Amazon & Faulty Goods

Pink_Giraffe

Apologies in advance if this turns into a long post!

At the beginning of November OH bought a set of headphones from Amazon for around £19.00. Last week they stopped working properly and he contacted Amazon to arrange for them to be replaced. Amazon refused to do this, stating that as it is a "Fulfilled by Amazon" order the "inventory is constantly changing" ie they do not know if it is available. They instead told OH that they will refund and he can repurchase. The headphones are still offered for sale, but the price is now £42.00, which obviously he does not want to pay to replace something which cost less than half that.

According to Amazon's policies, Fulfilled by Amazon orders operate under the same returns policies as orders supplied direct by Amazon. The returns policy says that faulty goods can be exchanged and makes no mention of this being different for Fulfilled by Amazon orders. When he has spoke to Amazon's customer service, they have said that as they are not the seller, they will not offer a replacement and are under no legal obligation to do so, but they will also not provide details for the FBA merchant or contact them on OH's behalf. They say that they only provide the customer service for the merchant in question.

OH has also looked at the manufacturer's website regarding faults, however this states that any defects within the first year should be referred to the vendor rather than directly to them.

Anyone have any advice please? We seem to have hit a dead end, and Amazon are being completely unhelpful, but it seems to me that if they are acting as the vendor's customer service agents, they should be responsible for at least passing the complaint on.

Thanks in advance

Pink

visidigi

They only have to repair, replace or refund - their choice if they deem and can prove any option to be disproportionally costly they can refuse that option - it is and they have. They have offered a refund for the item which fulfills their obligation - you are only entitled to be put back in the situation you were prior to purchase.

halibut2209

Though you also have the option of "loss of bargain". Goods were faulty (up to them to prove otherwise), and you would be out of pocket in replacing them.

But it's not an easy route to go down. Looks like you'll get the refund. Then you can give negative reviews wherever you can

Pink_Giraffe

Thanks for the replies!

I knew they had to repair, replace or refund, however I thought that refund was a final option, with the customer being entitled to a repair/replacement if possible. Can anyone explain to me how the "Fulfilled by" thing works please? Cos I really don't get it!
I will pass on the info to OH from both of you, and leave it up to him; I think it's a matter of principle with him now partly, as Amazon customer service have been unhelpful to the point of fairly rude.
Thanks again

Pink

mattyprice4004

There is no point in 'leaving it up to him', it's only going to waste his time chasing this.
I'd just point him to this thread, they've done all they have to do and your not entitled to anything else. Replacement, repair or refund is 100% the retailers choice and by arguing you'll get nothing more.

Sorry to be blunt, but by your previous post you seem like your going to follow this up. I'd much rather save the time you'll waste doing so

Pink_Giraffe

Well I can't make him do anything either way, I'm just giving him the info that's posted here. I won't be following it up personally, the whole part I've played here is to post the thread and ask the questions on his behalf.

Thanks for your input though, I'll pass it on with the rest.

Pink

Hintza

Have you spoken to the seller? They might be happy to replace.

mattyprice4004

No worries, I do hope you get it sorted though.

Have you looked for the same headphones on eBay, brand new? It's very competitive on there, you might find a bargain!