Stacks of CashNote: The following article is intended as a warning for consumers who naively believe they will actually receive a rebate from Logitech. It has been submitted to Logitech and will soon be delivered to the Better Business Bureau, Ripoff Report, Rebate Reportcard, Newegg.com, Amazon.com and others.

Who would have ever thought, in these harsh economic times if you need profits just make them yourself. Well, it appears as though Logitech has been taking lessons from those Nigerian Scammers. Do those scammers teach courses now? I bet Logitech was an A+ student.

Logitech’s/Parago, Inc’s obviously fraudulent business practices might have been more believable had they placed the blame on the Postal Service. However, they decide to CLAIM that consumers are submitting the wrong UPCs. Truth or a new method of making lots of money? How many of you out there have purchased items JUST because they currently had a rebate you couldn’t pass up. Well, that’s what happened to me this past Christmas when I needed a few things for my parents. Amazon was advertising a 20% off Logitech rebate so I decided to go with a few products that would fulfill that rebate. A month or so later things got frustrating…

The following is my recent submission to Logitech Customer Service emailed Feb. 9th, 2010 (Full PDF: Response to Logitech):

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Dear Logitech,

I would appreciate you looking into the matter discussed below.

Logitech Customer Service (#6596-159461688-XXXX)

Tracking number: 383684XXX

Promotion: Save 20%* when you buy 2 or more (up to 5) Logitech Products together at Amazon.com (*not to exceed #350)

I recently checked the status of my rebate with Logitech and your response stated that my rebate was “invalid”.  When I contacted you to find out what I needed to do to get my rebate, I received this reply:

“Thank you for your rebate inquiry. We have received your submission, but unfortunately, the UPC barcodes that were included are not valid for this promotion. Please make sure that the products you purchased were the Logitech Mice and Logitech Harmony and that the UPC for the correct products were submitted.

If you still have the UPC barcodes for the correct products, please send them to the following address:”

I still have the boxes from which the bar codes were submitted.  They were the Logitech VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse and the Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote.   As you can see your response stated that the Logitech Mouse and Logitech Harmony were the correct products.  I am sending pictures of the boxes to prove that I purchased and submitted UPCs from the correct products.   I am also sending pictures of the boxes that show the UPCs have been cut out.  (Obviously, if I still had the UPCs, I’d simply send them to Logitech so I could get my money; however, as discussed below you refuse to accept anything BUT the original UPCs.)

Your email stated that if I have the UPC barcodes, I should send them to you.   Since you will not accept copies of the UPCs (ONLY ORIGINALS ARE ACCEPTED) and since the original UPCs were submitted at the time the original Rebate Request was submitted, there is no way to send them now.  One can’t help but wonder if this is Logitech’s way of placing their customers over a barrel.  This is a clear case of fraud.  You can’t get a rebate on merchandise when the original UPC (as requested) has been submitted and the company fraudulently claims it is the wrong UPC. It is physically impossible for someone to resubmit what they have sent you and therefore no longer possess.  However, since I still have the boxes, clearly I did purchase the merchandise and clearly the UPCs were removed.

I’ve submitted many rebates in my life and NEVER received an “invalid” notice.  Having graduated as an Electrical Engineer at one of the top Engineering schools in the country (Georgia Institute of Technology), I can assure you there is one thing they instill in you, and that is the principle of following instructions to attain a desired outcome. This definitely applies to menial tasks such as filling out forms and including the necessary additional parts (I recently received a rebate from Verizon sent out on the same day).  It seems that Logitech has subcontracted their rebates to a company called Parago, Inc. It seems as though Parago is being paid according to how many rebates they can invalidate (which according to reviews is an improbably high percentage). It is therefore, my contention that “Logitech Rebates” MUST be a scam that I had not anticipated.

As this matter has persisted, I did a quick search to find articles such as this (http://forums.logitech.com/t5/General-Non-Technical/logitech-rebates-are-awful-less-than-50-probability-to-get-your/m-p/27603) as well as MANY more included below.  It is really a shame that Logitech has chosen to conduct business in such a fraudulent manner.  This is like the old bait and switch scam.  Offer a rebate to get the customer to make the purchase knowing full well you have no intention of honoring the rebate.

I love Logitech products and have always recommended them to friends and family.  However, with shoddy (seemingly falsified) processing such as this, I will not be doing that any longer.  Friends, family, and visitors to my tech review websites as well as any personal websites WILL hear of Logitech’s inferior business practices.  I strongly encourage Logitech to rethink their process. Please note that this matter will be presented to many tech review, shopping, and consumer awareness websites (e.g. Ripoff Report, Rebate Reportcard, Newegg.com, Amazon.com) as well as the Better Business Bureau. I sincerely hope that an investigation is conducted in order to force Logitech and Parago to straighten out their methods.

Sincerely,

XXXXX

Attachments: Original packaging image, missing UPC image, Logitech Customer Service response, original rebate form

A few Relevant Links for those Interested in this matter:

Original Packaging

Original Packaging

Missing UPCs

Missing UPC

Logitech Response to my previous inquiry regarding their incorrect Status indicator

Dear XXXXXX:       Tracking number: 383684XXX

Thank you for your rebate inquiry. We have received your submission, but unfortunately, the UPC barcodes that were included are not valid for this promotion. Please make sure that the products you purchased were the Logitech Mice and Logitech Harmony and that the UPC for the correct products were submitted.

If you still have the UPC barcodes for the correct products, please send them to the following address:

Rebate Special Services
PO Box 028516
Miami FL 33102-8516

We appreciate your participation in this promotion. If there is anything else we can do to assist you, please contact us at [email protected] . We are always happy to help. You can also track the status of your rebate, using the Tracking number above, at www.logitech-rebates.com.

Nadia
Promotions Customer Service

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I’m not stupid so I realize that an argument can be made that these UPCs were removed after the fact. I suppose I just have to ask…who is more likely to lie about the matter? The hundreds of people each standing to gain a few dollars from the rebate or a large company that saves millions by not reimbursing for valid rebate submissions. I’ll let you decide.

So, if you feel like rushing to buy that new Logitech device because there’s a rebate right now, don’t assume that you will get it. You can do everything right and they can still reject you since (unless you videotape the entire process *which they can argue could have been doctored anyway*) there is no definite proof that you did everything correct.

LOGITECH REBATES—–THE NEW LOTTERY

Update: On Feb. 10th I received this response

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Dear XXXX:              Tracking number: 383684XXX

Thank you for your rebate inquiry. Because your issue requires further research, your e-mail has been forwarded to a special team. We are working hard to research your issue and will have a response within 7-10 business days.

You can also track the status of your rebate, using the Tracking number above, at www.rebateshq.com.

XXXXXXX
Promotions Customer Service

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It is now March 11th and there has been NO RESPONSE