Ok, just to be fair, I've added the form that I had to fill out for the rebate on the camera. I know that it's hard to see, but highlighted below the information that I've edited, is the disclaimer for the rebate. In the highlighted portion of the disclaimer it states to allow 8 - 10 weeks for delievery of the rebate. As I had noted before, I had sent in the rebate submission in the week of March 19th.
Here is the information from Paragon, whom Olympus contracts to handle the rebates:
Rebate: $50.00 Rebate Check
Rebate Information For: 18923XXXX
Promotion: Receive $50 Mail in Rebate on SP-350 Digital Camera at Participating Retailers
Submission Type: MAIL-IN
Date Received: 04-11-2006
Check Issue Date: 07-04-2006
Check Cleared Date: 07-13-2006
Check Number: 1595XXXX
Status Detail: Your rebate is valid. Please allow up to 30 days to receive your rebate.
Cleared meaning that I've cashed it. Well that took about 3 months to get to me which is far in excess of 8 - 10 weeks... Now here is the information regarding the Garmin GPS that I never bought:
Rebate: $100.00 Rebate Check
Rebate Information For: 19794XXXX
Promotion: Garmin GPSMAP 76Cx, 76CSx and 76CS Plus $100 Rebate
Submission Type: MAIL-IN
Date Received: 07-10-2006
Check Issue Date: 07-11-2006
Check Number: 1606XXXX
Status Detail: Your rebate is valid. Please allow up to 30 days to receive your rebate.
I got the check and ended up cashing it anyway, at this point, I'm thinking that this is Paragon's way of apoligizing for messing up the rebate with Olympus after I ended up filing a complaint with the FTC. I did make an attempt to contact Garmin but I guess they don't care cause it's been a couple of days ago. If large companies don't care about the waste of money that other vendors are causing them, well, I guess I shouldn't care and just hope that more incidents like this happen.. Free Money...
つづく ( To be continued... )
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Monday, July 17, 2006
A Rebate for a GPS Device? but I didn't buy one...
The pictures that I have been taking with an Olympus SP350 camera and posting the images on flickr, the camera had a rebate for $50, which I sent in during the week of March 19th after purchasing the digital camera before going into work.
I sent in the rebate with all the required materials and waited... and waited... and waited... After about 2 or 3 weeks I called "Olympus Rebate Center" and was told that they didn't recieve my rebate submission... I got pretty upset and asked to talk to a supervisor, to which I was told the same thing, I then asked to talk to a manager and was again told the same thing, that they didn't recieve my rebate, however about 2 days after calling I get an email notification that they had recieved my rebate submission on April 11th. Ok, so according to the rebate terms, it stated that I need to wait 8 to 10 weeks for them to send the money after my rebate had been processed and validated.
I waited as stated in the rebate terms and emailed Olympus to check the status of my rebate. I got a reply to call customer service and so I did, upon calling them, I was told that I had to call a different number, the number for their "rebate center" to check on the status of my rebate. I replied to that email and told them of my last experience calling for a status, however I don't think that they have a live person answering emails or they have a preset reply, cause it seemed as if they didn't read my email and got the exact same response the next time they replied. I even ended up emailing the parent company in Japan and was directed back to Olympus USA and didn't get a response then...
I was pretty frustrated with the whole situation. About a week later, about 11 and a half weeks after getting no where, I get an email again stating that my rebate has been validated and that they will be sending out a check, but to allow up to 30 days for it to arrive... NO WAY AM I GOING TO WAIT THAT LONG!!! It's already been 12 weeks at this point, why should I have to wait an additional 4 weeks to get a rebate that was supposed to get back to me in 8 to 10 weeks?
I ended up going through the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) web site and filed a complaint with them and also found about 2 sites that you can leave complaints on regarding a company that you've had troubles with and posted my issues with Olympus... About a day after that, I then emailed Olympus and informed them that I had filed a complaint with the FTC and posted my complaints on 2 other sites... Low and behold! I go to check the status of my rebate and find that it has been mailed on July 5th... then on July 10th, I get an email stating that my submission for a rebate has been recieved.
I go through the link to check out what it was about and find that it was for a Garmin GPSMAP 76Cx, 76CSx and 76CS Plus and that the rebate is for a $100.00. I then thought to myself, I didn't buy a GPS, even if I did, I would have remembered if I did. At this point I suspect that it was a mistake and that I'll be getting an email stating such, however I didn't, the next day I check the link, it stated that my submission was valid and that a check was being sent. Ok, so I still didn't believe it, not until I have the check in hand. Then on Saturday, July 15 (after the postal carrier arrived late), I got the check...
Now, I suspect that the company that actually handles the rebate, Paragon, messed up big time and someone from Olympus got on their case to resolve the issue. I don't agree with them going through another company to resolve this issue, but then again, I can't complain, basically I got a $150.00 off my camera, however I don't think I'll be getting another Olympus when I get a digital SLR camera.
I've been looking at the Canon D30 and the Nikon D200, the Canon is least expensive by about a thousand, it has the same megapixels as the Nikon... I'll have to do more research cause at first, I was leaning more towards the Nikon, but with the New Canon D30 available, it's looking pretty good.
つづく ( To be continued... )
I sent in the rebate with all the required materials and waited... and waited... and waited... After about 2 or 3 weeks I called "Olympus Rebate Center" and was told that they didn't recieve my rebate submission... I got pretty upset and asked to talk to a supervisor, to which I was told the same thing, I then asked to talk to a manager and was again told the same thing, that they didn't recieve my rebate, however about 2 days after calling I get an email notification that they had recieved my rebate submission on April 11th. Ok, so according to the rebate terms, it stated that I need to wait 8 to 10 weeks for them to send the money after my rebate had been processed and validated.
I waited as stated in the rebate terms and emailed Olympus to check the status of my rebate. I got a reply to call customer service and so I did, upon calling them, I was told that I had to call a different number, the number for their "rebate center" to check on the status of my rebate. I replied to that email and told them of my last experience calling for a status, however I don't think that they have a live person answering emails or they have a preset reply, cause it seemed as if they didn't read my email and got the exact same response the next time they replied. I even ended up emailing the parent company in Japan and was directed back to Olympus USA and didn't get a response then...
I was pretty frustrated with the whole situation. About a week later, about 11 and a half weeks after getting no where, I get an email again stating that my rebate has been validated and that they will be sending out a check, but to allow up to 30 days for it to arrive... NO WAY AM I GOING TO WAIT THAT LONG!!! It's already been 12 weeks at this point, why should I have to wait an additional 4 weeks to get a rebate that was supposed to get back to me in 8 to 10 weeks?
I ended up going through the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) web site and filed a complaint with them and also found about 2 sites that you can leave complaints on regarding a company that you've had troubles with and posted my issues with Olympus... About a day after that, I then emailed Olympus and informed them that I had filed a complaint with the FTC and posted my complaints on 2 other sites... Low and behold! I go to check the status of my rebate and find that it has been mailed on July 5th... then on July 10th, I get an email stating that my submission for a rebate has been recieved.
I go through the link to check out what it was about and find that it was for a Garmin GPSMAP 76Cx, 76CSx and 76CS Plus and that the rebate is for a $100.00. I then thought to myself, I didn't buy a GPS, even if I did, I would have remembered if I did. At this point I suspect that it was a mistake and that I'll be getting an email stating such, however I didn't, the next day I check the link, it stated that my submission was valid and that a check was being sent. Ok, so I still didn't believe it, not until I have the check in hand. Then on Saturday, July 15 (after the postal carrier arrived late), I got the check...
Now, I suspect that the company that actually handles the rebate, Paragon, messed up big time and someone from Olympus got on their case to resolve the issue. I don't agree with them going through another company to resolve this issue, but then again, I can't complain, basically I got a $150.00 off my camera, however I don't think I'll be getting another Olympus when I get a digital SLR camera.
I've been looking at the Canon D30 and the Nikon D200, the Canon is least expensive by about a thousand, it has the same megapixels as the Nikon... I'll have to do more research cause at first, I was leaning more towards the Nikon, but with the New Canon D30 available, it's looking pretty good.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Monday, July 03, 2006
A Dream so real, it almost seemed as if it happened
Last night, I had a dream that seemed like I was gone for about a week. It started off with me being back in Hawaii and somehow ended up becoming part of a flight crew for a space mission. Another person was bumped from the mission so that I could be on it, the vehicle was a new type of flight vehicle, I don't remember if it needed a rocket booster, but I do remember that it could land on it's own after re-entering the atmosphere.
The mission was to pick up another person at a base on the moon, troubleshoot a lunar surface surveyor and make sure that a flying surface probe was still functioning. We had found the surface surveyor but it had fallen over during it's mission, we turned it over while the other flying probe came over to investigate. The flying probe kept bumping into me and trying to scan me for some reason. Eventually we returned back to the space craft with the 3rd person and started back to earth.
The craft was kind of like an airplane, except that it had rocket brakes and could land vertically without having the need for a runway. I remember putting my helmet back on for the landing but didn't need to. After landing, all 3 of us went into a building back in Hawaii for a de-briefing and news conference. It turned out that our flight was not the only flight that went up, but another experimental spacecraft had also returned with their crew at the sametime.
I remember seeing a locker with my name on it and remember putting my helmet back into the locker, getting changed for the news conference... this is where I woke up, breathing slightly rapid as if I had actually done this. In the past, I have had other dreams where it seemed so real, even more real than this and still remember the sensation, a dream about flying. Not flying in an aircraft; but flying on my own power, the feeling of soaring through the air, the feeling of freedom, the sensation of the wind blowing past my face and through my hair.
つづく ( To be continued... )
The mission was to pick up another person at a base on the moon, troubleshoot a lunar surface surveyor and make sure that a flying surface probe was still functioning. We had found the surface surveyor but it had fallen over during it's mission, we turned it over while the other flying probe came over to investigate. The flying probe kept bumping into me and trying to scan me for some reason. Eventually we returned back to the space craft with the 3rd person and started back to earth.
The craft was kind of like an airplane, except that it had rocket brakes and could land vertically without having the need for a runway. I remember putting my helmet back on for the landing but didn't need to. After landing, all 3 of us went into a building back in Hawaii for a de-briefing and news conference. It turned out that our flight was not the only flight that went up, but another experimental spacecraft had also returned with their crew at the sametime.
I remember seeing a locker with my name on it and remember putting my helmet back into the locker, getting changed for the news conference... this is where I woke up, breathing slightly rapid as if I had actually done this. In the past, I have had other dreams where it seemed so real, even more real than this and still remember the sensation, a dream about flying. Not flying in an aircraft; but flying on my own power, the feeling of soaring through the air, the feeling of freedom, the sensation of the wind blowing past my face and through my hair.
つづく ( To be continued... )
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