I received a few emails about the Renpure with the hang tags for TMF rebate. (like shown in the photo above from last summer) A few months back, Renpure told consumers they would not be honoring these rebates if you earn or pay for the product with Up Rewards/ ECB/ RR or any other kind of promotion. They ended up having to delete their entire Facebook page because people were upset. They have since started a new page. You can read the specifics about the rebate on my post here.
I suppose since if you are getting it free you could send it in, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up.
Thanks to everyone who emailed in about the hang tags.
Hana says
I didn’t know about their denials. I went to the store saw a “Try me Free” tag and bought the shampoo last week. I had bought it using the UPs I had from the previous week. I submitted my rebate next day. I just came on this forum and found that Renpure is denying rebates, can’t we report them to Consumer Fraud or Consumer Protection Agency, or maybe the Better Business Bureau? They are scamming people out of their hard earned money. In this economy, they are stealing from the consumers. If they have such restrictions, they whould have a pamphlet attached to their rebates. I certainly did not expect a rebate to be denied.
Laura says
Ok so now I am confused. It appears that the Renupure facebook page I saw yesterday is now gone. I bought the Renupure with cash. I did that because I read that they would not honor the rebate if I used UPs. The $4.99 in Ups did come out, but that is clearly not cash. I have to use that pretty quickly at Rite Aid and only at Rite Aid. I do not think that is anything more than a store offer. Am I wrong? Rite Aid is paying the UPs rewards correct?
So yesterday I read on Facebook that after saying they would not honor an offer bought with UPs now they are saying that additionally they will not pay if we used nothing but cash. So. I would have used my UPs to pay, thus actually not costing me Cash out of Pocket and rolled the rewards. But now. Now I think I’ll just take these products back. I feel lied to. Between what they said on Tuesday and what hey said yesterday there’s $10 out of pocket cash difference to me.
I wasn’t too happy to see that some are taking 14 weeks to get a rebate? … I’m thinking I don’t want the ugliness of the rules changing on me and me being blamed for “Abuse” when the company is clearly not honoring their end of the deal. Beauty products are supposed to make us feel beautiful and this whole thing … is … not …
A. Marie says
Hi, Shannon.
I just want to clarify my comment. What is unethical is constantly changing the terms of the offer. The conventional definition of the term “not valid with any other offers” is any other offers from the manufacturer (i.e. manufacturer coupons or B1G1 tags), not store rewards offers. I have not ever encountered another company that tried to define it this way. And putting out rebate forms has legal consequences. I doubt that posting new offer terms on Facebook would meet any legal standard.
There are a few options for people whose rebates were denied. They should contact the BBB. The company had several complaints filed against them, but all have been resolved. Also, they should contact their state’s attorney general. If a sufficient number of complaints are received, it will be investigated.
As far a Katherine’s comment, getting a store coupon for the purchase price is not the same as getting the item free. The correct term is “like” getting it free. A store reward can only be used at that retailer for a limited time, and it has other limitations that cash does not.
I think that this is a company that did not realize the consequences of its actions. They have no idea of what the store rewards programs are. I think they have started reading the blogs since their March fiasco. They see posts saying that things are “free” after rewards, then decide that that they will not honor the rebate. The bottom line is that if they distributed the rebate offer, then they should honor it.
Abby says
Shannon,
I was denied a NatureMade rebate earlier this year because I paid with UP Rewards. I have literally spent hundreds of dollars on NatureMade vitamins, but I will never purchase them again. This is a shady practice by any company offering a rebate, and any company that does this does not deserve my business.
Similarly, I will NEVER purchase anything from Renpure after reading about this. They are abusing the consumer. This may be a good class-action case for an attorney.
Shannon says
Agreed.
Katherine says
I have to stop and think ethically about this- they want us to try their product for free, which actually is very generous. If we are getting the Rite Aid UPR reward, then we are already getting it for FREE (4.99 – 4.99 = FREE). Therefore, why should they then pay us $4.99 for the product? I love to coupon shop, but I always ask myself, “is this the way I would want to be treated, if I owned the company?, even if it is a big corporation.
I love to coupon shop, but draw the line when it means that I will lose my integrity. Greed is not a pretty thing.
And no, I am not a Renpure employee, I am just a stay at home mom trying to make ends meet- but not at the expense of my kids seeing me as a bad example of greed.
I say these things in humility, hoping to present another side of the issue for all of us to consider.
Shannon says
Katherine,
I don’t have a problem with that, however, I do have a problem with them not reimbursing those who paid with their UPR or ECB earned on other products. I earned those ECBs or UPR not on their product and as far as Rite Aid or CVS is concerned it is a store credit. I think they had alot of people into purchasing their product and then didn’t reimburse them. Would have paid $6.99 for their shampoo – no way. I don’t pay $6.99 for Shampoo. Did I pay $6.99 in UPR because I was expecting $6.99 returned to me, yes.
I think they made alot of money with this. They didn’t lose a penny when people paid with other UPR or ECB – instead most consumers were out of the money. The old facebook page literally had hundreds and hundreds of people who were in the same situation.
That is my problem with this company and I believe they have created a really bad reputation for themselves.
A. Marie says
Hi, again, Shannon.
Looks like Renpure is at it again. This company is absolutely unethical.
From the Renpure Facebook page (posted at about 5 PM EST):
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Renpure-Organics/136703356397643?sk=wall
Renpure Organics
Our Try Me Free Mail-In Rebate is not valid with the Rite Aid promotion running May 29th to June 4th. This promotion is considered another offer and our Try Me Free rebate is “Not Valid with any Other Offer”. Rite Aid is offering a sale price of $4.99 and you receive a $4.99 UP reward so you are already receiving this for free.
Grace says
Did anyone try their product? I didn’t myself, but read on blogs from many people that it’s really bad.
amie says
Perhaps if Renpure wants to enforce their ridiculous interpretation of the “not valid with other offers” they should provide a more detailed disclaimer. It makes no sense to refuse the rebate if someone paid using UPRs. Realistically though, there is no way for them to know if the UPR I pay with came from Renpure or another manfacturer. It is essentially no different than paying with a gift card, so their logic is flawed.
Aubrey says
Hi Shannon – I was just looking around on the Renpure Facebook page and they replied to a comment:
“Thank you and remember that we will honor the rebates as long as there are no other offers on your receipt (such as coupons or store rewards)”.
I made sure not to pay with UPR after seeing that it may affect the rebate but I suspect EARNING UPR may also be part of the problem since we’re “making money” on their product. My question is how will they know I earned UPR for the transaction since I cut them off the bottom of the receipt?
Shannon says
Aubrey,
I had a receipt that I sent in and had paid for it with an UPR with several other items on it — and even a balance that I paid cash for and it was denied.
Aubrey says
So you don’t think that earning UPR will affect my ability to get a rebate? I did a transaction where I only purchased Renpure and made sure to pay totally in cash, no UPRs.
Shannon says
Yep, I think it may. They know when they are offering UPR at Rite Aid.
Aubrey says
Darn it…there goes my $7.99 moneymaker! :(
Why would they have the tags on the bottles and then cancel it if the store also offers a promotion on the product???
Becky says
I say send it in anyway, there is no way to prove you actually earned an up. what if you bought more than the up limit and are sending in the receipts from the ones where you did not earn an up? You only are loosing out on a stamp so to me it is worth a try. BYW you can send multiple requests in one envelope per a response to someone asking this on facebook.
Michelle says
OMG, they’re giving us our money back for the the product that we pay for, not for the product that we get up on us using store credit. How many places do that? I think it’s very generous. I paid for the product at the grocery store, turned it in with my rebate slip, and then I got a check in the mail for the amount I paid for it. It was that simple. I tried the product, and I LOVED IT ! I had such a “good hair day” when I used it. It’s a great product and I’m still buying it. :) I guess some people are just never happy !
A. Marie says
Hi, Shannon.
I just want to clarify one thing in your post – Renpure is refusing to honor the rebates if you USE rewards when purchasing, not if you EARN rewards when purchasing.
And I strongly suspect that Tiffany is a Renpure employee.
To Tiffany: ECBs, RRs and UPRs are like cash; they are good on ANY item in the store in which they are earned, and the stores are reimbursed by the manufacturer who offered them, NOT by Renpure. Using them and sending for the rebate does not mean that Renpure is “paying” me to take the product. Renpure should be paying the same amount in the form of the rebate whether rewards were used or not.
I suggest you look into the Neutrogena rebate offered last summer.
Shannon says
Marie, yes I will update so that is clear.
mary says
Shannon, you are 100% right.
Tiffany says
To be completely fair, “try me free” translates in my world to “we’ll reimburse what you actually paid.” I never expect otherwise and it makes perfect business sense. If they’re hurting enough to offer their product up for free, odds are they can’t really pay you to take it either.
Shannon says
Tiffany,
I disagree. If I paid with an ECB or Up Reward earned from some other item, how is that free? UPR and ECB are earned from buying other products, not theres. That argument makes no sense.
I do tons of rebates a year, if I pay with an UPR or ECB it doesn’t matter. I use coupons and it doesn’t matter. In my opinion, this company was 100% shady.
Sophia says
Shannon, I agree. An EB, UP, or RR may not be cold, hard cash, but if a store accepts in exchange for a product, then I paid for it and I am eligible for the “Try Me Free” rebate offer. I’ve never been denied another rebate because I didn’t hand over any green.
Renpure messed up because they offered unlimited TMFs. As long as a customer had a TMF form, they could submit for the rebate. If they had 100 bottles, 100 receipts, 100 TMFs…they could have 100 rebates sent to the same address. What kind of business sense is that? A TMF is meant to entice the customer to purchase a new or new-to-them product with the hope they become loyal to that product.
That’s a great way to market your product…when the customer is limited to one rebate per person/household. OTOH, unlimited rebates are a great way to stay in the red every month. They cried abuse, but it was truly just poor business management!
The worst part is that they announced that they were halting ALL TMF rebates that were paid for with EB, UP, and RRs. Even those that had already been submitted. I would have been furious if I had EBs or UPs to burn and “spent” them on Renpure, only to have them not follow through with their end of the deal. I convert my EBs and UPs to cash whenever I have too many I can manage–I do this through SCRs or other TMF offers. Tiffany, I received $39.xx in rebate checks last month and didn’t spend more than a few cash dollars… It’s fair. It really is.