How Amazon deals with third-party property
Anyone who receives something that is not intended for them due to an error must return it. But the internet giant Amazon doesn't seem to care.
- Tim Gerber
This is an article from our magazine section Caution, customer!, which first appeared in c't 11/2023 on May 5, 2023.
At the end of November, Christian H. ordered various items online. He ordered three items of winter clothing worth a total of 365 euros from an outdoor retailer. He ordered an electric footbath from Amazon for just under 80 euros. However, after receiving both items, Christian H. wanted to return them. He therefore canceled his purchase contracts with both retailers at the beginning of December and received a QR code for his smartphone from both, which can be used to print out the shipping label in the store of the respective parcel service provider and stick it on the parcel. He had to go to DHL for the Amazon return and to Hermes for the parcel to the outdoor retailer. Because the branches of the two logistics providers are a long way from each other where he lives, he wanted to drop off the two parcels on different days on his way to work.
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On December 14, he wanted to pick up the parcel that was supposed to go back to Amazon with Hermes. However, he accidentally picked up the other parcel, which should have been sent to the outdoor retailer via DHL. He only realized his mistake the next day and immediately tried to get it back from Hermes. However, it had already been collected from the store in the meantime.
He therefore contacted Amazon via customer chat. After he had given the employee the shipment number, she asked whether he had sent back the footbath, which the system said should be in the shipment. Christian H. then tried to explain his mistake and was now asked to provide detailed information about the actual contents of the parcel, which had been misdirected to Amazon. The customer did this to the best of his knowledge and after some back and forth, the Amazon employee said: "I have informed the returns department that the returned items are incorrect. I would ask you to contact Hermes and ask them to stop the shipment."
Christian H. also pointed out that the logistics provider's hotline would not be available again until 8 a.m. the following day, so he wanted to try the following morning. He also wanted to know whether Amazon could send the box back to him in exactly the same way if it was delivered in the meantime. "When the item reaches our returns department, the department will check the package and contact you," he was told.
Contradictions
The very next morning, Christian H. contacted the Hermes hotline to arrange the return, as requested by Amazon. However, the customer was only told by the logistics company that only the client of the shipment could stop the onward transportation and arrange the return. In this case, that would be Amazon, whose QR code Christian H. had inadvertently used with Hermes.
After finding this out, Christian H. contacted Amazon again. He was able to describe the result of his call to Hermes to an employee via chat: "So Hermes would now like to be informed in writing by Amazon that the parcel with this tracking number will be returned to you immediately?" the customer service representative asked back. There was no mention of writing, but Amazon could stop the shipment and then he would get the parcel back. The best way to do this would be by telephone, said Christian H.
Time and again, we receive emails from readers complaining about poor service, unfair warranty conditions and exorbitant repair prices. Some of these complaints are obviously unjustified because the customers have somewhat exaggerated expectations. On closer analysis, much of it turns out to be the everyday behavior of overly calculating companies in the IT sector.
Sometimes, however, we also receive reports of downright hair-raising cases that make it clear how some companies treat their customers. In our "Beware, customer!" section, we report on such aberrations, injustices and dubious business practices. As a customer, you will find out what you can expect or sometimes even fear from the company in question before you make a purchase. And perhaps our reports will also prompt one or two providers to behave in a more customer-friendly and accommodating manner in future.
If you would like to share such a bad experience with us, please send a brief description of your experience in chronological order to: vorsichtkunde@ct.de.
He also asked the employee for a new shipping code for the actual return of the footbath to Amazon. In the meantime, the employee wrote to him that she had contacted Hermes by phone, but that they could no longer intervene. As the recipient, they had no influence anyway. Christian B. also pointed out that something else had been written to him via chat yesterday evening and that Amazon was the client. The chat was then interrupted due to "technical problems" and resumed shortly afterwards by another Amazon employee. Christian H. was able to tell him again about his request to have the misdirected parcel returned to him as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, the shipment had already arrived in the destination region, meaning that delivery to Amazon could no longer be prevented, the third employee said. He created a ticket for the warehouse. "Normally, a warning should appear the moment the parcel is scanned, and our colleagues will then send the goods back to you," the service employee assured him. In his personal experience, this works quite well. He would contact him as soon as the parcel was on its way back to him, the friendly man promised.
Prayer wheels
The customer waited patiently over the next few days for the promised response from Amazon. But nothing happened. On the evening of December 20, he contacted Amazon again via chat. According to the shipment tracking, his parcel should have arrived at the warehouse two days earlier. The fourth chat employee was unable to understand the progress to date. He only saw that the actual return with the footbath had arrived in the meantime and that the customer had already been refunded the purchase price. After clarifying what the issue was, the customer was only told to be patient for another two to three days and then the parcel would be returned.
However, this time also passed fruitlessly and when Christian H. enquired again, he was told by Amazon that the logistics center had been informed so that his parcel could be found. He was asked to be patient for another seven to eight days. But Amazon did not get back to him and when he contacted them by chat or phone, they kept telling him that the warehouse had been informed and that he should be patient.
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Nothing happened until the end of January. On January 29, Christian H. wrote a lengthy email to impressum@amazon.de, which he had been advised to do in the course of his countless phone calls to the customer hotline. The customer patiently described his concerns for the umpteenth time and pleaded with them to contact him about returning his items. But this was also in vain, there was no response from Amazon. Almost two weeks later, on February 12, he followed up again by email. But that was also in vain.
Christian H. was not prepared to accept the loss of almost 400 euros without further ado and finally contacted the c't editorial team on March 5. Even if the customer had made a mistake, Amazon's behavior seemed worthy of criticism. After all, anyone who comes into possession of someone else's property due to an error must return it.
A meagre response
We therefore contacted Amazon on April 13 to find out what customers have to do in such cases to get their property back. We also wanted to know whether the company would compensate Christian H. for the damage caused by the fact that his property was not returned to him on time.
On April 19, an Amazon spokeswoman simply said that they were in contact with the customer and had found a "customer-friendly solution". Christian H. had already informed us on April 14 about a call he received from Amazon on that day. The caller had offered him an Amazon voucher worth the value of the lost goods "as a gesture of goodwill". When asked how the loss of the misdirected shipment and the months of silence could have happened in the first place, the caller replied that they were still working through the issues internally.
It is doubtful that the online giant has any serious interest in investigating the matter. On its website, it succinctly states the following about any erroneous items: "Amazon cannot guarantee that your item will be found and returned. No refunds will be given for incorrect items sent to Amazon." You should know this before you order anything there.
(tig)
