Issue with missing purchase from Amazon - advice required.

[shopper150]

Cotty said:

shopper150 said:

It is a lie. The facts are that Amazon have failed to deliver. I don't think anything other than that.

Its your word against theirs. You say they have not delivered it, they say they have.

You can handle this two ways, you can say you will not assist Amazon and the situation will remain the same. Or you can comply with their requests and assist them in their investigation and get a replacement.

"Theft is defined as the physical removal of an object that is capable of being stolen without the consent of the owner and with the intention of depriving the owner of it permanently". I would say your situation matches that definition perfectly and the police will agree and provide a crime number, so it is not a lie to report it as stolen.

I could offer my assistance having worked in insurance claims for 30 years but you don't seem to want to help yourself.

I appreciate you views and your assistance. Without meaning to appear like I'm on the attack, I'm just questioning a few things, or playing devil's advocate.

Where has this object been removed from? Who is the owner? I haven't even seen the object, or taken delivery or it. I am not dealing with an insurance claim. I am dealing with a retailer.

I know you're suggesting that I should just follow the procedure requested by Amazon. Would you be of the same opinion if you and I had conducted a private transaction, and I (as the seller) told you that it's been delivered, and you had the facts/evidence that I do? I suspect in that scenario, your issue would be directly with me as a seller and you would be worried/annoyed/frustrated with me as the seller as your contract with me. I'm sure you would go to the Police, but only because you would think that I have stolen from you.

Edited by shopper150 on Saturday 27th August 13:02

Edited by shopper150 on Saturday 27th August 13:04

Edited by shopper150 on Saturday 27th August 13:09

[shopper150]

GetCarter said:

Sheepshanks said:

They have tracking information that shows it was delivered.

But as we know, without a signature, that means nothing - I refer you to my earlier post. (It hadn't, though they said it had... it arrived 3 days later)

Edited by GetCarter on Saturday 27th August 12:40

Also, based on the information on the orders section of Amazon, it refers to a different town.

[shopper150]

motco said:

If this saga presents the facts in their entirety and are as they have been told, then the founding principle of mail-order has been ignored. That is that your business can prosper only if the goods are delivered reliably, and without quibble if the delivery is a failure for whatever reason. Amazon simply cannot wash their hands of this because it is a breach of trust - no arguments! If, as I said, the facts are as presented...

Perhaps the only additional fact I can add is that I've had a few (maybe 2 or 3) late deliveries over the last 2 years. I have reported these and have had been given a complimentary one month extension to my Prime Membership.

[shopper150]

ashleyman said:

V8OW said:

What have Hermes said?

You can't actually call Hermes about anything as I found out last month trying to deal with a lost BooHoo order for my wife. BooHoo also have NO telephone support, mostly Twitter or email. We eventually managed to get a replacement sent out only to have that go missing too,then secured a refund. 2 days after the refund both 'lost' packages turned up with the delivery woman saying ' We didn't know where to put the parcels if you were out', would have helped if they'd rung the bell as both times we were 100% in as they were here holiday bikinis and I was specifically waiting at home for them to arrive both times!!

I managed to find 5 numbers for Hermes but didn't actually need to use them in the end. They are 0844 644 3593, 0844 272 7672, 0870 280 2558, 0330 333 4981 or 0800 1749040.

I thought the courier was Yodel? If it's Yodel their phone number is 0844 755 0117.

Thanks, will try these numbers when I get a chance. I doubt they will be open today', but will give it a go later. If not, will try again tomorrow.

[shopper150]

Elysium said:

I entirely understand why you do not wish to jump through the hoops Amazon are setting out for you. However, it looks to me as if this incident has triggered some sort of fraud alert system at their end, which might explain why they are being unhelpful.

I know that the Amazon system lets you choose a safe place for delivery of parcels when you are out. Some of the couriers will also allow you to amend these details and even select an alternative address.

My guess would be that the 'investigation' has shown something of this nature and that they may have asked you to contact the police as a test to see if this was done by you or others? I think this may also be why they are asking for ID before they share the delivery details.

This is not the usual Amazon approach. Something different is happening here.

I think the only difference here is the value of the item. They are great with lower value items.

I have actually just realised that I have forgotten to mention something. I have a subscribe and save order with Amazon for Gillette Razors. My last delivery was around a month ago and they sent me some Pokemon Cards instead of the razors. I called them to tell them what had happened but as I was going on holiday I said I would contact them again after my holiday to arrange for the Pokemon Cards to be picked up and for them to send me the razors. They said that would be no problem and that they would put a note on my account. I haven't called them to resolve this yet. Value of the cards is around £14 and value of razors is around £30.

[shopper150]

brrapp said:

I'd just keep trying Amazon. If you don't get the answer you want from one employee, hang up and call another. Most call centres have a mix of sensible people and idiots. Just because you get one stupid answer from one person doesn't mean that that is the corporate line. Just think of your own workplace, I'm sure you can think of at least one person you wouldn't like to deal with over the phone.
I do this all the time. People say 'Amazon said this' or 'The council said that' or 'VW say this is their policy on that matter', when in reality it is one (possibly quite thick) employee who has given their own interpretation on the situation. If at first you don't succeed, hang up and try again, they can't all be fools.

I have tried around 7 or 8 times now. I don't think it will make a difference as I have escalated it to various managers etc.
I actually need that TV for a project, I'm thinking ably reordering it from Amazon just to see what happens!

[shopper150]

So here is the email from Amazon requesting a police report:

[i]Hello Mr. x,

My name is Sarah and I'm part of the management team at Amazon.co.uk.

I was advised that you wanted a call back from a manager about your order # 203-X.

I tried to contact you on 077X, the number provided to me bu the last associate, on the 20th of August a 3:55 p.m., but I was unable to reach you so I left a message on your answer phone.

I can see that you were emailed this afternoon about this order. The information provided in our last message correctly represents our policy at this time.

As my colleague previously mentioned, we have fully investigated this matter with the carrier and we won’t be able to provide a replacement/refund for this order at this time as the item was delivered.

If you believe the item has been stolen you may wish to contact your local police, if necessary, in order to pursue this matter further. If the issue isn't resolved after contacting local police please contact us again with the following information:

-Police Crime Report Number.
-Details of the station where the incident was reported.
-Name of the investigating officer.

We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Warmest regards,

Sarah H.
Amazon.co.uk
Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company[/i]

So I spend almost an hour on the phone to 101, to report this 'theft' (35 mins waiting in the cue to be connected to the relevant department).
The nice lady I got through to was very good, she didn't see why this was a Police matter, but was happy to log the details for me and give me the reference number.
I called Amazon back with the three pieces of information they asked for (as listed above).
The operative refused to take the details as they require a 'scanned copy of the police report"
So they have now moved the goal posts and want me to get an original copy of a police report detailing the above information. I haven't asked 101 if they will be able to post this to me, but I suspect I may have to pop into a police station to get this now if I wish to progress down this route.

[shopper150]

hairyben said:

dunno why you're bothering mate. it's not for you to jump through hoops and you should recognise such tactics as avoidance of their obligations, not precursor to them. The more you jump through hoops the more they think you're a tt who can be pushed around and not refunded is the mentality of these people. The following usually gets a result:

"dear amazon person.

This item I have paid for has not been received, please deliver the item or refund my purchase, if I do not have the item or my money refunded within 3 working days I will be instructing my card provider to reclaim my funds without further notice."

I think they may close my account if the chargeback is successful. I was trying to avoid that. But their attitude stinks.

[shopper150]

hairyben said:

Obvious reply is so what if they did? Only use my amazon account for an annual probably £30 worth of kindle books these days, instead of £3000+ worth of kitchenware, blu rays, gifts workstuff etcetc, its not that hard to shop elsewhere although the all-in-one-place for easy lazy shopping cant be beaten.

I agree. I do use them a lot more than you though.

I also use Prime Now a fair bit, which has been very handy.

[shopper150]

GetCarter said:

You may be right, but I don't know anyone that would just give up when an £800 TV was the missing item.

There is something else going on here that (so far) we are missing. Amazon are not completely stupid, so must have some sort of reason to suspect some wrongdoing. The postcode issue ... etc etc.

There will be a smoking gun at some stage. Interested to see where it was.

I am also interested. I am going to ask them, under the Data Protection Act, to disclose all the information that they hold on me including all internal notes and recordings of telephone calls. It will be interesting to see if that reveals any new information.

[shopper150]

Sheepshanks said:

It sounds odd, but it may just be a case of a company completely stuck in a process and being unable to deviate from it.

If the comment I referred to earlier - that Amazon require a Police report if it's over £500 - is correct then that's where we are. Amazon didn't specify it had to be in writing originally so it may be worth going back to that person (if accessible) and making the point. But you kinda know what the answer is going to be.

My feeling is that they are stuck within a process too. I just think the process stinks. They should spend £1 or £2 more on a TV and send it with a proper carrier.

[shopper150]

Neil H said:

The idea of calling the police to report a delivery you didn't receive is ridiculous. It sounds like they are just trying to call your bluff.

However - if you do call the police, they may already be familiar with the process that Amazon are forcing on you and may even provide you with some advice. I would assume you are not the first customer that has been through this.

They told me every Police Force in the country has one person dedicated to sorting out Amazon issues. So they pay zero tax here and yet taxpayers have to pay to clean up their st.

[shopper150]

38911 said:

Had almost exactly the same issue. High value Item bought from Amazon, was never delivered.

First phone call made to Amazon, politely requesting a full refund, was told it would happen.

Second phone call two days later as still not showing as refunded - again asking for refund and was told I would have to wait until the item 'reappeared'. Told them I wasn't willing to do that as it was their problem, not mine.

Third phone call to Amex, asked them to reverse the charge - statement was credited in full the same day. Later that evening the order disappeared from 'my orders' on Amazon and I had an email apologising for the inconvenience.

Not worth faffing around - just call your credit card company.

I have called AMEX. I have a statement credit already. But the order is still showing on My Orders.

[shopper150]

Sheepshanks said:

That's exactly what they're doing.

I wonder how long before couriers wear headcams that take a picture of the person they deliver to. Imagine the uproar from the privacy brigade (and those who like to nick things) when that starts to happen.

I had a delivery from DX today, the guy took a photo of the premises on his PDA and asked me for my name (no signature)

[shopper150]

egor110 said:

shopper150 said:

Sheepshanks said:

That's exactly what they're doing.

I wonder how long before couriers wear headcams that take a picture of the person they deliver to. Imagine the uproar from the privacy brigade (and those who like to nick things) when that starts to happen.

I had a delivery from DX today, the guy took a photo of the premises on his PDA and asked me for my name (no signature)

Whats the answer though ?

I could take a photo of your property , scan the item and then keep it , the only 100% way to prove it was delivered is to video handing it over to the house holder.

Agree. Perhaps Amazon have a photo of a random building and that's why they think the TV was delivered.

[shopper150]

Update:
I had a call from the Police today. Amazon are ignoring them too. No calls back, no replies to email.

Edited by shopper150 on Friday 2nd September 18:39

[shopper150]

Silverage said:

Looks like all you can do is rely on the chargeback then and risk Amazon closing your buying account. To be honest I expect that closure is coming anyway after all this. They appear to be going out of their way to be unhelpful.

A closure would be interesting. I have just under £500 on my Amazon account, I wonder how they will deal with that.