I picked up a 7DII and pixma bundle under one of the recent offers. "Pre submitted" the rebate online and then sent in the paperwork around the middle of November. Needless to say, no rebate received yet. Anyone who's been through this process know what to do?
I am waiting for a rebate on the battery grip from november, but it did say in the small print to allow up to 28 days for the money from the date the claim was validated.
"Congratulations! We can confirm that your claim for the Canon Mid-Range DSLR Battery Grip Promotion has been approved. We will do our best to pay the GBP 199.00 to you as quick as possible but sometimes, if we receive a lot of claims, it can take up to 28 days. Don't worry - we will email you once we have made the payment so you know when to expect the funds.
IMPORTANT: Payment is made within 28 days from when the claim has been validated and not from the date we received the claims."
I wonder how many people here know the history of such rebates, the ones that require submission of these forms and receipts and so forth?
They were common a few years back, as were the very frequent complaints about the fulfillment operations that all too often declared that submissions were invalid for spurious reasons. In some cases, there was a distinct impression that a few of the fulfillment houses were simply automatically marking a percentage (sometimes perhaps 100%?) of the applications as "incomplete." Most folks who got these messages simply didn't follow up and they lost their rebates. Those who followed up were often able to get the rebates, but it was a long and unpleasant process.
Some will tell you that they had no problems, but many others were disgusted with the whole operation.
Canon apparently heard the complaints. The company stopped doing the mail-in rebates and instead moved to the so-called instant rebates. Now we see the mail-in process has returned, and it is not encouraging to hear that the problems may also be returning.
Be very careful.
Follow the directions to the letter.
Make copies of everything.
If the rebate is large, you may want to consider sending the materials with a return receipt and delivery confirmation.
Follow up if you don't hear from them after sending your materials in.
If your application is denied, be prepared to contest the decision and let them know that you have copies of all materials.
Thank you for pre-submitting your claim reference #xxxxxxx for a rebate from your Canon product purchase. As a reminder, before your claim can be reviewed and processed, you must send to us via postal mail the required documentation listed at the bottom of your Pre-submission claim form.?Once your back up documentation is received, your claim will be reviewed and processed within the next 60 days.
Thank you for pre-submitting your claim reference #xxxxxxx for a rebate from your Canon product purchase. As a reminder, before your claim can be reviewed and processed, you must send to us via postal mail the required documentation listed at the bottom of your Pre-submission claim form.?Once your back up documentation is received, your claim will be reviewed and processed within the next 60 days.
Thank you for your business,
Canon U.S.A., Inc....Show more →
I received the same email after entering my rebate information online. It is very important to follow the mail-in instruction absolutely accurately as described for the submission process. I found the most tedious to cut out the original UPC bar code from the box. If you get a Canon package deal - for example for a printer with sheets of photo paper added to it - you need to cut out both UPC bar codes from the printer box and the paper box. Both need to be submitted via regular mail including the request form.
1-2 weeks after I submitted the rebate mail the status online information was updated to "in process" and at the end "rebate approved". It took another 4 weeks to receive the AMEX card with the rebate value. AMEX has a website for rebate cards which show you exactly how much was spent and how much is still left on the card. Overall, my process worked smoothly without any roadblocks, it just takes some time which always seems the case with those mail-in rebates.
gdanmitchell wrote:
I wonder how many people here know the history of such rebates
Some will tell you that they had no problems, but many others were disgusted with the whole operation.
Canon apparently heard the complaints. The company stopped doing the mail-in rebates and instead moved to the so-called instant rebates. Now we see the mail-in process has returned, and it is not encouraging to hear that the problems may also be returning.
Be very careful.
Follow the directions to the letter.
Make copies of everything.
If the rebate is large, you may want to consider sending the materials with a return receipt and delivery confirmation.
Follow up if you don't hear from them after sending your materials in.
If your application is denied, be prepared to contest the decision and let them know that you have copies of all materials. ...Show more →
Yup. I've never in my life had usps lose something in the mail, but my mail in rebate submission for a 5d Mark II and Pixma printer mysteriously disappeared in transit in 2010. Fortunately, I had made copies of everything and after some work was able to get my $400. Can't help but wonder how many people were never able to claim theirs.
gdanmitchell wrote:
I wonder how many people here know the history of such rebates, the ones that require submission of these forms and receipts and so forth?
They were common a few years back, as were the very frequent complaints about the fulfillment operations that all too often declared that submissions were invalid for spurious reasons. In some cases, there was a distinct impression that a few of the fulfillment houses were simply automatically marking a percentage (sometimes perhaps 100%?) of the applications as "incomplete." Most folks who got these messages simply didn't follow up and they lost their rebates. Those who followed up were often able to get the rebates, but it was a long and unpleasant process.
Some will tell you that they had no problems, but many others were disgusted with the whole operation.
Canon apparently heard the complaints. The company stopped doing the mail-in rebates and instead moved to the so-called instant rebates. Now we see the mail-in process has returned, and it is not encouraging to hear that the problems may also be returning.
Be very careful.
Follow the directions to the letter.
Make copies of everything.
If the rebate is large, you may want to consider sending the materials with a return receipt and delivery confirmation.
Follow up if you don't hear from them after sending your materials in.
If your application is denied, be prepared to contest the decision and let them know that you have copies of all materials. ...Show more →
Excellent advice, especially making copies of everything no matter how small.
Your summary is spot on, and definitely reflects my experiences with mail-in rebates over the years. I remember a certain fulfillment center in Young America, MN which was notorious for turning people down for literally anything. I remember taking 9 months to get a $50 rebate after a lot of back and forth. If I noticed that the rebate was being done through them I didn't bother buying the item.
This is why I don't bother with any products with mail-in rebates. Just give me the damn rebate at the point of sale and I'll be happy to buy it. Otherwise I'll just wait. It's easier for both parties, customers are happier because of less work for them and eliminates a lot of problems with these "middlemen".
Biggest problem, and what keeps me from buying in is that you can't deposit the "rebate" in your bank account.
Few in our area accept American Express.
Come on Canon - send a check!
Daniel Smith wrote:
Biggest problem, and what keeps me from buying in is that you can't deposit the "rebate" in your bank account.
Few in our area accept American Express.
Come on Canon - send a check!
You can simply use the Amex rebate card and purchase another gift card with it which is more suitable (e.g. Amazon).
Daniel Smith wrote:
Biggest problem, and what keeps me from buying in is that you can't deposit the "rebate" in your bank account.
Few in our area accept American Express.
Come on Canon - send a check!
You could register the card by calling 888-872-8539 and then using it online instead.
