A little over a month ago, I made a purchase that was almost as exciting as when I picked up my HDTV TiVo series 3. After seeing Wired magazine call the Canon HV10 High Definition camcorder the best consumer high def camcorder on the market, I decided to take the plunge and splurge on an unncessary, but very hot little luxury item.

Over the last month, I’ve had fun playing around with it, but I’ve held off on writing a review of the product, in large part because I haven’t been able to actually produce my first video yet. I have been able to record in High Definition and I can even hook the camera up to my TV and watch it in all it’s HD glory, but what I haven’t been able to do is transfer the recording onto my computer so that I could edit it and make a more polished video.

In order to do this you need software that can handle HDTV signals, to go along with the hardware. Normally I would have gone out and purchased my own high definition editing software, but part of what Canon has been doing to build buzz for the camera, has been to offer consumers a free copy of the Pinnacle Studio Plus Titanium Edition with any Canon HV10 purchase before January 31st, 2007. The Pinnacle software has gotten decent reviews online and knowing a good bargain when I see one, I eagerly took advantage of Canon’s free software offer.

This software normally runs for about $100, so this is a nice little extra for them to throw in, especially because I was already interested in buying the camera. The problem with the offer though, is that instead of letting me buy the software in the store and then rebating me the $100, so I could immedietely use it, they insisted on mailing the actual software as part of the rebate. This meant that I’d need to wait a bit longer to do my editing, but I figured if I sumbited the paperwork fast enough that the wait wouldn’t be that bad.

As soon as I got the camera, I sent the rebate form, the UPC, serial number, copy of my fingerprints, a promise to give up my first born, a sample of my DNA and the original receipt in the mail. I then sat back and waited eagerly to take this baby out for a real test drive.

About a week later, I logged onto RebatesHQ.com to check on the status of my rebate and was pleasantly suprised to see that they approved my rebate and that on November 11th, it was in “final processing” status.

Knowing that these rebates get rejected all the time, I knew that this was a good sign and figured I’d be happily editing away in another week or two. When the software didn’t arrive, I checked the website again and sure enough it still said that it was in final processing. Wondering how long “final processing” would last, I fired off a quick email to RebatesHQ.com and asked them for a status update. On their site they promise to get back to me within 24 hours, but after waiting another week, an email never showed, so I did a little online sleuthing and found a telephone number for the company.

The phone number was an automated system and of course it didn’t have my information in it, but after mashing every conceivable combination of * and then a number into my phone, I finally hit paydirt and was able to get through to a live operator.

Once I got ahold of an agent, they verified that they had received the request, that everything looked great, but that they wouldn’t ship the software until December 23rd because “according to the terms and conditions” December 23rd was the longest possible amount of time that they were “technically” allowed to take.

Talk about infuriating. Here I am, just itching to use this hot new piece of tech candy, but I can’t because Canon forced me to wait for a software rebate to begin with and then the company that they hire to process the rebates, insists on doing the absolute minimum required to get the software to me. The irony of all of this is that if you go to RebatesHQ’s parent company, Parago.com, they brag about how great their word of mouth programs are and how much consumers love their service.

“Parago can help you identify the customers most likely to spread your marketing messages, and we’ll help you develop and deliver the tools to turn those “super customers” into effective marketers.”

Well thanks to Parago, they just turned this “super customer” into a super lit fuse. Canon was all set up to get some really great buzz about this camera, but because of their poor rebate decisions, it’s turned my customer experience into a nightmare. Without the software, the camera is practically worthless and while I could just go out and spend the money to buy the software instead, it’s hard for me to justify spending an extra $100 after I’ve already been forced to wait a month to begin with.

Now it’s possible that this rebate scheme could have been set up by Pinnacle or Canon to begin with, but it seems unlikely to me that either company would want to delay their customers from being able to fully use their product for two whole months after making a purchase. When I pressed RebatesHQ to explain why it would take 42 days from the time my rebate was in final process to the time it takes them to actually drop a piece of software in the mail, they only reiterated that legally they didn’t have to send it to me and that there was no way for me to escalate the status of my rebate request.

With customer service like this, it surprises me that Parago has any customers at all, let alone that they have the stones to claim on their website that they “understand the art & science of successful loyalty programs” More like they understand how to juice their customers for the highest profit margin if you ask me.

Update – I did end up getting my software, but it showed up on Christmas Eve as promised. It also seems that I’m not the only one who has run into some kind of trouble with RebatesHQ.com The company may not want you to know how to contact them, but if you have a situation that needs straightening out, I think you should go ahead and give them a live call, so here are a couple of numbers that you can use to contact RebatesHQ and Parago directly. If you find other numbers for the company or if any of these come up disconnected, please leave a comment and let me know.

877-755-3837 RebatesHQ
866-462-3944 RebatesHQ (It takes a while, but don’t push any buttons)
800-337-4849 RebateHQ
800-531-5000 RebateHQ (Main Office)
800-940-1298 RebateHQ (may only be for Amazon purchases)
800-706-5729 RebatesHQ (may only be for Dell purchases)
866-865-0241 RebatesHQ (may only be for Circuit City
888-213-9916 Parago – press 1, then 0
866-206-8800 Parago

A lot of people feel pretty strongly with how RebatesHQ is treating them. Some want to band together and form a class action, but anytime lawyers get involved things just get too messy. My advice is that if you feel that RebatesHQ is breaking the law by denying legitmate rebate requests in an attempt to discourage people from collecting on them, then you should contact your state attorney general and file a complaint. If they see a pattern of abuse, they will investigate and will rain holy hell onto Parago, if any allegations end up being true.

If you feel that RebatesHQ is engaging in morally questionable activities, by making it extremely difficult to dispute their rejections or for customers to get their rebates, then my advice is to contact the BBB and make the company file a response for their actions.

Update #2 – Thank you to everyone for continuing to comment and share information that might be helpful in getting back other people’s money from RebateHQ.com. Thanks to one of our commenters, we’ve successful determined that RebateHQ has a specific person for dealing with these rebate frustrations. While the 800 number listed above appears to be correct, my recommendation is to use the DavisFreeberg.com Hotline and get in touch with Mr. Kent Patterson, RebateHQ.com’s Consumer Complaint Specialist at (972) 538-7277. Good luck with your efforts to get your money back and thanks again to everybody whose shared their experience, for helping others avoid the pitfalls of dealing with Parago Inc.