Bargain Quest

I didn’t get a fridge, because of aforementioned false advertising regarding the fridge rebate. After sending several email requests to LNT customer service, I finally received a response stating that indeed $20 is the maximum rebate amount. Here is the complete email:

Dear Alison,

Thank you for contacting Vice President at www.LNT.com.

The rebate that is listed for the Haier 1.8 CU.FT. Refrigerator with Freezer is limited to 1 rebate per household. Maximum rebate $20.00 per household.[emphasis added] I am still trying to get additional confirmation on this for you. I will send another email when I have more details.

Thank you for your patience in this matter. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you, and thank you again for contacting Vice President at www.LNT.com.

Sincerely,

Victoria A. - Assistant to the Online Vice PresidentVice President at www.LNT.com

I’m giving LNT the benefit of the doubt that they didn’t realize the UPC problem before printing the ad, but even then I’m disappointed that they refuse to make any effort to make it right and live up to their published price.

The saddest part is that, even without the extra $10, it was still probably the best deal I’m going to find. It’s not like my purchase or principled refusal to do so makes the slightest difference to Linens N Things. Still, since I’m aware of the problem, I feel that buying the fridge would implicitly condone the dishonest marketing that the company is willing to propagate. Enough big words yet? Yikes.