I would like to express my disappointment as Amazon has denied my refund request, and I believe this decision is unwarranted.
1. On 15 Feb 202, I received the delivery of Order #[protected] and to my great disappointment the product did not match with what I had ordered and was a used and defective item. Within 5 minutes of receiving the product (screenshot attached) I raised a return request and proactively informed the customer service regarding the issue via call. My initial return request was cancelled (screenshot attached) and a new request for sharing the actual images of the product received was created for investigation purposes. The pictures were uploaded immediately. This was again informed to the customer service within moments o[censored]ploading the pictures. The representative over the call confirmed that the pictures have been received and an investigation will be conducted, and a response will be shared by 19 Feb.
2. On 19 Feb, no response was received from Amazon Customer Care. Upon follow up I was informed that the investigation had been successfully completed and a return pick up will be scheduled by the amazon rep over the call for a return pickup on 20 Feb (screenshot attached). As expected, the return did not happen on 20 Feb. I again called Customer care and informed them that the return pick-up did not happen and to reschedule the return for the next available slot that was on 23 Feb. I was assured that the return pick will be hassle free as the product ordered in the app will be different from what will be returned at the time of pick up. The Amazon team assured me that they will be updating a note and picture of the wrong/used/defective item delivered in the system so that the pickup guy will be aware of the issue and no questions will be asked.
3. On 23 Feb, the delivery guy came for the pickup but did not process the return due to the product mismatch issue. My product verification had failed. The images of the wrong/used/defective item that was shared by me on 15 Feb were not updated in the system as promised by the rep. I immediately called customer service to inform them that the return did not happen, and the product verification had failed. I literally begged the delivery guy to wait, meanwhile I was desperately trying to reach the customer desk, but the pickup guy left as he had time constraints. As confirmed by the rep. a second investigation was then launched to check why the return was denied by the pickup guy even after the return was initiated by Amazon customer service and why the reason for return along with the pictures of product delivered on 15 Feb were not updated in the system for the pickup guy's reference. I was again asked to follow up again on 26 Feb to get the outcome of the second investigation.
4. On 26 Feb, upon calling I was informed that the second investigation has been completed and my return/refund has been denied as the correct product was delivered to the customer on 15 Feb. When I asked for further details of return/refund denial, the rep confirmed that they did not have access permission to view the details and it's managed by some other internal team, and they would not be able to help me further. My request had already been closed in the system without any communication to me and could not be reopened for further investigation. I was also informed that I will be able to open a new query for the same incident as it has already been actioned once.
I fail to understand why my return/refund request was denied on 26 Feb when the outcome of the first investigation launched on 15 Feb proved that the incorrect product was delivered. And if the correct product was delivered on 15 Feb why a return request was initiated by Amazon Customer Rep on 19 Feb for a return pick up on 21 Feb and then once again on 23 Feb? Why so much drama and false play for the last two weeks. Why was the customer service team pretending to be so supportive all the time requesting pictures and scheduling the return pick up? They could have easily confirmed to me on 19 Feb that you received the correct product, and this is what has come up in our investigation. Why wait until 26 Feb? To me this seems to be a complete fraud. I am just not able to connect the dots over here. A one-sided verdict was passed that the customer had received the correct product at the last moment, irrespective of having multiple conversations from the last 2 weeks and proactively providing all the evidence requested to prove my side.
I am writing this email seeking an explanation of what my fault is in this complete situation and why I am being penalized. This experience has really been very frustrating and nerve wracking for me. The representatives at Amazon are absolutely pathetic, they are not at all properly trained on how to manage customer queries and do not provide correct information and resolution. They tell you one story while they are over a call and update a completely different story while updating their cases. It's Like going back to square one every time you speak to these folks. Their remarks are incomplete, and they hardly update their cases. I have called multiple times in the last few weeks where my call was put on long hold, transferred to reps who had no background of my issue and then eventually disconnected. It is really very exhausting to call these reps and explain the same issue again and again. Same story to Tier-1, again to Tier-2, again the same thing to the Specialist Teams and it goes on and on and on till the time you get irritated enough to disconnect. I would appreciate it if you could spare some time and have a look at the case history for this particular concern. Getting a resolution to my issue has now become a part time job that I have been doing for the last two weeks after my regular working hours.
This is absolutely not expected from a reputed brand like amazon. My faith and loyalty towards Amazon as a brand is now lost. I would never recommend anyone to buy anything from here. There are so many cases just like mine where consumers have not received refunds for products that they have ordered due to ignorance, poor attitude, and low work ethics of folks working at Amazon. Appropriate measures should be taken so that people like us do not suffer and bear the loss for someone else's negligence and fault.
How will I know that a product will be used/worn/different unless I open the package post payment? And in cases like mine how do I now prove to the Amazon Team that I genuinely received a used/worn/different product even after doing everything from the end. What else can I do apart from calling the customer service immediately and informing them that I have not received what I have ordered and providing pictures to prove it the very same day.
I was very rudely informed today that "as per our second investigation the product delivered was correct and your refund/return has been denied, does that mean that Amazon is telling me that I am trying to manipulate the situation for a refund of Rs 669 ???". I have been a loyal Prime Customer with Amazon for the last so many years and I have never come across such a bad experience. The customer service folks need to understand why a consumer has reached out and what resolution they are looking for rather than just focusing on closing tickets and meeting ticket SLA's and TAT's. They need to probe into issues and try to understand the situation and not just mindlessly close tickets and give responses that are not at all helpful for customers having issues.
I request a full refund for the defective/damaged/used/different product I have received from Amazon. I also want the return pickup to be initiated as the delivered product is of no use to me.
I have attached all possible screenshots and pdf versions of the email to rest my case.
Feel free to reach out if any further information or supporting evidence is required from my end.
Amazon India customer support has been notified about the posted complaint.
