Cashback Wack-So Microsoft's Bing gathers information from consumers, with promise of cashback, to use that info for future targeted advertising or online ads ("to personalize your online experience"):
For Microsoft's Bing Cashback:
A waiting period (of up to 60 days) and $5 minimum applies to payouts. To earn your cashback, stores will provide us (Microsoft) non-personal info about your purchase, and you will need to provide us with personal information (like your email address above) to create a Bing cashback account. We may use this information to personalize your online experiences, and will treat all your information in keeping with the Microsoft privacy statement. cashback is available only for personal purchases made during your store visit directly from the Bing site. You cannot use coupons or discounts. See Bing cashback terms. Additional store terms may apply.
The cash doesn't seem to be flowing back smoothly-here's what My Money Blog users have to say:
"Anyway, as a side tip, sometimes getting your [Bing] cashback goes haywire, and there have been plenty of reports of MS randomly deciding you were buying something off of ebay for resale (voiding your cashback), regardless of whether they have proof. My suggestion is to always make sure you are happy with the price even before the cashback."
"That’s right, it used to be called Live Cashback instead of Bing [Cashback]. Right now I see 10% off Walmart and 8% off eBay after searching for “walmart” or “sony”. This is definitely a weird system they [Microsoft] have going."
"I have a bad feeling about this. Yesterday, I made one purchase through eBay and one through Walmart. The Walmart order isn’t showing up and the eBay order is showing as “canceled” (meaning I canceled the order and can’t get cash back on it - even though I didn’t cancel it). Bait & switch?? I don’t know. I don’t have much confidence that I’m going to get this [Bing] cash back money."
"I bought an Ipod Touch from Walmart on 12/5/09 through Bing Cashback. I did everything that I was supposed to do and had the screen come up saying I would get 20% off my purchase during the shopping session. I ordered the Ipod but never received a cashback notice from Bing. I emailed Bing after two days and yesterday customer service informed me I’m not getting the cashback because they can’t find a transaction ID. I’m going to end up canceling the order and buying the Ipod somewhere else."
"Here’s part of the email I got from Microsoft support about my recent ebay order which they’re showing as “canceled,” and are not giving [Bing] cash back for: 'After further research we are unable to apply cashback savings for this eBay purchase. In working with eBay and PayPal, we [Microsoft/Bing] have determined that this purchase is not eligible for Bing cashback savings. As a result, your purchase claim has been closed and we will not be applying cashback for your order. We apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment this may have caused you.' Notice they [Microsoft/Bing] didn’t mention any reason why the purchase isn’t eligible. I mean, the amount involved is like $4, but that isn’t really the point. There are other cash back services I can use, and from now on I will. This is ridiculous, petty, and stupid."