Hawking Technology and Micro Center commit consumer fraud via mailin rebate program.

This type of attitude has kept me from buying some interesting Hawking products.

do some more research on this "scam", also look at Soyo rebates. Some of the retail companies are making good on the rebates! ;-)

I don't know how good their products are, as I don't have much experience with wireless to compare it to.

Except for a Netgear card.

I use linux, and the netgear card, which was given to me, is compatable out of the box on ubuntu linux (almost - but works after removing a driver for the chipset it uses, that was included in ubuntu (acx), and installing the netgear supplied driver for windows via tyhe ndiswrapper application).

The hawking booster antenna (what I'm supposed to get a $10 rebate on) doesn't seem to improve wireless connection at all). Maybe if I stick it in a pringles can and point it in teh right direction.

The USB wireless device from Hawkins works on a couple windows boxes I have but its reception/transmittion is just about as good as using the booster antenna on either of the PCI cards (netgear or Hawkins cards).

Funning thing is, I was given the Netgear card because the person who gave it to me couldn't use it due to cpu incompatabilities... and the antenna connection came loose ... Later fixed by using a pair of pliers to squeeze the connector back on.

But the antenna that canme with the netgear card - small and directly connects to the connector on the card (none of the 2 foot long thin cable included with teh hawking card which probably acts as an antenna itself), works as good or better than the hawking booster antenna.

I only bought the hawking stuff because I was lead to believe the final cost would be $4 each. I was lied to, not once, not twice, but at least three times. (and thats not once per each hawking product but in general in regards to the rebates).

For the money I spent (without rebate), I could have gotten better.

I disagree. The rebates are being advertised by the retailers, so it really is the retailer's obligation to make good on them if the company actually offering the rebate won't.

People always ask for a new law when they see something like this. You've already made it clear that old laws apply. If it's mail fraud (and I agree, it probably is) then you should file a complaint in the appropriate place (probably tell the company not honoring your rebates that you will, wait another week to get your money - _then_ file the complaint). If the authorities won't charge them under the existing laws, why would you expect them to be charged under new laws?

This is all well and fine Dave, but it really is just an extension of the scam. The how far will you go before you give up or get paid off enough to shut up.

Lets say MicroCenter does honor the rebate... And what of those who gave up before getting far enough to know to try and do this?

How much of my time and expense have I expended to get rebates that were promoted to be of such simplicity as filling out a form and sending it in along with the UPC seal?

My time is worth more that that, even if I'm doing nothing else with my time. The outcome of this is is not what I agreed upon, it is plain and simple FRAUD, mail fraud, from the flyer I received to the post cards from Hawking.... the mail is being used to commit these crimes.

All I have found in my research is that there are centainly enough of these rebate frauds that warrents some change in the laws that apply, so to much better discourage such fradulent practice by the parties involved.

Well threeseas, YES it is a rebate scam. Of course you know that a lot of companies that offer rebates, in order to get the consumer to consume their products, hope that no rebate claim is ever sent in or it is incorrectly sent in. That is why YOU MUST keep proof of all documents and make sure you follow all of their instructions. I also think that there should be penalties for rebates that are not honored in a timely manner. Maybe double the rebate sounds reasonable to me! lol

I have had rebate problems with Microsoft, Soyo, Land's End and others. I believe that I have received all of my money but the Land's End rebate, and it was so small it was not worth my effort to see what went wrong. Also I might not have qualified for that one! I usually persue these rebates to make sure the companies honor them!!

Now either you:

1. Want your rebate money that you are due.
2. Want to complain, either to the internet and/or to the courts.
3. Want to give up.
4. Or want a combination of the above.

I thought that the recent BIG Soyo rebate fraud info on the web might give you some ideas about the path(s) you wish to follow.

Good luck, dave (One out of many daves)

Try filing a complaint with the BBB. They will contact the vendor and attempt to get a response.