Missing Refunds and Unclaimed Rebates

The National Consumers League estimates only 2-3% of all those who buy a product with a rebate ever end up receiving the funds. Rebate forms are intentionally made to be easily forgotten or misplaced, time consuming and complex to complete.

Rebate forms must generally be mailed in under short deadlines and with accompanying sales documentation, including hard to find product bar codes. Once submitted, rebates may be rejected for any number of reasons, often without notification to the customer. A seemingly inordinate number of rebate submissions are "lost in the mail."

Rebate checks not cashed may come under the purview of state unclaimed property statutes, giving consumers the right to demand reissue or reclaim amounts remitted by the company offering the rebate. And for rebates issued as stored value or gift cards, a growing number of states now prohibit the imposition of service charges or a time limit on use.

For information on consumer mail-in rebate checks complete the form below.