What a deal!  You see a great deal advertised as a result of a manufacturer’s rebate and you can not purchase the item quickly enough. After mailing your rebate form, months pass and you still do not receive your rebate check. You call and write to the company, but nothing you do seems to make your rebate happen.

The company either sent you a denial letter or gave you reasons why you won't be getting your rebate. The reasons include not purchasing the item within the required time frame, not mailing the rebate form correctly, not submitting the rebate form before the deadline, or forgetting to include some obscure piece of information.

Why are rebates so difficult to deal with? The real answer is that rebates are actually intended to discourage customers from redeeming them. Manufacturers benefit, when rebates are not redeemed, by keeping the money that would have otherwise been returned to the customer.

Rebate redemption rates do not approach 100 percent. The rates generally range from five (5) percent to eighty (80) percent, depending on the value of the rebate. Over $500 million in rebates go unfilled every year. Companies count on people forgetting to send in rebates, filling the form out wrong, mailing it late, or missing the small print about including bar codes or packing slips.

Typically, companies don't process their own rebate offers. The manufacturers hire fulfillment companies to handle the details, but it's not their money. The fulfillment companies collect the rebate forms and proofs of purchase and then tell the manufacturer what he owes. When the manufacturer pays up, the fulfillment house cuts the checks and mails them to the consumers. 

Part of the problem for consumers is the question of who's issuing the check. Confusion over where rebates originate makes it difficult for consumers to target the problem and get it resolved.

There are some steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim of the rebate trap. The simplest is to avoid rebates. Instead, shop for a low up-front price, instead of a price that will be low only if a rebate is paid.

If you are persuaded that the rebate offers the best bargain, be sure to:

• Read the offer carefully before you buy. Be sure you know what you will need to redeem the rebate and be sure you have it before leaving the store. Read and understand the small print.
   
• Make copies of everything. This includes receipts, the correctly filled-in rebate coupon and all the information required by the offer. Save all your warranties, major-purchase receipts and rebate coupons with your other important papers.
   
• Immediately complete the rebate form. It's easy to forget to do so in the excitement of enjoying your purchase. Companies count on your missing the mailing date.
   
• Mail it certified, return receipt requested.  Be sure to keep the mail receipt with the rest of the rebate material. This makes it difficult for the company to deny receiving the rebate from you.
   
• Be sure to keep the contact information should you need to complain to the manufacturer about lack of a rebate check.

If your rebate does not arrive within the specified time period, do not continue to wait. Be your own advocate and proceed with the following:

• Contact the manufacturer (or the manufacturer's rebate processing service) in the way specified by the manufacturer in the original rebate offer. (This is why you kept the contact information).
   
• Be prepared to re-submit your proof that you provided to the manufacturer. Again, mail the resubmission via certified mail, return receipt requested.
   
• If patient pursuit fails, you may consider writing a letter stating that you have unsuccessfully attempted to claim your rebate and will be reporting the company to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Attorney General (AG) in your state and in the state the company resides in, and the local consumer protection agency.
   
• Give the company a reasonable amount of time to respond to your inquiry.
   
• If the company fails to respond, notify the above listed entities.

Miami-Dade County Code requires merchants to list the complete price of the items for sale in their advertisements. The price listed in an advertisement must be the price that the consumer will actually pay at the time of purchase. Not the adjusted price after receiving the mail-in rebate. Complaints regarding a merchant’s failure to advertise the complete purchase price should be filed with the Miami-Dade County Consumer Services Department’s Mediation Center.