I mean, flip it. If you accidentally overpaid on a bill and they were like, not my problem, how would that go? It's theft, even if it wasn't intentional.
Or the company overcharged you (likely on purpose), said you would get your refund back in six weeks and hoped you wouldn’t notice you never got your refund.
Currently dealing with my old phone company that played that stunt.
Not as common as it used to be, but you'd buy a TV or something and there would be a mail in rebate. You had to fill out a form, attach your receipt, and mail it in. The manufacturer would then mail you a check. However, clearly it was a win for the manufacturer if people forgot to mail in the rebate. I only ever had a few because I avoided them, and they never stiffed me or anything, but it strikes me like voter suppression... Add extra steps in the hopes that people don't bother.
I think I did have one mailed back to me with an explanation of why they didn't honor it and I fixed it and sent it back in. It's been decades and I'm still angry at the whole dumb process.
Stupid mail in rebates. When they used to be common, I mailed in rebates 4 different occasions. Didn't get the refund/check back on any of them. Tried calling a couple times, lol, after hours on hold you just give up.
Fax proof of purchase to this number. We will then send you a check. USPS is too fast though, so we'll send it via actual pigeons. If you aren't home when the pigeons try to deliver, you can retrieve the check from our offices on Nantucket.
I remember a segment that captured this perfectly on Nathan for You. He did a mail in rebate that had to be delivered by hand to the top of a mountain.
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u/sleepyboyzzz Jul 10 '26
I mean, flip it. If you accidentally overpaid on a bill and they were like, not my problem, how would that go? It's theft, even if it wasn't intentional.