Jim Saueressig
EF5
Canon has asked US customers planning take advantage of its rebate program not to cash the checks they have received, following the company handling the rebates filing for bankruptcy protection. The problems relate to rebate checks for video and printer products dated prior to November 14th. Any customer yet to send-in rebate materials should also delay until further notice.
Canon made the following statement: "The third-party rebate processing company that implements Canon’s rebate program covering printer and camcorder products filed a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy petition on Friday, November 14. Any customer who has received a rebate check for these products dated prior to November 14, should not cash the check as it may bounce. Canon is diligently working on steps to ensure that eligible consumers receive valid rebate checks as soon as possible. More information will be available on our Web site by Friday, November 21.
"We understand this is an inconvenience to customers. We are working to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Consumers who have questions about our rebate programs should call Canon’s Customer Call Center 1-800-OK- CANON."
============== Dealer Notice ====================
Important Announcement from the Consumer Imaging Group
Dear Canon Dealer:
The third-party rebate processing company, Continental Promotion Group (CPG), that was responsible for processing rebate claims and issuing mail-in-rebate (MIR) checks for Canon-brand printer and video products (along with many other products of a number of other companies) filed a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy petition on Friday, November 14th. This disruption in service will impact a number of Canon customers claiming their product rebates, temporarily, as we move our MIR operation to another vendor to ensure continued support and service this holiday season. Unfortunately, before CPG's bankruptcy filing, a number of checks were distributed to customers that may bounce. While we are exploring ways to arrange for such checks to be honored despite CPG’s bankruptcy, any customer who has received a rebate check for printer or video products dated prior to November 14, should not cash the check until further notice. Furthermore, any customer who has not submitted rebate materials should refrain from doing so until further notice, as we need to make sure that rebate materials are directed to a location where they can be made available for processing. Canon is diligently working on steps to enable eligible consumers to be able to cash or to receive valid replacement rebate checks as soon as possible. A new vendor, The Advertising Checking Bureau, Inc. (ACB), has already been secured and we hope to be up and running shortly with ACB supporting our existing and upcoming MIR promotions planned for the balance of 2008 and beyond. As of Saturday, 11/15, both the Canon USA home page and the Canon CIG home page have alerted customers to this issue and we will begin actively reaching out to these impacted customers with ACB's help soon. We will provide the public with more concrete information and next steps on our Web site by Friday, November 21st and will update CP-Net accordingly, to ensure our dealers are aware of all activities related to this issue.
Canon sales representatives will also be fully briefed on the situation shortly and will be able to address issues and questions raised because of this situation. Until further notice, please direct all inquiries to Canon’s Customer Call Center 1-800-OK-CANON.
We appreciate your understanding and support during this transition and as we work to resolve all customer difficulties tied to CPG's failure.
Thank you for your ongoing support,
Eliott Peck
Vice President and General Manager, Sales
Consumer Imaging Group
Canon U.S.A., Inc.
This announcement will be available on the Canon PartnerNet (CPNet) under the "Miscellaneous" "Notices" in the "Info/Download Center" section of the homepage.
Sincerely,
Canon PartnerNet Operations
Canon U.S.A., Inc.
