When Jack Price tries to return his Google Pixel 6 phone to Amazon through UPS, the phone gets lost. Will he ever get his $518 back?
Question
I recently returned my Google Pixel 6 phone to Amazon through UPS. The receipt says the package weighs almost two pounds. Amazon didn’t refund the phone during the standard window.
I called Amazon and it said the package went to the wrong Amazon facility. But UPS tracking said it went to the correct facility.
So the runaround began. Amazon told me to get in touch with UPS and UPS told me to contact Amazon. I tried to email Jeff Bezos, but that didn’t work. Amazon now says there’s nothing it can do. No one is stepping up to the plate to help refund my $518 purchase I returned — and obviously, my receipt from UPS means nothing. Can you help me get the refund for my phone? — Jack Price, Christiana, Tenn.
Answer
Wait a second. Amazon selected UPS as the carrier for your return. Amazon would have given you a return label to use with UPS. So it wasn’t as if you were sending your phone back to Amazon by carrier pigeon. You were just following instructions. (Related: My Google Pixel broke — why do I have to pay for it?)
The moment you dropped that package off at the UPS store, this was a matter between Amazon and UPS. You did what Amazon asked and had the receipt to prove it. (Related: Amazon sent me the wrong graphics card. How do I get this fixed?)
By the way, the Pixel 6 is a great phone (I have one), and I’m sorry yours didn’t work out. It takes some remarkable photos, which I’ve published in some of the top newspapers in the country. (Related: Help! Apple wants to charge me again for AppleCare coverage)
Packages get lost occasionally, but you did the right thing to protect yourself. You kept the receipt, and you also noted the weight, which suggested UPS delivered the package with the phone in it. You might have also taken a picture of the phone in the box. That sometimes helps to establish you sent the phone back to the company. (Here’s how to process Amazon returns.)
A full refund was issued
Sending an email to Jeff Bezos is the right idea, but Bezos doesn’t run Amazon anymore. I publish the names, numbers and email addresses for Amazon customer service on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. You could have politely escalated your case to one of these executives, which is included in what my readers have called the Elliott Method. (Related: Amazon sent me a broken Apple Watch — twice. Now it won’t accept my return.)
Someone at Amazon should have looked at your case and said, “Jack did everything right. Let’s send him his refund.” Amazon could have found the phone on its own instead of making you wait. (Here’s what to do if Amazon has not received your return package.)
You reached out to my advocacy team. I contacted Amazon on your behalf. Amazon called you and admitted that UPS had lost your phone. It issued a full refund.
