An online shopper in B.C. claimed they never received their Amazon order or a refund for it, and now the e-commerce behemoth has a couple of penalties to pay.
Amazon is being asked to pay $20,000 in administrative penalties and inspection fees for violating the province’s consumer protection laws.
The decision stemmed from an alleged failed delivery.
According to a Consumer Protection BC (CPBC) decision, Amazon had failed to refund a customer who claimed that they never received their online order. Amazon had informed the customer that they had delivered the package to someone in the home.
This case reveals more of the intricacies relating to the fine print for the delivery terms that both the customer and Amazon agree to.
“When you buy something online, you should know exactly how it will be delivered because it’s clearly outlined and you’ve agreed to it,” says Louise Hartland, director of public relations for Consumer Protection BC, in a statement.
After an investigation, CPBC agreed with the customer’s allegations.
“It is not good enough for an online retailer to simply drop packages at the door or hand them to another person if the consumer has not agreed to this. This kind of delivery may be allowed, but only with the customer’s understanding and consent.”
The initial delivery notice stated that the package had been handed to a resident. After not receiving the package, the customer reached out to Amazon, informing it of what happened. In response, Amazon suggested that the customer needed to file a police report. The customer did and gave Amazon a copy of the report.
This never led to the customer getting a refund, and Amazon gave CPBC reasons for why it never offered one.
In defence against the accusations against it, Amazon alleged that the customer had a history of refund abuse. CPBC said there wasn’t enough evidence of said abuse to discount the primary claim and eventually agreed that the person who ordered the goods wasn’t the one who received them, even if someone else at the residence received them. This violated consumer protection laws because there was no prior agreement for someone else to receive the order.
Amazon now has 30 days to apply for a reconsideration of the decision, and it has also been fined an additional $500 as a refund for the B.C. customer’s missing items.
CPBC’s full decision is available online.