Pinnacle rebate warning. I realize this is not a deal however if we are warning of credit cards this is equal rip off

[gimper48]

I did 4 deals on this site for Pinnacle Studio. All of them were rejected erroneously. One they said was past the postpark date (not true). Second said it was missing proof of purchase (also not true and I offered to send them a copy of it they refused). Third they required the actual CD of a previous product. NOT a copy of one the actual CD I am not joking. NO exceptions. The last one they stated it was not a competing product. I pointed out the fact that it was on their website as an allowed rebate still no dice.

FYI I am no noob to Rebates. I sucessfully completed the crazy deals and got paid to get a laptop, printer and router. I have done thousands of rebates these are the only ones I have not sucessfully collected. I will NEVER BUY ANOTHER PINNACLE PRODUCT DUE TO THIS DEBACLE.

[andyk45]

I know it is not a hot deal but got to agree with you, I also got rejected on 4 rebates wit studio -copy of the receipt copy of the cd ect. I do numerous rebates weekly and have not seen another so hard to communicate with and fix. I am not sure if the rebate center itself has changed or pinnacle as i have done their rebates in the past and no problems. Just a heads up if you are considering their products involving a rebate.

[arrgon]

This should be stickied.

[wellhole]

rebate-zone.com?

[hotgunz9mm]

try the BBB. call the corporate offices, tell them your work for PC world or s/t. i also had a BS issue, and i told the Co. i did the purcahse from (i think buy.com) and they covered the rebate, since it was listed on their site. by the time they got back to me, pinnacle also agreed o send me the rebate, the product ended up being free. But YMMV on that. also i mentioned in one of the threads that pinnacle makes you pay extra for standard features for studio. they suck.

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=169476&p=11440753#post11440753

[AN4THEMA]

:lol: :lmao: :lmao:

I will NEVER BUY ANOTHER PINNACLE PRODUCT DUE TO THIS DEBACLE.

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

[compguy]

Doesn't this belong in deal-talk? And I thought everyone's known for a long time that you can't trust pinnacle at all. They make crap software, crap hardware, their support is crap, and on top of that they reject rebates. I thought all of this was long known. If you buy pinnacle junk anyway, knowing this, don't come crying on hot deals because of it.

[uscpsycho]

Doesn't this belong in deal-talk? And I thought everyone's known for a long time that you can't trust pinnacle at all. They make crap software, crap hardware, their support is crap, and on top of that they reject rebates. I thought all of this was long known. If you buy pinnacle junk anyway, knowing this, don't come crying on hot deals because of it.
I've been here a looooooooooooong time and I never knew there was an issue with Pinnacle. I appreciate OP's post & time taken to share his experience with us. TU & rep from me :nod:

Your gripes about "crap software, crap hardware, their support is crap" don't belong on HD. But I see no problem with posting about companies that have a track record of fraudulent rebate denials in HD, and keeping it in HD until enough people see it (mods will eventually move it to DT).

This is no different than this week's thread about Classic Closeouts or any other company engaging in scams or fraud.

The companies that do this crap should be exposed in whatever forum (online or not) gets the most exposure. It's the only way to make them pay for their bad behavior.

[falconswoosh]

I did 4 deals on this site for Pinnacle Studio. All of them were rejected erroneously. One they said was past the postpark date (not true). Second said it was missing proof of purchase (also not true and I offered to send them a copy of it they refused). Third they required the actual CD of a previous product. NOT a copy of one the actual CD I am not joking. NO exceptions. The last one they stated it was not a competing product. I pointed out the fact that it was on their website as an allowed rebate still no dice.

FYI I am no noob to Rebates. I sucessfully completed the crazy deals and got paid to get a laptop, printer and router. I have done thousands of rebates these are the only ones I have not sucessfully collected. I will NEVER BUY ANOTHER PINNACLE PRODUCT DUE TO THIS DEBACLE.

I too have had many problems with Pinnacle and also swore to never ever purchase their product again. I came across an interesting site recently and used it to complain about a NewEgg problem I had. As soon as I posted it within hours, I received a response from NewEgg in how they could make things right. You may want to also try it: http://www.resellerratings.com/

[Gigantopithecus]

Bought the Pro USB HD stick a while back; got my rebate back in 8 weeks, no hassles. Software is absolute garbage but there are excellent free titles that do everything I want them to do. Hardware is problem-free 9 months later.

[anvilsvs]

I know nothing of Pinnacle. But maybe there needs to be a sticky/forum for deals that go bad. I've had other outfits (Sony for one) kick back valid rebates repeatedly. In that case it wasn't Sony directly, but contractors they hired to process the rebates. When the contractors failed ro perform, Sony didn't want to hear about it and wouldn't make good on the commitment.

I'm also not new to rebates. I keep copies of everything and follow up. Doesn't always work with some vendors and they sure won't get any of my business again if a rebate is involved.

[Moogle]

going to check out. thanks for the heads up

[leukram]

Doesn't this belong in deal-talk? And I thought everyone's known for a long time that you can't trust pinnacle at all. They make crap software, crap hardware, their support is crap, and on top of that they reject rebates. I thought all of this was long known. If you buy pinnacle junk anyway, knowing this, don't come crying on hot deals because of it.

Real nice, compguy. That was some real SD hospitality. The OP has only been a member for about a year. He probably was not aware that pinnacle was a problem. I don't usually go in for the software deals, but I had not heard that pinnacle was bad. Try to be a little less condescending and a little more understanding next time.

[sreedeals]

I had bought two softwares from Pinnacle in the past... And I received the rebates within 8 weeks (I didn't even had to call)... And for competitive/Upgrade rebates you need to send original CD or First page of manual (Original)...

[Crabba]

Real nice, compguy. That was some real SD hospitality. The OP has only been a member for about a year. He probably was not aware that pinnacle was a problem. I don't usually go in for the software deals, but I had not heard that pinnacle was bad. Try to be a little less condescending and a little more understanding next time.

Completely agree!! What's that guy's problem anyway, this is not the first time I've seen him bash people for starting threads that he obviously felt interesting enough to open and read ;) :shake: I've been a member of Slickdeals for years, and I've never heard of this. OP should be commended for taking the time to warn others about crap like this.

To OP, stick with it and don't let them get away with this kind of BS. Read them the t&c's and if they keep refusing to honor the rebate contact BBB!

[FellaTee]

Try your State's Attorney General's office. Mine has a consumer dept, that gets legit issues like yours apparently are, resolved very quickly.

[wreptyle]

I had bought two softwares from Pinnacle in the past... And I received the rebates within 8 weeks (I didn't even had to call)... And for competitive/Upgrade rebates you need to send original CD or First page of manual (Original)...

Exactly. OP, I seriously doubt that you are "not a noob" to rebates...TONS of companies require the physical CD or title page to a previous product...after all, you are supposed to be upgrading. I've bought Pinnacle Studios 11...both rebates came in 36 days of mailing date. I've done over $16,000 worth of rebates in the past year and I know there are bad rebate companies...but Pinnacle and rebate-zone (also do Kingston and OCZ memory) have been great...no troubles at all with a 100% return rate at an average of 35 to 45 days from mailing. If you really have done thousands of rebates, the above information should be obvious to you.

[trnstar]

I had a pinnacle rebate rejected for "invalid upc code" and then I sent them an email asking why the heck it wasn't valid and telling them that it was the only stinking upc that came with it and they ended up sending me the check anyways.

[Ratson]

Exactly. OP, I seriously doubt that you are "not a noob" to rebates...TONS of companies require the physical CD or title page to a previous product...after all, you are supposed to be upgrading. I've bought Pinnacle Studios 11...both rebates came in 36 days of mailing date. I've done over $16,000 worth of rebates in the past year and I know there are bad rebate companies...but Pinnacle and rebate-zone (also do Kingston and OCZ memory) have been great...no troubles at all with a 100% return rate at an average of 35 to 45 days from mailing. If you really have done thousands of rebates, the above information should be obvious to you.

I too never had problems with Pinnacle. I am buying the studio since long time for free after rebates. I bought Studio7, studio8, Studio9+ and Studio10+. I like the software too. I saw somebody criticizing the software. I don't know what software is in his mind. But I feel you cannot compare a free software with couple of hundreds softwarre

[Gigantopithecus]

I too never had problems with Pinnacle. I am buying the studio since long time for free after rebates. I bought Studio7, studio8, Studio9+ and Studio10+. I like the software too. I saw somebody criticizing the software. I don't know what software is in his mind. But I feel you cannot compare a free software with couple of hundreds softwarre

The software to which I was referring was their TVCenter Pro garbage, the one that comes with the PCTV HD Pro USB stick. Reading comprehension & thinking ftw... :wave:

[java007]

I had a pinnacle rebate rejected for "invalid upc code" and then I sent them an email asking why the heck it wasn't valid and telling them that it was the only stinking upc that came with it and they ended up sending me the check anyways.

My 2 cents:

Not sure if there are links on SD or not, but another site (containing an F and a W) has a nice summary post with POC's and phone number for the big rebate processing companies.

If you compiled with the exact terms and conditions of the particular rebate, continue pressing the issue with both the rebate processing house and the manufacturer. The BBB site for the city where the company is located should provide a pointer to a C level executive you can contact at the rebate company. Give them a chance to make this right. If they do not come through, contact the manufacturer, the BBB, and the attorney general.

If you missed a step in submitting the rebate - and it happens, you could give it a shot, but you might just need to chalk it up as a lesson learned.

Whether accidental or deliberate, denials of rebates are not uncommon.

[ketdizzle]

I will NEVER BUY ANOTHER PINNACLE PRODUCT DUE TO THIS DEBACLE.

i hope you dont golf cuz you won't be able to buy PINNACLE golf balls or anything from http://www.pinnaclegolf.com/ either?? :confused: ....sorry I couldn't resist... :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

but honestly...i almosted bought pinnacle studio stuff that had a rebate but didnt. I would recommend the BBB as well...the more people you can gather the better...goodluck and keep us posted!

[Jex]

I realize this is not a deal however

:shake:

[rolandvpro]

I did 4 deals on this site for Pinnacle Studio. All of them were rejected erroneously. One they said was past the postpark date (not true). Second said it was missing proof of purchase (also not true and I offered to send them a copy of it they refused). Third they required the actual CD of a previous product. NOT a copy of one the actual CD I am not joking. NO exceptions. The last one they stated it was not a competing product. I pointed out the fact that it was on their website as an allowed rebate still no dice.

FYI I am no noob to Rebates. I sucessfully completed the crazy deals and got paid to get a laptop, printer and router. I have done thousands of rebates these are the only ones I have not sucessfully collected. I will NEVER BUY ANOTHER PINNACLE PRODUCT DUE TO THIS DEBACLE.

the solution is LIMEWIRE OR BITTORRENT
do a search for them

[jasoncwlee]

My conspiracy theory is the rebate house randomly reject rebates but when near closing they still have budget and the consumer call, they will pay it. If no more budget, they will pull all kind of strings. I got caught in that unfortunate situation for the famous canon triple play rebate.

[glueball]

I bought two using 2 different address, and I use Nero as upgrade rebate.

I just checked my rebates status, The status of my 4 rebates are

Claim Status: Received, Submission is being processed
Submission Origin: Standard Submission

I think I don't have problem with their rebates.

Another note is that If you bought it in Fry's B&M,
You can take the rebate documents to Store, they can help you get your rebates.

[compguy]

Ok, me trashing Pinnacle is because I've tried their products in the past. The tuners died on me, the software destroyed my windows installations repeatedly, and their customer support was nonexistent. You could not pay me to touch that junk. Of course if your experience with them is different, good on you. But don't say I didn't warn you.

[davexucc]

I did 4 deals on this site for Pinnacle Studio. All of them were rejected erroneously. One they said was past the postpark date (not true). Second said it was missing proof of purchase (also not true and I offered to send them a copy of it they refused). Third they required the actual CD of a previous product. NOT a copy of one the actual CD I am not joking. NO exceptions. The last one they stated it was not a competing product. I pointed out the fact that it was on their website as an allowed rebate still no dice.

FYI I am no noob to Rebates. I sucessfully completed the crazy deals and got paid to get a laptop, printer and router. I have done thousands of rebates these are the only ones I have not sucessfully collected. I will NEVER BUY ANOTHER PINNACLE PRODUCT DUE TO THIS DEBACLE.

I haven't done any recent rebates with Pinnacle, but I have done them in the past and never had a problem. I only company that I been hosed on was Connect3D and that was a straight up scam.

[arrgon]

I too have had many problems with Pinnacle and also swore to never ever purchase their product again. I came across an interesting site recently and used it to complain about a NewEgg problem I had. As soon as I posted it within hours, I received a response from NewEgg in how they could make things right. You may want to also try it: http://www.resellerratings.com/


You're one of the few people I've ever seen complain about Newegg, what happened? I had 3 motherboards in a row die and each time they were willing to send me a new one. Turns out the brand was the problem, but Newegg never though twice about replacing it.

[BeanMeScot]

File a complaint with the State Attorney General's office in whichever state they are located. I did this with I/O Magic on a Black Friday rebate and they couldn't wait to give me my money.

[rockstar1009]

Come on guys - the slickdeals effect can be used for good, as well. When enough of us band together after being ripped off, we can put some hard pressure on, and maybe even get close to class action range. ;)

Nice post OP! I'll steer clear of any further Pinnacle deals!

[Trikat]

Thx for the heads up to never buy pinnacle products in the future.

Ironic since today Norton emailed out a rebate status to me and it said missing receipt... Right...
Norton used to be extremely bad about rebates when I first started submitting them (missing UPC, receipt, CD even though it clearly says copy of CD), but now they just do it a little bit here and there. It's sad rebate companies do this.
Unless it becomes extremely big the government/law enforcement won't do jack.

[Llama99]

Checked and found that the rebate status is invalid for the two rebates that I submitted for Pinnacle version 11, bought from Frys.com. Main rebate, missing original receipt (I sent the proof of purchase from Frys website). For upgrade, missing original CD (I sent the photocopy of the CD). Spoke to rebate center and told them that I bought online and the receipt I sent that was the web print out and original but they said send it again. Bought an older version of required software from ebay for $4.99, I will to sending this for upgrade rebate.
I will say little bit hassle but things are changing have to be ready.
Good luck

[fyu]

Thanks op. Going to stay away from Pinnacle.

[dealfinder500]

Thanks, OP. I have purchases some pinnacle things before. I guess I'd better check on the rebates.

And yes, I think stuff like this should be posted in Hot Deals. It's important information that pertains to a large number of slickdealers.

[gimper48]

Thank you all for your responses. Hopefully Pinnacle will see what kind of publicity their products, rebates and customer service are getting them. They will surely go the way of other companies that have not taken care of their customers. Thanks again all.

[KRosen]

to be honest, some of the complaints here seem to be valid, others seem to be that some are surprised when they got caught trying to trick the system. its okay to trick the system, but PLEASE don't act like a saint when you get caught.

as a side note, i made an error on my last rebate and sent a message, they fixed it and sent it out, so some of the rebate companies are very good. maybe a list should be made and a 'user rating' system implemented? also, if you do a lot of rebates, you've clearly gotten balsy. there are some rebate companies you just kind of know not to use - i only do maybe 5 rebates a year because there are some i really won't bother with.

also, i'm thinking maybe a lot of hte problems may not be the rebate companies themselves but the people employed there. maybe thats why sometimes they're awesome sometimes they're douches. ??

just my dollars of .02.

:)

***i am not smashing or bashing or blamming anybody here, so please save yourself some of your own damn self respect and not take my comments personally. :D

[bobsanchez323]

thanks OP for the post!

[F2C]

I am also one of the victims of Pinnacle's rebate scam

[dahunan]

SlickDeals should BOYCOTT PINNACLE .. and never allow a deal of theirs to be posted on this site and all other deals sites should join in

[gimper48]

SlickDeals should BOYCOTT PINNACLE .. and never allow a deal of theirs to be posted on this site and all other deals sites should join in

Not only did I not get the rebates their software will not activate.... So I not only paid full price I cannot use the stupid thing.. Their customer service chat and e-mail was totally useless and the phone support I sat on hold for 1hr and no one answered.... nice. I am done. I am going out to buy Nero, Adobe or another product that do the same thing and actually work...!!! Obscenities...

Thanks again slickdealers for your responses. We do have the power to show manufacturers what we think of their customer policies. Granted some bend the rules. this is not one of those cases. Most likely Frys where I bought it would make good for them but it should not be that difficult. The retail shop should not have to make good on a manufacturer rebate that is ridiculous and a waste of time.

[Wasser]

Weird... I bought Studio 11 from Frys on 5/23, got it a week or so later, submitted both the $40 regular and $30 upgrade rebates, got a confirmation email from Pinnacle, a second approval email, and a check shipped on 7/1 status on their website. That's a record turnaround for a decent product.

Probably dumb luck...

Wasn't that lucky last time when I bought Studio 10, it took me many calls and many months to get my money back, but yes, they eventually sent it. I admit though their customer support was always alright.

Wow I sound weird. :lol: Just a different experience, nothing more. Sorry for those who got screwed. Or forgot to read the rebate instructions a few times to make sure they didn't miss a single thing.

[gimper48]

Weird... I bought Studio 11 from Frys on 5/23, got it a week or so later, submitted both the $40 regular and $30 upgrade rebates, got a confirmation email from Pinnacle, a second approval email, and a check shipped on 7/1 status on their website. That's a record turnaround for a decent product.

Probably dumb luck...

Wasn't that lucky last time when I bought Studio 10, it took me many calls and many months to get my money back, but yes, they eventually sent it. I admit though their customer support was always alright.

Wow I sound weird. :lol: Just a different experience, nothing more. Sorry for those who got screwed. Or forgot to read the rebate instructions a few times to make sure they didn't miss a single thing.


Lucky you. Most have had my experience. IT is not that great a product. Have you tried Adobe, Nero, or Roxios competing products they are much more intuitive.

Lucky you. Most have had my experience. IT is not that great a product. Have you tried Adobe, Nero, or Roxios competing products they are much more intuitive.

Also having done MANY rebates see crazy deal for laptop. I know what to do. I also kept copies of everything they still refused... No I am not kidding.

[gimper48]

I sent them a link to this post and suddenly one of my rebates was approved........... Very interesting.

[dprimc]

I had an Office Depot rebate that had drug on forever. Finally I filed an online complait with the state Attorney Generals' office.

Got a response the next day. Getting the $50 rebate and a $100 gift card. Still not worth the all the time and energy spent on this for the past 18 mo. but I feel a little better.

The state AG complaint seems to get them moving to make things right in a hurry.

[gimper48]

I had an Office Depot rebate that had drug on forever. Finally I filed an online complait with the state Attorney Generals' office.

Got a response the next day. Getting the $50 rebate and a $100 gift card. Still not worth the all the time and energy spent on this for the past 18 mo. but I feel a little better.

The state AG complaint seems to get them moving to make things right in a hurry.


Thanks for the heads up. I am not sure I will spend this kind of time. I have given my side all over the web. They lost a lot more than my rebate at this point. And good ridance to them for it. Adobe is working just slick and was the same price since they screwed me.

[PsychoHawk]

I've done many, many rebates. I got my rejection letter yesterday for Pinnacle for the same reason.........."not a competing product." I've got copies of everything.

It's listed right on the front of the rebate form. :mad:

[gimper48]

I've done many, many rebates. I got my rejection letter yesterday for Pinnacle for the same reason.........."not a competing product." I've got copies of everything.

It's listed right on the front of the rebate form. :mad:

Sorry but welcome to my world. err heck whichever.

[appleton]

Sorry but welcome to my world. err heck whichever.

In the same boat here. Bought Studio 11 from Fry's back in May and got the rejection letter for Nero 7 (first page of manual sent in) not being a valid competing product although the form clearly states "any version of Ahead Nero". They're supposedly doing an 'internal investigation' and may reinstate.

No more Pinnacle for me..

[w2n]

can someone recommend a better more reliable product to edit Panisonic AVCHD files? if you can then i'd buy it instead of Pinnacle 12 (which i'm currently using). I've noticed that after i use the software i need to force my PC to shutdown. I've not had it work successfully without requiring a reboot yet... but it does do a sweet job of letting me edit & convert AVCHD to standard DVD & DivX

[gimper48]

can someone recommend a better more reliable product to edit Panisonic AVCHD files? if you can then i'd buy it instead of Pinnacle 12 (which i'm currently using). I've noticed that after i use the software i need to force my PC to shutdown. I've not had it work successfully without requiring a reboot yet... but it does do a sweet job of letting me edit & convert AVCHD to standard DVD & DivX

Look at Adobe's line of products. They have some great video editing. You can also look to Ulead video 11 (I have used this and had no trouble), Nero, open source (especially if you are linux savy). And many others. Look at camcorder.info? There is a ton of info there.

Or just google your question and you will get info

http://www.pana3ccduser.com/archive/index.php/t-16969.html

[gimper48]

Where did this thread get stashed. When searched for pinnacle and pinnacle rebate it does not come up. WTH.

[Wasser]

Well I got my checks in record time. :D BTW I sent in the front page of the manual from Studios previous version.

IT is not that great a product. Have you tried Adobe, Nero, or Roxios competing products they are much more intuitive.

No I have not, and you are probably right in that it isn't that great. However, I have used Studio since its first iterations (Studio DV?) and so it feels very intuitive to me. My goal is to convert all my DV tapes to DVDs to keep and easily view them. If you are new to video editing another product might be easier or better, but it is hard to beat the price for Studio... if you get the rebate. Good luck to everyone. :wave:

[Dyefedese]

I disagree because the rebate forum is for anything in my opinion that someone needs to send in, if they feel the need to, to get their money back. If someone is having a problem with it maybe it is because they only use rebates to get money from companies. Personally, I just send in what I need. If I have a problem with a particular product, I like to know where I can go to get my money back in a "Love it or your money back" kind of way. I did not realize that the rebate forum was only for making money, I thought that it was to let others know things that they would not already know on their own.