Evil in everyday life: rebate scams

PopHistorian

PopHistorian

The Living Force
FOTCM Member
I had to buy a new washer (the other one started leaking after only seven years and "repair" is usually a scam that involves overcharging to the point that's far more expensive than worth it). I have a bad back, had to have delivery and take-away of the old machine. Saw Home Depot offering free rebate on delivery and a gift card if you spend a certain minimum (a nice trick in itself because the minimum you end up being able to spend is well over the stated minimum).

Now, I'm aware of the rebate scam, so I asked the salesman, first thing, does Home Depot do the rebates or do they go through a third-party rebate processor? He said they do it themselves. So, I went for it, ensuring that I had complete instructions for qualifying for the rebate and collecting every last bit of nauseating documentation to mail in, two copies, by the way, to two different departments at the same address, with different forms attached to each -- one for the rebate and one for the gift card.

Last time I tried to collect a rebate, despite precise documentation and close oversight by a salesperson to ensure I had everything correct, I ended up getting a postcard a month later, with incredibly tiny print, saying I didn't qualify because of an "invalid receipt." There was no information about recourse and no identification of the rebate processor. Great. I had to let it go.

This time, conveniently just two business days after expiry of my offer, I received email from Home Depot's rebate processing center with the mendacious claim that I don't qualify because I didn't spend the minimum. I actually spent 5% more than their minimum, and that couldn't have been mistaken. This is tactic #1 -- fortunately, they provided a customer service page with a form that allowed me to upload an image file of my invoice. They're clearly hoping that most customers are unable to accomplish that. Can't wait to see what happens next. The gift card is "in process" -- can't wait to see if they make the same "mistake" as the rebate department.

Here's a good article that tells you how they operate, but doesn't go far enough. Yes, the rebate processors deliberately make it difficult for you to collect, but they also lie by making false claims of misfiling. So, keep copies of your paperwork!

http://www(dot)usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-01-02-rebate-scams_x.htm
 
I see low prices advertised and then look close and see "after rebate" and I think to myself, why are you sorry bastards offering a rebate that I have to jump through hoops to obtain? Why don't you give me the rebate right there on the spot and deal with the vendor yourselves since you ALREADY have a relationship with them? The answer is obvious, the profit from rebates that never become claimed, and apparently third (or fourth?) parties have weasled their way into the loop to make money doing NOTHING.

Then I see other adds that say buy one get one free and I immediately recall Andy Rooney who points out quite clearly that if we have to buy something first then whatever they are offering in addition isn't free.

False advertising.

Psychopathy knows no bounds whatsoever.

We will never see the universe post a sign that says "Buy one lunch, get one free."
 
Right. "A new Pontiac for $20,000, save $2000!" No savings at all there, just a cost of $20,000.

Look at eBay recently? Seems that over half the listings are scams by small 'net retailers like, "get a $20 item for only $10" (plus $10 shipping and handling for something that costs a buck to mail), and it's not even an auction, there's only a "buy it now" price. Ridiculous.
 
This is why all people really need to get to know themselves, marketing is basically there to make people buy stuff that they don't actually need, or really wanted before they were affected by the marketing.

Us humans don't really need that much, I mean, take a look at a cafe - its just chairs and tables basically. People entertain each other, its quite amazing really. We do all of this while that pontiac is parked outside, and what is it worth, maybe 5 mins of conversation? :D

We do need to know what is actually valuable to us, and then we can know what a "good deal" is. I mean really, a coffee can be a really good deal if you drink it whilst having a good productive conversation with a friend. And thats all it is really isn't it, other people. All of the adverts in the world are pretty much related to how you interact with other people, making all sorts of subtle (or not) claims to how they improve this "interaction". If you actually have good friends who don't judge you based on how you look or what car you drive, what need is there for a pontiac? There isn't, so these companies try to make people act this way - they literally *bombard* people with lies and suggestions about what people think, in order to make people act this way. They are lying manipulating theives. The whole thing seems to come from "4D STS" via organic portals and psychopaths, like a huge intertwined system of a well oiled machine. And it all relies on the system lacking knowledge and a will. It relies 100% on people being ignorant of themselves and what is going on around them. Its basically extremely advanced slavery on a planetary, and probably galactic scale.
 
It's been said that the aforementioned marketing gimmicks are there for someone who is already in the market for a car, washing machine, whatever. All the advertising does is-hopefully-influence you to buy it from them.
However, focusing on the scams-real though they are-is not getting to the root of the problem.
Because literally the entire free-market economy is a scam. But it's a scam that can only work if there's someone to scam.
For sure, there are things that are necessities for some at some point in their 3D STS existence. If you have kids and a mortgage and you need a means to get to your job every day, not to mention the clothes, food and the myriad of things necessary-or one thinks is necessary- to survive, then you're stuck. And stuck good. Day-to-day existence can quickly become a vicious circle. And it sets you up for the 4D Predators-via the banks and corporations and the Western cult of Individualism-as a food source. (I'm getting depressed just writing about this).
The solution? Well, it's out there. And the banker in the second last podcast interview seemed to come very close to hitting the nail on the head. Acting collectively. Of course there's a lot of fine tuning and objective thinking in order to iron out the wrinkles, but this is a start. Not to mention Objectivity. And an STS lifestyle.
How about collective washers and dryers, communal child care and car-sharing, second-hand clothes, barter. communal gardening, job-sharing, home schooling?
Anyway, I've said enough. Hope this was helpful.

To quote Mick Jagger: "You can't always get what you want. But if you try, sometimes you get what you need".
 
Hi Russ and Redrock12 -- I wasn't intending to preach to the choir but to offers something for those who aren't thinking quite so "big picture" yet, and actually need to focus on the scams before they see how it leads to "the root of the problem."

From the linked article, I hope readers will be reinforced in the idea that there are those among us who make the conscious decision to devise means by which to deceive people, to make a business of it, and that these means are sought out by others who also seek to profit from deceit -- and it's all legal, just not quite open. This is such a nice, clear example of that -- worth pointing out, OSIT.

I hope this forum topic continues to help spread the word about how rife our world is with psychopathic behavior, which Laura has described as The Offical Culture of America, even in such small matters as buying an appliance. It doesn't matter why I sought a new washer, or that my wife insisted on it, even though, growing up, she saw her mother wash clothes every day at dawn, by hand, in a small water basin, and that this small act of self-reliance, of personal laundry sovereignty, protected her from at least one small predation.
 
One in use in the UK, as done by the supermarkets: Spend
 
Paul, that nectar card in the UK is kind of like that. Its amazing how its basically calling people drones and yet no one really cares (or notices) :D

AdPop, I know what you mean :) I just thought someone would find my comments of interest, along with what everyone else is writing, just an addition really.
 
Well, my persistence has led to my rebate claim going back into "processing" status, with closure due in approximately seven weeks, a mere third of a year after my purchase. When it comes to these things, be sure to get the name and contact info of the rebate-processing company, keep copies of all your paperwork, and know how to fill in a Better Business Bureau complaint form!
 
*****The solution? Well, it's out there. And the banker in the second last podcast interview seemed to come very close to hitting the nail on the head. Acting collectively. Of course there's a lot of fine tuning and objective thinking in order to iron out the wrinkles, but this is a start. Not to mention Objectivity. And an STS lifestyle.
How about collective washers and dryers, communal child care and car-sharing, second-hand clothes, barter. communal gardening, job-sharing, home schooling? Anyway, I've said enough. Hope this was helpful. *****

It was. What you espoused is called "Communism" in the common vernacular, something to fear and hate (by design). How come few of the Christian Right know that the Christ we see depicted was a "Communist"? I read an article in the German "Stern" magazine that told a tale of people in Holland where they organized everything along communal lines in order to maintain a reasonably affordable lifestyle in the face of a culture that squeezes blood out of a rock. It became apparent that in spite of the greatly exaggerated reports about living cheaply in Holland, actually living in Holland is VERY expensive. The same can well be said for the rest of Europe. Now we see the same "a la carte" system going into place in America. The Middle Class will soon become an extinct species there as the Upper Class hoards all value onto itself. The current election in America is just another "calming" mechanism, as Laura noted. The Democrats are merely a "Junior Varsity" version of the Republicans. This is the reason I call every American partisan a "Republicrat" or a "Demopublican". A two-party system? Hah!

Note how the Fed has ceased publication of the M1 and M2 money supply numbers. This means that they don't want the citizens in the USA to know just how badly their currency has been debased by excessive printing of banknotes. As Bugs Bunny was fond of saying, "what a maroon!".

Note also how Euro governments have become mirror images of the the US Governement in how they treat their citizens (an adversarial relationship, at best).

So, then, what must we do?

Herb
 
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