Viking CF Rebate ?

Has any received the Viking CF rebate (Amazon.com) back in May?

I have not, and am sick and tired of these rebate come-ons that either take forever to pay, or don't pay at all. I've been burned several times...

sent mine in may and nothing yet. mark

Sam Kanter said:

Has any received the Viking CF rebate (Amazon.com) back in May?
I have not, and am sick and tired of these rebate come-ons that
either take forever to pay, or don't pay at all. I've been burned
several times...

Click to expand...

No, but I called them Friday morning. After only about 30 seconds on hold, they were able to tell me that I had filed a valid claim and that it was just taking a 'little time'. Being the cynical sort, I didn't ask him when I could expect payment -- I figured the answer wouldn't be of any value. Monday will be 10 weeks from the day they recorded receiving my letter, so they are beyond the time frame promised. I'm pretty sure I'll get a check, but it sounds like it might take another month.

Dave

Sam Kanter said:

Has any received the Viking CF rebate (Amazon.com) back in May?
I have not, and am sick and tired of these rebate come-ons that
either take forever to pay, or don't pay at all. I've been burned
several times...

Click to expand...

It seems to me that rebate offers should state a time period in which the rebate will be fulfilled. Otherwise, it could take -years-! There have been quite a few that I've never received...

Dave Reiser said:

Dave

Sam Kanter said:

Has any received the Viking CF rebate (Amazon.com) back in May?
I have not, and am sick and tired of these rebate come-ons that
either take forever to pay, or don't pay at all. I've been burned
several times...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I wonder when companies will realize that making people jump through hoops to apply for the rebate, then taking forever to finally issue the promised check, can cause more ill-will than good. It seems so obvious. Instant rebates are a far more up-front way of handling the situation and always result in good will and customer satifaction.

This one did state 8-10 weeks, which is more than the 6-8 weeks I've seen on the vast majority of rebates I've sent in. The typical behavior seems to be to schedule check mailing to coincide with either the beginning or the end of the last week in the span mentioned on the form.

I've received rebates for every form I've sent in, but I actually tend to avoid rebates unless the item is something I really wanted to buy anyway. And I'll go out of my way to pick a competing brand rather than buy something from someone who wants me to fill out forms and pay postage for a rebate of less than $5.

Dave

Sam Kanter said:

It seems to me that rebate offers should state a time period in
which the rebate will be fulfilled. Otherwise, it could take
-years-! There have been quite a few that I've never received...

Click to expand...

Dave,

The reason is because most people never file for their rebate. Customers think they got a great deal because of the rebate but most get the forms and then forget to fill them in and then mail them off. That said I agree with you I prefer instant rebates, one of the things companies want most is the name of the buyer (and contact information). Companies should just have customers fill out the form and turn it into the reseller. A customers name can be very valuable. I worked for a software company once and we made a lot of money for renting our customer list.

Good luck in getting the rebates, Viking is a good company I am sure they will arrive soon. Along with other mail from companies. One way to see how advertisers get your name is to change it a little on rebate forms or on product registrations. I used a title only once back in 1988 and put it only one registration. I still get mail with that title.

Ed

Dave51035 said:

I wonder when companies will realize that making people jump
through hoops to apply for the rebate, then taking forever to
finally issue the promised check, can cause more ill-will than
good. It seems so obvious. Instant rebates are a far more up-front
way of handling the situation and always result in good will and
customer satifaction.

Click to expand...

Dave Reiser said:

This one did state 8-10 weeks, which is more than the 6-8 weeks
I've received rebates for every form I've sent in, but I actually
tend to avoid rebates unless the item is something I really wanted
to buy anyway. And I'll go out of my way to pick a competing brand
rather than buy something from someone who wants me to fill out
forms and pay postage for a rebate of less than $5.

Click to expand...

This was $25.

I called about a week ago and was told that it was in the system and was in the last stages of processing. I had to restrain myself from laughing. How many stages can there be with issuing a rebate?

Sam Kanter said:

Dave Reiser said:

This one did state 8-10 weeks, which is more than the 6-8 weeks
I've received rebates for every form I've sent in, but I actually
tend to avoid rebates unless the item is something I really wanted
to buy anyway. And I'll go out of my way to pick a competing brand
rather than buy something from someone who wants me to fill out
forms and pay postage for a rebate of less than $5.

Click to expand...

This was $25.

Click to expand...

That's part of the reason I was willing to put up with the filing hassle...

You know to be fair. My dad received a card from Viking stating that he had not sent a copy of the sails receipt to them. I am sure that he did because I mailed it for him and got all the stuff together. The card he received told him to return the card to resubmitt for the rebate. This was pretty nice--they could have just thrown the rebate out and not messed with it. I am sure it was their mistake however.
Dennis U.

Why not contact Amazon and protest since they featured the rebate as a selling tool

Dennis U. said:

You know to be fair. My dad received a card from Viking stating
that he had not sent a copy of the sails receipt to them. I am
sure that he did because I mailed it for him and got all the stuff
together. The card he received told him to return the card to
resubmitt for the rebate. This was pretty nice--they could have
just thrown the rebate out and not messed with it. I am sure it
was their mistake however.
Dennis U.

Click to expand...

I just got a card in the mail from Viking today saying that my return was postmarked beyond the eligibility period for the promotion. As far as I know the period was good through at least 7/31/2000 (I don't have the form in front of me, but that is what I remember). Anyhow, I mailed everything in by at least a week and a half before the deadline. Im sure of this because I went on vacation on the 26th of July, so if they got it and already returned it, its obvious I mailed it before I left for my vacation.

I guess I can call and complain to Viking, but I really don't have proof that I sent it before the deadline as I used standard mail. Anyone else get this card?

dabirk said:

Dennis U. said:

You know to be fair. My dad received a card from Viking stating
that he had not sent a copy of the sails receipt to them. I am
sure that he did because I mailed it for him and got all the stuff
together. The card he received told him to return the card to
resubmitt for the rebate. This was pretty nice--they could have
just thrown the rebate out and not messed with it. I am sure it
was their mistake however.
Dennis U.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Sam Kanter said:

Has any received the Viking CF rebate (Amazon.com) back in May?
I have not, and am sick and tired of these rebate come-ons that
either take forever to pay, or don't pay at all. I've been burned
several times...

Click to expand...

i bought 2 125fmb vikings from amazon during the mid july expiring rebate.
one was defective and would not fit in a new camera, returned to amazon for

credit. the other was ok and I carefully cut out the upc sticker on the clear plastic that covered the little box the card came in, stapled it and the amazon receipt to the rebate form. today
a card came from viking saying my submission was no good as there was no

upc sticker and no receipt for purchase. and get this: they say i can resubmit up until sep something. obviously i cant as they have my upc sticker. liars, scam artists that's vikiing as far as i'm concerned. and one of two cards n.g.I
will never buy anything at any price from them again. and i've had it up to here
with all the rebate crap. why dont they just lower the price wheh you buy and
forget all the paper work involved? why because they could cheat you so
perfectly.

I sent my rebate request in late May and I haven't heard anything one way or another.

I wonder if flooding Amazon with complaints would help? They surely have more clout with Viking than any individual (small potatoes) customer.

Rod Smith

ralph fuerbringer said:

Sam Kanter said:

Has any received the Viking CF rebate (Amazon.com) back in May?
I have not, and am sick and tired of these rebate come-ons that
either take forever to pay, or don't pay at all. I've been burned
several times...
--snip--

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Sam Kanter said:

Has any received the Viking CF rebate (Amazon.com) back in May?
I have not, and am sick and tired of these rebate come-ons that
either take forever to pay, or don't pay at all. I've been burned
several times...

Click to expand...

I received a letter from these folks saying the offer expired before I ordered. According to the info I received, I was well within the launch window. They can just do what they want with their "broken promise" rebate and I will never, never, never forget.

"Viking" will be as obsolete a company in 12 months as the Nordic rapers and killers of innocent children of the past that this company tries to emulate. Probably a bunch of bugger picking nerds spending my rebate on their rented boat in the Pacific.

There, see how much better you feel?

I just received the post card denying my rebate.

I sent in the only UPC that came with my order was one on the electrostatic package that the card came in. Vickings url was also on this sticker. This was sent along with the receipt and rebate papers.They still replied that I didn't ship the original UPC label and they denied my rebate. I have copies of everything I sent. It looks like they just plan on not honoring the rebates but I'll resubmit the copies along with a nasty letter anyway. Sending copies to Amazon sounds like a good idea also. Its pretty poor business and I hope they are happy with the one and only purchase they will ever get from me.
Tom -

Sam Kanter said:

Has any received the Viking CF rebate (Amazon.com) back in May?
I have not, and am sick and tired of these rebate come-ons that
either take forever to pay, or don't pay at all. I've been burned
several times...

Click to expand...

Sam, I don't think Viking should be allowed to get away with this. I think each person who has been scammed by Viking should write a letter to Amazon explaining the situation, then we should keep this thread going forever if necessary. The least we can do is lose Viking as many customers as possible. Make them pay. As far as I know Amazon does not knowingly participate in scams, so they should be made aware of what Viking is doing. If Viking suddenly notices a loss in business, maybe they will make wiser decisions in the future. I think we should post on other message boards too....spead the word about this ongoing Viking scam. I for one am getting dam tired of being scammed by rebate offers....if they want to give you a break on price, they should just drop the price of the product. To hell with rebates.....I've participated in my last one, and I'm starting the draft of a letter to my State Attorney General.

I hope more people who have been scammed by Viking post messages to this thread. Bill

Sam Kanter said:

Has any received the Viking CF rebate (Amazon.com) back in May?
I have not, and am sick and tired of these rebate come-ons that
either take forever to pay, or don't pay at all. I've been burned
several times...

Click to expand...

Gentlemen,

It would appear that Viking, or their rebate center, is not playing this one straight up. The expired rebate form gambit is at best weak, since this rebate has been going on for months with only the date changing on the form at Amazon. I will assume that all have been sending in the tag from the electrostatic bag. Given that you have done everything right, frequent communication with Viking both via e-mail and phone would be in order. I consider Amazon to be a top notch on-line retailer and have said so on http://www.resellerratings.com (rating=6.2). But, I would avail myself of this forum to bring in to question Vikings questionable rebate practices. As you may know Viking still has the rebate active on Amazon.com for $99 with $25 rebate. At present they show Viking with a 5 star rating (the best). Those that have purchased this product have an oppotunity to rate them. Obviously, if enough negative responses are received, that rating will drop. Since http://www.Amazon.com is a top notch outfit, it may be even possible to remove them as a provider. The other option, much more desirable, is for them to make good on their promises. If they don't, they deserve the consequences. There are plenty of best value options to their products.

Thomas M said:

Sam Kanter said:

Has any received the Viking CF rebate (Amazon.com) back in May?
I have not, and am sick and tired of these rebate come-ons that
either take forever to pay, or don't pay at all. I've been burned
several times...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Bill,
1) I agree that Amazon is a top-notch on-line reseller

2) You can rate the Viking 128MB on their site. If you can believe it, they presently have a 5 star rating (the best)
3) e-mail and call Viking about their practices
4) I don't think Viking should be allowed to get away with it.

BTW, I have had good experiences with rebates, but only use them for products I need. So I will continue to use rebates, but will give appropriate negative feedback for improper practices.

Bill said:

I hope more people who have been scammed by Viking post messages to
this thread. Bill

Sam Kanter said:

Has any received the Viking CF rebate (Amazon.com) back in May?
I have not, and am sick and tired of these rebate come-ons that
either take forever to pay, or don't pay at all. I've been burned
several times...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...