Bargain Quest

The missing Nova rebate check saga has FINALLY been resolved - my $50 check arrived in the mail today. It only took 4 phone calls and an email since it was overdue in March. I’m glad the company finally got its act together, but I will certainly never use one of their rebates again and actively discourage anyone else considering it.

I’m not sure what I would have done had the company flat-out refused to pay. I certainly wasn’t going to let them get away with it. Fortunately, Nova escaped the full scope of my consumer wrath, but in case a future phone harassment campaign doesn’t yield results, I’ve started searching the web for the scoop on questionable rebaters and what my options are as a disgruntled consumer. Resources include…

rebatereportcard.com - To avoid getting mixed up with an unreliable company, check to see what consumer reports have been filed here. Obviously, the experiences are biased toward the negative because those are the people with something to say, but it’s good info to know. Nova is on there, and I’m not the only one who’s had problems (I should add my story).

FatWallet Rebate Company thread - Contact info for lots of companies and a useful list of links titled “Where to complain if your rebate doesn’t arrive”