Amazon India - Very bad experience

[vbhoj74]

Hi Guys, so this is more of a ranting post after how I got treated with by Amazon India after receiving a used and dented product. Have been with Amazon since they have started in India and always saw them in high regards with other ecommerce websites like Flipkart till today. Now I'm not so sure, I lost all my confidence with them. Here is what happened.

1. Ordered “DeLonghi EC685.BK” on 16/11/2024, under a newly created business account with details as below:

2. Received the product on 18/11/2024 at 7:02pm.

3. Unboxed with an unboxing video and found that the product seal was broken and repacked, all the manual pack’s bag seal were also broken. The product had usage marks all over, scratches, and the steam wand even had a pin hole type dent. Raised a replacement request, since replacement was not available customer service raised a return (1st return scheduled on 20th Nov) with verification for refund on 18/11/2024 at 8:24pm after uploading ps photos that they asked for. Did not accepted unboxing video.

4. No one came or contacted us on 20th, on 21st I checked and the status on Amazon said that the return failed verification. Customer service rescheduled return (2nd time return scheduled) for 22st Nov.

5. On 22nd Nov, we waited, and around 5pm we found that the status was again showing Verification failed and no one had contacted us for the return. We reached out over call to customer service, call was transferred to a senior agent who said they are launching an enquiry into the same which will be conducted by 26th Nov.

Unconvinced with the answer, took to social media to voice the issue, they generated a chat link and with the representative on chat, I narrated the last tele-conversation with customer service, I was told that they could not find any investigation being launched and raised a “no verification” return request (3rd attempt for return) on 22/11/2024 at 6:21 pm for 23-11-2024 and assured that this time the product will be picked up.

Twitter link:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1860632057766146126

6. On 23rd since no one came or contacted till 10pm, we reached out to the social media team at 10:36pm, and they kept referring to some email from their team which we never received. The chat effort with the social media team continued till 11:21pm. Then they sent a contact link which we filled again and promised to update in 6-12 hrs.

7. On 24-11-2024: 10:30am, still no one contacted. It seems that the defective & used product was shoved down our neck and someone in Amazon team is blocking every return request as the 3rd return request has a status “Return Pickup refused by customers and return cancelled”. Everything now seems to be pre-conceived and manipulated.

8. Emailed Amazon Grievance officer over email on 24-11-2024 / 10:41am with the issue.

9. Received email from Account Specialist (ofm@amazon.in), on 24-11-2024 at 2:22pm, claiming that he has found that I’ve claimed refunds for items that has not returned to them and the number of refunds in the the account exceeds expectation and in violation of their condition of use.

Replied with details as this being the only order placed from my new business account and have never order anything else or returned/refunded before. This is hilariously to say the least. And this communication is the final trigger that made me file this consumers complaint as it is now evident that Amazon do not want to own up to the responsibility and does not want to take the defective product back for a refund.

10. Received email from Mr. Ruqsar and he denied to return/replace without any reasons on 25-11-2024.

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Seller was "RetailEZ" who has multiple reviews similar in nature, I choose to order with them without seeing the review before and paid 1.5k extra thinking it was an amazon company and I would not have issues.

 

[Emperor]

There is Govt. Portal for Consumer (Not Consumer Court), where you can write your complaint & seller/supplier details and all process is online, just need to wait for 7-10 days for reply/solution. I forget the name & url/link. Wait for some time, some good TE member will provide link to you.

 

[Crazy_Eddy]

There is Govt. Portal for Consumer

pgportal.gov.in ?

 

[vbhoj74]

Guys, thanks for the moral support, really feeling let down. I've filed a complaint with : https://consumerhelpline.gov.in

Lets see what happens, else next thinking of filing with https://edaakhil.nic.in/

 

[Dhanush]

Post a social media thread on X/Twitter, maybe they'll respond to cover their reputation. Oh, I see you already posted. Try reposting with images and tagging all of Amazon's accounts

 

[Darth Vader]

Raise a charge back ? I always do that the moment any screw up happens with my order, only way to ensure swift resolution. Never had issues with Amazon though.

 

[t3chg33k]

I already posted in the feedback thread about my experience with RetailEZ. They either don't ship or repack used items and are owned by the promoters of Rupa garments.

I made it a point to never purchase from this seller again as my one and only experience with them required 3 replacements before I received something resembling a new product.

 

[tr27]

It's a coin toss these days with Amazon
New 50% chance - Openbox/used/beaten up package/different 50%

Maybe I'm exaggerating ..but it feels like that after a few bad experiences .. or after reading about such bad experiences online

 

[t3chg33k]

It's a coin toss these days with Amazon
New 50% chance - Openbox/used/beaten up package/different 50%

Maybe I'm exaggerating ..but it feels like that after a few bad experiences .. or after reading about such bad experiences online

Since Amazon was forced to divest its stake in sellers, the marketplace has been filled with a lot of local trading companies that have least consideration about customer service.

It just doesn't make sense to purchase from a seller which has less than 90% positive ratings.

 

[tr27]

It just doesn't make sense to purchase from a seller which has less than 90% positive ratings.

Message from Amazon: This item was fulfilled by Amazon, and we take responsibility for this fulfillment experience.
*90% positive*

 

[rsaeon]

In my experience, new accounts on Amazon are on some kind of probationary period that lasts for an unknown number of orders and/or months (I have one banned/closed account and five active accounts). This is probably in place to counter fraudulent activity so it is unlikely it will change. Strangely, the criteria is different if the account holder is female and the purchases are primarily fashion/beauty (it's less strict).

It's a good idea not to make any big purchases with a new account and buy less expensive items for the first 25 or 50 orders. For business accounts, office essentials like memos, pens, mouse pads, door mats, etc, is an easy way to build up a "reputation" on the new account. Over time, the number of orders and the total value should be significant (something like 50 orders totaling 25k and not 10k).

After my first account was banned (after 13 years!) due to a messy return process (not unlike what happened with OP), I didn't initiate any returns with any of my new accounts in the first year and a half, though six months probably would've been enough. Some more about that here: https://techenclave.com/threads/amazon-us-customer-care-threatened-me.216528

1. Ordered “DeLonghi EC685.BK” on 16/11/2024, under a newly created business account with details as below:

2. Received the product on 18/11/2024 at 7:02pm.

Also in my experience, you're more likely to get a customer return if one day delivery isn't available for high priced items. What I do in that case is watch the item until one day delivery is available (meaning someone else buys the customer return and so I get the next one). This only works if there's a fulfillment center in your city, I guess, but only sometimes.

claiming that he has found that I’ve claimed refunds for items that has not returned to them and the number of refunds in the the account exceeds expectation and in violation of their condition of use.

This is a flaw in their system that unfairly disadvantages new accounts, Flipkart has the same flaw. Every return request that is closed/denied is considered as a completed return in their metrics and counts against the total of orders purchased and pushes the account over into being not-profitable (in their point of view) and so they deny any kind of customer service.

I don't know if this would restore your faith in humanity but everyone you've talked with, including the specialists, they're all just reading a script. That was coupled with an incompetent/lazy delivery/pickup person. These policy decisions are made higher up and pushed down. Consumer court will eventually work out in your favour but could take months/years and will require a legal counsel who will advise to keep the claim simple (ordered product, received damaged product, return/replacement refused despite multiple requests). A complaint with your credit card provider will also help. That worked for me with Flipkart, the amount was refunded by HDFC after the completion of the EMI period.

If you want to move on this, Delonghi should be able to repair/replace the damaged parts at cost.

My success with returns went up when I gave them a few days/weeks as breathing room in between messages/calls to customer support though this is not always feasible. An undelivered product was fully refunded a few months later, items missing from an order were refunded a month later, and a used product was replaced two weeks later. Each time I would raise a complaint the same day of delivery, and be told to follow up a few days later but I'd wait/forget and then follow up a week/month/three months later.

 

[blr_p]

Lesson I'm getting from this thread is cosmetic damage because item was returned (perhaps it was even bought for cheaper in that state) is not this sellers fault. Which also means this seller is not responsible.

The OP hasn't tried the product yet so its not known if the product is faulty or not. Which would be more egregious if it is. But of course puts you on the spot for returning a 'used' product.