Abdul Waheed Ahmed is from Pakistan and loves cricket.
But on Oct. 14, the Montreal man said he was forced to watch the World Cup match between his home country and India on his desktop computer, instead of on a 40-inch TV that he ordered from Amazon days earlier.
“On 10th of October I placed an order for the TV,” he told Global News. “It was about $50 less than the market price.”
He says he received confirmation that his item was shipped, so he was expecting to get it on the 13th. But that’s when bad luck struck.
“I was having a coffee break when I received a text that, ‘Your item has been delivered,'” he explained.
Instead of a TV, he says they found a box containing a weight bench with someone else’s name, address and phone number taped to it. The photo on the proof of delivery slip, sent to him from the courier company, shows the box at his door. The document also has the tracking number Ahmed was given when the item was shipped.
The Amazon client says he contacted the company several times but still went nearly a month without getting answers.
“If they would have acknowledged their mistake and rectified the blunder which they made, it would have ben a very smooth processing,” he argued.
Global News contacted Amazon directly. After 24 hours, the company said their customer service representatives didn’t follow steps they normally would’ve taken for such cases.
“After an investigation, Amazon has confirmed that the customer did not receive the item he ordered. We apologize for any inconvenience he has experienced. We will be in touch with the customer to resolve this matter directly with him,” a statement read.
One Montreal lawyer says consumers have a few options when dealing with conflict with merchants.
“So you have Consumer Protection bureau in Quebec, different ministry offices in Ontario and other provinces,” explained Jeff Orenstein, a lawyer with the Consumer Law Group.
“There’s also the Better Business Bureau where they have offices across Canada, and they could help you with your case.”
The other option, he says, is small claims court if the amount in question is under $15,000.
Ahmed is hopeful for a favourable solution.
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