There’s a new game in town and it’s called the Rebate Runaround.

Unfortunately, this game is not much fun for the consumers who are forced to participate.

It’s played by some very funny rules, all of which favor the company, not the consumer. For example, you purchase a computer and are told there will be a $100 rebate. Great! Then you try to collect. You send in all the required paperwork, only to have the letter come back as undeliverable. Or perhaps you are told you failed to send in everything needed to honor the rebate request, even though you carefully read the rebate document and fulfilled all its requirements.

Then the first thing you know, the rebate expiration date rolls around and you are told that the opportunity to collect the rebate has expired.

If you run into these tactics, go back to the store where the purchase was made. While the rebate is from the manufacturer, the retailer promotes the rebate to make sales. If the offer is fake the store should be held accountable.