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Better late than never.
Amazon is set to issue refunds to U.S. customers who returned products but never got their money back, with at least one case dating back to 2018.
“Following a recent internal review, we identified a very small subset of returns where we issued a refund without the payment completing, or where we could not verify that the correct item had been sent back to us so no refund was issued,” an Amazon spokesperson told The Independent on Thursday.
“There is no action required from customers to receive the refunds, and we have fixed the payment issue and made process changes to more promptly contact customers about unresolved returns going forward,” the spokesperson added. The returns come after a class-action lawsuit was filed over timely returns.
Affected customers are receiving emails notifying them of the refunds, which are being processed automatically without any required action. Customers are encouraged to check their accounts for unexpected deposits, even if they never requested a return.
Steven Pope, the founder of My Amazon Guy, which helps businesses grow and sell on the online retailer, claims that Amazon refunded him nearly $1,800 for a TV that he returned in November 2018.
“I'm probably not the only customer who has experienced this but isn't that crazy!? 7 years to payout a return???” Pope wrote in a LinkedIn post.
Other commenters mentioned that they, or people they know, have received similar emails about long-overdue refunds.
In its May 1 earnings call, Amazon reported a one-time charge of $1.1 billion, partly attributable to these historical return costs.
Amazon is also facing a potential class-action lawsuit alleging it systematically failed to issue refunds to customers or reversed previously issued refunds.
Filed in 2023, the lawsuit overcame a major hurdle this April when a judge denied Amazon’s motion to dismiss. It is now awaiting class certification, which would allow additional Amazon customers to join the case.
English (US) ·