7 On Your Side helps father chase after rebate

ALAMEDA, Calif. (KGO) -- What looked like a great bargain turned into a time-consuming ordeal for an Alameda man who had to fight to get his rebate.

Statistics show that many people who intend to apply for a rebate end up not getting it for one reason or the other. One local man was determined that didn't happen to him.

James Fong bought his daughter a smartphone. All he wanted for his daughter was an inexpensive phone she could use in college. It seemed like a good deal at the time. He could get a $100 phone minus the $70 rebate from MetroPCS for a net cost of $29.

"She breaks stuff and so I didn't want to pay a whole lot of money for a phone that there was a good chance she would lose or break," Fong said.

He read all the fine print on how to cash in on the offer. He had to fill out the rebate form, send it in along with a UPC code from the phone's packaging, and mail in the receipt. However, he couldn't do any of that until he paid for two months of service.

"I crossed all my T's. Dotted all my I's. I even dotted my lower case J's just to make extra sure," he said.

Following detailed instructions is the key to taking advantage of a rebate.

"It's about half that don't get redeemed. And that includes people who fill out the form incorrectly," Joe Ridout from Consumer Action said.

Fong said he filled out everything correctly, submitted his rebate application, but MetroPCS told him he didn't qualify. He appealed to a supervisor and was told he would get his rebate in three months.

"Finally, in November of this past year, I said, 'Hey, hold on a second, we still haven't received our rebate from Metro PCS,'" Fong said.

That was more than seven months after MetroPCS told him he would get the rebate. Fong wrote MetroPCS a letter, sending them copies of everything he sent the first time.

"We call it at our house 'Dad versus The Establishment.' There's all kinds of stuff that I've had to chase after companies for," Fong joked.

But this time he needed reinforcements from 7 On Your Side. We contacted MetroPCS on his behalf and it told us: "Our care representatives are in touch with Mr. Fong and were able to reach a satisfactory resolution."

They not only sent him his $70 rebate, but threw in an extra $30 for his troubles.

"I wasn't that surprised because I know 7 On Your Side does a good job and I've seen cases on TV and I know they do a good job," Fong said.

So are rebates worth all this effort?

"Chances are you can save a lot of money if you're focused enough to get the things to the finish line, but rebates are an endurance race of hoop jumping," Ridout said.

If you've reached a dead end on a consumer issue, send me an e-mail here.