Sears Rebate

Posted Sat June 27, 2009 3:43 am, by Jennifer D. written to Sears, Roebuck & Co.

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On April 19, 2009 I found myself in need of a new Lawn Tractor and after carefull consideration and review of rebates I choose one that was elgible for a rebate of $249 if I purchased the extended warranty in the same transaction as the lawn tractor. I reviewed the info online about the Rebate and it said that I was elgible. So I approved the purchase which was in the amount of $1225.36, and proceeded the next day to the sears rebate site that was provided on my receipt and placed my rebate info online. Expecting in about six weeks to receive my $249 rebate check, which was a major factor in the purchase.

All seemed to be going good and ahead of schedule on May 16th I got a Sears rebate check and thought that I would deposit the check and be a happy customer, but when I opened the envelope the check was for $44.10 a large difference in the expected rebate.

At this point I was confused and I called the 800 number on my receipt and got a response that I would get a call back. I never got a call back and on or aroung May 27th I got another check for $44.10 and now was extremly confused so I both called and sent an email. When I spoke to the rebate center no one ever said I was not elgible to receive the rebate, but simply that they would review the email and talk with a supervisor and I would hear back.

I waited and when I got no such call, I called back on June 3rd and again got an apology for no return call and I will have to speak to a supervisor. So now I am frustrated why I can't get the matter handled and no calls have ever been returned, but still a loyal Sears customer and having faith that all would be eventually taken care of correctly.

So I waited until June 26th and called again and it was amazing the clerk told me I did not qualify. Now I am furious for the following reasons:

1. Online when I purchased the tractor it said it was elgible for the rebate and this was a major factor in not only purchasing the tractor with Sears, but the extended warranty.

2. On the Rebate website it said I was elgible after it was processed.

3. I had spoke to several different clerks on the 800 number at Sears Rebate Center and none had told me that I was not elgible after waiting several minutes to review the file, but it took the last clerk a split second to decalre my inelgibilty.

4. I was transferred to a supervisor who explained that I did not pay regular price for the tractor a quoted the regular price as $1000 plus and I did get a midnight madness 10 percent midnight madness sale of $98, but the website said that it was elgible for rebate.

5. I am not a math wiz but anyone can figure out that if it had been clearly stated on the sears website that this $98 would utlimatley cost me the $249 rebate. I would have bought it after the discount was over in the morning. Also if the rebate center had told me of the inelgibility from the start of the transaction. I would have cancelled the order and bought the tractor when it would be elgible as I would have come ahead on the transaction.

6. As I explained to the supervisor that I spoke to today I received horrible customer service from their center and they need to look into the inconsistancy, and each clerk needs to give the same answer and not just try to get the customer off the phone.

Furthermore, I have had my Sears Card since I married over 11 years ago and when we bought our home we purchased all of our appliances from Sears, and over the years have purchased numerous products and spent thousands of dollars with Sears, but as I told the gentleman that I spoke to today I will not step foot in another Sears Store, make a online purchase, or use my Sears Mastercard EVER AGAIN.

My appliance purchases were all made about 10 years ago at the same time a washer, dryer, fridge, dishwasher, and stove. These products are showing their age and will need to be replaced very soon and I will look elsewhere
to make these purchases, because this horrible Customer Service experience has turned this loyal Sears customer into a customer no more.

I would not have been so upset had I gotten the right information the first or even second time, but there is no excuse for not returning calls or emails to your customers.

I would like Sears to step up in this difficult economy and give the service that their customers deserve so that this experience happens to no more unsuspectiong customers.

Look into this transaction and my letter and give your Rebate Center an overhaul and make sure that these employees can handle business within a timely and customer freindly manner.

I would wish that Sears would give me the $249 rebate that I thought for months that I was going to get, but at the very least I would like to know that Sears has read this letter and intends to stop this from happening to anymore customers.

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Re: Sears Rebate by SearsCares Posted Mon June 29, 2009 @ 5:36 PM Dear Jennifer D, My name is Brian and I am part of the Sears Cares escalations team and we would certainly like to talk with you more in detail about this issue. We are a single point of contact for escalated concerns which means we step into a situation and handle it start to finish with one Case Manager. I am very sorry to read about this issue with the rebate. I am also very concerned about the interactions you have had with our customer service agents and we definitely need to know more about that as well. We will do everything we can to assist with this problem, so at your convenience, please contact my office at searscares@searshc.com so that we can discuss this. When you have a moment, please send an email. Please provide a contact phone number and the phone number the lawn tractor was purchased under (if different than the contact phone number) and we will call you directly. In addition, please provide the screen name (Jennifer D) for reference to this issue and we do look forward to talking to you soon. Thank you, Brian J. Senior Case Manager Sears Cares Reply Same problem with a different product by yamandu071 Tue July 28, 2009 @ 4:11 PM Re: Sears Rebate by Venice Posted Sat June 27, 2009 @ 4:52 PM I hope the effort you put into writing this clear and solid letter results in a quick response. Since future purchases hang in the balance (and I believe they do), it would be very wise of Sears to settle this with you. Nice job! Reply Re: Sears Rebate by Retail Veteran Posted Sat June 27, 2009 @ 10:43 AM I hope you get the additional rebate money you are owed. However, please be aware that Sears, like other retailers, does not directly handle rebates. Those are handles by an independent company. Unfortunately, depending on the cost of the extended warranty, it may not have been worth the cost just to get a rebate of $249. The warranty probably cost nearly that much. In my experience, extended warranties are rarely worth the price. I used to sell them on electronics. Reply Just wondering by Venice Sat June 27, 2009 @ 4:45 PM retailers assisting with rebates by Retail Veteran Sun June 28, 2009 @ 11:39 AM I rarely buy anything based on a rebate by Venice Sun June 28, 2009 @ 4:37 PM Fantastic letter by Donno Posted Sat June 27, 2009 @ 9:09 AM This is a great letter. You described the issue well, made excellent suggestions, and made a very reasonable request at the end. I doubt they will honor your request, because it is rebate related. But they absolutely should. This will obviously ruin your relationship with Sears, and you will be telling people about it for a long time to come. I can see it now - you'll be mowing your lawn, a neighbor comes along, you stop and chat. "Nice mower!" "Yeah, but Sears cheated me out of about $160 when I bought it." "ohhhhh." Reply