Your Mail in Rebate May Be In Jeopardy [[H]]Enthusiast] (Thanks to xskeweredx!)

"People think when they come to court that they are going to get instant relief," said Judge Rebecca Dallet of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. "We can give what the law allows, but we have no way of getting the money for them. I don't think people realize that."

In two stories over the past few days, Ellen Gabler of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has tried to track down Craig Hueffner, who has sold spas through the Wisconsin State Fair for most of the past 11 years. There's a fairground pavilion named after him, and his caricature is painted on it. His brother was even present this year selling spas. But many customers have had trouble getting Hueffner to pay contractually obligated rebates (which he offered even when he knew that the company behind the rebates was having financial problems)—and it seems no one can track him down, because he repeatedly gives incorrect addresses and contact information.

Those who've tried to sue Hueffner in small claims court say he's an expert at wriggling out of his responsibility to pay. He lists different addresses and different business names to avoid being served with court papers, they say, and he stalls in court.

After the first article appeared, some customers were given a lucky break—Hueffner's real address—but Hueffner may have frustrated and exhausted the couple to the point that they're giving up:

After Sunday's P.I. story appeared, Albert and Sally Merschdorf received a call from someone who knew Hueffner's home address. The Merschdorfs gave up trying to sue Hueffner last October after they said they spent at least $300 and many hours trying to track him down and serve him with court papers.

"At this point, I don't know if it's going to do me any good," Albert Merschdorf said of Hueffner's address. "It's frustrating getting it now, rather than when we were trying to serve him (with court papers.)"

There's not much you can do to help track down Hueffner, but you can ask Bob Lauter, the CEO of Master Spas, whether or not he's still doing business with Hueffner even after knowing what he's been doing to customers. Lauter told the paper that he'd investigate, but then fell silent and stopped returning calls:

Craig Hueffner worked as an independent dealer of Master Spas, a brand of hot tubs sold by the Fort Wayne, Ind., company.

Bob Lauter, CEO of Master Spas, said he knew Hueffner had run into trouble with the rebate program but said he didn't know about the judgments against Hueffner or customer complaints. He also said his company hadn't sold Hueffner products in six months.

"We have to look at this, re-evaluate it, and probably terminate him as a dealer," Lauter said. "I don't want our customers to be involved with that."

Three weeks later, however, Lauter wouldn't return repeated calls, so Public Investigator could not confirm whether Hueffner was terminated as a dealer.

Here's Master Spas' contact info:

Master Spas
6927 Lincoln Parkway
Fort Wayne, IN 46804
260-436-9100

"Spa dealer elusive in paying court-ordered debts" [JS Online]
"'Spa Man’ still elusive, even at home " [JS Online] (Thanks to !)
(Photo: Getty)

It doesn't give you cash. No, it gives you a prepaid Visa debit card.

Use it within six months or start losing it.

The prepaid debit card is the reward for surviving a patented system designed to "maintain breakage." Still, we know there are rebate partisans out there, and if you're one of them, carefully read our tips for redeeming rebates before sending in your claim form, including:

• Read the offer carefully before you buy.
• Fill out paperwork promptly.
• Enclose all required documentation.
• Make copies of all paperwork to be mailed, including forms, receipts, and UPC codes.
• Consider notarizing your receipts.
• Send your form via certified mail and request a return receipt as proof that the company received your request.
• Watch for rebate checks or prepaid cards disguised as junk mail.

Brett writes:

I've just failed to have my second rebate attempt honored.

The first, was a lens rebate for $100, last winter. That rebate hinged on making two expensive ($400 & $1,200) Canon lens purchases within a several month window. They never even acknowledged that the rebate had been submitted.

My second try, I've now learned the $50 rebate I qualified for has been turned down. This later rebate required that as the original owner of a Canon Rebel SLR and and purchaser of a new Canon 5D [I] hack up my product box for the original UPC, [include] copies of receipts, etc...

Annoyed by my imaginary lens rebate, I made sure that all the hoops were jumped though in the rebate fine print, only to have my legitimate claim denied. I was encouraged as they at least let me know that I had filed for this rebate. However, they now cite that my original Digital Rebel has an unknown serial number. Unknown, but promptly registered when I'd first purchased it several years ago.

I have the mailing from Canon, informing me of this, telling me to resubmit my missing rebate information by the end of October. I've now re-registered my 4 year-old camera and will be mailing their card back with a note of my own, certified mail.

Based on a quick web search, it appears that I am not the first the hit roadblocks with Canon rebates, and think it would be helpful for other Consumerist readers to know about.

A Google search for "Canon rebates" turns up warnings and complaints from people who have been screwed over by Canon. Bryan at The-Digital-Picture cautions that you'd better follow the instructions precisely, and prepare to settle in for a long wait and potential fight:

As of the original authoring of this page, the last Canon lens rebate I participated in required me to send the complete information 3 times and took about four months until fulfillment. I followed the procedures to the letter - it could not have been more clear to the rebate fulfillment center. Still, I had to play the frustrating and time-consuming game.

Meanwhile, the "Canon Rebates" page at consumeraffaiirs.com is filled with complaints—at least one for every month so far this year—from angry consumers. By their accounts, it sounds like Canon is deliberately playing the stall-and-reject game with their rebates, in an attempt to keep the number of payouts as low as possible. You might want to keep that in mind the next time you weigh the value of a promised Canon rebate against the purchase price—even if you receive it, you may end up sinking many hours into the ordeal.

(Photo: Getty)

• MagicJack: $39.95 for VoIp first year, $19.95 a year after that
• Amazon: Health & Grooming Products Manager's Specials
• Kashi: Free cookie

• Beach Camera: Sandisk 8 GB Ultra II SDHC HD Memory Card for $19.99 after $20 rebate w/ Free shipping
• Ralph Lauren: 30% Off No minimum Coupon Code RLFA2008
• goHardDrive.com: Western Digital 1TB 7200RPM Hard Drive for $128.95 w/ Free shipping after Coupon Code 10WD10EACS

• Amazon.com: 80 Duracell Ultra AA Alkaline Batteries for $30 + free shipping
• Graveyard Mall: Maxim 32-Piece Wooden Train Set for $10 + $6 s&h
• Buy.com: Midland 26-Mile GMRS 2-Way Radios for $45 + free shipping

• Amazon: Vaio CR410E 14.1-inch Notebook PC $813 Shipped
• OfficeMax: Lexmark All-in-One Printer with Auto Document Feeder $70 Shipped
• Vann's: Panasonic DMP-BD30 Blu-Ray Player $288 Shipped

• WarCry: Free Warhammer Online Beta 10 days
• Amazon: Kitchen deals for under $7, all eligible for 4 for 3 promotion
• Buy.com: Logitech G51 Gaming Speakers for $71.99 Shipped After Rebate

• Deal Extreme: Rechargeable Digital Pin-hole Spy Camera + USB Drive Disgused as Working Pen for $35.53 w/ Free shipping
• HP Home : New stackable Laptop coupon, up to $350 off $999 w/ coupon code NB3325
• OfficeMax: Oscillating 16" Pedestal Fan for $7.99 + $7.95 Shipping

• OfficeMax: Olympus FE-320 8MP Digital Camera $120 Shipped
• Shoebuy: Pay via PayPal & Save $20 off Shoe Orders of $50+ and get Free Shipping
• Bike Nashbar: Save 10%, 15%, or 20% off Entire Order with Coupon Discounts

• Newegg: 24-hour sale
• Woot: Refurbished Dyson DC18 All-Floor Vacuum for $259.99
• Buy.com: ASUS Eee PC 4G Surf Celeron M 900MHz 7" Widescreen Laptop for $294 + free shipping

• Staples: Peachtree Pro Acounting 2008 Free After Rebate
• Newegg: RCA RP5050 Digital Voice Recorder with Camera $35 Shipped
• MacMall: Wacom Graphire4 4x5 Graphics Tablet for PCs & Macs $40

• Meritline.com: 8 x 21 Rubber Armored Binocular for $7.69 w/ Free Shipping after coupon code M24804545POFF
• Frys.com: Crucial 4GB DDR2 PC5300 Laptop Memory Kit $34.99 after rebate
• HobbyLobby.com: 40% Off Hobby Lobby Printable Coupon (expires Sept 6)

• Vann's: Klipsch iGroove HG iPod Speakers $100 Shipped
• Mac Connection: Apple iMac $1099 + Free VMWare Fusion Software
• Chefs: Labor Day Sale: Save up to 80% off Cookware, Kitchen Tools, & More

• Southwest: Fares starting at $59 one-way
• Purina: Free bag of Purina Yesterday's News cat litter
• Arizona Jeans: 50% off select jeans and all shoes

Here's part of the pseudo-congratulatory email.

Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:20:31 -0400
Subject: You've earned a new phone

UPGRADE TODAY!
Call 1.888.333.0047 or visit your local Verizon Wireless Store today

Upgrade today to any one of our advanced phones or PDAs we carry. Plus, for our exclusive customers, we've added an additional discount on one of our most popular devices, the LG enV2TM. All of this brought to you by Verizon Wireless, with the nation's largest 3G network and most reliable wireless network.

LG Dare Bold touch screen, fearless features, 3G speed capable.

$249.99 2-yr. price
-$ 50.00 Mail-in rebate
$199.99 Your Price

(New 2-yr. agreement required on a new Nationwide Calling plan.)
LG enV2 Full keyboard gives you two ways to text or email.
EXCLUSIVE OFFER for our loyal customers.

It goes on like that for several models. Verizon gets special bonus points for including mail-in rebates as part of the "deal."

(Photo: Getty)

• Threadless: All shirts $12
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• Steep And Cheap: Black Diamond Momentum AL Climbing Harness for $22 Sold out, but they have other deals on outdoor gear.

• Tiger Direct: Refurb NEC VT590 XGA LCD Projector $400
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• Meritline: PQI 8GB SDHC Card now $25 Shipped & Other Discount
• Buy.com: Dynex DX-LCD32 32-inch LCD HDTV $480 Shipped

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• Hoover: Summer Canister Sale: Save up to 56%
• JC Whitney: Up to $40 off purchases coupon

Mike writes:

Try buying any good deal at Fry's that doesn't have a rebate. You can't. So I bought an EVGA video card in May 2008 with a $45 rebate. Having played the rebate game before, I know that filling in the form properly and reading the terms are key. The EVGA rebate form said "Limit ONE rebate per product, receipt, household, family or address." I soon found out that the most key term is none of the above.

After waiting over 10 weeks for my check (2 weeks after the 6-8 week suggested processing time), I attempted to contact http://www.evgarebates.com/ by phone. No combination of button-pressing in the automated phone system would get me to a live person. You would think that the most common issue of never having received your rebate would be an option, but it is not. After some research I learned that evgarebates is actually Rebateshq which is the Parago corporation. After calling Parago corporate in Coppell, Texas, I was contacted by Kent [redacted] who is a Major Account Analyst. I explained on the phone to Kent (yes a live person!) that I had not received my rebate and that I had copies of my rebate form and receipt. After some research he sent me this email:

Attached you will find copies of the check in which we discussed. Please review the information and let me know if you have any questions.

The only problem was that the check was in someone else's name at the same address. I checked my rebate form at noted that I had filled it out in MY name and no one else's. Another email to Kent and he asked me if I knew the name on the check, to which I replied that it was a relative of mine living at the same address.

A week went by and I heard nothing, so after pinging Kent I got an email:

Thanks for being so patience with me while researching this matter. However, looking into this matter further, it appears that there are several submissions in our system for the same address for both Bob and Mike Jones (names changed on purpose). Here is what has appeared to have happened, our system is set up to auto populate using the most recent data. It appears that at the time of data entry, Bob's name auto populated versus your name because of the address. Being that this has taken place, as you know Bob Jones deposited the check into account number: XXXXXXXXXX which has cleared our bank. So at this point we suggest that you check with Bob and discuss that matter of your rebate being deposited into his account. We apologize for the delay in regards to this matter, but had the check not been cashed, we could have updated the name and had the check reissued the rebate.

Should you have any questions please let me know.

At this point I was rather upset. They sent the rebate to the wrong person and now they expect me to go to that person and get their money back for them. What am I, a collection agency??

After doing some research, I realized that the only information on the rebate form that is actually entered into the system is the phone number. If you have filed a rebate previously for any of the MANY companies that Parago processes, it will pull up the name and address that is in their system. At that point, the data entry drone who most likely moonlights as the "officer" that verifies those red-light camera violations, decides if the information in their system matches your rebate form. One click and the operator saves the time of having to read in all of that information on the form and type it in. What a time saver! But on the off chance that two people have the same phone number (I guess Parago decided that most geeky Fry's shoppers really do live alone), your roommate will get your rebate. The rebate form should actually say "Limit ONE rebate per product, receipt, household, family or address or phone number."

After calming down, I finally sent out this email to Kent:

The facts are:
1. I filed the rebate properly in my name.
2. You incorrectly sent the rebate to someone else, through no fault of mine.
3. You have proof that someone else cashed the check.
4. You did not send ME the rebate.
5. I did not cash a rebate check from you.
6. You have not fulfilled the rebate to me.

At this point I would suggest to YOU that YOU get the rebate amout of $45 back from the person you sent it to.

Since I am only 20 minutes away from Coppell, I have no problem filing a case in small claims court locally stating the above 6 points and presenting the proof of the cancelled checks you have provided me. I have no problem presenting the email you have sent me suggesting that I go to a third party and try to get the money from them. The look on the judge's face will be entertaining.

That email did the trick and Mike got this response:

Thanks for sharing with me how you feel about this matter. However, please be advised that tracking number XXXXXXXX-$45.00 has been created for processing. You will receive the $45.00 rebate within 7-10 business days.

We apologize for the delay and inconvenience.

Either way, remember to keep track of each and every rebate!

You're not kidding, Mike. Personally, we don't bother with rebates because we know that we will never, ever, ever be sufficiently organized/willing to a) fill them out correctly b) remember that they exist and c) fight for them the way Mike did. (In other words, we're the target audience for rebates, which is exactly why we shouldn't bother with them.)

Some people, however, are rebate warriors. Kudos to you for making them pay up.

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• Fandango: Free movie ticket just by entering an AmEx customer service phone number (signs you up for email newsletter, so use a throwaway email address, it will say the promotion has ended but they're sending you a free movie ticket via email)
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• Vann's: Canon Digital Rebel XT SLR & 28-90mm $430 Shipped
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• WizKidsGames.com: Free Star Wars Pocketmodel
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• Frederick's of Hollywood: Last Chance Sale: Up to 70% off

• Woot: Visiontek ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB PCI-E Video Card for $79.99
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• Amazon: Canon A590IS 8MP Digital Camera $147 Shipped
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• State Taxes: 2008 State Sales Tax Holidays
• Wilsons Leather: Entire site up to 75% off
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• Amazon: Cell Phone Flask for $13.95
• Woot: The woot-off continues apace.
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• Allegiant Air: Buy 1 air/hotel package & 2nd person flies free
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• Amazon: Lego sale. 50% off 8 Different Items
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• Office Depot: TI-83 Plus Graphing Programing Calculator $75 & Free Shipping
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• Woot: Refurbished Emerson 32" LCD HDTV for $399.99
• KFC: Buy 1, Get 1 Free "Vegetarian" Sandwich
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• Nike Store: Save 20% off Shoes & Gear or get Free Shipping with Coupons
• Butterfly Photo: Canon Digital Rebel XSi & Lens $788 Shipped [Some customers have had negative experiences dealing with Butterfly Photo]
• Eastern Mountain Sports: Save 40% off Teva Sandals & Shoes

• Amazon: Black & Decker 18" 6.5 Amp Electric Mower $147 shipped
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• Woot: Refurbished LG 22” 2ms Widescreen LCD Monitor for $199.99
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• J&R Music: Sony XDR-F1HD HD Radio $50 & Free Shipping
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• CircuitCity: Samsung 50" DLP Rear Projection HDTV for $999 (down from $1699)
• ApprovedGasMasks.com: Read this guide before buying a surplus gas mask. Many on the market are defective.
• OfficeDepot: TI-83 for $24.99, TI-84 for $44.99 after rebate

• Circuit City: Compaq Intel Dual Core 15.4-inch Notebook $450 & Free Shipping
• Buy.com: Panasonic Noise Canceling Headphones $75 Shipped
• Best Buy: Disney-Released Movies on DVD $6 Shipped

• Macy's: Trick to get 99-cent shipping on any order
• Buy.com: EVGA GeForce 8800GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E for $119.99 after rebate.
• Staples: Deluxe Trolley Duffle for $6.99

• Amazon: First Gen Jawbone Bluetooth Headset in Black or Grey $60 Shipped
• Office Depot: Acer 22-inch Widescreen Dual Input LCD Monitor $180 & Free Shipping
• Target.com: Save 15% off plus Free Shipping on Select Furniture

• Office Depot: Black Vinyl High-backed chair for $7.99 plus shipping or pick up in store (down from $169.99)
• ThinkGeek: Wi-Fi Detecting Watch for $9.99 + ~$8 s&h
• Borders: 40% off one item online with coupon code BC4777* (must have only one item in cart for it to work)

• National Geographic: Save an Extra 10% off Store-Wide
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• Chefs: Summer Sale: Save up to 75% off Kitchen Gear

• Amazon: Canon PowerShot A590IS 8MP Digital Camera $150
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• Jamba Juice: Buy On Get One Free (BOGO) good until 7/30
• Woot: Pinnacle Video Transfer for iPod, PSP, or USB Storage Device for $79.99
• Starbucks: Free 12oz beverage of your choice YMMV [via Fatwallet]

• Amazon: Save up to 50% or More off Bodum Coffee Presses
• Compact Appliance: Extra 10% off & Free Shipping on Portable Air Conditioners
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• Newegg: 24-hour sale
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• Amazon: Three HD Movies on Blu-Ray for the Price of Two
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• Puma: 20% off purchases coupon
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Now Yechial wants to know, are BP stations simply charging more to negate the 5% rebate on the Chase BP card, or are they really dealing with higher fees on their end? This L.A. Times article published last week says it's the second reason—which means any rebate your credit card promises you on gas purchases is going to be inherently less valuable so long as expenses keep rising for station owners.

From the L.A. Times article:

Gas retailers are being hurt by several forces, including lower sales, higher credit card fees and fuel expenses, that are directly tied to this year's dramatic rise in the price of oil.

In Van der Valk's case, fuel sales have fallen as much as 10% as customers cut back on driving. The lost volume means fewer customers flow through the convenience store to buy coffee, sodas and other money-making items.

With each price increase, more people use credit cards to buy gas, taking a bigger bite out of station profits. A dealer typically pays a 10-cent transaction fee plus 2% to 2.5% of the total fuel sale for each customer.

Yechial writes, "I have told my wife to no longer use BP gas stations, and we are canceling the BP credit card." It's probably not the station owner's fault he's having to charge more, but we agree that if the only reason you got the BP card was for the gas purchase rebate, you got a bum deal. (But so did the station owner.)

"Soaring costs are squeezing gas station owners too" [Los Angeles Times]
(Photo: Yogi)

Dealnews has a roundup of twelve different retailers that give shoppers discounts for cashing and spending their tax stimulus checks in-store. There's deals by Kroger, Safeway, ShopRite, SuperValu, Meijer, RadioShack, Sam's Club, Sears/Kmart, Staples.com, Wal-Mart, Rosenau Powersports, and Zonder.com. Dealnews breaks down what the specific deals are, as well as going into the fine print and limitations. Personally, we're spending our stimulus check at the bank but if you're already going to spend a big chunk at one of these stores, it might not be a bad idea to take advantage of some of the offers.

Make the most of your stimulus check: Stores that offer stimulus check bonuses [Dealnews]

Dear Mr. [redacted],

Thank you Sir for taking the time to speak w/ me today. I have credited your credit card account $40.00 for this inconvenience. Our purchasing dept has been made aware of this situation, and they are investigating this as we speak.

Although the CSR was also investigating this on their end, I feel they should have credited you the $20.00 right away. There is no reason to make the customer wait. Our philosophy is to take care of the customer first, and then take care of the issue afterwards.

Feel free to contact me in the future Sir if you have any issues or concerns. :)

Thank you,

Mike Paulus

Kudos to Newegg for living up to their eggcelent reputation. It appears that Newegg takes responsibility for the rebates advertised on their site that they use to get people to buy their products after all.

PREVIOUSLY: Beware Of Rotten Newegg Rebate
(Photo: Getty)

To whom it may concern:

I wanted to let both Newegg and MyRebates411 know that I am displeased with the $20 rebate process for my Foxconn FV-N84SM2DT GeForce 8400 video card. (Newegg Order #72954831) I submitted my rebate in January following every rule MyRebates411 could dole-up including:

1.) Registering at the Myrebates411.com
2.) Writing my Myrebates411.com username on the rebate form
3.) Writing my Myrebates411.com transaction ID on the rebate form
4.) Writing Newegg.com, the promotion code and transaction ID on the
back bottom of envelope
5.) I included UPC code and original receipt.

I have done all this only to be told that Myrebates411 had a server crash that lost all customer rebate submissions information from December and January and not to contact Myrebates411 until April. However I can be assured it will come. This information came from the Myrebates411 web site. My username on their site is also no longer valid to check my rebate status after the crash.

It is now May 7th and no rebate has come. I have contacted Myrebates411 via email and was told by ?John? to email him a copy of my rebate form. (Ticket #8076) I did so and emailed ?John back on three occasions for an update yet he has not responded. Apparently John has better things to do then right a wrong his company made. Why do I have to be penalized because Myrebates411 had a server crash??

It is quite obvious to me that Myrebates411 could care less. I want to let Newegg know that as a long time customer I am thus far unsatisfied with Newegg utilizing a rebate program via Myrebates411. Furthermore I will avoid future products advertising rebates if I find out the company behind them is Myrebates411.

Newegg's response,

Dear Customer,

Thank you for contacting Newegg.

Please kindly note that all rebates are issued through the manufacturers directly. Any use of the aforementioned rebates is limited to the terms and conditions as determined by the product manufacturer. As for the mail-in rebate, we have contacted our related department for further investigation. Once I receive their feedback, I will update you as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to let us know.
Sincerely,
Ruby Luo
Have I exceeded your expectations today?

Some quick research revealed that myrebates411 is having some serious problems. Aside from the myriad of disgruntled customers, we discovered this statement from myrebates411 posted in March:

Our Customers,

***This is an automated message so please do not respond because it cannot be answered.***

Most of you know that we experienced a hardware crash on our servers at ipowerweb that was not our fault.

This crash affected our RAID drives which made it impossible to restore them on an as is basis. It does not mean that you lost your rebate. You will not lose your rebate. We are in the process of re-entering the data on our own systems from your mailed-in copies, and have almost completed the task.

It was not possible to restore all of the usernames and passwords of everyone on the website exactly as they were because new people are being added all the time and it might create duplications; therefore, some people will have their password NOT recognized when trying to check the status of their rebate.

If that happens, it will do no good to attempt to click the missing password link to get your password. Customers will need to create a new username and password and reregister when they apply for a new rebate. This new registration will not work to see the status of an old rebate. This problem only effects certain months.

We will begin issuing checks for November promotions to customers who have not received them due to the website outage. This will begin sometime next week.

We are asking customers to help us help you.
Attempting to answer the sheer volume of emails just to check a status is slowing down the main purpose, which is to help you get your check-because we attempt to answer every email.

Our priority is to get you your check and the volume or emails is seriously slowing down that process. We cannot possibly answer thousands of emails and get your check issued in a timely manner. We have upgraded our site to insure this never happens again. The site is functional so all new entries and some old entries will be able to track their status; however, some people will need to reregister. Even if you reregister, this will not insure you will be able to track your old rebates. It only insures you will be able to track the new rebates you enter.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Customer Service

Newegg blames myrebates411 and myrebates411 blames "ipowerweb?" We don't even want to hear ipowerweb's excuse. It seems like a big game of culpability hot potato. Hopefully, Newegg can put enough pressure on myrebates411 so that they'll cough up your $20. If not, we would like to see Newegg, at least, step up with $20 store credit as not to put any cracks in their reputation.

(Photo: Getty)

• Kill the [credit] card debt
• Add to it by getting a retailer bonus
• Buy an item that's good for the environment
• Save it in a retirement account
• Sock it away for college expenses
• Have needed medical work
• Take a vacation
• Give it away

CNN Money has similar advice:

• Spend it on environmentally-friendly items
• Get a retailer bonus
• Pay off debts
• Invest it in career development

As does Smart Money:

• Don't get a refund-anticipation loan
• Save it for your emergency fund
• Contribute to an IRA
• Pay off debt
• Save it for college expenses

MSN Money takes a different course and suggests you invest your rebate. But with all this advice, what will people do? As of this writing, an MSN Money poll of almost 150,000 people listed the following as what respondents planned to do with their rebates:

• Pay bills, mortgage, or rent — 24%
• Save it — 22%
• Pay down debt — 20%
• Spend it on food, gas or other essentials — 13%
• Spend it on non-essentials — 11%

That said, responses to the issue are very widely varied.

In the end, the prudent choice seems to be to pay down debt or save the money. The fun thing would be to blow it on a big screen TV or some other sort of purchase. There are certainly lots of choices — but what do you plan to do with your rebate?

— FREE MONEY FINANCE

Summer Blu-ray Offer (postmarked by 10/31/07)
P.O. BOX 410338
El Paso, TX 88541-0338

Holiday Blu-ray Offer (postmarked by 2/28/08)
P.O. BOX 410260
El Paso, TX 88541-0260

Tax rebates to start arriving Monday [CNN Money] (Thanks to Caren!)
(Photo: MBru)