When you think about it, it makes sense that people who spend time and effort to earn points and miles to improve their travels would also be interested in saving money in other areas of their lives.
I’ve written about some of these over the years:
- Sweet Spots of the Starbucks Rewards Program
- How To Save Money On SiriusXM
- How To Get Free Roadside Assistance
- Great Pre-Launch Offers For Disney+
- Free Apple+ TV Service
- Free Face Masks
- Free Shipping For Buying From Wineries
One topic I tend to avoid is free or discounted merchandise after claiming a rebate. I’ll go through the effort myself if it’s worth it, like the $75 I got back on a new set of tires for sending pictures of my receipt to the offer website. For the smaller ones, like an $8 gallon of ice cream, I’m not going to bother.
Recently, an offer caught my eye because it was something I needed to buy, and the rebate was worth it.
The offer is for a free 12-pack of Blue Moon LightSky. This is Blue Moon’s new low-carb, keto-friendly beer. This is a current beer trend and we’ve been trying a few different brands to see if any of them are drinkable. If you want to try for yourself, there are still a few days left in the promo.
When shopping at our local Publix, I picked up a 12-pack for $17.49. When I got home, I took pictures of the receipt and UPC and sent them in via the offer website.
It only took a couple of days to get a reply.
The link led to the webpage where the system told me that the product submitted did not qualify for the offer. If I wanted to submit additional information, I could MAIL it to them.
I left the message in my inbox until now, when I did some searching online and found an article from DoC where many others were having the same problem. Apparently, the rebate company rejected every claim because of a “system error” and the only solution was to call or chat with a representative. At this point, I was asking myself if it was worth the $17.49 for my time and the aggravation. I figured I’d give it a shot and see where I got.
Of course, the chat function was not available. I decided to try and send an email but the online form errored out because the dropdown box for “reason for email” was empty but the system required you to pick one of the non-existent options.
I took a deep breath and called the number. It took a few minutes to get through the automated system before I had the option to talk with a representative. I explained my problem and after verifying my information, he took a few minutes to investigate.
He re-submitted my rebate claim and I should hear from them in 4-6 weeks. I know he did something because shortly thereafter I received another email.
In all, the phone call took just over 10 minutes that I shouldn’t have had to spend to get a rebate they denied because of their own error. I’m not going to say that they did this on purpose, hoping most people who even went through the trouble of filing a claim wouldn’t take the time to follow up once it was initially denied.
When it comes to claiming rebates, companies often make it difficult on purpose. They already have your money and now you’re asking them to give some of it back. Sure, the promise of repayment was part of the deal but they never said it would be easy.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk from Pexels
2 comments
They didn’t like my application because they couldn’t see where I bought the beer. Unfortunately I tossed the receipt so I’m out of luck. I’m rather unimpressed overall with how they’ve handled this.
In an interesting twist, they changed their mind and my application was accepted. I got my Mastercard gift card for the rebate today. Thanks so much for the heads up.