Amazon Refusing to Refund Freight on USA Return

LToby61 on 11/11/2023 - 00:36
Last edited 11/11/2023 - 14:35 by 2 other users

I bought an item on Amazon Australia but it was shipped /handled by Amazon USA. Item cost was almost $3k. I contacted Amazon Aus ASAP and the agent approved the refund and said to pay for the return and I'll be reimbursed.
I informed them it will be a lot as it's 19kg from Australia to USA and they said just to pay it and I'll be refunded.
The customer services agents I deal with are all Amazon Australia.

It's been weeks, they have the item and are now refusing to refund. They now refuse to cover shipping and said their best offer to cover shipping is some store credit of $300 and $235 to my card. I've been arguing for weeks informing them and showing them the screenshots of the agent who told me to ship it.

I have email proof I informed them prior to paying DHL it would around $700 and the agent replied to ship it and email them a physical copy of the receipt. I have sent them this proof and all they tell me is the same copy paste reply. Store credit and partial refund.

Their website also states faulty products have return shipping covered.

I'm out of pocket almost $700 which was paid to DHL for 19kg to USA.

Any advice on what to do?

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Comments

  • USER DC on 11/11/2023 - 00:53
    +4

    you probably need proof of the agent telling you that amazon gonna cover shipping, use that as evidence in court/tribunal
    personally IDK why you would pay $700 in shipping fee man, that is too much (should have insisted amazon to cover that much in prepaid)

    • Toby61 on 11/11/2023 - 01:59
      +6

      I do have proof it's in an email from an Amazon agent. I sent it to them and they just copy paste reply. The Amazon agent is the one who gave me the courier links to book and pay for shipping.

  • mbck on 11/11/2023 - 00:59
    +6

    Self-ship labelIf the reason for return is the result of an Amazon error or a faulty item, or if we have agreed to bear the return shipping costs, when the returned item(s) are received by us, your refund will automatically include AU$32 in return shipping fees. If your reasonable return shipping costs exceed AU$32, you will need to Contact us before shipping the item and provide evidence to us to substantiate the reasonable costs incurred for which you will be reimbursed.

    I think you needed to tell them exactly how much it is, before sending the item to get approval.

    (Just an fyi for future reference for everyone).

    Keep badgering amazon for now i suppose

  • Hybroid on 11/11/2023 - 01:26
    +3

    You do need to tell them how much the shipping fees are in advance. It’s not a blank cheque. For something that’s $700 to return, they’ll likely tell you to keep it and just offer full refund.

    Happened to me for a fake hard drive that was sent from US store. Wasn’t worth sending back, so they told me to scrap it and offered full refund.

  • jv on 11/11/2023 - 02:05

    Any advice on what to do?

    Hire a lawyer ?

      • jv on 11/11/2023 - 02:28
        +2

        Amazon is not an Australian company

        Amazon Australia is though

        https://www.abr.business.gov.au/ABN/View/30616935623

          • jv on 11/11/2023 - 02:30
            +11

            @garetz:

            its just a website

            🤣🤣🤣

            https://www.abr.business.gov.au/ABN/View/30616935623

            It literally IS an Australian company

              • jv on 11/11/2023 - 02:35
                +12

                @garetz:

                Just cause you are registered as an Australian company doesn't mean you are an Australian company

                🤣🤣🤣

                Funniest thing I’ve read all week

              • Hardlyworkin on 11/11/2023 - 08:11
                +2

                @garetz: Who needs a high school education anyway?

      • USER DC on 11/11/2023 - 02:29
        +9

        any company operating in australia must obey laws of australia (or face consequences)

      • coffeeinmyveins on 11/11/2023 - 07:30
        +6

        Tell me you don't understand anything about how corporations work without telling me you don't understand anything about how corporations work

  • Richardc on 11/11/2023 - 02:15

    looks like you're paying too much, 20KG to the USA by Auspost cost much less.

    • Toby61 on 11/11/2023 - 02:28
      +1

      Aus post wouldn't accept it as it's too large so it had to be a courier. Amazon agent sent me courier links.

  • garetz on 11/11/2023 - 02:28
    +9

    store credit of $300 and $235 to my card

    Seems pretty good to me, $535 from $700 is much better than $0

      • garetz on 11/11/2023 - 02:31
        +3

        Unless you are willing to spend thousands of dollars on lawyers trying to get amazon to pay you back $700, you have no choice in the matter.

        Its only useless because it doesn't feed into your delusion that you can force amazon to do anything you want, which is not the case.

          • Gervais fanboy on 11/11/2023 - 08:16
            +1

            @Toby61: You created a new account just for this post, ideally no one should have even bothered engaging with you..

          • foxmulder on 11/11/2023 - 10:33
            +4

            @Toby61: Rude. You ask people their opinion, and they tell you what they think. No need to label what their opinions is.

  • Toby61 on 11/11/2023 - 02:33
    +7

    Update, I asked to place a formal complaint and asked for a higher up contact or if it was easier to message the entire Amazon corporate team on linked in. They advised it's now being looked at.

    • garetz on 11/11/2023 - 02:35

      You are risking your account and permanent banning from ever using amazon again, i hope its worth the difference you are chasing, gl.

      • Toby61 on 11/11/2023 - 02:42
        -2

        Lol yea cuz making another Gmail is really hard

        • El cheepo on 11/11/2023 - 02:47
          +4

          You could use the same one you made up for this post…

      • lint on 13/11/2023 - 11:09
        +1

        If the guy stands to lose $3000 on the item plus $700 on return shipping, I think it's better to take action against Amazon and be permanently banned for it.

      • mhz on 14/11/2023 - 08:35

        Seriously? So he should just suck it up and kiss goodbye $700 for the fear of losing his Amazon account? Do you work for Amazon dude?

    • AustriaBargain on 11/11/2023 - 11:11
      +1

      Jeff Bezos is going to come kick your ass if you keep this up.

      • Paul B on 11/11/2023 - 12:23

        I'm only scared of zuck

  • ssfps on 11/11/2023 - 02:34
    +2

    I feel sorry for you OP and I hope you get your money back, but there are two lessons here:

    1) We have no recourse to hold overseas businesses to ACL re warranty. Buying anything from overseas is a much bigger gamble than buying locally.

    2) Regardless of what any customer service rep tells you, take it with a grain of salt, especially if it's a promise like "we'll reimburse shipping" or "yeah you can return that item to store for full refund within 30 days for a change of mind". They lie or make honest mistakes all the time.

    • Toby61 on 11/11/2023 - 02:41
      +6

      I purchased via Amazon.com.au but the item was in the USA warehouse. I spoke to at least 7 agents who all kept saying the same thing prior paying DHL. I then also got confirmation of the same thing via email.

      I also spoke to agents on the phone who said the full refund was being processed and to wait up to 72 hours. I've recorded everything.

      Weeks later an agent comes out of the blue and says sorry can't do it too much…. But have some store credit on top of the partial refund because I'm a valued prime member lol
      -_-

      • ssfps on 11/11/2023 - 02:44
        +3

        That's a pretty dog act on their part. The Amazon AU vs US grey area makes it tricky, but i suppose they may pay some more attention to the ACL than if you bought directly from the US. Hope your escalation resolves it.

      • apsilon on 11/11/2023 - 06:13
        +3

        FWIW you need to look at the item and see who it's sold and shipped by. A lot of items from the US will be marked as sold by Amazon US, shipped by Amazon US. In those cases you're not really dealing with Amazon AU at all, the website is just acting as the market place, and therefore ACL doesn't apply.

        I've always considered items I've bought from overseas to have no warranty and have taken that into account when making the decision to purchase. Don't envy your position though and hope it works out but don't be surprised to receive an account ban afterwards. The joys of dealing with massive international companies that can basically do whatever they want.

      • mhz on 14/11/2023 - 08:37

        Can you lodge a transaction dispute with your bank? Amazon did this to me recently and I had my bank reverse the transaction

  • djones145 on 11/11/2023 - 06:31
    +3

    mate news.com.au

    they love this stuff!

    • xuqi on 11/11/2023 - 10:58
      +2

      Amazon is far too large to care about any negative impact from an article on such a site.

      • Toby61 on 11/11/2023 - 12:53

        disagree, social media can do wonders

    • Toby61 on 11/11/2023 - 12:51
      +1

      yes def gonna reach out to them if it's not resolved soon

  • EightImmortals on 11/11/2023 - 07:27
    +2

    Did they email you a return label to stick on the package?

    Any returns I've had to do that came from Amazon US worked that way and seemed to be addressed to a local Australian return depot in Sydney somewhere. You just stick the label on and drop the item at the nearest collection point.

  • franco cozzo on 11/11/2023 - 07:34
    +1

    partial refunds are a 'thing' now?
    amazon arent aliexpress….wtf??

    • Toby61 on 11/11/2023 - 13:10
      +1

      lol half the products on there are drop shipped from aliexpress, Jack Ma slowly taking over

  • reactor-au on 11/11/2023 - 07:59

    Must've been a TV or something really large, $700 shipping haha

  • djkelly69 on 11/11/2023 - 08:12
    +2

    Something odd going on here. When I did a return of a (smallish) damaged item from Amazon UK (via AU), they provided me with a label and the item was sent to an address in Sydney.

    • Toby61 on 11/11/2023 - 12:56

      They said they didnt have a service for it, it was delivered via DHL. And the address for return they gave was the Amazon USA Las Vegas Hub.

      Amazon Aus website
      How to return a faulty item
      If you have purchased an item that was fulfilled by Amazon AU or AmazonGlobal that is faulty, you may return it to us in two ways:

      If you are returning an item within 30 days from it being delivered, you can return the item to us using the Online Returns Centre; or
      If you are returning an item after more than 30 days of it being delivered, please contact us so we can determine if you are entitled to a remedy, including under the Australian Consumer Law. You can request a phone call or instantly chat with us by clicking the “contact us” link and selecting “Something else” and then “Contact Us”.

  • holdenmg on 11/11/2023 - 08:22

    Sadly your profile doesn't say what state or territory you live in, so difficult to isolate if (or which) Office of Fair Trading could assist you.

    You don't say which bank or credit card was used but consider the following as general comment on chargeback that you may be able to use with your Bank or payment method.

    What are the reasons for chargebacks?

    The cardholder’s bank can make a chargeback on the transaction if the:

    Card wasn’t valid at the time of the transaction
    Goods and services purchases were not received
    A Periodical Authority has been cancelled but the merchant continues to debit
    Good and Services were paid for by other means
    The transaction has been duplicated
    The merchants promised a credit that has not been processed
    The goods and services purchased were not as described or defective
    The incorrect amount was charged
    Sales receipt is changed without the cardholder’s authorisation
    Transaction was processed to your own credit card
    Transaction amount is above your floor limit, but this amount wasn’t authorised
    Transaction was made to refinance an existing debt or collect a dishonoured cheque

    https://www.commbank.com.au/business/payments/help/chargebac…

    • apsilon on 11/11/2023 - 09:18

      Charge back is pointless as Amazon aren't the ones who charged them the $700, it was DHL who would win any charge back dispute as they provided the service OP requested and paid for.

      • holdenmg on 11/11/2023 - 09:23

        No, not on the $700 from DHL.

        Chargeback on Amazon for The merchants promised a (full or agreed) credit that has not been processed
        The goods and services purchased were not as described or defective

        • apsilon on 11/11/2023 - 10:06
          +1

          I don't think you can do a charge back where there hasn't been a charge in the first place. I've never tried but I really don't think it works that way. Guess OP can look into it.

  • 87percent on 11/11/2023 - 08:26
    +3

    The word “scammed” has lost all meaning. People use it so interchangeably

    • Toby61 on 11/11/2023 - 12:40
      -1

      scam - noun - a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation.

  • Chewy2221 on 11/11/2023 - 08:56
    +2

    Did you buy it "in Australia"; via an Australian web site & paid for it in Australian dollars. If so, then you should be covered by Australian consumer law (which is pretty powerful). Contact consumer affairs in your state for assistance. If not, then you may have to contact the equivalent organisation in the country of purchase ( which can be slow, frustrating & possibly unsuccessful). good luck

  • boomramada on 11/11/2023 - 09:01

    They now refuse to cover shipping and said their best offer to cover shipping is some store credit of $300 and $235 to my card.

    Look like agent (profanity) it up, so is you OP. I would check for some pre approval before paying $700 on a shipping fee.

    • Toby61 on 11/11/2023 - 12:47
      +1

      Yes I had pre approval in writing, I also have the recorded conversation of the agent saying the refund was approved/processed and to wait up to 72 hours. They apologised if I was given incorrect information. I didn't think there was an issue until I checked my bank and realised it's been a couple weeks and now the postage is too high. I've sent them the screenshots from approved shipping, it's just a copy/paste reply.

  • Toby61 on 11/11/2023 - 16:42
    +6

    Update - it's been escalated to customer service relations who apologised and advised I'll be refunded in full for item and shipping by the 20th.

    He also advised and quote 'will take corrective actions against the associates who've assisted you with this issue.'

    In conclusion it takes about 45 emails back and forth and 3 phone calls to get further assistance.

    • Pimpiticians 4 Life on 12/11/2023 - 00:02
      +1

      Amazon is fast and easy when buying an item.

      Nightmare to deal with to do a return (courier for heavy item as dimensions too big for Aus Post) as they don't provide prepaid labels and multiple follow ups required to get them to do a refund and only got some restricted promo certificate where I could only buy from Amazon not another seller on Amazon. A few hours i will never get back, lesson learnt.

      Tip Never buy a large item from Amazon if it might need to be returned.

      • Toby61 on 12/11/2023 - 03:02
        +1

        Definitely lesson learned, it probably would have been easier to just dispute the transaction with my bank.

      • reactor-au on 12/11/2023 - 08:46
        +1

        Tip Never buy a large item from overseas Amazon if it might need to be returned.

        FTFY.
        If it was shipped from Amazon AU I don't think it would have been an issue.

  • bargain huntress on 12/11/2023 - 12:57

    Im so curious what it was?

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