Snafus Delay Best Buy Rebate Bay Shore NY

Some time ago, I purchased a copy of Roxio Easy Media Creator 8---which was supposed to come with a $20 rebate for people upgrading from earlier versions---from Best Buy. I mailed the rebate forms, rebate receipt, and proof of prior ownership to the appropriate address.

A month later, I called the Best Buy rebate number. The representative told me I had to contact Roxio. When I called Roxio, however, a recording told me to punch in my phone number, and then said that my phone number is not on file. I could not talk to a human, but was told to go to www.rebatehq.com. When I did so, I could not find any details on the status of my rebate there.

Ron Niemi, El Dorado Hills, California

On Your Side Responds: The Roxio representative we spoke to said first that Niemi's rebate had been misfiled, then that Niemi had entered the wrong phone number in its system. He added that the site Niemi visited, www.rebatehq.com, was incorrect; the correct site URL is www.rebateshq.com. Best Buy told us that it sent Mr. Niemi his $20 rebate check directly. The retailer also said that it is phasing out mail-in rebates because of problems such as this one. (Best Buy announced a two-year phase-out plan in April 2005.)

You can avoid some rebate hassles by keeping a photocopy of every item that you send in, and by sending the rebate request via certified mail.