Issue with missing purchase from Amazon - advice required.

[shopper150]

I purchased a television form Amazon.co.uk (sold and dispatched by Amazon) earlier this week. Value approx £800.

It was supposed to be delivered on Tuesday. No deliver showed up.
Tracking states it was delivered by Hermes at 17:42 on Tuesday.

I contacted Amazon who said they would investigate and it could take up to 6 days to investigate.

Today they sent me an email to say that they have completed their investigation and based on their investigation the item was delivered and therefore they cannot do anything further.

They have advised me to contact the police if I believe the item has been stolen.

I have CCTV that clearly shows no delivery at and around the time in question.

Can anyone advise how I should proceed?

[shopper150]

I've checked Hermes website - it says TV's are excluded from compensation, but it doesn't state that its a prohibited item.

I'm quite surprised by the way Amazon have handled this so far, and it's annoyed me quite a bit as I was under the impression that they have excellent customer service. Just does to show that if something goes wrong with a high value item, their service is obviously different.

I will pursue it with my card company (Amex Charge Card), but I think I want to escalate this with Amazon just to see how they react.

[shopper150]

ecsrobin said:

A friends wife used to work for Amazon. The drivers would often not even get to the end of the road at the depot before unloading anything of value into a friends car. The punishment for theft from Amazon? Dismissal with no police investigation or recovery of funds!!

This was happening on a daily basis and was quite shocking hearing how blatant the theft was.

Hmmm. Funnily enough the tracking on Amazon's site says it was delivered in a different town. And the tracking number given is not valid on the Hermes website.

[shopper150]

philv said:

As an aside, consumer law when buying cars is such that, if something goes wrong in tne first 6 months, rne car dealer has to prove it wasn't tnere when you bought it.
After 6 months, you have to prove it was there.
So make £100 deposit at least with ccredit catd.
Then when tne dealer refuses, as no doubt they will, you use section 75 with your credit card company and tney will be jointly liable, and can't wiggle out of it..

Edited by philv on Saturday 20th August 14:44

It would be interesting to hear from people that have actually tried this with a car purchase.

[shopper150]

Just called them, got through to a cal centre in the Philipines, I think.
I told them I wanted to speak to someone based in the UK.
Promised a call back within 30 mins.
Will keep you guys posted.
I'm up for a bit of a challenge with them.

[shopper150]

It's been over 45 mins.
No call back.
Have emailed the executive email address given above.

Edited by shopper150 on Saturday 20th August 15:53

[shopper150]

This is getting even more ridiculous.
I had a call from management saying that they do not have any further information.
The lady said she cannot provide me with proof of delivery without a copy of my passport! I asked her to email me that. And she has! See below:

This is Sarah from the management team at Amazon.co.uk.

We would be happy to provide you with the Personal Data that we hold about you in accordance with Amazon’s data protection obligations. As set out in our privacy notice www.amazon.co.uk/privacy, any personal information provided to or gathered by Amazon is controlled by Amazon Europe Core SARL, Amazon EU SARL, Amazon Services Europe SARL and Amazon Media EU SARL the data controllers, all at 5 Rue Plaetis L-2338, Luxembourg. Amazon UK Services Ltd of 60 Holborn Viaduct, London, EC1A 2FD, United Kingdom, acts as data processor on behalf of the data controllers.

Before we start gathering the information, so as to protect our customers’ data, we are required to confirm your identity. Therefore, in order for us to disclose the data securely, you will need to send the following; a) A copy of your passport AND b) A utility bill from the last three months which displays a delivery or billing address on your Amazon account OR c) A copy of your driving licence. If your driving licence does not display a delivery or billing address on your Amazon account, then also send a utility bill which does.

Should you send us the photo identification by email, your email address must also be associated with the account.

Please send these documents by email [e-mail] or post to:

Amazon EU SARL,
C/O Amazon.co.uk Ltd - Legal Department,
60 Holborn Viaduct,
London,
England,
EC1A 2FD

We will then respond with the information we hold as soon as possible. Please contact us by e-mail if you have not received a response from us within 30 days from providing us with your proof of identity and address.

I hope this helps. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Warmest regards,


Sarah
Amazon.co.uk
Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company.

[shopper150]

Thanks for everyone's replies & suggestions.

- I have informed Amex, they seem helpful. They have refunded my money but have said the process can take 6-8 weeks.
- I am really annoyed with Amazon, as effectively they are accusing me of stealiing this TV.
- Twitter - I'm not really familiar with Twitter. My friend is quite prominent on it and had tens of thousands of followers. Should I get him to write about it on his account, or will my account be OK (zero followers). How do I use this to gain the most exposure?
- I have tried live chat, but they can't help, I think due to the value of the item. They are normally great with low value items.
- BEWARE OF BUYING HIGH VALUE ITEMS FROM AMAZON. THEY WILL WASH THEIR HANDS IF THEIR COURIER STEALS OR MISDELIVERS THE ITEM.

Please keep the suggestions coming. I would be really worried had I not had CCTV footage. Now I'm just annoyed with Amazon because of their attitude.

[shopper150]

BJG1 said:

Have you pointed out to them that the tracking says it was delivered to a different town?

Anyone on live chat, on the phone, and the manager that called me are not interested in discussing this any further. They have completed their investigation and it is final!

[shopper150]

davepoth said:

Something about this is...odd. Out of interest was this a purchase from Amazon, or a purchase "fulfilled by Amazon"?

Yes.

[shopper150]

motco said:

If Amex have paid out won't they be chasing this with Amazon to get their money back?

I thin the credit Amazon have given me is temporary.
They will issue a charge back notice to Amazon, who will then have to prove to AMEX that it's been delivered.

The only slight worry I have is that the billing address I gave Amazon includes a Ltd company name, but my card is personal card (same address).

[shopper150]

Tweets sent to @Amazon, @AmazonUK and @jeffbezos.
Let's see what happens. I suspect nothing will happen and my Amazon account will be closed.

[shopper150]

A couple of pointless tweets exchanged with @Amazonhelp
Things like 'Have you spoken to customer services' and in response to why they want my passport 'it looks like we are trying to help you'

The impression I get is that they actually think I'm trying to pull a fast one and they are calling my bluff by asking me to contact the police and asking for a copy of my passport etc.

So the Twitter angle was a fail also.

BUYER BEWARE. High value items going missing with Amazon and they will give you a really hard time

I

[shopper150]

Magic919 said:

Did you get your money back from Ebuyer when you previously had the same problem?

Yes, chargeback. That was Yodel, around £600 value.

[shopper150]

BlackST said:

Magic919 said:

Did you get your money back from Ebuyer when you previously had the same problem?

Shopper150 must have the dodgiest delivery guy there is

I order thousands of pounds of goods everyweek. IT hardware etc. The vast majority of deliveries are fine. My work address is similar to The Drive West, and there is a The Drive East. It's also industrial units so people often go to the wrong road or the wrong estate (any unit 4 on any estate is fine for some delivery drivers!).

[shopper150]

Nickyboy said:

I'm a bit confused, Amazon don't use Hermes or at least i've never seen any delivery from Amazon delivered by Hermes and i drop stuff off at a Hermes warehouse quite often. Hermes simply don't have the capacity to take Amazons volume as they are local people delivering in their cars. Their core market is 1-2 kg pkgs. Have you tried the tracking number given on other couriers sites such as Yodel etc? They seem to do Amazons bigger stuff. Can you post the tracking number?

You'd be surprised how much stuff from Amazon doesn't require a signature, unless it's something age restricted such as alcohol, knives etc they can quite often be left without a signature regardless of contents.

Edited by Nickyboy on Sunday 21st August 21:59

See screenshot:

[shopper150]

Thanks for that. It's more helpful than anything Amazon have sent me! I have no idea why they've sent something of this value by Hermes, and with what seems like no signature requirement.

[shopper150]

Quick update:
Nothing to update.
Twitter - ignored now
Executive email address - no reply
Multiple phone calls - someone will call you back. No phone calls back.

Chargeback is my only help.

This is a real WARNING to anyone thinking about buying high value items from Amazon.

[shopper150]

MitchT said:

Once again, try this: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/index.h...

OK, I have sent them an email. Waiting to hear back.

[shopper150]

Neil H said:

Surprised by this as I've always found Amazon to be helpful when things go missing.

The request for your passport and proof of address sounds like they have an additional level of diligence on your account, so I suspect your address/ postcode may be on some sort of blacklist, as I know that they do this. They will cave in eventually but I believe they are vetting you as a possible dodgy geezer.

Yes, possibly. But if I could speak to someone at Amazon with half a brain cell, they would see that the evidence doesn't stack up.