Minnesota appliance rebate incompetency excuse from the 'blame it on someone else' department

"Malicious Attack" May be Behind Slow Rebate Response
(Vox Verax note: Yeah, ri-i-i-ight.... Continued below.)
KSTP News, Twin Cities

UPDATED BELOW

Many viewers have emailed or called 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Monday morning, saying they are having trouble getting through to the Minnesota State Department of Commerce, trying to sign up for new appliance rebates.

March 1st is the first day people can sign up for hundreds of dollars in rebates on appliances like dishwashers, refrigerators, and washers.

Nicole Garrison-Sprenger, spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Commerce says while the number of callers is an issue, she believes a "malicious cyber attack" may be the main reason why people are having trouble getting through. The Commerce Department currently has 10 IT people trying to fix the problem.

Garrison-Sprenger says a third-party vendor is handling the phone lines and website for Minnesota's appliance rebate program, along with other states, like Michigan. She says someone may have hacked into the system, causing major slowdowns.

(Original here. Our opinion: We don't think so. The Minnesota Department of Commerce had plenty of time to predict and be prepared for the possibility of a cyber attack. This is state government incompetence pure and simple. See "Minnesota appliance rebate application system overwhelmed ... as predicted" below. NOTE: At 4:30 pm Monday I was able to get into the online form and secure the rebate reservation.)