Amazon gives customer runaround after $2,100 watch missing from delivered package

Leo Chteinberg resides in the small town of Tahsis, British Columbia – a remote community nestled between the mountains and the ocean on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

The software engineer moved there from Vancouver four years ago. It is "one of the most beautiful places I'd ever seen," he said.

Due to Tahsis's rural setting, Chteinberg says he does almost all of his shopping online.

In October, he placed an Amazon order for a $2,100 Garmin watch. Ten days later, he received a notice that his package was at the local Canada Post office and headed straight over to pick up his package.

"I opened it right away because I was looking forward to it," said Chteinberg. But the package was empty.

He says what's followed has been "a nightmare" – many frustrating phone calls and emails with Amazon, with no resolution.

Online shopping in Canada continues to boom after the pandemic. According to Statistics Canada, sales hit $3.8 billion in August, up almost $400 million over August 2020. South of the border, Amazon dominates the e-commerce market. The company reported global net sales of $514 billion US last year.

Social media platforms such as Reddit are full of stories from Amazon customers battling over packages that weren't delivered, contained the wrong item, no item, or the contents of which appeared to be stolen.

Most people with smaller orders say they've had little trouble getting their money back. But it's a different story for customers with pricier disputes like Chteinberg. Many say they have to leap through hoops to get a replacement or refund.

In an effort to weed out fraudsters, Amazon purposely makes the process challenging on big-ticket items, according to an industry expert.

"[They have] built-in obstacles," said Eddie Ning, an assistant professor of marketing and behavioral science at UBC's Sauder School of Business. "The company only has to pay those most-persistent consumers."

Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait declined an interview request from Go Public.

In an emailed statement, Agrait wrote that Amazon is "working directly with the customer to investigate the circumstances in this case."

Chteinberg says he hasn't heard anything from Amazon beyond the customer service reps who shut him down on the phone several weeks ago.

Tampered package Chteinberg says he was recently diagnosed with diabetes and high cholesterol and wanted a watch to help with exercise and fitness routines.

He says he was "willing to pay more" for the Garmin, which monitors vitals such as heart rate and blood oxygen levels.

When he received the notification that it had arrived, Chteinberg says he raced to the post office.

"I told myself, 'I can't believe I'm going to have it in 30 minutes,'" he said. "And I guess I was right — I didn't have it in 30 minutes." Instead, a corner of the package appeared to be torn. He left the post office and opened the box immediately. The watch box inside was empty, except for a spare silicone watch strap and some papers from Garmin.

As soon as he got home, he emailed Amazon customer service and received a reply several hours later.

"Based on our investigation and your statements, it seems that the item has been stolen by a third party," said the customer service rep. "We urge you to contact your local police department."

Go Public asked Amazon how it determined the item was stolen by a third party, but Agrait, the spokesperson, would not answer the question. Nor would she say what procedures are in place to ensure that items ordered from Amazon get shipped from the company's warehouses intact.

Chteinberg called Nootka RCMP, which oversees several jurisdictions including Tahsis, and an officer took a statement on the phone.

He then went online and filled out a local RCMP report and sent it to Amazon.

news source