Does "dispatched" from Amazon actually mean its dispatched?

[scottyp123]

I ordered some outdoor lights from Amazon for a job, I've had them before a few times when they were available via Prime without any bother, this time they were a non Prime order but said they would be here in a few days.

I ordered and got a message a day later saying they had been dispatched. Yesterday I got another message saying I have been refunded for the order but Amazon say they are still due to be delivered in a couple of days. When you check on the lights for sale they are stating out of stock until October and you can pre-order them.

So I would imagine they haven't got any stock to send me and have refunded me but how can they dispatch something they haven't got? Or if it has been dispatched then why refund me and why is amazon still showing the items as being on the way to me?