Amazon asked to pay Rs 10k to Hyd customer who received soap instead of phone

In December 2019, P. Vijay Kumar, a resident of Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar, had ordered OPPO A9 mobile phone from Amazon and paid Rs. 11,990 for the same. Two days later he received a package from Amazon containing a soap and Surf packet in a Realme 5 box. The box was broken.

Mr. Kumar immediately informed Amazon and sent photos of the products he received. However, he received no reply.

Amazon, in a written response to the Commission, said, "We are doing business on an e-commerce platform and facilitating third parties (Appario Retail, Hyderabad) to sell their products through their platform. We have nothing to do with the selling of the product and receiving of cash and there is no deficiency on their part."

After observing all the documents and evidence, the Commission observed that the complainant had received an automated response to the mails he forwarded to Amazon. As per the response, Amazon had assured him that their customer care attendant will contact the complainant within six hours. Also, the invoice established the relationship between the third party, Appario Retail, and Amazon.

"The Amazon logo printed on the invoice clearly proves the nexus between Amazon and Appario Retail beyond all reasonable doubt," observed the Commission and further added that Amazon along with Appario Retail had committed unfair trade practice coupled with a deficiency of service and failed to prove that the complainant received a mobile phone and they did not file any evidence to that effect.

The Commission asked Amazon to refund Rs. 11,900 with an interest at 9 per cent per annum from the date of payment. It also asked the company to pay Rs. 10, 000 as compensation for causing inconvenience and mental agony to the complainant and Rs. 5,000 towards the costs of litigation.