(NEXSTAR) — Suddenly received a refund from Amazon, even though you haven’t returned anything in a while? You’re not alone.
Several Amazon customers said they recently received refunds for purchases they made years ago – 7 years ago, in some cases.
“I checked my account and found an order I made seven years ago!” shared one user on Reddit recently. “I’m glad to receive my $13, but…wow, it took 7 years!”
The post included a screenshot of an email sent from Amazon explaining that the customer was being contacted “about an unresolved product return.”
An Amazon representative explained to Nexstar, “During a recent internal audit, we discovered a small group of returns where refunds were issued without payment being finalized, or where we couldn’t confirm the correct item had been returned, resulting in no refund.”
In an email to an impacted customer, Amazon acknowledged, “We could have communicated with these customers more clearly and sooner to provide a better understanding of the situation and help resolve the issue. Given the time that has passed, we’ve decided to favor the customers and proceed with processing refunds for these returns.”
According to the email, the refund was applied to the original payment method or, if that was unavailable, as an Amazon Gift Card for the account.
“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,” a company spokesperson said.
Other Reddit users said they have received similar messages and refunds connected to returns they made within recent years. Reported refunds ranged from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars, Reddit users claimed.
Bloomberg reported that Brian Olsavsky, Amazon’s CFO, said earlier this month that Amazon had taken a one-time charge of roughly $1.1 billion during the first quarter of the fiscal year related in part to “some historical customer returns” that were unresolved.
The refunds also come amidst a lawsuit was filed against the online retail giant over undistributed refunds.
According to Bloomberg, a 2023 lawsuit accuses Amazon of reversing refunds issued to customers who left returns at designated kiosks. Customers received refunds immediately, only to be charged full price for the item if it didn’t return to an Amazon facility, the lawsuit alleges.
It’s unclear whether that lawsuit is connected to the recent refunds issued by Amazon.
Amazon’s return policy says that most items can be returned for a refund, replacement, or exchange within 30 days of delivery, “as long as they are in original or unused condition.”
“A refund will be provided if Amazon (or the third party seller) has received the item, and determined that you are eligible for a refund,” the policy notes, adding that it can take up to 30 days for a return to be received and processed. “In certain circumstances refund timeframes may be longer.”
