Fujinon Binocular Rebate Problems

[John Nantz]

Last September we bought a pair of Fujinon binoculars that were advertised nationally with a rebate offer. The deadline for purchase was September 30 and the rebate submittal had to be mailed by October 5. We did this and so far NO REBATE from Fujinon. Upon checking on the status we learned that the offer has been extended until the end of December 2002 and must be postmarked by January 31, 2003. It's my understanding they won't process all the rebates until after that time. What this means is the rebate won't be forthcoming until at least February and probably not even until next March, 2003!Checking with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) web site I found that "By law, companies are required to send rebates within the time frame promised, or IF NO TIME IS SPECIFIED (and none was), within 30 days". See link at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/rebatealrt.htm (or click on the link below). The Fujinon ad DOES NOT not state when they will provide the rebate (although they list a telephone number "for details". Read "What are the rules on advertising rebates to consumers?" on the FTC web site at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/ad-faqs.htmThe Federal Trade Commission invites consumers to file a complaint (in the above link) but the link is "broken". For the "on-line complaint form" go to: https://rn.ftc.gov/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01. The link states "While the FTC does not resolve individual consumer problems, your complaint helps us investigate fraud, and can lead to law enforcement action". However, the more people that file complaints the more likely Fujinon will process our rebates sooner than later.If you've bought a pair of Fujinon binoculars and haven't received your rebate this is what's happening. This situation is ridiculous! I would URGE you to FILE A COMPLAINT with the FTC and the other places (f.e., your State Attorney General) they recommend on their site.

 

[Phil Herring]

Pretty typical

I'm sure they simply want to batch all the rebate checks for efficiency, and when the promotion was extended some coordinator decided to save a few bucks and delay the check run to catch them all. I'll bet that if you call that number Monday they'll get a check out to you.

 

[LaDonna Bubak - CatalinaOwners.com]

Doubt it qualifies as fraud

As Phil suggested, give them a call & see what they say. Fujinon isn't some flybynight outfit that's trying to bilk you out of your $30 (or whatever it is). Call them up, be firm but pleasant and I'm guessing that'll get you a looong way.FWIW, when I send in for rebates, I usually forget about them. When the checks come in, I'm pleasantly surprised! Makes life a lot happier! LaDonna

 

[Harry A.]

Patience...

Have a little patience. We bought an office chair,supplies and CD-R burner for our computer the end of August, most all had rebate offers. We just received two of the checks November 30th.Like Phil says, we send them in and forget them, if we get a check back great! If not, so what, I have bigger things in life to worry about.

 

[Miles]

Glad to hear someone gets rebate checks...

I've sent in lots of rebates and I don't think I've ever got a check back! After months go by I think they sort of assume you aren't all that interested in getting your money, you should probably give them a call. If those are the stabilized Fujinons I'm sure the rebate is pretty big, at least I hope so...

 

[John Nantz]

Fujinon "Rebate" Brush-off

We've called them several times over the past couple weeks and all we've been getting is the brush-off. Before we bought the binoc's we inquired about the time period and they said they'd start processing the forms about a week or two after the date when they were to be canceled (Oct 5) so they could do them in a batch.In the past couple weeks it's been "we're going to wait until after the EXTENDED rebate period". The mail-in deadline for this period is January 31, 2003! When we tell them that's un-sat (Navy talk for unsatisfactory) they say "Well, I need to talk to my supervisor" and "the marketing director (or what ever) has to make the decision", etc. I'm glad I found some "good words" in the FTC web site. The Fuji Techno-Stabi refund is $200 (!!) so we're talking about quite a few bucks here. This isn't your everyday grocery store rebate!Understand we're NOT talking "fraud" here, just a TIMELY RESPONSE (half a YEAR is too long). The 'fraud' word was a word in the quote of the entire sentence which I didn't want to re-word. The other thing I found out was that there were only about 400 binoc's sold - that doesn't seem like very many, especially considering some of the full page ads that have been running to market this promo. How long would it take to issue 400 + or - rebates?Wouldn't surprise me if the next generation would use some kind of flash memory vice the little hard drive. We (the Admiral especially) really likes them but this rebate thing is putting a pall on the whole deal.

 

[Miles]

I'd be worried about the "extended" rebate period

it just might turn into an extended-extended period...Sorry about your troubles but I'm glad you enjoy the binocs. I have a friend with a pair and they are very cool!

 

[Derek Rowell]

Rebates

My dear wife, Marge, is relentless. We frequently wait until rebates when making large purchases. We have received all of our many rebates (so far). Recently we had a $100 rebate on a 17" lcd display from CompUSA. The rebate did not come through for several weeks, and she found that a bunch of companies (BestBuy, CompUSA, OfficeMax, Office Depot and a couple of others) use the website:www.wheresmyrebate.comfor tracking. She logged on and got the response that our rebate had been mailed but was returned as undeliverable. Yeah, right!She got on the phone and let them know all about it, and within a week the check appeared. On another occasion a rebate check was just a card that looked so much like junk mail that I threw it out, and it was her eagle eyes that saw it on top of the heap. BTW - the above web site has to be the slowest in the world - probably deliberate!Derek

 

[John Nantz]

Fujinon Rebate Not Listed

Thanks for the really good URL to "wheresmyrebate" Derek. I tried the site and like you mentioned it takes a long time to load. It appears that not all companies that issue rebates are participating because Fujinon doesn't show up as a pending rebate in any of the categories (i.e., Accepted, Rejected, Pending, or Mailed).Otherwise this is an excellent site for future reference which I'll mention to my wife (need all the points I can get!). Thanks for the URL.