Did Not Receive My $700 Dashcam from Amazon, What Should I Do?

Lfranks on 05/10/2021 - 22:01

I've usually had good experiences shopping with Amazon, however this latest experience has left me quite frustrated…

I ordered a Thinkware U1000 dashcam and the external battery pack that goes with it from Amazon.com.au. Total cost to the tune of ~$1000. Both items were sold and shipped by Amazon, and arrived at my house via Couriers Please. Both items shared the same tracking number.

The parcel was dropped on my doorstep late last week while I was not home…great. Fortunately the box was still there when I got home from work. I opened the box to find…only the battery pack. The dashcam was no-where to be seen. Tracking sticker on the parcel says it is box "1 of 1" and I only have one tracking number, so as far as I know I've received the only thing that was shipped to me.

I contacted Amazon via their livechat and basically got the runaround. The conversation was bizarre actually…at first they said they would "initiate an investigation with the carrier" who would then "investigate this with the cctv from the start from fulfillment center till the delivery on where the item was missing and will take action". They said I should wait 3-5 days for this investigation to take place. But then about 15 mins later the CSR says to me:

CSR: We have double checked with carrier and we got an information that both items were present in the package
Me: How would the carrier know? Do they open every parcel?
CSR: They have checked with fulfillment team
Me: How did you contact the carrier when it is 8.46pm? They are not open now are they?
CSR: We have internal communication to the carriers

The whole thing reeked of bs to me. Obviously they think I'm trying to scam them. The conversation ended with me being told to wait for the "carrier investigation" to take place.

So now I turn to the bright minds of OzBargain. Has anyone dealt with a high value dispute with Amazon before? How do I get Amazon to deliver the item that I paid for?

Electrical & Electronics

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Comments

  • Hybroid on 05/10/2021 - 22:04
    +1

    It's your word against anyone else's. Try another customer support rep, maybe via phone this time.

  • FLICKIT on 05/10/2021 - 22:12
    +4

    Is there a weight listed on the postage label?, that may help show if the missing item was actually packed or not…

    Also, was the box re-taped?, or did it just have the original Amazon tape…

    Edit, checking a few of my Amazon packages they all have the weight on the AP postage label so it shouldn't be hard to work out if the dashcam was actually packed and removed later… Also, all my Amazon packages only have the fancy Amazon packing tape on them so if the courier stole the dashcam you'd expect there to be some non-Amazon tape on there…..

    • franks on 05/10/2021 - 23:23

      I mentioned in another comment that the box was shipped from TDJ Australia. They appear to be the wholesaler for Thinkware. The box has “security tape” with the TDJ logo on it, but this tape is only on the top…the bottom is sealed with regular clear packing tape.

      Interestingly it appears that there are 2 layers of “security tape” carefully placed over one another. There are two separate cut marks for the tape. One from where I opened it, and another separate cut mark…

  • TEER3X on 05/10/2021 - 22:12
    +7

    Couriersplease, they are the (profanity) worst company on the planet, most likely they're to blame, I would bet a house on it if I had one.

    FYI, they can take up a very long time to respond to sellers, I think up to 10 business days, and they don't respond to customer/receiver enquiries at all.

    You'll just have to wait.

    • franks on 05/10/2021 - 23:28

      Great. Thanks for the info. Amazon told me I could call Couriers Please to “get an update” of some kind. I called their number and was told by a robot to submit a web contact form, and then it hung up on me. I’ve submitted this form, but I feel like it just went into the void.

  • bcarp on 05/10/2021 - 22:13
    +3

    I think they have a valid concern about a scam against them. It's probably more common than the situation that you describe.

    What does the packing slip inside the box say? Does it have both items listed?

    Is there any way of tracking the weight of the box somewhere along its travels?

    • franks on 05/10/2021 - 23:18

      Packing slip has nothing but gobbledygook on it. It does however list the name and number of the company that shipped the item, one TDJ Australia. I should give them a call and enquire about what was packed.

      The box has two stickers with two conflicting weights on it which makes things more interesting. The TDJ sticker says 4kg, the Couriers Please sticker says 1kg. I weigh the box at about 1.5kg as I received it.

      • HeWhoKnows on 06/10/2021 - 20:09

        That's very good evidence that you only received part of the shipment.
        Should have been 4kg.
        It looks like part of it went missing between TDJ and Couriers Please.
        Id bring this up with TDJ Security as a possible internal theft

        But then again someone at Couriers Please might have opened the box upon receipt, removed the item, then and then placed the 1kg sticker on it. But less likely as they would not know whats inside the box.

        Whereas a TDJ employee has that privilege and also knowing its high value.

  • MagicMushroom on 05/10/2021 - 22:31

    Stat dec?

  • WreckTangle on 05/10/2021 - 22:34
    +2

    $700 dashcam? Every time i park my car i’d be concerned the cam might be stolen.

    • franks on 05/10/2021 - 23:38
      +5

      I think someone has already gotten to it, before I could even install it!

    • HeWhoKnows on 06/10/2021 - 20:13
      +1

      Yep Plenty of excellent dashcams for sale around $120 to $150

  • screensaver on 05/10/2021 - 22:46
    +1

    How did you pay for the item?

    • franks on 05/10/2021 - 23:19

      NAB Platinum credit card. I might have been covered by the cards protection policy, but it doesn’t cover anything that went missing during shipping.

      • sween64 on 05/10/2021 - 23:41
        +5

        Item not delivered is a standard reason to claim a chargeback (which is separate to any insurance protection).

        • franks on 06/10/2021 - 00:12

          Nice! I will give this a go if I don’t get anywhere with Amazon.

          • TilacVIP on 06/10/2021 - 08:10

            @franks: Let us know what they say for reference going forward for others to use, as I'd say quite a few of us use a credit card to pay with.

          • Mechz on 06/10/2021 - 15:54

            @franks: Just bear in mind they might axe your Amazon account if you do that.

  • screensaver on 05/10/2021 - 22:49

    How big is the box, and how was it packed, was it wrapped in bybble wrap and was there any other loose packing material. Put it back how it was and take photos.

    • franks on 05/10/2021 - 23:21
      +1

      The box is maybe just big enough to contain the 2 items, although I don’t know how big the dashcam box is. There was enough air packaging inside the box to fill the void up completely.

      I’ve got plenty of photos, I can post them here if the OzB detectives think it will help the investigation 🕵️‍♂️

      • randomusername2017 on 05/10/2021 - 23:41
        +1

        Photos please 🍿🍿

        Your only contact should be amazon.

        There is no agreement between Couriers Please and you.

        Frankly should wait 3-5 days for this investigation

      • screensaver on 06/10/2021 - 06:29
        -2

        if the box was filled with loose packing material then its the company. Also their weight sticker doesnt match the Couriers. So Amazon lied, they didnt fulfill it. Also the paxking slip does not list what was packed correctly.

    • Muzeeb on 05/10/2021 - 23:27
      +2

      Can you pleaae speak to you psychic to see where it is Pam?

      • randomusername2017 on 05/10/2021 - 23:43

        afk - in mourning 👼

      • SF3 on 05/10/2021 - 23:48
        +1

        franks - Member Since
        28/06/2020

        franks believes in modern tech and hard evidence, otherwise your suggested path could be a viable solution for all future traffic incidents.

        Where did I put those car keys 🤔

        I could be wrong 🤷

  • Choc83 on 05/10/2021 - 22:52
    +4

    I'd go down the path of a chargeback through your CC company, although you could end up getting blacklisted by the Besos

    Also this might prepare you for what's to come - https://www.amazon.com.au/Vaseline-Petroleum-Jelly-Original-…

  • Fier2 on 05/10/2021 - 23:58
    +1

    That s interesting.. ususally high value items from amazon have to be delivered and handed to the customer and not left in any places… when i oredered aomething that is over $100 i got a notification that attempted delivery happened no matter if it s from amazon, australia post, courriers please or fastway… i remembered a rep telling me that high value items are not being left unattended…

  • penguincat on 06/10/2021 - 01:23
    +1

    Maybe try looking up the tracking number with 001 and 002 at the end. So CP********001 and CP********002.
    While it wasn't an Amazon delivery just one of CP's amazing delivery experiences I had recently.

    First off they delivered CP******** which was marked 1 of 1 real tracking number was CP********001. I was like huh where is the rest of what I ordered? Went back and no just one tracking number. So I tried CP********002 it showed as Onboard for delivery VIC 3.13pm Sat 7 Aug 2021 ok so not my item I guess.
    No sign or any info on CP********002 was mine until it was dropped at a random house in my street a day later. 48 hours later after the delivery it also appeared when tracking number CP******** was entered. Which would have been helpful at the beginning.

    This was 002's tracking

    Onboard for delivery QLD 11.15am Wed 11 Aug 2021
    Onboard for delivery VIC 3.13pm Sat 7 Aug 2021
    Onboard for delivery VIC 6.39am Fri 6 Aug 2021

    Magically jumped from Victoria to Queensland while onboard for delivery. Much more helpful tracking on 001 but still gaps lol.

    This was 001's tracking
    Onboard for delivery QLD 11.16am Tue 10 Aug 2021
    Cube/Weigh - In Transit Length 21cm Width 16.5cm Height 14 cm Weight 1kg NSW 12.32pm Sun 8 Aug 2021
    1 item has been sent Sydney - Brisbane NSW 12.29pm Sun 8 Aug 2021
    Onboard for delivery VIC 6.39am Fri 6 Aug 2021

    It's maybe possible that something like that also happened here? Worth a shot anyway. :)

    • franks on 06/10/2021 - 08:30

      Nice theory! Unfortunately my tracking number does not end with 001 or 002. I tried appending that to the end but their tracking page shows me nothing.

    • afoveht on 06/10/2021 - 08:58

      Yes, CP's tracking allows for a shocking breach of privacy. You can easily search sequential numbers to see what left a place and to what destinations - a super easy way to get some insight into what's going on at a business, maybe a competitor.

  • holdenmg on 06/10/2021 - 02:56
    +1

    I'd like to see the Dashcam footage. (Oh wait).

    (MS Paint diagram of your Doorstep with a chalk outline) lol

  • screensaver on 06/10/2021 - 06:41

    I checked their google reviews, about 4 monts ago they sent someone a faulty dashcam and then rejected claim saying it was misused. The person said they never used it.

  • McOzbargainer on 06/10/2021 - 08:01
    +1

    Might be a good idea to film opening packages.

    • franks on 06/10/2021 - 08:28

      I think they would still dispute it. They could just say I tampered with the parcel before I started filming.

      If the shopping experience with Amazon is so bad that I have to resort to filming opening my parcels, I will just shop elsewhere.

  • TilacVIP on 06/10/2021 - 08:16

    People bag eBay when compared to Amazon, and for the most part have good reason to, but I'd say in this instance, the buyer would usually win, right?

  • foxmulder on 06/10/2021 - 10:04
    +1

    Amazon AU or third party seller in Amazon? So far I know Amazon not using Courier Please for all my deliveries.

    Amazon usually have their own box - thus it's amazon box, not having it's 'Amazon' on it, but large smile logo in either side of teh box and they don't use clear tapes - they use wood made (?) tape - and inside usually there is one or twos 1/8 of a4 paper informing you what is it you're getting in the box (sometimes it can be a miss).

    ANd if you check online in your order, drop down 'Invoice' - if it's Amazon it will say view tax invoice - rather than contact seller for purchase document or something.

    Which seller is it?

    • Muzeeb on 06/10/2021 - 10:13

      Both items were sold and shipped by Amazon,

      • aragornelessar on 06/10/2021 - 15:49

        But then OP says the following, which makes you wonder if it was shipped by Amazon. I've always gotten Amazon AU shipped packages in a brown box with Amazon tape on it

        I mentioned in another comment that the box was shipped from TDJ Australia. They appear to be the wholesaler for Thinkware. The box has “security tape” with the > TDJ logo on it, but this tape is only on the top…the bottom is sealed with regular clear packing tape.

        • franks on 06/10/2021 - 18:03

          Yep, it's quite confusing really. It's almost like Amazon is dropshipping this dashcam. How can they claim to have spoken to the "fulfilment centre" to confirm that I was shipped both items? They don't have a clue.

  • OzHunterNSW on 06/10/2021 - 11:51

    I have heard of this before….

  • screensaver on 06/10/2021 - 12:41

    Take a close up of the weight labels, the packing slip, and the full box of packing materials to support your case to all parties.
    Looks like it was shipped by TDJ so ask them who packed the box, why the camera is not in it, why the weight doesnt match, and why they have such a poor packing slip.

  • franks on 07/10/2021 - 17:08
    +9

    I have a happy update for this thread!

    Today I called TDJ Australia and explained the situation to them. They were sympathetic and said they would look into the issue and get back to me.

    Later today I got a call from them to confirm that it was a mistake on their end! They had misread the purchase order and only included 1 of the 2 items in the box. They are shipping out the missing dashcam to me and will sort everything out with Amazon!

    I am completely amazed at this outcome and very thankful to the folks at TDJ for investigating. They could have fobbed me off to Amazon but they didn't.

    Sorry for all of you who were hoping for Amazon drama. One thing this does show is that the feedback I got from Amazon's livechat was utter bs. I'd like to make a complaint about the way their CSR handled the conversation actually.

  • screensaver on 07/10/2021 - 19:38
    -2

    i would ask for registered post or tale some steps to ensure delivery, such as dont leave unattended

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