Amazon Keeps Delivering to the Wrong Address and Closes My Account Over Refunds

Lallegro on 27/01/2025 - 08:00
Last edited 27/01/2025 - 14:47 by 1 other user

I received an email from Amazon stating my account was closed for violating their returns/refund policy, which makes no sense. They’ve consistently delivered to the wrong address, with photos proving it (different locations each time). Now, I’m being blamed for filing a complaint to get my money back?

In my latest case, I circled the number (26) on the proof of delivery photo they provided, which clearly doesn’t match my address (19), as specified in the order. Despite this, [email protected] insisted the delivery was correct.

I’ve contacted customer service, and they all agreed it was not delivered correctly. Refunds were issued but later cancelled at least twice, presumably by [email protected]. This issue was reopened today, but I’m not hopeful it will be resolved. It’s clear this is a recurring issue with wrong-address deliveries.

My address isn’t difficult to find—other couriers like AU Post, DHL, and FedEx have no issues. I’m a 5-star eBay and Uber/UberEats customer, with very few delivery problems around 1-2 per year on average.

So, should I take this to the small claims tribunal? The purchase was made with a gift card, so no chargebacks are possible. I’m not interested in continuing to use Amazon, given the poor service. I shouldn’t need to file so many complaints, and I’m frustrated they keep blaming the customer while failing to correct their mistakes. They keep promising it won’t happen again, yet they repeat the same error of delivering to an address not specified on the parcel.

When Amazon first launched in Australia, I was impressed with the reliable service and Australia Post deliveries. However, the quality and delivery service have sharply declined. Last year, I made very few purchases, mostly for basic household items for convenience on subscription, and even those weren’t always good quality. Some dishwasher tablets made in Poland were poor, but I didn’t bother to return them.

I have no interest in using Amazon again, but I do believe I should be refunded for the incorrect delivery. While the amount is small (~$50), it’s still unreasonable.

Edit:

Shortly after posting this, I received an e mail from Shipping and Delivery Support saying they are happy to refund as:

"Since the package is reported as delivered to a wrong address based on the photo, I do not want you to wait any longer for the item, and of course, I do not want you to look for the package or check where it could have been left, this isn't your fault."

However, I will wait and see what happens with this, as [email protected] seemed to have cancelled the refunds raised previously by the Amazon leadership team. This time it came from the Shipping and Delivery Support team, so it may get processed.

I have asked them to refund this to my debit card if they still want to close my account over their mistake/error. I will update this post in case it helps someone in the future.

Edit:

I now got an e mail from [email protected] stating this:

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to respond and share your feedback.

We contacted you so we could better understand the activity on your account, and learn how to improve your shopping experience. Your account remains active and available for your use.

The email you received on 25 January, 2025 was sent to you in error. You may disregard that email.

If you have any order- or account-related concerns, please contact our Customer Service team via the link below:

www.amazon.com.au/contact-us

Pretty ridiculous if you ask me, no apology for the wrong e mail sent, no follow up on the refund. At least now the account is not closed I should be able to get my refund without issues. I will update this post once I got the refund from them.

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Comments

    • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 08:22
      +10

      There are numerous online reviews from others who have had the same experience.

      It seems there may be an issue with the local delivery person, but again, that’s not my responsibility.

    • Rkel403 on 27/01/2025 - 09:40
      +3

      By that logic we should be seeing Gerry Harvey up for Australian of the year

    • CodeXD on 27/01/2025 - 10:07

      if amazon is that bad, we wont be seeing their deal here and they wont make billions profit.

      Yes, only the good and just make billions of profit year on year /s

  • 87percent on 27/01/2025 - 08:25
    -3

    Do a chargeback

    • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 08:32
      +1

      I wrote above… "The purchase was made with a gift card, so no chargebacks are possible."

      • Baysew on 27/01/2025 - 13:19
        +1

        I wrote above…

        They only read 87% of it.

  • AndyC1 on 27/01/2025 - 08:26
    +2

    Amazon drivers use an Amazon app that shows the address to be delivered to as I had a similar issue during covid and asked a driver what he uses to find the place as he called as the delivery notes said to only place the parcel at the front of the screen door and he could not find the screen dooor. The app showed the flat in the block behind me on a different street.

    Also some drivers cannot read signs correctly and some do not read the instructions.

    Good luck getting the money back.

    • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 08:45
      +1

      During COVID I think they still used Australia Post so it was still reliable, but I did get a response for refund (updated post above) but still need to see how this plays out.

      • AndyC1 on 27/01/2025 - 11:35

        The drivers were flex drivers that kept stuffing up.

        • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 11:36

          During COVID, I think they used AU post for mine. Now it is all flex drivers yes.

          • AndyC1 on 27/01/2025 - 11:44

            @allegro: Flex drivers us the crappy Amazon app instead of google maps.

  • djones145 on 27/01/2025 - 09:08
    +1

    is there something weird about ur house number? 26 is pretty far and opposite of 19. is it an estate? townhouse where the houses are weirdly placed.

    like if its was like 1a, 1b 1c maybe or a duplux

    • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 09:14

      No, it has nothing to do with that, as I explained above, AU post, DHL, Fedex and even Aramex can find my property without issues. I also said I am a 5 star Uber/UberEat customer which means they can also find where I live easily.

      It was delivered to 26 on this occasion, but delivered to other places on other occasions, it is a clear case their contractor is not doing their job properly.

      • djones145 on 27/01/2025 - 09:42
        +1

        thats just weird. usually amazon are the best and couriers are the worst and just card you.

        • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 10:08
          +1

          Unfortunately, I don't view the shopping experience that way. To me, everything matters—from placing the order, to receiving the goods, to after-sales service.

  • prodrome on 27/01/2025 - 09:35
    -4

    Amazon is a crap company, selling crap at dubious prices. Just shop elsewhere.

    • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 09:38
      +1

      I do agree, and no intention to shop with them once I got my money back.

    • AustriaBargain on 27/01/2025 - 15:46

      Their real benefit was "free" overnight shipping. But that seems to not be a thing at the moment, at least for me in Adelaide.

      • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 16:01

        Living in Sydney, I’ve noticed that many businesses here offer overnight shipping as well. I bought a kettle last year, and it arrived in under 8 hours—plus, it was cheaper than on Amazon.

        I even got a gift with the purchase (which isn't available on Amazon), and I could communicate directly with the seller through their website. Everything went smoothly without any hassles. And why not support a good honest local business? Win-win all around!

        For those in regional areas, Amazon might still be okay since they outsource delivery to Australia Post. But recently, to speed up deliveries, Amazon seems to be relying on a variety of contractors without focusing on the quality of service.

        Honestly, I don’t need things that fast most of the time. I’d prefer accurate delivery over fast delivery which requires me to chase things up.

        • AustriaBargain on 27/01/2025 - 16:05

          I'm definitely not regional. Something is wrong with Amazon for me for the last month or so, a bit longer. Maybe their algorithm just doesn't favour me, when deciding who should get stuff quick when there's a big shortage of people to do the work, like what happens at xmas.

  • Sye on 27/01/2025 - 09:40
    +11

    This should be posted as a Targetted Deal "Free Amazon Parcels at number (26)"

    /$

  • c2pv1ru5 on 27/01/2025 - 09:41
    +1

    Similar experience. And it was repeated over and over again. Once I used up my gift card balance, I will stop using Amazon.

  • JimmyF on 27/01/2025 - 10:49
    +1

    Whatever the issue is, it does seem like it is isolated to your address, something with your address that causes Amazon to have endless issues.

    I use Amazon a bit, and no issues with them finding the house.

    I did have one stupid driver leave a parcel in the middle of the driveway once and was like WTF!? But that was isolated issue.

    • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 10:54

      It is not the address, as I said all other courier services like AU Post etc… have no issues whatsoever.

      It is the contractor they are using because I also get packages that were meant for someone else in the past.

      • JimmyF on 27/01/2025 - 11:24
        +1

        It is not the address

        No it is the address, as I said "something with your address that causes Amazon to have endless issues".

        It is the contractor they are using

        You know, every time it is a new contractor? These are Amazon Flex drivers, rarely the same one delivering to your address. So its the address and Amazon system that is the fault.

        As above, I get a lot of Amazon deliveries, one 1 issue so far. Not everyone is having the issues you are. Amazon deliveries millions of packages a week.

        • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 11:30
          +1

          That should be more accurately phrased as referring to Amazon's system recognising the correct address, rather than the actual address itself, which other companies have no issues delivering to correctly.

          • JimmyF on 27/01/2025 - 11:32

            @allegro:

            That should be more accurately phrased as referring to Amazon's system recognising the correct address, rather than the actual address itself, which other companies have no issues delivering to correctly.

            But I did, your reading skills are not my problem. I said something with your address that causes Amazon to have endless issues. I didn't make a blanket statement that your address was broken for everyone like you think.

            • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 11:34
              +1

              @JimmyF: Which implies it is only my address. Anyway, no point in arguing about this, as this does not help to resolve the issue.

              • JimmyF on 27/01/2025 - 12:10
                +2

                @allegro:

                Which implies it is only my address

                Yes, and directly says with Amazon.

                Anyway, no point in arguing about this

                Well you are, you are blaming the contractor. But it is a different one each time.

                As other parcels arrive, it would say it is your address with Amazon that is the issue.

                Speak to Amazon about correcting this.

  • freefall101 on 27/01/2025 - 10:55
    +3

    IMO these big companies don’t really care what is going wrong, they just look at the bottom line. And that is that your account is losing them money. To fix the address problem also costs them money, so they don’t bother.

    Same with ubereats, no matter how legitimate the issues they’ll ban an account after too many refunds. It’s just cheaper that way.

    It’s not fair, but that’s algorithm driven capitalism for you.

    • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 10:59
      +1

      I don't really care about using Amazon at all, but I don't want to be worse financially because they didn't deliver correctly. I have told them they will need to refund this back as cash if they want to close my account because they didn't deliver to the correct address.

      If they want to refund it back as gift card (original payment) it is fine, but they must also keep my account open so I can use it.

      I have no issues with UberEats in general :D

      • freefall101 on 27/01/2025 - 12:59
        +1

        Totally agree with you, if I wasn't clear I was just replying to the bit where you said they were blaming you for the mistake.

        They don't care at all who is at fault. It's why drivers constantly get booted off delivery platforms, people get banned from using uber, amazon, etc, any of these logistics programs don't have a person who might have a bit of sympathy behind.

        No matter where the problem is, they'll boot you. They'll probably boot the driver too. There's an issue somewhere but it's cheaper to just ban you than actually solve it.

        • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 16:05

          Based on the latest development, they seem to have unblock me for now (see edit above). So I will see how that goes and when I will get my refund. Fingers crossed!

          • cloudy on 27/01/2025 - 19:13

            @allegro: Hopefully you can get a refund, if I were you I’d use my left over Amazon credit for something for someone you know or can give you cash back for the purchase and never use Amazon again.

            As others has said, your situation is too idiosyncratic for them to care about you and they don’t like refund you and losing money all the time.

            Unless you move house you’re only gonna continue to get trouble from them.

  • hasher22 on 27/01/2025 - 11:01
    +8

    I used to deliver for Amazon flex, maybe, just a theory, maybe it's an app issue. They use their own Amazon maps app for the drivers.

    For example it won't let me deliver a package to number 20, even if the package is number 20 if the app state to go to number 18 (app mistake) cause the driver is not within meters of that address. The app will give an error I'm not at the address and can't complete the delivery. Hopefully that's changed now.

    We can contact support on the spot and they can override and correct it.

    But most likely the drivers don't use common sense and just go where the app tells them to go.

    I know this doesn't help your situation but Amazon is just full of automations and bots unfortunately.

    Even when I was working in Amazon, customer service for the drivers was questionable at times.

    • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 11:04

      Thanks for the insight :D

      I certainly agree Amazon is full of automation because they never bothered to look at my case closely. I even went as far as circling the mistakes and they still insisted it was delivered to me correctly. And the wording is always the same, just copy and paste.

      • AndyC1 on 27/01/2025 - 11:37

        When complaining that they delivered wrong get one of the deliveries that was good that has a photo and then get the stupid support person to compare the two photos. I had to do this a few times and they quickly admitted the delivery was not me as the doors did not have a screen door or the photo was of a stair well.

        • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 11:45

          I think in this case it is really clear because my number is 19 and the photo taken had 26 on it. I can try to find another one but I doubt it will really make a difference.

          Speaking of which, I did find another photo which they did send it correctly (sort of), they sent one of the item correctly but the other item was not mine. I just sent this back to them as further evidence.

          • Yummy on 27/01/2025 - 12:22

            @allegro: Send to order to no.12, it will fix your problem.

  • zombrex on 27/01/2025 - 11:20

    I recently had an experience where amazon delivered my package to the house across the street, was lucky my neighbour who I had never met before was honest. So it definetly does happen.
    Since they have outsourced to random courier companies the delivery service is very undependable.
    You get some great couriers who deliver to house and always knock while others just throw and leave packages in random and stupid locations. I had to stop buying chocolate and other heat perishable goods as they were leaving boxes in the middle of the concrete in the full sun. first time got a refund, second time did not even bother because don't want the trouble with CS.

  • RiseAndRuin on 27/01/2025 - 11:48

    Amazon deliveries can be made by many different companies and couriers, my last delivery last week was made by Auspost. I had similar issues for a couple of months last year, and it turned out to be whatever courier was making the deliveries. I just told Amazon cs the second time I had the issue, and added to the delivery instructions for the courier to call me. Never had another issue since.

    • allegro on 27/01/2025 - 11:54
      +1

      Thanks, I think at this stage, the trust between me and Amazon is truly over, so I am more interested just to get the money back and move on :)

  • zuuutoootuuu on 28/01/2025 - 00:03

    The last 3 orders, all in the last month, Amazon have shipped me used or damaged products and are punishing me for it.

    First were used dirty drinking glasses, Amazon customer support said to dispose of the items, refunded the cost but they marked it as item not delivered and next orders I made, I had to provide a pincode…

    Second was a cooking pot, substandard quality, all scratched up, dinted and not cleaned after manufacturing which looked worse than a factory second. Didn't bother contacting customer service, returned it. The app said that it would refund when item is scanned in, however it has already arrived at their warehouse and it says that "refund has been delayed".

    Third was a battery charger that worked for a day and stopped powering on. Processed a return through the app, before I even clicked to return to get the return label, the app made me accept that a refund will be made on the 37th day. Amazon have already received the charger but I won't get a refund for another 3 weeks.

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