Amazon customer services

drjohn67

I bought my son an iPhone from Amazon. A package with a drinks bottle arrived. Immediately called Amazon. I sent proof including weight of packaging and item which correlated with packaging marking. I sent proof of collection. They have refused to send a replacement item so my partner ordered a second phone. That failed to arrive as promised x 3. She cancelled and went to John Lewis. I am still waiting over 5 weeks later for a refund which they refuse to give until another week. Upon review of the ratings, I note that my case was not unique. My negative feedback was not present so I suspect that the few negative warnings are just the few that ‘got through’. Beware especially for high ticket items.

Undervalued

How is the "cost of living crisis" relevant to this?

I can understand your frustration at what you say has happened and I appreciate it is not unique. Quite what percentage of orders suffer from this kind of problem I don't know, However I suspect it is a fraction of one percent, little consolation if you are one of the unlucky ones.

Sadly though there will also be a percentage of fraudulent claims which all retailers, not just Amazon, suffer. Is it not understandable that they will want to investigate thoroughly before simply taking the customer's word? 

Wonka_2

drjohn67 said:

They have refused to send a replacement item so my partner ordered a second phone. That failed to arrive as promised x 3. 

Firstly is this Amazon or Amazon Marketplace ?

Secondly are you suggesting 4 phones were ordered in total and none turned up ??

As @Undervalued says it's not unusual that they want to investigate  - nothing to do with 'contempt' or 'cost of living crisis'

drjohn67

The cost of living crisis is that I then had to find another £750 because they refused to refund in a timely manner. This at a time when like many my income was frozen and bills rising including winter heating fuel which was 3 times the cost of last year I.e. at a time when many of us can comfortably spare that.

drjohn67

They had photographic evidence sent by me which should correlate with the postage charges that they paid. They accept that they have collected the package. 5 weeks is plenty of time to review what has happened. Many other retailers would track stock more carefully. 

MattMattMattUK

drjohn67 said:

The cost of living crisis is that I then had to find another £750

You did not need to spend £750 on a phone, you did not immediately need to buy another one straight after, the fact that caused you a cashflow issue is down to you. 

drjohn67 said:

because they refused to refund in a timely manner. 

They refused to refund until the investigation has been completed, in relation to something that you claim was stolen and cost £750, generally companies do not just hand over £750 because a customer says that they want it back, without investigating first.

drjohn67 said:

This at a time when like many my income was frozen and bills rising including winter heating fuel which was 3 times the cost of last year I.e. at a time when many of us can comfortably spare that.

That is entirely irrelevant to you buying a £750 phone and/or getting a refund. 

drjohn67 said:

They had photographic evidence sent by me which should correlate with the postage charges that they paid.

That is not evidence that you did not receive the phone, that is evidence that you weighed something and took some pictures. 

drjohn67 said:

They accept that they have collected the package.

And? They accept that they have collected a box containing a bottle, but need to investigate whether the box they sent to you contained a bottle, or a phone, where the phone is etc.

drjohn67 said:

5 weeks is plenty of time to review what has happened. 

Over the Christmas period, with delays in couriers, shutdowns on some days in warehouses, investigation teams taking time off etc. it does not seem that long. They will also be getting Apple to check if the phone is activated, having it blocked on all networks etc.

drjohn67 said:

Many other retailers would track stock more carefully. 

It appears that you do not understand what could have happened. This is almost certainly not a bottle was put in an Amazon box instead of a phone, that does happen sometimes, but there are a lot of packages being opened in the courier system at the moment. You have also not even confirmed if this was Amazon or Marketplace. 

p00hsticks

I can't believe that I've just opened a thread referring to the cost of living crisis in the title, only to find that the post starts 'I bought my son an iPhone'....

On a more serious note, this seems to be an increasingly common type of scam / fraud, and I've posted a question on the subject on the 'Ask an Expert' board where hopefully we'll be able to get advice from MSE on steps we can take to protect ourselves when ordering high-value items online

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6415881/replacement-of-ordered-goods-online-before-delivery#latest

Belenus

I can understand your frustration with a delayed refund. If you paid with a credit card perhaps the refund will arrive before you have to pay the credit card bill.

If you are experiencing a cost of living crisis, was it essential to spend £750 on a phone?

drjohn67

Amazon. Not marketplace. 

You are correct. I did not need to buy my son a phone. I chose to do so. Again I chose to stretch further to cover the gap. However,  not an unreasonable decision at this time of year. 

The package sent was significantly bigger and heavier than an iPhone. The weight marked was accurate. The packaging was Amazon’s. This supports my opinion that the error was at the warehouse rather than with the courier. 

5weeks to wait for a refund of £750 is a long time. 

I post merely of potential interest for others to decide if such service is acceptable. 

I think not.

drjohn67

It was a special purchase as a reward - to him for 11 x grade 9 GCSEs in summer and from me just as I retire after slogging 30 years as a doctor - so whilst a luxury purchase there was a special reason. 

Regardless - waiting what will be 6 weeks for a refund seems excessive to me and will be factored in to any future purchasing decisions. Will avoid Amazon in future for anything of value.

Undervalued

drjohn67 said:

Amazon. Not marketplace. 

You are correct. I did not need to buy my son a phone. I chose to do so. Again I chose to stretch further to cover the gap. However,  not an unreasonable decision at this time of year. 

The package sent was significantly bigger and heavier than an iPhone. The weight marked was accurate. The packaging was Amazon’s. This supports my opinion that the error was at the warehouse rather than with the courier. 

5weeks to wait for a refund of £750 is a long time. 

I post merely of potential interest for others to decide if such service is acceptable. 

I think not.

So you say, most likely quite truthfully.

However it is not unreasonable for a company to want to investigate in some detail before refunding, particularly when a significant amount is involved, as they are the victim of a crime.