What means do I have to pursue Amazon.com's rebate claim?

[Pablo]

When I purchased my 17" Powerbook from Amazon.com, they were offering a $200 promotional offer (store credit) if you purchased a computer of $2000 or more - to be mailed 4-6 weeks after the order is placed.

I ordered on Feb 28th, the Powerbook was shipped on 4/1, and it's been over 6 weeks and I still haven't received the certificate (e-mail).

Here's my correspondence:

Date: Mon Mar 17 12:16:49 PST 2003
Subject: Re: Your Amazon.com Order
To: pc-orders@amazon.com
From:

Nathan,

Thanks again for the information. I do have one more question.

When should I expect the $200 store credit for ordering a computer valued at over $2000 before 3/1/03. This is my first Mac, and I'd like to buy some software for it as soon as the certificate comes in.

Thanks,

Paul

pc-orders@amazon.com wrote:
Hello from Amazon.com.

As indicated in the online description of the Computer Store promotion, we will send your promotional certificate via e-mail 4 to 6 weeks after your order has been placed.

Since you pre-ordered the Apple PowerBook Notebook 17" TFT M8793LL/A before March 1, 2003, you can expect to receive your $200.00 promotional certificate 4-6 weeks from the order date.

I hope this answers your question. Thanks for shopping at Amazon.com.

Date: Fri Apr 11 16:00:43 PDT 2003
Subject: Re: Your Amazon.com Order
To: pc-orders@amazon.com
From:

It has been exactly 6 weeks since I placed the order.

When can I expect the promotional certificate?

Thanks,

Paul

pc-orders@amazon.com wrote:
Dear Paul,

Greetings from Amazon.com.

As your order for the computer was just shipped on April 1, 2003, you can anticipate receiving your $200.00 promotional certificate within 2-3 weeks. I apologize for this delay. Thank you for shopping with Amazon.com.

Nathan,

That's not what the online description or you said previously:

> >As indicated in the online description of the
>Computer Store
>promotion, we will send your promotional
> certificate via e-mail 4 to
> 6 weeks after your order has been placed.


From the description in my account:

Order Placed: February 28, 2003 at 10:13 AM PST


It's been 6 weeks since February 28th.

I appreciate your assistance with this, but am losing patience. First, due to the delays in the delivery of the order (when I placed the order, it was shown as being released on March 15, 2003). I don't feel that I should have to wait on the promotional certificate due to shipping delays (your referenced date of 'April 1, 2003'), and that according to the description of the promotion, sufficient time has passed for receipt of this certificate.

Thanks,

Paul

pc-orders@amazon.com wrote:

Thanks for contacting us at Amazon.com.

I'm sorry, but we will need to research this situation further. We will write back to you with an answer in the next 2-3 business days.

Thank you for your patience, and thanks for shopping at Amazon.com.

The '2-3' business days had passed and I hadn't heard anything, so I decided to follow up.

Date: Thu Apr 17 04:38:42 PDT 2003
Subject: Re: Your Amazon.com Order
To: pc-orders@amazon.com
From:

I would like to get an update on the status of my promotional certificate.

Thanks,

Paul

Thank you for taking the time to write to us at Amazon.com.

We are still researching the status of your promotional certificate.
We appreciate your patience in this matter, and will write you when
we have more information.

If you have any other questions, be sure to visit our help pages at:

http://www.amazon.com/help/

Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com.

Garrick,

I appreciate your assistance with this matter and look
forward to a prompt resolution. Pursuant to your last
e-mail, I expected to hear something back by
yesterday, but understand that you are unquestionably
busy due to the nature of your job and am confident
that this issue will be addressed in a timely fashion.

Thanks,

Paul

If I don't hear anything back by Friday (tomorrow) evening, I will (attempt to anyways) pursue this matter with a supervisor.

But I'm wondering what other means I have of collecting this? I feel that Amazon.com is not following their own guidelines and promised date. Does the FTC enforce such transactions? Would pursuing the matter with them be useful if Amazon.com continues to drag their heels?

Here are the details on the promotion

Get up to $200 Off Your Next Purchase

Purchase any new computer offered by Amazon.com that costs $2,000 or more and you'll receive a $200 promotional certificate to be used toward your next Amazon.com purchase. Purchase a new computer that costs between $1,000 and $1,999 and you'll receive a $100 promotional certificate. These promotional certificates are e-mailed after your purchase is complete--typically within four to six weeks of the purchase. You can use either promotional certificate for purchases at Amazon.com. This offer is valid from February 9 through March 1, 2003. Some restrictions apply; see our terms and conditions below for details.

To receive your promotional certificate:

There is no need to fill out any forms or supply us with a claim code. To receive your promotional certificate, simply select an eligible new Amazon.com computer and add it to your Shopping Cart. Upon checkout, we'll store your name and purchase total in our system and then send your promotional certificate by e-mail after your purchase is complete.

Terms and conditions:

Limit one promotional certificate per customer. Promotions apply only to orders shipped to the same address. Sales tax and shipping and handling charges are not included in calculating the cost of the computer. This offer is valid only from February 9, 2003, until 11:59 p.m. PST on March 1, 2003.

New computers must be purchased from Amazon.com. Computers purchased from third-party merchants (for example, Circuit City, Office Depot, J&R, or sellers in Amazon Marketplace, Auctions, or zShops) are not eligible. If you return your computer purchase after using the promotional certificate, the amount of the certificate will be deducted from your refund.

Promotional certificates must be redeemed through our Web site, http://www.amazon.com, toward the purchase of products listed in Amazon.com's online catalog and sold by Amazon.com. They cannot be redeemed at Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.ca, or any other Web site operated by Amazon.com, its affiliates, or third-party merchants accessible from our site (including, for example, our Health & Beauty Store operated by drugstore.com). Promotional certificates are not valid for payment at Circuit City or in Amazon Marketplace, Auctions, or zShops.

Your promotional certificate will expire at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time, 90 days from the day it is e-mailed to you.

Promotional certificates are not redeemable for cash, and you may not resell your promotional certificate.

Thanks for any help.

 

[celaurie]

Okay, when it comes to any complaints about anything there's one thing you need to attain. A single person, with a name and preferably a telephone number. That way, you go through the one individual on all correspondence and you don't get the run around from the multitude.

Your next correspondence should probably be a bit more enforce and you should make it clear, (i) as to what you want, (ii) when you want it (iii) and the possible results of the action you would take should things not occur to your advantage.

You might also want to mention that you have sought advice from a Macintosh community or whatever sounds good regarding Amazon's failure to make good on their offer. And it might also be worth saying that the group is very interested in this type of complaint. If nothing else it throws weight behind the consumer and quite often helps to expedite the process.

Hope this is of some help.

Chris, the man who knows how to get what he wants

 

[Pablo]

celaurie,

Thanks for the advice.

Unfortunately, I am unable to reach a specific person as the responses come from a generic customer service address. It does appear that there are only two people whom I have dealt with.

I'm not quite ready to start making demands. I'm attempting to be courteous and see how far that gets me. However, I am not shy about becomming insistent, but don't believe that's the adequate route to take quite yet.

If I don't hear anything else from either of these two reps by Friday evening (or hear something I don't like), I'll pursue this with a supervisor...and intend to be courteous. But I expect a resolution by next Monday and will communicate such should any further issues arise.

I'm just wondering what kind of leverage (legal, etc.) that I can use to better support my position. Fortunately, I've never had a problem with rebates before, so I'm not really sure what liability Amazon.com has for non-performance.

Kinda ironic how every other time I visit Amazon.com's site, their homepage has a huge page about how they're committed to customer service.

Thanks again.

 

[Pablo]

Fool.com and The Washington Post have recently published stories dealing with this.

Here's what The Fool had to say:

When you do file for a rebate, be persistent. Keep the phone number or e-mail address handy, and after the allotted time, start bugging the company for your rebate, and keep at it. If this fails, take other action. If you think you've been wronged, file a claim with the FTC and Better Business Bureau.

I'll plan on calling Amazon.com and speaking with a supervisor and explaining my position and plans to follow this route (BBB & FTC) rapidly should the situation not get resolved.

 

[Pablo]

Well, I called today and spoke with another agent who informed me that Garrick was not in, but that the delay was due to an unanticipated number of people taking advantage of the offer.

Later, I received an e-mail from Garrick stating that he apologized for the delay and that I would hear back from him in 2-3 days (again?).

I informed him that I appreciated his help, and that I expected to have the matter resolved by Monday the 21st, and if not, I would pursue other options of concluding the matter, including escalation to a supervisor, and/or filing a claim with the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau.