Amazon return issue

BlueSkyAgain

Hello, 

I have ordered earlier this month Apple AirTags pack of 4 from Amazon, as it was significantly cheaper than on the High Street. Later on I realized that is was bluetooth tracking only, rather than GPS, so it was not fit for purpose, so I decided to return it even without opening the original Apple packaging.

I sent it back on 3rd Feb, using Amazon's Evri label. Item was delivered on 6th Feb, but the refund was not processed. I have initiated about 5 chats to customer services, all of which were saying "just wait for few more days", then today I have decided to give Amazon a ring. 

Indian lady said that they have received only 2 out of 4 AirTags (facepalm) and they will not issue me a refund. She has also suggested I looked around trying to find the missing ones. I have explained her again and again, that I have not even broken the factory seal on the box when i returned it. Anyway, she would not give it, basically, we cannot give you £94 without 2 AirTags. I have asked to speak to the manager, she would not connect me. Asked to raise complaint, she said she would do it for me, but did not really take any details of me. 
I have asked Amazon to return me then remaining 2 AirTags, they would not do that either. So in a nutshell: they got my £94, 2x AirTags stolen by Amazon network (either Evri or Amazon themselves) and remaining 2x AirTags are at Amazon, but would not be returned to me. They would also not issue partial refund, as they have not received complete item. 

Any ideas on my options or should I write off £94? The customer services lady asked me to ring back, as "none of the managers were available". I am pretty sure I will not get to speak to any of them, no matter how many times I call. 

P.S. I am very regular Amazon customer, since 2009. This is the first problem I came across with them. 

Bradden

slightly off topic but i was intrigued by your note about Air tags being bluetooth only.. I thought there was only one type of airtag.

https://www.apple.com/uk/airtag/

Alderbank

Bradden said:

slightly off topic but i was intrigued by your note about Air tags being bluetooth only.. I thought there was only one type of airtag.

https://www.apple.com/uk/airtag/

Yes, there is only one type - bluetooth only.

I suspect the OP does not understand how they work.
When someone with a bluetooth-activated iPhone running IOS 14.5 or later passes nearby, the Air tag sends a message to the iPhone. The Air tag might be deep inside a building, or in a drawer or cupboard, where GPS would not work, but bluetooth does.
The iPhone knows roughly whereabouts it is when it senses the Air tag. It sends a message to the cloud saying 'Air tag number xxx is located at [GPS]'. The Air pad owner can then be shown where their missing item was last detected.

So the Air tag is bluetooth only but piggybacks onto a passing iPhone to report its GPS location. Clever.

BlueSkyAgain

That's right, there is only one type of AirTag, I did not fully understand how it worked. And the way it works was not suitable for me, that's why I returned it. 

Tucosalamanca

BlueSkyAgain said:

That's right, there is only one type of AirTag, I did not fully understand how it worked. And the way it works was not suitable for me, that's why I returned it.

Did you expect a stand alone device?
A large proportion of iphone tech, packed into a device the size of a two pound coin, with a year's charge, Apple branded for less than twenty five pounds. that would be quite something!

BlueSkyAgain

I have misunderstood how it works, my bad. 
Ultimately, anyone had an experience with "partial" return problem from Amazon point of view? 

I have asked if I could:
1. Get full refund, as the half of the goods were stolen in transit due to no fault of mine - Answer is No
2. Return my remaining 2x AirTags that are currently with Amazon - Answer is No
3. Partial refund - Answer is No

CS offered me to return "missing" 2 AirTags - They will then issue full refund (supposedly), but could not explain the process of how it will happen.

wizzywig27

I have had issues previously where they advised the wrong item was sent back to them. They said they would return original item to me but never did. I think I just paid for it and took the hit.

Thing with Amazon is, they are cretins. They treat us all like something they stood in. Their customer service is really poor. Yet a lot of us rely on them because, let’s be honest, when things go well…..they just go well. 

It’s when they go bad we feel just how bad they are!

Kim_13

I had heard of there being issues with higher value goods having something less valuable in on arrival, or refund issues with the claim that not all/a different item was returned (all of which would be so easy for a disgruntled Amazon employee to use and exploit,) but £94 is a new low for "higher value goods."

Are Amazon disputing that the item arrived back to them still sealed? Because if they aren't, then they should be looking at their supply chains.

In these sorts of cases the best outcomes are usually when the press gets involved, but at £94 it might be a case of leaving a comment on such a story and hoping that someone gets in touch, as £94 isn't going to be enough for them to launch a fresh story on it. Perhaps also the consumer pages in one of the newspapers.

People say Amazon won't accept video evidence, but I'd rather have it than not - there are far too many of these stories. But for those who are housebound/rural/they are the only retailer with the item for sale, then there is little choice but to use them. Absolutely shocking that they don't give a long standing, profitable customer the benefit of the doubt for the first case of a missing item, especially at sub £100. 

Another problem seems to be that Amazon behave as though they have the right to dispose of any incorrect returns - so one person says there were two missing and it's lumped into the same category. In law any term to that effect would be deemed unfair by a court - it is expected that the owner of the property be given a reasonable window of time to get it back. If they aren't refunding, the airtags remain your property - you might need to use this argument if someone from Amazon later claims your asking for a partial refund/the 2 they received back was you admitting wrongdoing. On a human level it is instinctive not to want to be any more out of pocket that you need to be and to ask for that, but equally I can see why someone who was trying to scam them would do exactly that (as they then wouldn't have lost anything in an unsuccessful attempt.)

If they were stolen in transit, Amazon are the only ones who can do anything about it as having provided a prepaid label for the return, they are the ones with a contract with the courier. Though if it was Amazon Logistics, that's another route for a disgruntled employee of theirs.