Amazon made a mistake (was: Screwed by amazon!)

tsobo · 10 Jul 2020 at 00:00

So I bought something on amazon, returned it and today they charged me the full £600 for the item. I got on chat and was told they have refunded the money but it could take about 4 to 7 days to show in my account. Now I have 2 direct debits for my credit card companies going out tonight, what do I do? Would the bank be able to stop the payment as it still shows as pending? I bank with nationwide if it helps.

tsobo · 10 Jul 2020 at 00:18

Let me explain. I bought a phone off amazon. Returned it within the return window, got my refund and today got an email saying they are charging me agai, as I haven't returned the item. Got in touch with them and they apologised and told me they would refund the money they took today, in 4 to 7 days. That is my issue as I have direct debits coming out and that £600 they took is gonna make me short.

tsobo · 10 Jul 2020 at 08:05

tom_e said:
Company makes a mistaken debit from someones account leaving them short and somehow it's their fault, you lot truly are a bit special at times.

Thanks buddy, you have nailed it.

tsobo · 10 Jul 2020 at 08:16

Armageus said:
Whilst I agree to an extent - the flipside has got to be that if money is that tight why order a £600 phone in the first place? (Why wouldn't a £100 phone be sufficient etc.)

Who said money was tight? They took money for an item which was returned to them and they have acknowledged they shouldn't have taken the money in the first place!

tsobo · 10 Jul 2020 at 08:24

Point is, amazon should not have taken the money period!

tsobo · 10 Jul 2020 at 12:10

Mekrel said:
I've neither misunderstood the situation nor being dense.

For the sake of clarity:

OP has £750 in the bank for example, and has £160 worth of direct debits coming in

OP buys phone for £600, leaving him £10 short to pay direct debit

Result is - £600 phone should not have been bought

Whilst the numbers are examples, they must be representative of situation because the lack of £600 is causing him to be unable to pay his future debt.

What has happened:

£750

£150 -£600 for the phone

£750 +£600 refund for phone

£150 -£600 for the phone due to Amazon's mistake

-£10 -£160 DDs

Same result, i.e. the phone purchase was not sensible in the first place.

Yes, it's Amazon's mistake. In fact, the argument isn't why someone would leave their bank account so close to the red - the argument is why would you be looking at £600 phones that would put your account so close to the red.

You might see it as mean, I see it as telling someone direct that they're better off reviewing their attitude towards money. Anything can happen in life, you only have to read the experiences of people that before March 2020 had comfortable jobs only to find themselves looking into financial ruin as their industry has been hit so hard.
This is why it makes sense to have easy access saving that cover you for multiple months of unemployment/other form of financial turmoil.

Wrong reply...

tsobo · 10 Jul 2020 at 12:31

Devilman said:
If the money was already well-and-truly budgeted for, how could you spare it for a £600 phone purchase just days (weeks at most) before? Surely it was already "spoken for" when you ordered the phone?

Because from the information you provided, it seems as though you bought a £600 phone when you knew you could not afford it?

As many have pointed out, if you had intended to keep the phone, you would still be short this money and unable to cover your upcoming bills.

If that is indeed the case, then the implication is you ordered a phone knowing you could not pay for it, then returned it later when reality dawned, thus wasting time and money for Amazon and the reseller in question.

Perhaps this could be considered karma for such an occurrence?

Sigh.. OK, I bought a phone from them, found one cheaper elsewhere and exercised my statutory rights and returned it to amazon within the return period. Amazon then refunded me my money.
Yesterday for whatever reason, amazon then took the money again from my account and got in touch with them and they apologised that they shouldn't have and refund would be in 5 to 7 working days.

This is not about savings, as I budget my money very well and I have other bills to pay more than just the £600 they have taken out from my account,but my point here is that their mistake has now cost me as I should not have to use my savings to pay for the mess they have created!

tsobo · 10 Jul 2020 at 12:36

Mekrel said:
It's a reflection on your inability to manage your finances because you're pretty much living hand to mouth if you're letting your bank account balance get to that level.
A family earning a monthly income of X and spending X each month is technically "affordable", until something unexpected comes along that either increases outgoings or reduces income.

This isn't me being on a high horse either, I'm speaking from experience. I once had a letter from Lloyds saying I had gone into my overdraft, which turns out, was due to £300 being taken fraudulently from my account. This was 10 years ago when banks would charge you for unarranged overdrafts which they overturned after seeing I wouldn't have gone into the red if the money hadn't been fraudulently taken. I still look back at those times and think how ridiculous my relationship with money was, anything could have happened and I would have been up **** creek without a paddle with no savings.

It's a reflection on your inability to manage your finances because you're pretty much living hand to mouth if you're letting your bank account balance get to that level.
A family earning a monthly income of X and spending X each month is technically "affordable", until something unexpected comes along that either increases outgoings or reduces income

I seriously don't understand some of these comments. How does amazon double charging me, reflect on my inability to manage my finances?. Had they not wrongly touched my money, I wouldn't be in this situation!

tsobo · 10 Jul 2020 at 13:15

Pudney said:
Just out of interest @marvi0 did you ask Amazon why they weren't doing an instant refund? It is something they offer so presumably there's a reason they chose not to.

Hi many thanks. As a matter of fact, I have just had a call from amazon senior management. They have had a look and the decision is, they had no reason to have taken that money, at all. They're going to send me an email (I will copy it on here), we've agreed they're going to return my money but it could take 5 to 7 days as it depends with my bank.

On a more positive note, I have been offered £50 for my troubles, a small gesture but quiet deserved considering some of the posts I have read on here. I would like to thank the many who have seen reason, and have understood exactly what I was saying. But to those who tried to lecture me, on financial management and blame me for this, its been a shocking experience.
My initial post was very clear as to what had happened and the advise I needed but the clever chaps came in and it became a moral lecture about why I spent money I don't have, seriously. And some of the people attacking are actually mods!. Well I suppose its freedom of speech but please look at your moral compasses before you start lecturing about finances, to someone who has not requested financial advise. If this was an exam, most of you would have failed as you responded without reading the scenario!

From amazon :
Hello......

This is A.. from Amazon Management Team.

We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused by this.

As the charge of £599.00 has already been processed, it’s not possible to cancel it at this time. To resolve this issue for you, I've requested a full refund of the charge. I've also requested a additional £50.00 to cover the interest. This refund can be completed by us with in this day but please allow your bank between 5-7 business days to process it.

When the refund is completed in our system, we'll send you an e-mail letting you know the date, amount and payment details. You can see information about completed refunds in ‘Your Account’ once you've received a confirmation e-mail from us. You can view completed refunds in Your Orders, https://www.amazon.co.uk/your-orders, by selecting "Order Details".

I hope this helps. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Warmest regards,

A..

Amazon.co.uk
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