The Hevi-Shot Rebate Scam Revealed!

Everyone knows that the rebate game is seldom won by the consumer. There are many hoops to jump through, and most consumers fumble along the way letting the manufacturer win the game by default.

First you have to be able to read the rebate documentation. It is usually very small print and difficult to decipher. If you are able to read it, then you must follow the instructions exactly as written, or, you lose!

Now that you have used a magnifying glass to read your document, you hopefully didn't realize that you accidentally threw away your receipt. Provided you kept your receipt, it had better be the original. You will likely fill out the documentation, address the label, make sure you are mailing it within the tight window of acceptability only to now find out that the UPC code is long gone in the garbage from a few weeks ago. Screwed again!

It is from learning all the pitfalls of rebate scams that turned me into a regimented rebate machine. What I mean by this is that I have made a pact with myself, handshake between my right hand and left, and a solemn promise never to break this fool proof procedure: BEFORE I OPEN THE ITEM I HAVE PURCHASED, THE REBATE FORM MUST BE COMPLETED, COPIED, STAMPED, AND ADDRESSED. This was one of the best deals I ever made with myself.....it beats the system every time!

Now comes the Hevi-Shot rebate scam that nearly took me by surprise, but take warn....here is how it works: You send in your rebate with the expectation that you will only need to 'allow 8 weeks for delivery' as is listed on the rebate certificate.

I always write on my paperwork what date I mailed my rebate and what date it is expected in the mail at the latest. In this case, I mailed my Hevi-Shot $50 rebate form (these are ultra expensive shot gun shells for hunting waterfowl) on August 30. A check was due on October 25. If you are thinking the check never came, you are right!

If you send in rebate forms frequently, and you call that 800 number listed for follow up purposes, have you ever noticed that when you call you are told the check went in the mail the day you called? I am amazed at how often, coincidentally, the check was mailed on the date of my random follow up call. You see, they hold your check for an extra month. In the event that you call and ask about the status, it goes in the mail that day because they pull it from the stack. If you don't call and inquire about your check's whereabouts, it will show up a month late.......scam revealed, right?

Wrong---here is the real scam: The check will be PREDATED, six weeks before it goes in the mail, AND the check will have a "Void after 90 Days" clause clearly written on it. Now your 90 days is cut short by about 45 days and you now have 45 days to make your deposit. Considering your average 'Joe' will leave the check lay around for 4-6 weeks, it only increases the chances that you will miss the check cashing 'window'. They have found yet another way to manipulate the odds in their favor.

Last but not least, most people likely take the rebate check out of the envelope and throw the envelope away long before they cash the check. Now, when you take it to the bank to cash it and are told the check is void you walk away thinking "geeze, I can't believe I waited 90 days to cash this check" as the check is clearly dated 90 days ago, however, you don't even realize that it was sent to you 6 weeks after the date on the check because the postmark on the envelope is gone!

Hevi-Shot, you should be ashamed. If you played fair, I'd be a customer for life. Now I will purchase your competition's brand in the future, as your tricks have insulted me to the point of no return.