Trouble looming with your mail-in rebate

Got a great deal this holiday season on a product because of its big mail-in rebate? You might be in for a surprise when it comes time to collect.

I'm just now catching wind of this report, which notes that CPG Promotions Group, one of the largest providers of rebate services to the tech industry, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. For some reason, this story's gotten very little press, even though CPG handled rebates for some huge names, including Costco, Home Depot, Samsung, Staples, Logitech, and Motorola.

CPG's website makes no mention of the bankruptcy and offers no information on whether pending or future rebates will be paid out. I wouldn't hold my breath; the company appears to have stopped returning all calls.

What happens now? Lawyers note that if a rebate provider goes out of business, the company originally promising the rebate (either the manufacturer or the retailer) are still liable for paying you the money and legally must make good on the promise. That said, rebates have always been a dodgy business, and virtually every company outsources these operations to a third party because they simply aren't equipped to handle the procession of thousands of claims. Without a serious threat in the form of a class action lawsuit or a crush of negative publicity involving unpaid claims, some companies may take months to get moving on this.

If you are owed a rebate from CPG that you haven't received, you're advised to take your claim back to the source to receive compensation. Some vendors, like Canon, have already made alternative arrangements for paying rebates owed by CPG. Check this list to see if you're affected and check with the specific company for further information.