We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
Amazon Refused Return – Missed by 1 Day, Poor Customer Service

FairShopperUK
Posts: 9 Newbie

Hi everyone,
I wanted to share my recent experience with Amazon to see if anyone has advice or has been in a similar situation.
I ordered multiple pairs of shoes from Amazon, but unfortunately, some of them didn’t fit. Due to personal mental health challenges, I was unable to process the return immediately. When I contacted Amazon customer service, I had only missed the return window by one day, but they refused to accept the return. Worse, they hung up on me THREE times during the call.
I escalated my complaint to the Amazon Executive Team, explaining my circumstances. However, they still refused, despite the items being unused and in their original packaging. I even pointed out that Amazon had made return exceptions for me in the past, but they refused to reconsider.
I have already tried:
Speaking to multiple Amazon representatives (they keep referring to their policy).
Contacting Citizens Advice and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) (but Amazon isn’t part of ADR).
Asking my bank for purchase protection, but they only cover faulty items.
Since Amazon won’t budge, I’m considering Small Claims Court, but I’m unsure if it’s worth it. Has anyone had success getting Amazon to reconsider a return after the deadline?
Any advice would be appreciated!
0
Comments
-
I don't see what legal argument you have if they're merely adhering to the contractual deadline (which I assume, given it's Amazon, is no less than the statutory one for distance sale returns).2
-
How long was the returns window. Amazon are usually pretty generous with it.
The fact you had an extension previously is irrellevant and you have no right to return if the statutory minimum was given.
Continually pestering them may lead to your account being closed so bare that in mind.1 -
It doesn't really make a difference whether you miss a returns window by one day, or by one month, or by one year - once you've missed it you've missed it.
Assuming that their returns window is at least as generous as the statutory window for cancelling a distance contract, I think the best you can hope for is trying to persuade Amazon to make a goodwill gesture.
I don't see that you have any realistic prospect of winning a court claim as you don't have a legal basis to make a claim.
It's unfortunate if your mental health challenges cause you to miss the deadline, but amazon have no responsibility for that.2 -
The fact that you had an extension previously might be relevant...
Amazon seem to base their decisions not just on a customer's immediate purchase but on their general trading history.
The cost of change-of-mind returns can be expensive for them and they are not short of customers.
You were out of compliance and I, like @TheSpectator, would just suck this up.0 -
I don’t think it’s poor customer service, they have allowed you to return items previously under their good will, which companies can do on the odd occasion that a customer has slipped up. I think you have used up the goodwill granted to you, now you have to play by their rules. Could you try and sell the items on Facebook or other markets?0
-
Thanks for the responses. I understand that Amazon is following their policy, but I do think they could have shown more flexibility—especially since I contacted them just one day after the deadline and the items are brand new, unused, and in original packaging.
That said, I’ll take the advice to sell the items elsewhere, I won't be able to recover the full amount I originally paid, which makes the situation even more frustrating!
Thanks again for the input.0 -
I'm not suggesting that the OPs mental health issues aren't genuine, but if Amazon have accepted that as a reason for missing the official timescale for returns on numerous occasions in the past they may be starting to wonder if it is genuine.
0 -
FairShopperUK said:Hi everyone,I wanted to share my recent experience with Amazon to see if anyone has advice or has been in a similar situation.I ordered multiple pairs of shoes from Amazon, but unfortunately, some of them didn’t fit. Due to personal mental health challenges, I was unable to process the return immediately. When I contacted Amazon customer service, I had only missed the return window by one day, but they refused to accept the return. Worse, they hung up on me THREE times during the call.I escalated my complaint to the Amazon Executive Team, explaining my circumstances. However, they still refused, despite the items being unused and in their original packaging. I even pointed out that Amazon had made return exceptions for me in the past, but they refused to reconsider.I have already tried:Speaking to multiple Amazon representatives (they keep referring to their policy).Contacting Citizens Advice and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) (but Amazon isn’t part of ADR).Asking my bank for purchase protection, but they only cover faulty items.Since Amazon won’t budge, I’m considering Small Claims Court, but I’m unsure if it’s worth it. Has anyone had success getting Amazon to reconsider a return after the deadline?Any advice would be appreciated!
A line ultimately has to be drawn somewhere and whilst you say its "only one day" if they agreed to it then effectively it becomes the limit + 1 day, so the next person that comes along who's two days out can argue its only +1 day from the well know fact that the limit is really +1 day. You could continue this forever more until you can return items 10 years after purchasing them because it's only stretching the limit 1 day at a time.
Companies do need to give some consideration to vulnerable customers however it's not unlimited. It sounds like they have made exceptions in the past but that doesn't set a precedent and normally these types of exceptions are clearly stated as a one off so you dont make the same mistake again or decide that because of your mental health challenges that maybe mail order isnt suited to you because you can't reliably remember to send things back in time.2 -
@TELLIT01 I understand your perspective, but I want to clarify that my mental health challenges are genuine and not something I use as an ‘excuse.’ I don’t expect Amazon to always make exceptions, but in this case, I only missed the deadline by one day and reached out immediately.
0 -
FairShopperUK said:I don’t expect Amazon to always make exceptions7
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 348.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 452.4K Spending & Discounts
- 240.8K Work, Benefits & Business
- 617K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 175.6K Life & Family
- 254K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards