December 9, 2008 – (NBC 2 News - Cape Coral • Fort Myers • Naples)

Ways2Save : Rebates
by Kelly Imrick

FORT MYERS: Rebates can be a great way to save some cash around the holidays. But experts estimate 60-percent of consumers never take advantage of them because it takes to fill out the forms and get your money back. But a new website is taking the headache out of rebates.

Bargain hunters know the task of collecting rebates con be tedious. And to shopper Michael Williston, the return is risky.

"I've got to wait two months and sometimes you get a letter in the mail saying 'Sorry, we're not going to honor your rebate, you missed something,'" said Williston.

He's not alone. In fact, so many consumer complaints have rolled in; even large chain stores like Best Buy are making mail-in rebates a thing of the past.

Instead, they are opting to give their customers "instant savings" and doing away with the hassle.

But what if you could stop waiting and wondering when or even if your rebate will come at stores that don't offer that service?

That's the idea behind the website Rebateremedy.com - a company that promises to get your rebate money faster.

"We're cutting a check with in 24 hours," said Greg Yevich, co-founder of Rebateremedy.com. "We figured we could help the consumer because the rebate process in most cases stinks!"

Yevich explained you still have to gather all the items the manufacturer is asking for - things like UPC codes, receipts, and anything else that particular company is asking for.

Then, you fill out the rebateremedy.com Information and Assignment Form and mail all of that in.

Once people at Rebate Remedy get it, they make sure everything is in order, and call you if it's not.

Once everything is good to go, they write a check and send it back to you - eliminating the six to eight week wait.

"We're just cutting that process out for the consumer and getting them their money quicker," said Yevich.

Of course, no service comes without a cost.

For their work, Rebate Remedy charges a $2.50 processing fee as well as 20 to 30 percent of the rebate's original value.

The bottom line is that you have to decide whether getting less money faster is the better option for you.

Rebateremedy.com gets about 1,000 hits a week.

ORIGINAL LINK:
http://www.nbc-2.com/articles/readarticle.asp?articleid=23952&z=3