Whirlpool

I have a suspicion about the way in which a third party company processes cash back and promotion claims. Three people in my office all put in claims 3 months ago and none have been paid. The company claims it could take up to 75 days for the payments to be made. It is beyond my comprehension what could take that long. Anyway it is beyond that time and none of us have recieved anything.

My suspicion is a lot of claims are only paid once you ring and complain that you haven't recieved the money.

I rang and complained after not hearing anything for a few months only to be told they had a record of my claim but had not recieved my invoice. (Which I had mailed to them after their request for me to do so in a phone call many months earlier). Interesting, they had my claim but without an invoice were not going to pay it – you'd think they would call to get my invoice if they didn't recieve it after a certain amount of time – or email to say hey were are not paying your claim till we get the invoice. How stupid anyway as you put the invoice number on the claim form – you'd think the primary company would give them a list of invoice numbers upon request.

Anyway they then refused to pay my claim because I had not given them the invoice prior to the promotion cut off date. How interesting I thought, because I had actually rang them prior to the cut off date and asked about the process and they said as long as my claim (online form) is received before the cut off date they will process the payment as soon as the claim is validated with an invoice.

Anyway, I emailed management of the company (apparantly they don't have phone lines the the management office:)) after the fourth customer service officer told me my claim would not be paid, and I didn't get a reply. So I rang back after a week to see why, I was told they will not reply because they are not going to process the claim because I didn't get my invoice in on time. I explained again that I did in fact get my invoice in on time – the company claims it didn't recieve it at all, well that is an irrelevant point anyway since in a previous conversation the online claim was the only thing that I needed to be in on time. I also find it interesting that after 30 years of using Australia Post the only item of mail that has not arrived is my cashback invoice!

I asked the customer service rep to put me through to management, they claimed they don't have the phone number (just like they did before) – they only have email access the same as me. I laughed and laughed. I said, OK, when you come to work each morning, you will have someone that is your boss, put me through to that person. They said, that would be the team leader, sorry they are busy call back later. I said, no its fine I'll wait. After a bit of backwards and forwards arguing with them trying to get me to call back later and me insisting on waiting eventually it was a 30 second wait till the very busy team leader was on the phone.

Interesting, they had my case in front of them. After mentioning the department of fair trading they said they will pay my claim.

But wait there's more, even though they've had my paper work for nearly three months – even though the team leader is going to pay the claim – I was then told, it may be 75 more days before I recieve the payment!!!!!!!!

What a joke. So be careful, don't relent and don't forget about your cashback claim. Make sure you call as soon as you make your claim to see if they recieved it (the online form) ask them if you can email, fax and post in the invoice – all three options are possible even though they say just to post (so the old must of got lost in the mail clause can be invoked). And write down the name, time and details of every conversation you have.

When all else fails, mention the department of fair trading! It's yor money, its worth fighting for, as I said, I think they only pay the people who ring, fight and follow through looking for the money.

What company are you making the cashback claim to? HP paid me a month after they started processing my promo claim.

I had precisely the same experience.

I had precisely the same doubts as you when they claimed they hadn't received my claim. We all know what sort of companies claim things were lost in the mail. Dishonest ones. And I said so.

I have the same doubts you do about the process. That it is designed to cause as many people as possible to forget about it or forget exactly what they were promised or give up.

It sounds like the same company.

Eventually I got what had been promised. But only after they sent a lower specification item, and I complained about that.

If you're hesitant to name the company, at least give us the first letter or a decent clue.

I bet a lot of companies work in the same way and I also reckon a few here would know the worst and "usual suspects". Some companies or at least the third parties they work with aren't highly professional and don't seem to have the chemistry right!

Gordon writes...

I had precisely the same experience.

Me too. After spending too much time on the phone and emailing I figured that it just wasn't worth the $200 that I might get one day and gave up, which I think is the aim of the exercise.

Now, I just ignore cash back offers when considering which product to purchase as well as ALL Acer products.

the-animal writes...

don't seem to have the chemistry right

We got the hint.

And yes, it that company I was talking about too.

Hi,
This sounds interesting.
I was just tosing up between a Toshiba & an Acer, so has anyone had any luck getting cashbacks from Toshiba?

cheers

damn, what is the company?

...i didnt get the hint :)

Not quite PC Hardware, but I got my $50 Cashback from a Cybershot Digital Camera no problems at all

I'm not aware of any hints. Regardless of the company, it is wise to ensure you do everything you can to get it, and also ensure the company can't find any loopholes or ways to get out of paying you – and if they do attempt to shirk their responsibilities ensure you persist – if you have done everything right – as I had – the money is rightfully yours.

So you got your cashback? or are you still waiting?

the-animal writes...

The company claims it could take up to 75 days for the payments to be made. It is beyond my comprehension what could take that long.

Unfortunately, there are people who buy products, claim the cashback, then return the product for a refund, hoping to claim the cashback for nothing. This is precisely the reason why it takes so long to have your cashback processed, since they rely on retailers to advise them of returns so that the cashback payment can be halted.

But also, if you dont dot the i's & cross the t's, then they wont pay you. You have to follow the instructions to the letter.

fwdoz writes...

Unfortunately, there are people who buy products, claim the cashback, then return the product for a refund, hoping to claim the cashback for nothing. This is precisely the reason why it takes so long to have your cashback processed, since they rely on retailers to advise them of returns so that the cashback payment can be halted.

But also, if you dont dot the i's & cross the t's, then they wont pay you. You have to follow the instructions to the letter.

I dotted my i's and t;s which I guess is why I will get the money.

It is a mixed up system. It would be much easier for everyone if the cashback was paid by the retailer and the retailer claimed the reimbursement from the supplier – then it can be recorded on your sales invoice at point and time of sale – then if you do decide to return the product they know not to give you your cash back amount in a refund.

I understand the initial delay – why after having already waited over 75 days must I wait another 75 days?

There really are some stupid people that work in business that set up these sorts of schemes and systems. Or maybe they are clever knowing that most people won't bother to claim redemption items.

the-animal writes...

There really are some stupid people that work in business that set up these sorts of schemes and systems. Or maybe they are clever knowing that most people won't bother to claim redemption items.

You have the manufacturers to thank for that, since they are the ones offering the rebates, not the retailers. I'd much prefer a lower price to start with so I didnt have to waste time sending off for a cashback.

I have always got my cashback, yeah it takes along time, I always send it registered mail and make sure I keep the receipt that way they can't deny they received it as they have to sign for it and auspost keeps a record in case there is a dispute.

I used to work for a well known international company that used Cashback extensively. My observations were:

1. Cashback amounts were always paid providing the claimant followed the rules, if they didn't follow the rules they didn't get paid.

2. There was no reason to make it easier than it need be, the idea is that not everyone claims, thereby making the cashback amount possible.

3. There was no priority given to pay the money immediately – the customer had already purchased the product.

4. Depending on the item the claim rate was as low as 4% but typically no more than 25%.

My feedback is that instead of whinging that it's hard to claim -embrace it because if it wasn't the cashback amount you would be getting would be less.

As for conspiracy theories about not paying on legitimate claims as far as I am concered these are pure fantasty – not major company is going to engage in such practices.