When Teresa Erbrich opens her Amazon package one evening in July, she quickly realizes that something is wrong. At first glance, it doesn’t look damaged or noticeable in any way, but when she tries to push the cardboard inside to the side, the colorful packaging shines through. “I found it strange,” says the 30-year-old, “because usually an iPhone is delivered in a white box.” Her feeling is not deceiving: a few seconds later, instead of the iPhone she ordered for around 800 euros, she is holding a cheap power bank in her hands.
Erbrich immediately contacts customer service. He promises to refund her the money for the iPhone once the package containing the faulty goods is sent to Amazon. “At first I feel reassured,” Erbrich says. But then nothing happens for five weeks.
The 30-year-old is not alone in his problem. Amazon customers are frequently delivered the wrong goods – and many are waiting weeks or even months to get their money back. There are reportedly several thousand complaints at the consumer advice center in Baden-Württemberg alone. Why is that?
Lawyer Sandra May of the Traders Association can only speculate about this. She assumes it is a scam by delivery people. They are mostly employed by Amazon as subcontractors. “It seems like there are criminals who are replacing expensive goods with cheaper ones and then delivering them – or having them delivered to them,” says May. Controls at the logistics centres are very strict – the goods have to be weighed again before they can be sent.
Upon request, Amazon acknowledges that incorrect deliveries are a common problem. “We have introduced additional monitoring mechanisms to make it more difficult for bad actors to defraud customers, sales partners and Amazon,” a company spokeswoman says. Last year, the online retailer said it had invested around €1.2 billion to plug gaps in its supply chain and track down fraudsters. Amazon left open exactly how this works so as not to warn off criminals.
And what can those affected do? It is best to be persistent. “Contact Amazon, describe your case, take photos and videos of the package and send the wrong goods again,” says lawyer May. Amazon then has to pay the money back. If the company does not comply with the request, the amount can also be refunded via the bank. At Sparkasse and Volksbank this is done within eight weeks of payment.
Erberich threatened the online retailer with criminal charges. After five phone calls and several emails, nothing happened. Then suddenly everything happened very quickly. “I wrote to Amazon’s chatbot on August 15 and it said: ‘Your money will be refunded in the next few days,’” she says. The €800 were in her account the same day.
