A couple in Colorado was left shocked after Amazon delivered an empty box instead of the Sony a1 worth $7,000 that they ordered — and then refused to give them a refund.
As reported by PetaPixel and The Denver Channel (skip to 1:03), Bill and Kelly Chiles ordered the Sony a1 back in mid-March and waited patiently for it to arrive. Upon delivery, they opened their package and were confused to find two boxes for the Sony a1, both of which were empty.
Upon contacting Amazon, the company insisted that the product had been delivered and refused to offer a refund. This was despite the fact that when boxed the Sony a1 weighs 3.22 lb (1.46 kg), and the Chiles’ package was listed by UPS as weighing only 2 lb (900 g).
The Chiles filed a credit card dispute and made a crime report, and after The Denver Channel made its own inquiries and the Chiles tried emailing Amazon owner Jeff Bezos directly, Amazon relented and said that the $7,000 will be refunded once the credit card dispute had been resolved.
Given the risks associated with buying online, some customers are resorting to filming the process of unboxing expensive gear in order to create proof in the event that an order has not been correctly fulfilled.
DarkseidHS on May 30th, 2021 at 13:57 UTC »
I ordered a kitchen island from Amazon. It was around $500. The island was missing a single hinge for a door. I asked if they can just send me a single replacement hinge. Their response was they don't have the piece and will issue a full refund and we can dispose of the island however we saw fit. So I went to home depot and bought a hinge for around $10. So yeah, sometimes Amazon is dumb on the exact opposite end of the spectrum.
deains on May 30th, 2021 at 11:16 UTC »
This is why you always use a credit card when buying online. If you get screwed over, it's the credit card company's problem, not yours. You just file a dispute and get your money back, and they chase the creditors.
The article mentions that this is exactly what the buyers did here, so they'll be fine once the dispute is settled out, even if Amazon continue to be dicks about it.
vbfx on May 30th, 2021 at 10:20 UTC »
Isn’t Amazon known for refunding you and letting you keep your garbage? I guess that’s only up to a $ amount