Advice on dealing with Amazon customer service

[JRix]

Hi All. On Cyber Monday, I purchased a laptop that I have had my eyes on for months. The purchase price was $479. I received email confirmation of the order.

The next day, I noticed that Amazon had cancelled my order with no notice. I paid with a fully funded gift card, so there was no credit card issue or anything. And the main point of this post, the laptop price had gone back up to $549.

My position is that they should honor that initial order. But I have contacted them via phone, email, and chat. Each person I talk to reads from the same script about how Amazon does not do a post-purchase price match (except for TVs) [and no one can explain how the order got cancelled]. I explain to them that I am NOT asking for a price match--quite the contrary! I am asking them to match the PURCHASE price that I paid! They just send back the same script about post-purchase price matches.

I have also posted this issue to their Facebook page and asked to speak to managers. I simply receive the same response.

Does anyone know of any other tips to resolve such an issue?
If not, can anyone recommend a good alternative place for laptops besides the usual suspects of Best Buy, Walmart, etc.

Thanks!

[DSInvestor]

There are lots of posts from people buying from bhphoto.com.

Do you have a citibank credit card? If so, check out the CITI PRICE REWIND service which refunds you the price difference if a lower price is found within 60 days of purchase. With such a service, you don't to wait for the price to drop. You can buy it, register your purchase and then if you or the service finds a lower price, you can get cash back for the price difference.

[mhalley]

Newegg has some good deals from time to time. Also the Laptop manufacturer, ie Dell for example. Woot sometimes has amazing deals.
http://www.newegg.com/
http://www.dell.com/en-us/
http://www.woot.com/
Or directly to the laptops: http://www.woot.com/category/computers/ ... _cdet_pc_2

Amazon Executive customer service: https://consumerist.com/2006/12/11/emai ... r-service/
Or email Jeff: I think it is Jeff@amazon.com

[The529guy]

You're probably getting the same canned response because you keep mentioning the subsequent price change when you complain.

Stop mentioning the price change - it's irrelevant. Don't ask them to match anything either.

Just ask them why your order was cancelled: you ordered an item, you paid for it, they cancelled it without explanation, you still want it. The end.

Hi All. On Cyber Monday, I purchased a laptop that I have had my eyes on for months. The purchase price was $479. I received email confirmation of the order.

The next day, I noticed that Amazon had cancelled my order with no notice. I paid with a fully funded gift card, so there was no credit card issue or anything. And the main point of this post, the laptop price had gone back up to $549.

My position is that they should honor that initial order. But I have contacted them via phone, email, and chat. Each person I talk to reads from the same script about how Amazon does not do a post-purchase price match (except for TVs) [and no one can explain how the order got cancelled]. I explain to them that I am NOT asking for a price match--quite the contrary! I am asking them to match the PURCHASE price that I paid! They just send back the same script about post-purchase price matches.

I have also posted this issue to their Facebook page and asked to speak to managers. I simply receive the same response.

Does anyone know of any other tips to resolve such an issue?
If not, can anyone recommend a good alternative place for laptops besides the usual suspects of Best Buy, Walmart, etc.

Thanks!

[dbr]

You're probably getting the same canned response because you keep mentioning the subsequent price change when you complain.

The price change is irrelevant. Don't ask them to match anything. Just ask them why your order was cancelled: you ordered an item, you paid for it, they cancelled it without explanation, you still want it. The end.

I agree. I would demand that they honor the order you placed because you have an e-mail confirmation that they accepted it. I would not even mention the price other that that there is a price already confirmed in the order. It might be that the issue is that this was a mistake offering. Most companies honor orders for mistake pricing unless the mistake is so obviously wrong as to be impossible, such as $4.99 for a computer.

[JRix]

Thanks for the feedback.
As for the very good point about not mentioning the price change, I gave it a try. They simply said (paraphrasing): Sorry for the mix-up. We are not sure what happened. Please place your order again.
Which of course means ordering it at the higher price point. Sigh!

[dbr]

Thanks for the feedback.
As for the very good point about not mentioning the price change, I gave it a try. They simply said (paraphrasing): Sorry for the mix-up. We are not sure what happened. Please place your order again.
Which of course means ordering it at the higher price point. Sigh!

And, at that point you have a totally legitimate complaint. I would not let this go.

You can go to this list of executives and starting with Dave Clark write a letter or email to one person at a time on the executive chain and wait for a reply about a week or two. In your letter politely state only the facts of your order, the existence of a confirmation, the fact that the order was cancelled with no explanation and the expectation (not demand) that your original order and price will be reinstated. There may be trouble placing attachments in your email so you can state the details of the confirmation in the body.

http://elliott.org/company-contacts/amazon/

[denovo]

When an order is cancelled on Amazon, you usually get an e-mail, did you get something like that and what did it say?

[tic]

Newegg has some good deals from time to time. Also the Laptop manufacturer, ie Dell for example. Woot sometimes has amazing deals.
http://www.newegg.com/
http://www.dell.com/en-us/
http://www.woot.com/
Or directly to the laptops: http://www.woot.com/category/computers/ ... _cdet_pc_2

Note that Woot was bought by Amazon several years ago. You may not have any better luck there.

[The529guy]

Thanks for the feedback.
As for the very good point about not mentioning the price change, I gave it a try. They simply said (paraphrasing): Sorry for the mix-up. We are not sure what happened. Please place your order again.
Which of course means ordering it at the higher price point. Sigh!

And, at that point you have a totally legitimate complaint. I would not let this go.

You can go to this list of executives and starting with Dave Clark write a letter or email to one person at a time on the executive chain and wait for a reply about a week or two. In your letter politely state only the facts of your order, the existence of a confirmation, the fact that the order was cancelled with no explanation and the expectation (not demand) that your original order and price will be reinstated. There may be trouble placing attachments in your email so you can state the details of the confirmation in the body.

http://elliott.org/company-contacts/amazon/

I agree. When they say "order again," that's the time to bring the price change front and center.

Good luck!

[student5]

You can go to this list of executives and starting with Dave Clark write a letter or email to one person at a time on the executive chain and wait for a reply about a week or two. In your letter politely state only the facts of your order, the existence of a confirmation, the fact that the order was cancelled with no explanation and the expectation (not demand) that your original order and price will be reinstated. There may be trouble placing attachments in your email so you can state the details of the confirmation in the body.

This is serious enough to send an e-mail to Jeff Bezos the CEO. Jeff@amazon.com

I did that a few years ago; a member of his executive team replied within 36 hrs with a subsequent satisfactory outcome.

[dbr]

You can go to this list of executives and starting with Dave Clark write a letter or email to one person at a time on the executive chain and wait for a reply about a week or two. In your letter politely state only the facts of your order, the existence of a confirmation, the fact that the order was cancelled with no explanation and the expectation (not demand) that your original order and price will be reinstated. There may be trouble placing attachments in your email so you can state the details of the confirmation in the body.

This is serious enough to send an e-mail to Jeff Bezos the CEO. Jeff@amazon.com

I did that a few years ago; a member of his executive team replied within 36 hrs with a subsequent satisfactory outcome.

You can. He is the third on the list referenced. The Elliot forum recommend the stepwise procedure on the grounds that if you get turned down at the highest level, you have no recourse. I have had success with other companies going direct to the top.

[JRix]

When an order is cancelled on Amazon, you usually get an e-mail, did you get something like that and what did it say?

There was no email notification. Not in the Spam inbox either!
Thanks to everyone else! I will try marching politely up the chain of command.

[inbox788]

When an order is cancelled on Amazon, you usually get an e-mail, did you get something like that and what did it say?

I've had orders on Amazon stealthy cancel on me. It's only after I followed up that I realized what happened, but they never fulfilled the order. It's poor customer service, but the items I ordered weren't worth my time to argue with them, and I shop elsewhere for them.

[WolfgangPauli]

A couple of questions:

- Was the seller Amazon or was it someone using the Amazon fufillment? You can see that when you place the order it will say who is fulfilling the order. Could be something to do with another vendor.

- Did you violate a rule? I admit, they were selling WEMO switches at a very low price but limiting it to two. I tried to have another person place an order for me but ship to me. They accepted the order but later canceled it. Bottom line, they figured me out so I was not upset.

[JRix]

A couple of questions:

- Was the seller Amazon or was it someone using the Amazon fufillment? You can see that when you place the order it will say who is fulfilling the order. Could be something to do with another vendor.

- Did you violate a rule? I admit, they were selling WEMO switches at a very low price but limiting it to two. I tried to have another person place an order for me but ship to me. They accepted the order but later canceled it. Bottom line, they figured me out so I was not upset.

It was sold by Amazon. And no rule breaking!

[Pajamas]

If you are 100% sure that it was actually sold by Amazon and not sold by a third-party vendor and fulfilled by Amazon, try to find out why your order was cancelled. It is doubtful that an order was cancelled for no reason. They won't match the price but perhaps they could void the cancellation and re-open your original order. Specifically ask them to do that.

If you have had no luck with the regular customer service even after they understand the situation, you can email executive customer service at jeff@amazon.com for a last attempt. You only get one shot with that, so you have to concisely state the problem as well as the solution you want.

If that fails, shop around. Cyber Monday prices are not always a one-time deal or even the lowest sale price.

[basspond]

As you have said, be polite and calm as possible, but be firm. Also read the fine print of the order to make sure there was not an obscure term listed.

We were sent the wrong item. They wanted us to box up the item for pickup. However this item once you take it out of the box expands. We talked to several reps. It wasn't until they read the description of the item did they said just keep it and they will be sending the correct one.

[FinTruth]

I had the same exact thing happen a few years ago when I ordered two fly fishing rods sold by Amazon.com. Using Amazon Prime, I expected them to show up in a few days. After three days, my orders (i placed two separate orders) were cancelled. I called Amazon and they told me they are out of stock. I asked them: "Why would you take my orders, tell me I have 2 day shipping, and then realize that you are out of stock three days later?"

They had no answer, and all other options on their website were $30 more.

I asked if there was anything they could do with the situation, and they said "No". I then had the same complaint, that they are more expensive now, and I have a trip coming up where I needed the rods. They didn't seem to care.

They then sent me an email review of the customer service. I slammed them in the review. I had an email about the review in my inbox, asking what they can do to help. I said you should do something, this is silly to take an order, and then cancel it days later (which by the way, disappears from your order list on their website). They didn't seem to care again.

I then received another email from them, asking to review their customer service. Slammed them again.

Third customer service email from them, they offered a $20 credit which I accepted. I then stopped using Amazon for quite a long time.

I was surprised, their customer service in the past was great, not sure what the deal is with this situation.

[jf89]

Are you sure you actually placed the order? If it's a lightning deal, you could have missed the quantity available and you were placed on a waitlist. Or maybe it timed-out. Do you actually have an order confirmation?

I think the more important point is whether the gift card was charged, and if the payment went back onto the card.

[inbox788]

Are you sure you actually placed the order? If it's a lightning deal, you could have missed the quantity available and you were placed on a waitlist. Or maybe it timed-out. Do you actually have an order confirmation?

I think the more important point is whether the gift card was charged, and if the payment went back onto the card.

Op said:

I received email confirmation of the order.

That's usually a good sign an order was placed and received in their system. What happens after that is that sometimes it goes haywire. They're generally good, but with higher volume and more competition, they're cutting corner everywhere they can and this is one of the results.

[bhsince87]

I had something similar happen a few months ago. I ordered a used textbook through a vendor that used amazon for fulfillment. Amazon showed that 3 books were in stock at around $40, with free second day delivery through Prime. It also showed numerous other vendors had the book in stock at the same price, but none with Prime delivery. So I ordered with amazon fulfillment.

The order went through, with confirmation email received by me. But about 3 hours after placing the order, I recieved an email notification from amazon that they cancelled my order.

So I went back to try one of the other vendors, and all of them had suddenly raised their prices to $60!

I was never able to get the price back down the $40 level.

I assume there is some sort of automated drop-ship games being played by some of these vendors. I know that's a big issue with ebay these days.

[kjvmartin]

I have not had an item cancelled, but recently had an in-stock item take a few days to ship, and they used 2-9 day shipping speed for my Prime order.

It's not in my mailbox yet as of 12/5 and my order was 11/28.

kjvm

[JRix]

Issue resolved! Thank you to everyone, and special thanks to those who recommended that I email CEO Jeff Bezos himself. That was the trick for any future readers who might stumble upon this post with a similar problem.

I sent an email to jeff@amazon.com stating my problem in a very detailed, polite, but firm manner. Only 36 hours later I received a several-paragraph email from "Executive Customer Relations" apologizing and assuring me that my issue should have been dealt with at lower levels. They promised to address this scenario in employee training in the future, because they still cannot figure out why the order was cancelled. And more to the point, they issued me a $100 promotional credit!

This never, ever, would have happened without the Bogleheads forum, so thank you again.

[bhsince87]

Issue resolved! Thank you to everyone, and special thanks to those who recommended that I email CEO Jeff Bezos himself. That was the trick for any future readers who might stumble upon this post with a similar problem.

I sent an email to jeff@amazon.com stating my problem in a very detailed, polite, but firm manner. Only 36 hours later I received a several-paragraph email from "Executive Customer Relations" apologizing and assuring me that my issue should have been dealt with at lower levels. They promised to address this scenario in employee training in the future, because they still cannot figure out why the order was cancelled. And more to the point, they issued me a $100 promotional credit!

This never, ever, would have happened without the Bogleheads forum, so thank you again.

Wow. Great to hear!

[whodidntante]

Cool.

[N1CKV]

Amazon has terrible customer service. Recently I purchased a fishing reel I had been watching for quite some time. The price dropped as offered by a 3rd party seller. I purchased. I received the item drop shipped through Cabela's. A month later I receive a demand letter from Cabela's stating that there was a chargeback on the account used to purchase for (a dollar amount higher than I paid). I contacted Cabela's and they concluded the 3rd party seller used a stolen credit card to place the order with them. They requested my assistance in working through Amazon and would accept whatever I originally paid if I could get my funds back. I contacted Amazon customer service who insisted that Cabela's I spoke to was fake (I used a direct call, not the number in the letter). After lots of frustration and Amazon refusing to out their 3rd party seller I just hung up and initiated a chargeback against Amazon through my credit card provider. I am still awaiting final decision on that. If I get my funds back in the end I will happily repay Cabela's, if not I will forward them a copy of the rejection of claim from my credit card issuer.

AMAZON IS PROTECTING FRAUDSTERS. I will no longer purchase from 3rd parties on Amazon unless it is a company I am already familiar with. I always assumed Amazon would play a role in mediating this type of issue, I guess that was a bad assumption.

[coulombre]

Third party sellers are killing Amazon. Some third party sellers seemingly ignore the rules and guidelines put in place for protection of the customers.

Had an incident a few months ago where a reseller sent me the wrong item. I notified the third party via Amazon that they had sent a 4oz size instead of the 20oz size I had ordered. Not a word back from them. So I filed a complaint with Amazon.

Shortly thereafter I get a pleading call on my cell phone from someone with a very distinct foreign accent pleading that I remove the complaint. I agreed to once this was resolved. Nope, that would not do, he explained, that he needed it removed now. Sorry, I filed a complaint to get this situation rectified, and I filed a complaint because you did not respond to the original concern. He was not happy.

A couple days later I get an anonymous call on my cell phone and best I can tell it is the same guy with the same very distinct accent. He threatens me and my family with sexual and physical assault. Yup, he threatens me, my mother and my wife.

I call Amazon to tell them, and file a police report... just in case. Amazon did nothing. Nada. Zippo.

Yes, it is true that I could not prove it was the same guy. But it was the same guy.

[Nate79]

Third party sellers are killing Amazon. Some third party sellers seemingly ignore the rules and guidelines put in place for protection of the customers.

Had an incident a few months ago where a reseller sent me the wrong item. I notified the third party via Amazon that they had sent a 4oz size instead of the 20oz size I had ordered. Not a word back from them. So I filed a complaint with Amazon.

Shortly thereafter I get a pleading call on my cell phone from someone with a very distinct foreign accent pleading that I remove the complaint. I agreed to once this was resolved. Nope, that would not do, he explained, that he needed it removed now. Sorry, I filed a complaint to get this situation rectified, and I filed a complaint because you did not respond to the original concern. He was not happy.

A couple days later I get an anonymous call on my cell phone and best I can tell it is the same guy with the same very distinct accent. He threatens me and my family with sexual and physical assault. Yup, he threatens me, my mother and my wife.

I call Amazon to tell them, and file a police report... just in case. Amazon did nothing. Nada. Zippo.

Yes, it is true that I could not prove it was the same guy. But it was the same guy.

How did they get your phone number? Do they get it thru Amazon?