Amazon closed my account for complaint about delivery 11 November 2022 at 10:32PM edited 11 November 2022 at 10:39PM in Consumer rights 25 replies 1.6K views

Jmoo

I had my account closed today by Amazon because I told them I'd not received a new mobile phone despite them insisting it was delivered.

One customer service member said it had been delayed, before another insisted it had been delivered. When I asked them to look into it they told me to get a police report, which I've reluctantly agreed to.

Ten minutes later I received an email saying I'd had sent an "extraordinary" amount of returns and they were terminating my account. My Alexas all were disconnected and I was told I could only appeal by email. 

I then received an email back saying it was sent in error and to ignore it and my account was reactivated. My Alexas still need setting up again. I've now lost all of the recordings my dad made through Alexa before he passed away, which was of some comfort. 

I'm now terrified to query the missing parcel in case my account is closed! 

It's not the first time they've emailed about returns - I had an email last year which they also said they'd sent in error. So what is going on? I'm guilty of returning products, but I do buy loads of goods each month.

mjm3346

"I'm guilty of returning products" 

I wouldn't say guilty is the appropriate wording, if something is wrong then it's wrong.

My complaint rate is well under 1% of items ordered and return rate is 0%
I have received 1,000s of items over 18 odd years and made 3 complaints - had a cd box set that was 1 cd short and they refunded the full price and said keep the rest - 1 item was delivered twice they said keep the second without charge - long ago I paid for next day delivery that took a day to long and the delivery charge was refunded without question.

Aylesbury_Duck

It's simple I'm afraid.  They consider you to be more trouble than you're worth to them.  One of the perils of being dependent upon one company for so many things.  

No harm in engaging them as positively as possible, but you'll have to decide whether the value of the missing phone is worth pursuing if it risks an account you depend upon.

Undervalued

Jmoo said:

I had my account closed today by Amazon because I told them I'd not received a new mobile phone despite them insisting it was delivered.

One customer service member said it had been delayed, before another insisted it had been delivered. When I asked them to look into it they told me to get a police report, which I've reluctantly agreed to.

Ten minutes later I received an email saying I'd had sent an "extraordinary" amount of returns and they were terminating my account. My Alexas all were disconnected and I was told I could only appeal by email. 

I then received an email back saying it was sent in error and to ignore it and my account was reactivated. My Alexas still need setting up again. I've now lost all of the recordings my dad made through Alexa before he passed away, which was of some comfort. 

I'm now terrified to query the missing parcel in case my account is closed! 

It's not the first time they've emailed about returns - I had an email last year which they also said they'd sent in error. So what is going on? I'm guilty of returning products, but I do buy loads of goods each month.

Any company has the right to decline further business from a customer as long as their reason doesn't amount to unlawful discrimination (e.g, race, gender, religion etc). Outside of that they can set any criteria they like.

The issue with stored media and "purchases" such as the right to access certain films and audio is more complex. As far as I know never been fully tested in court, certainly not to a level that would set a binding precedent. 

tacpot12

Amazon have shown themselves to be a very short-term focused company. They are not good at contuing support for products that they no longer consider to be mainstream. Consequently, I would not be surprised if there was a point at which your Alexa recordings would be deleted. Would doubt that Amazon's T&Cs hold them to any particular level of service in this respect, to give them the operational flexibility they want. 

I think you have to accept that the recording were great while you had them, but they are just another reason why you are unhappy with Amazon, and not the main issue in your dispute with them. 

Amazon have a right to expect you to do certain things to provide them with the evidence that the phone was not delivered. Being reluctant to go to the police is not good. It suggests that you don't want the police to investigate the matter. 

You might be able to use your record of returns to your benefit. If you calculate your returned percentage, and it is low, mention this. Also mention the number of cases where deliveries where not made. You need to reinforce the case that you are a good customer. 

marlot

I'm happy using amazon for low value items, but don't buy phones or laptops from them.  I feel the risk of a problem escalating to a ban is simply too high.

I'm sure lots of people have received laptops and phones without a problem - but if/when it goes wrong, it seems to get get nasty quite quickly.

Jmoo

mjm3346 said:

"I'm guilty of returning products" 

I wouldn't say guilty is the appropriate wording, if something is wrong then it's wrong.

My complaint rate is well under 1% of items ordered and return rate is 0%
I have received 1,000s of items over 18 odd years and made 3 complaints - had a cd box set that was 1 cd short and they refunded the full price and said keep the rest - 1 item was delivered twice they said keep the second without charge - long ago I paid for next day delivery that took a day to long and the delivery charge was refunded without question.

I do find them frustrating at times. I had a slow cooker last month I wanted to return and they told me to keep it because I couldn't print out the packaging label. I had asked for a QR code. I can see in that sense how I'm costing them money, but is that my fault?

Undervalued

Jmoo said:

mjm3346 said:

"I'm guilty of returning products" 

I wouldn't say guilty is the appropriate wording, if something is wrong then it's wrong.

My complaint rate is well under 1% of items ordered and return rate is 0%
I have received 1,000s of items over 18 odd years and made 3 complaints - had a cd box set that was 1 cd short and they refunded the full price and said keep the rest - 1 item was delivered twice they said keep the second without charge - long ago I paid for next day delivery that took a day to long and the delivery charge was refunded without question.

I do find them frustrating at times. I had a slow cooker last month I wanted to return and they told me to keep it because I couldn't print out the packaging label. I had asked for a QR code. I can see in that sense how I'm costing them money, but is that my fault?

Probably not but that doesn't matter. They are entirely free to decide on the criteria that decides who they are willing to have as customers. Inevitably, with a huge organisations, most of the decisions will be made by computer algorithms rather than a human minor manager. In some ways that is fairer.

Ultimately any uneconomic customers are subsidised by the rest. 

born_again

Given high value items & a lot of electronic stuff now has a code to give to the driver on receipt. Failed delivery should be a thing of the past now.
As driver has to enter code, that only you know. 🤷‍♂️

p00hsticks

born_again said:

Given high value items & a lot of electronic stuff now has a code to give to the driver on receipt. Failed delivery should be a thing of the past now.
As driver has to enter code, that only you know. 🤷‍♂️

so we will start to see more of the 'ordered a mobile phone, opened the packaging to find something cheap the same size that weighs the same' type complaints on here instead as the dishonest people in the distribution chain switch tactics....

cymruchris

Did they issue a one time pass for your delivery?

I bought an Iphone 13 the other week from the Amazon warehouse - and they sent me a one time pass on day of delivery...