RIPPED OFF BY AMAZON.. I really need advice please

[BigBootyJessieJay]

I received an email from a customer service rep stating I'd be getting a FULL refund of $254.99 and to go ahead and put the item in the mail..

It took a couple days of calls and emails to get a straight answer about how much I'd get back. Once I finally got that info, I put the item in the mail.

Who in their right mind would return an item not knowing the amount they'd get in return? So after bugging them a bunch they said it would be a full refund of $254.99

When the refund posted to my account it was $140.

They said there was a $114 restocking fee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is what I wrote to them about and called about for days trying to figure out BEFORE mailing the camera back.

I asked "will I get a full refund or is there a restocking fee?"

I was told I'd get $254.99

this was 2 MONTHS AGO!!!!!!!!!!

AND NOW...

they are saying my claim will remain closed and I will not get that $114 back!

They said the reason was because the customer service rep who told me I'd get $254.99 was WRONG.. it was HER MISTAKE.. therefore I don't get what I was TOLD I'd get.

In what WORLD does a company NOT HAVE TO HONOR a promise they make? Even if she was wrong, I still am the one paying $114 for HER MISTAKE.

IS THIS Right?!!!!

what can I even do?

 

[bob]

I had a similar experience once with a shipping company, whose driver quoted me a price based on my estimate of the total weight when he picked the items up. I gave him a check for that amount before he drove off. He was careful to let me know that the price might change after the "official" weigh-in. After the items had been shipped, I received another bill for an amount that was just over what I had already paid (bringing the total shipping cost to over double of what I had been told), although the company's total weight for the items was within 10% of my estimate.

I was livid, but was given the "party line" by customer service when I called. Nothing that they told me made any logical sense, however. I worked my way up the chain of command until I finally got to talk to the facility's manager, who conceded that the bill sounded high, but he couldn't do anything about it.

So I called billing, without a resolution.

I went to the company's website and pulled every email address off of it I thought might get through to someone who mattered (including legal), and wrote out the whole timeline in a reasonable facsimile of a legal deposition, using the legalese I'd see on other unrelated legal documents.

There was no emotion to it....no blame....just the facts

At the end, I wrote a more "personal" paragraph explaining why I thought the facts warranted the attention of the recipient, because it was a miserable business practice that was enough to lose me as a customer. I told them the outright lie that I was willing to testify to the truth of my facts in a court of law, if they wanted to pursue it.

It was the last I ever heard about the money. I received a brief letter -hand signed- by some vp of something, thanking me for bringing the matter to their attention, and telling me that -given the circumstances- I would not be billed for the additional cartage.

A sort of tit for tat...no emotion...no blame....just the facts :lol:

It's harder of course to get money back that you've already paid...but big companies respect "lawyer talk" much more than sincerity in a situation like yours.

 

[IsabellaSnow]

I'm pretty sure that's illegal. If someone gets the pricing wrong in a shop they have to give it to you for that price.
I don't really know who you could report it to though. But that's ridiculous, if you get a refund you get a refund. Why can they not give you vouchers for the remaining £114?

 

[ScarlettLeigh]

I would file a claim with the Better Business Bureau.

 

[Zoomer]

In the UK that delivery price of Bob would be illegal... you can't state one price and then charge another - especially without the option of them collecting the item themselves instead of paying more.

As for your Amazon issue. A couple of questions.
1) Was it returned in the original packaging in which it was delivered, and was it damaged?
2) How long elapsed from the original delivery to the return, and what was the reason for the return?
3) What do the terms and conditions say

Reasons for asking. In the UK, under the distance selling act; you have a certain time frame within which you may return an item (excluding certain products, such as software and food) for a full refund (minus cost of return) by law. So it may be returned for a full refund, as long as it is the condition it arrived in, within 7 days or 10 days or something. After that period there is no obligation to accept a return, nor refund money. It is entirely up to the shops discretion (unless the item is faulty, at which point various other laws protect the consumer). This means if you buy a laptop, and don't want it when it arrives - you can get your refund provided you pay for it's return. If it goes over the time period, then the shop may accept it - but does not have to. Your refund may be full, or it may have deductions - who knows. If the product was faulty (proven faulty) then you'd be entitled a refund within the guarantee. If it was faulty and you can prove it was a defect or it failed within a timeframe that you would not reasonably expect it to - you can claim it was unfit for purpose and still get a refund if out of warranty (you may need a court case to get this far - or certainly a legal letter).

So if you were in the UK and returning it in its original (not damaged) packaging - I would certainly demand to have that restocking fee fully justified. For instance, if you return an item of $20, would you receive a bill of $90 for the restocking? What, exactly, does the restocking compose of? Then I would seek one of those "free" legal advice type things to find out more - or complain to various Govt things - so in the UK things like the Citizens advice bureau would be a start. If you returned it within that 10 days or whatever your law may state, I think you need to carefully read the legislation to find out whether charging the restocking fee is even legal.

If you are out of the returns period for distance selling (I believe the US will have something similar?) then you may struggle - as there is zero obligation to give you a refund anyway - unless the item was faulty.

So context is everything. Time period, state of packaging, length of time elapsed between arrival and the return... all impact upon just how "right" something is. I also don't believe an agreement on the phone would be valid unfortunately. Whilst, again in the UK, advertised prices must be honoured (so when Tesco mislabel a $110 electric shaver as $40 and my mother brought it - the till showed the real price, but they had to honour the price the shelf said... so she got a huge discount) - the phone isn't that part. Bob would have had a case though...

In the UK many shops offer a 28 day returns policy which also says "this does not affect your consumer rights" (or statutory rights). Most people mistakenly think it their "consumer right" to therefore return anything and everything within 28 days to their point of sale. It isn't. Indeed, unless it is faulty, they're under no obligation to accept a return and refund you whatsoever... and that has caused no end of arguments as consumers just don't have a clue.

 

[schlmoe]

My first steps:

Get all documentation, including notes of the phone calls.

Turn everything over to your Credit Card company (or bank)

I had an incident a few months ago where I was overcharged on a web purchase. I called my bank, filled out a form they sent me, sent them copies of the purchase emails...and my account was credited that same day. I'm not saying that you will have the same luck, but if you are in the right, your bank will go to bat for you. They will help you even if your credit card did not have any sort of "purchase protection", as consumer protection laws have a time limit. By your description, it does not appear to have elapsed (usually 90 days, but longer in some states )

 

[UncleThursday]

Zoomer has a point. The time frame is important.

If the "couple days of calls back and forth" made it take over the designated 'no restock' time, then that might be the reason.

I got an item from Amazon, found it didn't fit my needs in the first day, put in my return form and sent it back the day after I received it. My account was credited the full amount, no restock fee. I used the credit towards a more expensive item that more fit my needs.

Always check the return policy on each item, though. Especially if the item is from another seller besides Amazon that Amazon is using to sell the item. That could also give you a restock fee, because the third party reseller might charge Amazon for it. In most cases if it is within the first 7 days, there should be no restock fee. Anything after that may incur all sorts of fees, or not even let the item be returned at all. Especially for electronics.

 

[legmanct]

Contact your credit card company. Let them fight it for you.

You will win.

 

[UncleThursday]

In what WORLD does a company NOT HAVE TO HONOR a promise they make? Even if she was wrong, I still am the one paying $114 for HER MISTAKE.

IS THIS Right?!!!!

On just this part... this happens all the time.

For myself, I had bought a new cell phone years ago, when national calling plans had just started out. I needed the new phone because my screen had broken on my then current phone. I told the guy at the AT&T store I needed to upgrade my plan to a national one because I was travelling at the time. I filled out all the paperwork right there at the store.

The next week I go to California for E3, clear on the other side of the country, thinking I am now on a national, no roaming plan. I come home and when I get my bill... $750 for roaming charges. I call AT&T, explain that I filled out all the paperwork and such. They said the store must not have submitted it. I ask well, can these charges be removed and put me to the national plan? They said no. So I told them to go fuck themselves and dropped them. I had been an AT&T Wireless customer for just about 10 years at that point. I will never use AT&T again.

They had already given me discounts up the wazoo every time it looked like I might switch carriers as my contract was running out because my phone use had changed (free long distance, larger base calling area, lowered my bill by $10 a month). But as soon as there was a mistake that ended up as money in their favor? They were unwilling to rectify the mistake.

That's how business in America works. There is no 'honor' in business. It's screw the customer, and go after the almighty dollar.

 

[LadyLuna]

That's how business in America works. There is no 'honor' in business. It's screw the customer, and go after the almighty dollar.

I think this is partly because of how many customers do their best to find any excuse to get the shit for free. Lawsuits, damaging the goods themselves, claiming they never received the goods, not to mention all the bullshit you see on clientsfromhell...

At this point, to fix it, we have to start disciplining both sides, consumer and supplier.

 

[Trav]

Wow, that's shitty. I'd keep contacting them. I bet they'll relent at some point. :?

I've only had 1 experience with amazon customer service. I ordered something and it still hadn't arrived 4 days after the scheduled delivery so I contacted them. They sent me an identical item completely free. I ended up getting the first one the day after the replacement shipped and they told me to just keep both. I was like :shock: