Legal Question in Consumer Law in Illinois

I purchased a washer & dryer about a year ago because it was advertised by a store to have a $500 rebate. The rebate was being hanled by a 3rd-party rebate company, which recently filed for bankruptcy. The store is no longer honoring the rebate and says we will not receive the $500 we are owed. Are we out of luck because the rebate company went bankrupt, or does the manufacurer or distributor hold any liability in paying me the $500 rebate?


Asked on 2/05/10, 1:32 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

I'm sure this is a lot of money for you. But you should have received some kind of paperwork at the time of sale. It may have explained the program, limitations, disclaimers, etc. It may help; it may not. Who did you talk to at the store? Salesperson? Manager? Owner? Take it as high up as you can because in some appliance stores the salesperson and manager both get a cut of the deal, and might have to return some of the split to the store so there's no incentive for them to be helpful. Sometimes the squeakly wheel gets greased; sometimes not. But don't let too much time go by because you should (a) document your efforts - time date place of calls, visits, correspondence, and (b) unless you want to hire an attorney (and that could eat up the rebate in a matter of a couple of hours...) your next best bet may be to file a complaint with (i) the Better Business Bureau and (ii) the Illinois Department of Consumer Fraud & Protection, at the same time! Based on your experience others may also have been hurt and there may be a pattern that the State or BBB can rely on to investigate. Your town or county may also have some kind of consumer assistance. Some newspapers also can help ("The Fixer" as an example). Best of luck and don't give up too easily - sometimes you have to fight even though it could cost a lot of time and effort.

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Answered on 2/11/10, 9:27 am


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