HUNDREDS of large Amazon packages kept arriving at the doorstep of one California resident for over a year – and she had no idea why.
It emerged that a shady Amazon seller had been using the woman’s home as its US return address to dodge the tech giant’s refund policies.
A seller from China seemed to be breaking Amazon’s return policy by using a fake US return address—a residential house in San Jose, California, located in Silicon Valley.
Operating under the name Liusandedian, the seller offers faux-leather car seat covers, supposedly designed to fit a wide range of sedans and SUVs.
As a result, many dissatisfied shoppers have been returning the products – all of which have ended up at a woman’s doorstep.
“Kay” (not her real name) told ABC 7 News: “I couldn’t even get my mother in the house… It’s just been another form of hell.”
The deliveries obstructed her driveway, blocked the mail carrier, and hindered access to her doorway, making it hard to park her car and challenging for her 88-year-old disabled mother to get into the house.
Pointing out her crowded driveway to reporters, she mentioned, “What you see here is just a small portion, as I’ve declined delivery on more packages than are visible here.”
Online reviews show customers complaining that they never received their refunds.
One shopper wrote: “It’s going to cost me $124 to return this item!!!” – an item that she already paid at least $129 for.
Kay said: “Oftentimes, what it costs to return it is about more than 50% of what they paid for it.
“Plus, these consumers aren’t getting their money back!”
Kay said she had contacted Amazon numerous times over the past year to try and resolve the issue – including filing six complaint tickets.
“And every time I was absolutely assured this will stop… You won’t get any more of these packages, you’ll hear from us in 24, 48 hours,” she said, adding that she was even offered a $100 Amazon gift balance.
She claimed Amazon told her to give the packages away, donate them or haul them back to USPS or FedEx herself.
But Amazon denies ever advising Kay to return the boxes to postal carriers.
“Why is it my responsibility to get rid of this, when your seller is not following your rules Amazon?” Kay asked the TV channel.
According to the tech giant’s policy, international sellers must either provide a US address to which to send the return.
Alternatively, sellers can provide a prepaid international shipping label within two days of the return request or issue a “returnless refund”, meaning the buyer does not have to ship the item back.
If sellers don’t respond within two days, Amazon refunds the customer on the seller’s behalf, charging the amount to the seller.
If Liusandedian were to abide by the policy, the seller would either lose all proceeds from the sale or pay return shipping to China.
Kay said: “This is thousands of dollars they’ve paid to send these boxes back to my house!”
ABC affiliate KGO reached out to Amazon, who responded, saying: “We’d like to thank [KGO] for bringing this to our attention.
“We’ve apologised to the customer and are working directly with her to pick-up any packages while taking steps to permanently resolve this issue.”
The tech giant removed all the packages on Kay’s property on Wednesday morning.
In other news, Amazon is selling a tiny home kit for $9,300, complete with up to 4 bedrooms and “quick assembly”.
Tiny homes are gaining popularity as a practical solution to rising living costs and skyrocketing real estate prices.
Millennials and Generation X are the primary adopters of tiny homes, with the majority of tiny home dwellers being between 30 and 50 years old.
Millennials and Generation X are leading the charge, with most tiny home residents falling between the ages of 30 and 50.
