What to do if Amazon sends the wrong item

Has Amazon sent you the wrong order, or has your high value item has been swapped for something else? Here’s what you should do.

Amazon is used by nearly 90% of UK shoppers. Many of us use it due to the simple convivence, and the peace of mind that comes from ordering from a trusted world renowned retailer. After-all its own mission statement is to be Earth’s most customer centric company.

But what happens when things go wrong? When the item you’ve ordered is swapped or replaced with something else, or when Amazon sends you the wrong item?

This article is born of my own frustration of ordering a high value item from Amazon only to find that when I opened the box the item was replaced with something low value (but more on that later).

Also see: Know your rights when parcels go missing

Has Amazon sent the wrong item?

If Amazon sends you the wrong item and it’s clear that this item has been sent in error, then you have 30 days to return it and receive a refund.

After this deadline you may have to keep the item, unless there are some mitigating circumstances such as being physically unable to return it.

How to return a package when Amazon has sent the wrong item

If you’ve received an item that is different from what you actually ordered it’s best to act quickly. If it’s a low value item, you can set up a return from within your Amazon account area.

To setup a return follows these steps:

• Log into your amazon account and navigating to your orders list.
• Find the item on the list, and select “return or replace products”
• You will be asked ‘why you want to return the product’, there drop down menu, where you can select “A wrong product has been sent”
• A message box will appear, allowing you to write in what the problem is e.g. “I ordered a wooden handle toothbrush but instead received some toothpicks”
• Once you click continue, you’ll be asked how you want to receive your refund. This can be either via the original payment method, or by Amazon store credit. Our advice is to always take the cash.
• From there, you’ll be given options of how to send the item back. Most drop off points now don’t require you print a label which is handy.
  Once you’ve dropped off the item, you’ll be refunded via your chosen method usually before the goods even make it back to Amazon.

Amazon high value orders switched

Unfortunately there’s been a spate of high value orders from Amazon being switched for low value items. One Amazon customer in Leeds received weetabix instead of a £500 laptop. Another had an iPhone switched for cat food. I also have my own experience of this (below). This happens almost exclusively with orders that require a One Time Passcode (OTP).

After a number of high profile incidents, Amazon is investigating the issue, but don’t expect anything to be resolved soon. If you’ve made a high value purchase and it’s been swapped out for something else, we’d recommend you contact Amazon customer care immediately rather than going through the process above.

Contacting Amazon customer services

To contact Amazon customer services, log into your account and then select ‘Customer Service‘ on the right-hand side of the top menu bar.

From there you will see your recent orders. Click on the order with the issue, and then select “Return or replacement” > “Different than what was ordered” > “Received completely different item”

You will be asked to click either “Start a return or replacement” or “I need more help.”

I’d recommend selecting the “I need more help” option as this will put you in touch with customer support. You then have the option of receiving a phone call or starting a web chat. I prefer the web chat, as if things don’t go according to plan, you have a proof of everything that was said.

Then explain the situation, and express your concern and distress.

Note: If you suspect fraud or theft notify the police on their non-emergency number and get a crime reference number.

What to do to cover yourself from high value order switches

If you’ve ordered a high value item form Amazon and received an OTP for delivery, it pays to be cautious. Follow these steps to ensure you’re covered.

Pay with a credit card

Always pay with a credit card if you can. If the item is between £100 and £30,000 you will be covered by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. This means the credit card company will be jointly liable for any issues with the goods.

If you don’t have a credit card, you can use Curve Flex or similar. That allows you to split purchases into instalments. the crucial part here, is that because it’s offering credit, you are covered by the by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. Beware that it does involve a hard credit check though.

Receive the goods yourself

Take delivery of the package yourself. Don’t give your OTP to a friend or relative to receive the package for you and don’t have them delivered to any address other than your home.

Get video evidence

If you can, film yourself taking delivery of the package. This is easier said than done, and might feel a bit strange and over the top, but if you have a small wearable camera like the Insta360 Go, it needn’t be intrusive.

Fourthly, open the package as soon as you receive it, and film yourself doing so. If you were able to also record yourself receiving the package, keep the video rolling and film yourself opening the package. Having this all in one take add credibility to the video.

Otherwise, just film yourself opening the package and make a note to say and display the date and time in the video.

Shop elsewhere (the extreme choice)

This might be an extreme alternative, but sometimes it’s just not worth the hassle when it comes to high value goods. Personally, I prefer to buy direct from the manufacture if possible. This works well for things like Apple products, Action cams (GoPro, Insta360, DJI), and many other high value items.

Amazon isn’t usually the cheapest place around, and ordering directly from the brand in question usually means better customer service.

My Amazon high value item switch story

In the summer 2023, I ordered a high value camera from Amazon. The camera was on special offer in a number of stores, but Amazon had a further money off discount that was too good to pass up.

The item was set to be delivered the next day by 8pm, and when it was on its way, I received a One Time Passcode (OTP) as is common for high value items. The idea is that the delivery driver will only hand the parcel over to someone who has this code.

My package arrived at roughly 19:17. The box was intact and no seals on the package were broken, so I had no reason to suspect anything.

I opened the package, and to my dismay found that rather than containing the camera I had ordered, it contained a set of cheap padlocks and a pack of filters for a George Foreman gill.

I had read of incidents like this on the BBC. People ordering Cameras or Laptops but receiving cat food, or iPads but receiving cereal. In each of these stories the customers had struggled to get Amazon to issue a refund.

Immediately I contacted Amazon via its online chat. I was instructed to send a picture of the items received along with a photo of myself and piece of paper clearly showing my name and the date, to an email address they had given me.

Amazon promised to review the information and respond within 3 days, but given the value of the item I was getting nervous.

I set about finding alternate contact addresses for Amazon, that perhaps might bypass the first level of ‘script reading’ customer support. I came up with the following:

jeff@amazon.co.uk
escalation-callback@amazon.co.uk
managingdirector@amazon.co.uk
ajassy@amazon.com

Now these emails probably don’t go the person they are addressed to. After all Jeff Bezos doesn’t even work at Amazon anymore, and his email would certainly be on Amazon’s .com domain. The important thing is these email addresses are monitored, and so queries do get picked up.

Sending my complaint to these email addresses got a same day response from Tarik in who works withing Amazon Executive Customer Relations. He created a new order for the camera to be sent out for next day delivery, and arranged for UPS to collect the cheap items I’d been sent.

I was still concerned that something similar might happen again, and so when the new item arrived, I followed the steps above in this guide to ensure I was well covered.

Amazon wrong items and high value order swaps – conclusion

I’d love to say that if you receive the wrong package from Amazon, that there’s no need to worry. In most cases that’s true. You can easily get a refund, or the have the item swapped for the correct article.

Unfortunately, when it comes to high value goods that isn’t always be the case. For me, everything worked out well in the end, but it wasn’t without some stress, and means I’ll be hyper cautious in the future.

We know from newspaper articles that some customers haven’t been so lucky, and have had to fight tooth and nail to get Amazon to acknowledge the problem.

Obviously, the vast majority of Amazon customers receive the goods they paid for, but if you’re ordering high value items in future, especially those requiring an OTP, then it pays to be cautious and follow the steps above so that if anything does go wrong, you irrefutable proof.