I’ll write my recent issue with Amazon towards the end of this recent report. For those that don’t know me, Xanthor or Lord-Xanthor, I’m a reporter whom have been writing articles and running development chats mainly for the mmorpg market since 1998, and mainly these articles are to help and warn people of companies to be wary of, and mostly mmorpg online computer games. Once in a blue moon, I run across a problem in which I go the extra mile to inform the public. Amazon is one of those companies to be wary of, and I’m going to fill in some blanks as well, that many don’t even know how Amazon has ripped many off.
First and foremost, the preordering scam Amazon pulls, mostly during the Christmas season. Have you ever paid for a preorder on Amazon, then on release day or close to it, Amazon sends you an email that the preorder has been canceled due to low quantities or other problems? Have you then run a check to see if someone else is selling but instead pull up another sale by Amazon for that very same item, but higher price? Notice how unlike other refunds, this one took weeks till after the holiday? Your not alone. Another big company I will list later did the same thing, canceling an order for 3 Nintendo DS systems saying not enough stock, yet the invoice I paid had device serial numbers for all 3 units, so was not surprising when I went to the game dept and found two of the 3 units locked up in their display with my serial numbers at much higher price. What’s happening?
Amazon during the holidays take preorders on new and hot items which they charge your credit card for. They do this because funds at Christmas time are stretched thin in order for Amazon to keep stock for the holidays, so when they charge your card, you are actually giving them your money so they can pay for their stock in which you will never see as they are going to sell what you paid for, to other customers at higher price. That canceled message you got was because they sold your order to another customer and know if you want it bad enough, you will go online and pay that higher price. Almost every year Amazon scams many doing this, and because they are basically a Monopoly, they get away with it. Take screenshots when you order. These will help you in small claims court which is what I used to do with them until they got tired of losing and refund the difference to me now a days. Mostly a provisional credit. Easier way is to do a charge back, and some banks do the entire amount, not just the difference. If more do this, they might think twice as charge backs also hit them with bank fees similar to NSF.
Paying for preorders is only helping them to stock items you might never see so they can sell to others on the holidays.
Now for the recent Ripoff. This year was a special year as my kids hit the 16 year mark, so for their birthdays, ordered both my kids, new furniture. They were given full instructions to call, and where to delievery. They ignored both and was caught on neighbors security camera throwing large boxes half onto concrete steps, other half into neighbors brick garden which the bricks penatrated the box, tearing chunks out of the pressure board furniture, and with no support in the middle, the boards buckled and split in half. All this caught on security footage. The Amazon driver seeing what they did, moved the broken box to the side, and only took a picture of the other 3 boxes to hide the damage. After sending copies to Amazon, all they did was say sorry, and refused to send a replacement until they picked up their own merchandise their own employee they saw Who damaged it. Furniture comes special freight it’s too big and heavy for UPS or USPS, so was stuck waiting for a special pickup, just so I could order a replacement Amazon refused to send.
My bank is now doing a charge back. Not just for this, but another issue they scammed me for, which is why I always take screenshots before, during, and after sale. Take a screenshot of the emails they send the moment they send them. Don’t wait till after. Why is this? They have the ability to change those emails from due dates to price changes. How many times have you wondered when your card got charged more, that you could have sworn the price was much lower, but the email showed the new price, and or a new date as well? Your not going crazy. Those emails are actually written in html, and you are seeing what Amazon wants you to see. The pictures, the due dates, all that info is on their server and your inbox is displaying what is stored elsewhere. They can change that information at whim. If you don’t take a screenshot and find your card charged $100 more, you will lose the chance to prove to your bank that the price that is now loading in, is not the sale you agreed to. Same reason for those items that vanished from your order. Some banks like mine will refuse a charge if the price is changed. This is why Amazon uses this edit method to scam their customers. I had a 9 item order with them recently. Took a screenshot. They raised the price of an item after the agreed sale, so because bank refused to honor new price, they dropped the tape gun in that order and looking at their original invoice, saw it was missing, yet looked at screenshot and saw it was there and another items price much lower. I e-mailed Amazon those photos, and got a faked automated reply saying message reached no one. I then filled out a small claims SC100 form, did not file it yet, but emailed Amazon picture and that form. Again the faked they did not get message, but next day, a package I was not expecting came, and in it was the tape guns that got removed days earlier.
Now, as for the furniture incident with Amazon, I started a charge back with my bank. We all have experienced at one time or another when UPS or USPS scans all their delieveries in ahead of time and delievery it lator or the next day. This is bad as you never know if you will get it, or if it’s stolen. This is not the case with large furniture. They either use their Prime vans, or a freight company as it’s too big and heavy for normal delievery. That replacement dresser that never came today, got marked as delievered yet security footage from my home and neighbors, show no vehicles stopping at my home. What’s even more strange, no photo of where it was delivered to was done either. The phone number I was texted was bogus. I’m stuck in a wheelchair, Amazon knows this as a portion of my medical supplies for it is purchased through them. They refused to call the freight company and told me to go to each house/building and ask each neighbor if they got my order. This isn’t a box of cookies, it’s several huge boxes that weight over 150lbs. My neighbors would have called me if something like that was brought, which is what happened next that infuriated me. I got a call from a number that my phone blocked 30 minutes ago. Not the freight company, but a business 7 hours away. Turns out the carrier they used was the same one who broke the last shipment, and once they saw the address, dropped it off at this business with their order and told them I will get it. Hence why they never took pictures. Amazon refused to call them to make them pick this up and deliver it to proper address. If you order anything, and it gets dropped off anywhere else, this doesn’t constitute delievery. I even have this stated on the invoice with phone number to call. Company wants $150 to drop it off. Bank is doing charge back instead.
That wraps this up for now. I’ll update this if anything changes, and will upload photos too of past incidences after I edit out personal info.
Take care and be safe.
