep trying.
May 25th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Office Depot has the WORST call centers in the world. Everytime I have to talk to those Phillipine outsource call center staff I cringe. What a waste of time. My business is slowly transferring to Staples and I’ll be done with Office Depot in a few weeks.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Sent $100 rebate request in Feb with confirmation. Status in May was “Never received it” even with the confirmation. Re-faxed everything including mail receipt and status has been “Check Mailed” for 3 weeks now. I called to see what mail system they are using. “It makes a few stops first.” After 3 weeks they will cancel that check and issue another. This started in Feb 08. Given the average life expectancy of a white female, I may not live to see this rebate!
Isn’t there some hungry law firm out there ready to class action these guys?
Too bad Office Depot has helpful, friendly employees but this bozo company is losing them customers faster than they can bring them in. Sad…..
July 14th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
I bought two items from office depot a keyboard and mouse set and a bluetooth device. Both of which had rebates, I’m not a person that normally purchase things with rebate because I never seem to get them but I followed the directions on the rebate form made copies of everything I had to send (upc/bar codes, form, reciept) and sent them what they asked for to the address provided. I admit it took at least a month maybe a month and a half but I kept an eye on the progress on the website. I got my checks/money cards in the mail and deposited them into my bank account with out any issues. I was actually comfortable with the rebate process they had. Surprisingly!
July 14th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
by the way if you lose your rebate form you can get a new one directly from the store and if you lose the reciept they have a reciept retrival number they can provide you with that will email it straight to you.
July 15th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
As to this day Office Depot continues their scam of rebate submissions. On one of my purchased they lied and said I didn’t include the bar code cut from the box. Yeah, that’s right, LIED! I’m 200% sure I sent it. Of course, all they needed was a copy and they would process my rebate… Well, they got me on that one ’cause I didn’t have a copy, but a complaint I filed with the Better Business Bureau, it finally got thier attention and my rebate was given.
In May I bought a laser printer from Office Depot with two rebates. One for $100.00 and the other for $50.00. They process my $50.00 rebate and sent it to my home. I checked on the web-rebates site to see if my $100.00 had been process and it wasn’t. I called the rebate center (press #1 or you won’t even talk to a human) and they said they did not recieve my $100.00 rebate form. They asked me to Fax a copy of it and they would process it witing 4 to 6 weeks.
In short, this is one of the largest scams out there ripping customers out of the money they were promised. They lie to it’s customers stating false truths that you did something wrong in order for your rebate not to be processed correctly. This needs to be a class action law suit.
My recommendation for anyone who didn’t make copies of the needed rebate forms, bar codes and other needed info…File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in your area. http://welcome.bbb.org/ It was the only thing that worked for me when I didn’t have copies. Good luck fighting these scammers!
July 28th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Office Depot just sent me a rebate check for the amount one of their manufacturers owed me. I’m sorry to see all of the problems people have been reporting – hopefully seeing a compliment for a good deed will lead these companies toward doing the right thing more often.
http://bwinett.blogspot.com/2008/07/office-depot-good-deed.html
August 6th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Some of you people do not know how to read or what you are doing. As long as you read and fill it out right in the correct time there shouldn’t be an issue. I work retail, I can’t stand when customers act like everything revolves around them when they don’t have a clue to what is going on. The people on here are like talking to a wall. Crooks? Not even close, you are the crook for thinking you are going to get something outside the guidelines.
August 6th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
“I work retail, I can’t stand when customers act like everything revolves around them…” Hahaha… you maybe should consider a career change. Everything *does* revolve around the customer; they are the ones paying for your job.
August 14th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU,
July 9, 2008 My Husband and I purchased a Toshiba Lap Top computer from Office Depot. It was $750.00 with a $125.00 rebate from the store. He filled the form out and sent copies of the receipt in the very next day. He read in the local newspaper about how some stores including Office Depot was making it hard to get rebates back. One week later he received a card saying Something was not filled out right OR Something was missing OR Something was unreadable, OR….well this PISSED him off.
We were very happy with the computer, nothing was wrong with it. I googled Office Depot Refund Scams and thanks to many people I found this out. I printed 36 pages out and he read them and said, “I am not letting them run me around forever they do not deserve my money, erase anything on computer and box it up.” The next day it went back to Office Depot. Yes this is a true story. He told them he was unhappy and wanted a refund of his money to his debit visa card. The manager said no can do. Husband was mad he told him to his face to Refund The Damn Money right now. Manager said no. Husband sat computer down and the receipt and told manager he would be hearing from the bank. Husband went straight to bank talked lady in charge of debit card she called the Visa Company and they told her the money would be in account in 7 days. He had make copys of the receipt and had the 36 pages of blogs and told them at bank why he was not giving his money to Office Depot. The money was back in his account the next day!!!!!!!!! But he has no computer. But will buy one soon from a company that has no store refund scams. He been using an old lap top with windows 98 on it so he was very happy with his new lap top. Sometimes it pays to have people tell how much trouble they had in life to keep you from going in the same direction. Thank you. Visa will stand behind their customers, even if it’s a debit card backed by visa.
August 25th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Are you sure this is the store’s fault or could it be the manufacturers’ fault? I just hate passing blame on the wrong party if they have no control. If you are sending the rebate claim to the manufacturer (like most are if they are not in-store rebates) how is this the retailer’s fault?
September 11th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Add me to the list…..Office Depot $200 rebate sent in with all originals including code, and 4 months later. No Rebate! Surprise.
September 11th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Office Depot Not a good place to buy. I bought a keyboard & mouse “Ativa” model 660-135. It failed withi a few months & tehy said electronics have to bew returned in 14 days. So you wasting yopur money on them.
September 17th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
hey… do you all want to know the truth about rebates?, i actually work in the rebate center, hahahhaa the thing is that most of the people qualifies for the rebate, but some of them don’t, if you want to know how this rebates things works contact me, linkintengoyo@hotmail.com..
thank you for callin office depot mail in savings center and have a nice day!
September 22nd, 2008 at 5:38 pm
I am a victime of an Office Depot rebate scam as well. I was supposed to get $30 back after buying a portable DVD player in their Peabody, MA store. I sent in all the paperwork and double checked everything.
I received a postcard back claiming I did not buy the DVD player in a Office Depot store (where of course the rebate was “advertised” as valid) which is absolute bull.
September 23rd, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Agree with some here, my local OD is very helpful, but the rebate center is NOT
September 24th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
We and our friends were scamed too many time by phoney rebates lures. So we boycott all sales with “rebates” in mail. We go to the stores which offer normal prices or an instant rebates. All of us feel the satisfaction. Let the crooks go under.
It is a good possibility for a young attorney to file a class action case, make some money and built up his reputation as an attorney.
November 10th, 2008 at 11:50 am
I believe companies who create intentionally deceitful and difficult rebate policies should be punished. It’s simply unethical. How can you advertise selling a product for X amount of dollars when you know that 50% of the people who buy it aren’t going to receive the rebate. If Office Depot was really committed to offering a rebate they would automatically give customers the rebates on purchase. Basically what happens is the customer receives the discount at the register and the company (usually through an automated process) files the rebate information on behalf of the customer. Although rare, some companies like Costco, Apple, and Vons do such things.
Poor customer service and shady rebates is definitely one of the downfalls of office depot. Although they offer a wide variety of products, it almost seems like its more of a hassle dealing with them than say a smaller boutique computer/office supply company or store. When you deal with a smaller company, someone like Abacus One Computer Supplies for example, you always receive your rebates, there is never any hassle, and the employee’s treat their customers with respect. Half the time I walk into Staples or Office Depot I have a 14 year old kid who doesnt know the difference between an apple and a pc trying to help me select products and fill out rebate return forms.
We need to hold corporations in America to higher standards!
November 19th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Shit, I see that I’m not alone here!
I received the 30$ rebate for a Brother PT-1280 and the payment has been stopped! May be I should try to claim 300$ for the hassle of dealing with their shitty rebate center.
CAN SOMEONE STOP THEM FROM STEALING PPL’s MONEY?
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:55 am
I got a $20 rebate from Staples which came back stopped also. What is going on here?
Has anyone had any success contacting the assholes from the company?
December 2nd, 2008 at 5:59 pm
I’ve waited over 100 days for my rebate of $125 for a Toshiba laptop, only to be told like the others that it wasn’t in the system! It wass lost in the mail….yeah, right. They’re just hoping that we forget about it…I was told to fax another copy to the resubmit department, the fax # is either bogus or constantly busy. The fax won’t go through….tried all night and check this afternoon and it still isn’t in the system! BBB here I come…and I will also be sending a registered letter.
And never will I shop at OD again. What a bunch of junk!
December 26th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Yah office depot are scum bags at giving you your rebates they will send you a letter 2 months after the 3 months u sent in the rebate and tell you you didnt send the reciept best advice is to go to staples there rebates are done online and is easy as can be u get your rebates in 2 weeks at the most office depot= far pass suck these guys blow tips if u know what i mean =)
December 26th, 2008 at 10:21 am
I ordered a lcd monitor on black friday to be shipped to me. After two weeks I had not received my monitor. I called customer service and they told me that they had to replace the order. In doing so it put me outside of the valid purchase date of the rebate form I had. I told the customer service rep this and she told me she would email me a new rebate form with current dates. I never received the email. I called back to inquire about my new rebate form and the cust. service rep told me to just mail the one I had and that the rebate place was good about sending the checks even if I was out of the qualifying dates. Yea right.
I called to cancel my order and they told me they couldn’t because it was already processed. I informed her that I would refuse shipment, dispute the charge on my credit card, and NEVER shop at Office Depot again.
January 25th, 2009 at 8:39 am
This is insane, I cant believe how many people have the same complaint. I was a store manager with OD for 5 years. They absolutely use rebates over sale prices because they know that only a certain percentage will be redeemed for all of the reasons documented here, it is part of the equation. Dont worry about boycotting OD though, have you been in one of their stores lately ? They are just about done. Stock prices have gone from $40 down to $2 in the past couple of years in very large part due to the integrity in which they conduct them selves.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
We bought a desktop computer back in Oct. Photocopied everything and followed the instructions to a T. Sent everything in within the time frame. Finally at New Years I see online that there was an error. I call and they tell me to call back in ten business days. I receive the post card from them telling me that the receipt was not readable or something to that effect. I call and get put on hold, then CS comes back on there and tells me that they have everything they need for my rebate and that they are resubmitting it and a check should go out in 5 or 10 days. That was last Thursday the 22nd of January. I will reply back here and let everyone know what happened. The website does now show my claim as having no errors and is in processing again, sigh. If I would have found this thread before we bought that computer, I would have went elsewhere. They deserve to go under.
January 27th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Had a similar experience to some I’m reading about… Two different rebates called for the same original proof of purchase. What a scam! To make it worse, I only bought the product because it said the rebate was available if you bought a computer at Office Depot. However, the packaging never said you had to buy it the same day. Wish I could just take everything back and support some other store. I will never shop at Office Depot again.
March 26th, 2009 at 11:45 am
I purchased a computer from Office Depot in June 2008. It is now March 2009 and I have still not received the rebate, despite numerous phone calls. The company handling the rebate is Young America. They claim to have sent checks on two occasions. What are the odds that the US Postal Service has dropped the ball twice?
March 30th, 2009 at 8:20 am
I bought a Toshiba laptop the day after Thanksgiving, sent in everything on time as as stated. When I checked the website for rebate status, it stated a check had been mailed on Jan 8, 2009. I never received the check. After contacting them numerous times, each time they promised a check mailed in 2 weeks, I still have not received the check. I realize it’s only $50, but I am getting more and more angered by this scam. GGGRRRRRR.
March 30th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
If you sign up for the office depot rewards program for your company they will sell your info. You will get tons of credit card offers, or stuff to buy with your company name on it. enough said!!
Go out of business already.
May 14th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Purchased a Compaq Presario Computer from Office Depot on 02/11/2009. On Sunday 02/15/2009 the computer went on sale for $70.00 less. After calling the store manager I went to the store and received paperwork that had to be mailed to the Mail-in Rebate Center.
Following the lengthy delay in the “process” the rebate for $70.00 was approved and a check was mailed on 03/24/2009.
As of 04/11/2009, I HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE CHECK!
I called the Rebate Center. I was informed that the mailed check must had been “mis-directed” in the mail!!! That a new check would be issued and I could expect it in about a month!!!!
October 21st, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Just went to the Beaverton oregon store on Cedar Hhills Blvd and went in for some print cartridges, and WOW!!, these guys were like on break and did not want to be bothered as I felt like I was bothering them. Andy, When I asked him why they were out of the lower priced cartridges he said “we get them when we get them”!!! so no real care in the world, or offer to get them or even look into it!. Tim The MGR on duty after I filled out my customer comments card said well I am sorry and next time you come in we will try to do better, (assuming there will be a next time!, a real assumer). Ok Mike John i am told you are the store mgr, you can do much better than this!!, your customers are the reason your staff is working and they are not to be treated as they are bothering you or your team. This just might be why the Stock Price is lower and struggeling, good customer service can really help the BOTTOM LINE (hoping you see my points)!….
January 25th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
I have had lots of shippind and delivery problems with Office Depot.
Just bought a new desktop PC last week, Promised 1 day then 3 day then it was supposed to come tomorrow which is 1 1/2 weeks later. Today I checked and it arrived at the warehouse and will be here next week.
They can’t expedite and say they can’t cancel. Well I just went to there competitior and orederd the same PC will be here tomorrow.
We are just not paying for the other PC. They want it they can pick it up.
Other orders also screwed up, didn’t arrive, etc. They had to reship a box of paper, etc.
September 20th, 2010 at 6:25 pm
I am having problems as well. My rebate is in the required, “holding” period and has been there for 27 days. I like Staples just fine and will only go to Office Depot for cheap school supplies in the summer. I will no longer trust their rebate service. I bought items at Staples at the same time and all rebates are returned and great.
Sounds like they need a class action law suit.
jill
September 29th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Office Depot sold a Toshiba Satelite laptop recently a great price at $499.00. Bought it in Portland no tax. After 10 hours perhaps less then 5 hrs on the internet the system revealed signs of a Trojan. I scanned it with Norton and sure enough. Odd that Norton was not able to detect it to save my pc. Took it back to the Port Orchard store in which the store manager said $180.00 to restore pc. What its a new pc? A system restore does nothing. According to experts I need to go buy Windows7 and scrub my hard drive. Sounds aweful odd that it developed this problem so quickly. I have been in the pc world since 1988 and this is the first time I was hit so quickly with this.
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