Amazon's system marked an item I returned a year ago as not received and charged me for this return, but the chat bot already knew they had received it.
I had an ISP try to bill me for an unreturned modem five years ago.
I kept the receipt because I expected them to be so incompetent. Good luck.
Hah! I just recently got to switch off Comcast to a newer local fiber company. Comcast emailed and texted me for weeks telling me to return their equipment that I never had, but even their website showed I had nothing to return so I ignored it. Eventually the emails changed to "you've been charged", so I called to complain. They assured me that I wasn't actually charged, and then realized they owed me a prorated refund since I cancelled in the middle of a billing cycle. They absolutely weren't going to give that back unless I called.
They can’t decide whether they’re evil or they just hire the most inept and cheapest people possible.
You just reminded me I've got to mail my modem back. Thanks!
Our previous ISP kept after us for a few years to return their modem/router. Only problem was we were a BYO account - we never had a need for their device, nor was it ever on our account or any invoices. A few years later, and every few months afterward (typically after I've had to contact them to solve the hell that was constant dropouts - reconnecting 2-4 times a minute) the missing BUDii would pop up again and they'd demand we return or pay for it.
Each time I got snarkier and snarkier, treading the line of being polite and sounding like I wanted to chew their face off. Then I got Betty (fake name) who asked for a moment while she read the correspondence on our account. She commiserated with the troubles we'd been having, clarified notes on our account and then solved what a dozen others couldn't figure out, and we never heard about the BUDii ever again.
In this case, "it looks like we received it" sounds like typical AI choosing a response that sounds right with no attention to its meaning.
Yep, I doubt the chatbot has direct access to the inventory.
One of their marketed features is the ability to access this type of useful information. Amazon is supposed to be one of the leading developers of the technology. I would be more surprised if they didn't.
It's not surprising here on Lemmy, but on pretty much every other site I've ever mentioned issues I've had with Amazon, the replies would be filled with people claiming it is the best customer service, that they've never had any issues with Amazon at all, and that it must be something I did to cause the problem.
Personally I stopped using Amazon on a regular basis almost a decade ago after it was clear that the company I first started using back in the mid 2000s was irrevocably changed for the worse.
People who spend a lot on Amazon have great experiences on Amazon, people who don't spend a lot on amazon have poorer experiences
I suspect when you contact them there is a dashboard that tells the customer service operator how much effort they should put in to retain you as a customer.
You probably need to stay within a certain ratio of returns vs keeping stuff, and as long as your score is good, they'll honour returns without asking too much questions. We definitely return a lot of stuff without having any trouble, but we only return like less than 1% compared to what we buy.
the replies would be filled with
peoplebots claiming it is the best customer service
There are no women people on the internet.
Ive had this happen a few times. It goes something like this:
I think the problem was one of the drop off locations we used was stealing products, or just straight up losing them. But it is insane to me that amazon comes back 6 months later. The only thing worse than buying a broken dildo on amazon is returning the broken dildo and still getting charged for it. Getting fucked by the broken dildo twice and not in the ways i had hoped!
I always take it to my UPS store down the road instead of boxing it up and sending it out. You don't package the item up at all. They scan the barcode on my phone and take the item. Done, return processed. If they steal it afterwards, not my problem since the code was scanned and you get a notification/receipt. They have a lot of strange locations you can take it to, including random big box stores.
I bought an electric start generator that stalled out after 20 minutes consistently, This unit can run all the essentials in my house whenever needed. I called and told the rep it runs great but all of a sudden it dies for no apparent reason.
He gave me full credit for it and told me to keep it or donate it.
I figured out the next day that is was my basement dehumidifier trying to turn on and the generator could not handle it.
It was fine the entire time. It runs on propane or gas and has a clone of a Yamaha engine and is made by WEN.
It probably depends on your account. If they don't think you are trying to game their system and you are a deep pocket consumer, they probably won't put up too much of a fight, they'd rather keep you hooked.
I think it has a lot to do with the cost to ship it back since it weighs almost 100 pounds.
Wait, so you got charged a year later after returning it? They only issue refunds when it has been sent back, so they are charging you for their own inventory mismanagement, or worse.
They often do the whole “we’ll refund immediately as a courtesy but you need to return it by x or you’ll be charged” thing— in this case for whatever (infuriating) reason they charged me even though it’s clear their own system (their chat bot) knew the item had been marked as received on their end. I dropped it off at a brick and mortar store too!
Love how it takes them 3-5 business days to return the money they stole from you.
We had to remove our credit card from our account because Amazon kept charging us for Prime and I would have to call them to get it cancelled and refunded (and wait 3-5 business days to get our money back).
We were very careful when checking out that we didn't have anything checked saying "sign me up for Prime", even had it happen on a day where we did not place an order (and therefore weren't on the site) for at least a week on either side of us "signing up for Prime." Once we took the card off the account it stopped happening, so it wasn't anything we were activating.
It's annoying to have to re-enter our card information if we want to order something, but less annoying than having to call them every month to cancel Prime again. And anything that increases the barrier to using Amazon is probably a good thing anyway.
I'm sorry, but I do want to point out, that even if they post the refund immediately, between their bank, and your bank, is generally why the 3-5 business days is in there, because they know there will be some delay between all of the involved parties.
I dealt with something very similar recently and a call to support got it resolved. The chat bot… did not lol
Amazon is dead. All the products are cheap, questionably-manufactured crap.
Its not dead but it does have cancer and lots of bloat and fluid build up
You were lucky enough to find the chatbot. I had this happen when I could not find any way at all to reach someone about this problem. Ended up eating the charge f*** Amazon
They seriously hide that shit and move it around so that you can't find it. Also it gets worse every year.
Yeah it’s always annoying to find it:(
Always demand a human support representative until it gives you the option to, then the actual human will usually manually process your refund if you complain about how the initial refund never happened.
Bonus chance of success if you're a Prime member and say you're thinking about cancelling.
I cancelled my Amazon prime account last year. I'm so happy to not give them money, and realize I don't need them.
Make sure you remove your credit card from the account, or check your statement each month to make sure they didn't sign you back up.
At this point, you can no longer trust Amazon to process returns properly. I've had three expensive items stuck on Awaiting Return, despite tracking showing it's been returned, and chat automatically processes the refund once I reach out. Frustrating ...
I USED to get amazing support from Amazon
Example: GTX 980TI on sale for 600 instead of 800 so I grab it, but the order doesn't appear in my history? A day later it suddenly does and I'm charged FULL PRICE. Reach out to them to be like "where's my $200 off?" And they sent back "shit fam you rite, should be $400" and refunded me the difference
Now: ordered some syrup pumps for coffee drink making, 4 pack (4 individual items sent in 1 box), one comes busted, ask for replacement on (1) item. Instead get auto-refund approved, a rude message saying "they'll make an exception this time", and the refund took 3 weeks
I don’t think companies understand that the words “we will make a one time exception for you as a courtesy” is the magic incantation to ensure that customer never returns.
I got that from Staples last week because they did me a real solid by refunding my online order they cancelled instead of going to a store with ID and the invoice and original credit card. Who the fuck goes to a physical store to get a refund on an online order the company themselves cancelled?!
Who the fuck goes to a physical store to get a refund on an online order the company themselves cancelled?!
I noticed many retailers making it uncomfortable to do any business besides buying from them.
Now every time I buy I have to worry about returns being a pain... Not worth the risk unless I must have it
Came full circle, capitalism
I buy directly from the manufacturer and have for years. Most of my stuff comes gift wrapped with coupons and tracking numbers and reward points; sometimes I can even get clearance items or sales that make it on par with Amazon prices, especially these days Amazon isn't very cheap. If I need cheap bullshit, there's always Dollar Tree.
I do. I just find this tired. I thought that was pretty clear.