Office Depot = Ripoffs

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It used to be BestBuy that always advertised "too good to be true" prices made possible by mail-in rebates, but I guess people finally wised up about them and stopped buying. BB did away with the mail-in rebate scam, and currently make their money with the old stand-bys, bait-and-switch and worthless "service contracts." These days it seems to be Office Depot who's the king of unfulfilled rebate promises, at least in my experience.

Back at the beginning of July, I bought a 160 gb external USB hard drive from my local OD. It was fairly pricey at $139, but featured an $80 mail-in rebate that got it down to $59. (plus ten bucks or so tax on the before-rebate price) I promptly sent off the rebate form with the requested copy of the sales slip and UPC code. They let you track your rebate online, and sure enough, within a few weeks, my rebate showed up on the website.

And sat there. And sat there. And sat there, showing the status as "required validation period" whatever the fuck that means. (it's the stage after "verification" and before "issuing a check") Now, this had been sent in about the tenth of July, so along about October, I got tired of waiting for the "required validation period" to run its course and filled out an online WTF form. No response, and yes, I was indeed polite when I filled out the form. (sure, I was thinking "fucking morons!" but I don't think they heard me)

Got to be December and still no check, so this time I filled out the form and called the customer service number. The ESLAN person I spoke with told me I'd have my check in "four to six weeks" which, unfortunately, was what I'd been told back in July. But I got an e-mail response to the form assuring me my check would be mailed in three weeks, so I let it go.

So now it's motherfucking JANUARY and these thieving lowlife sons-of-bitches STILL haven't coughed up my goddamn $80. I don't even want to think about what would happen to ME if I ripped them off for $80, but it's perfectly okay for them to fuck me. Anyway, I went to the online form again and was NOT polite this time, as in, "Where the FUCK is my check, you goddamn thieves?" I'll let you know what - if anything - they have to say in response.

In the meantime, I'd suggest taking any company's promises of rebates with a grain of salt, no matter who's making them. Mail-in rebates are just another scam to fuck the consumer, and in today's GOP-driven business world, companies can and will simply screw you and walk away laughing. They make their money the new-fashioned way - by fucking people over with the help of their crooked pals in public office.