Amazon Demands Phone Return Despite Claiming It’s ‘Lost’: Customers Left Baffled!

January 21, 2026

Amazon insists I return a phone it says ‘may be lost’

I have already made two monthly payments of £108 each, yet I find myself without a phone and financially disadvantaged.

After purchasing a phone for £544 from Amazon, I received a tracking notification indicating that the item “may be lost”. I was prompted to request a refund. Selecting this option led me to customer service, where I was advised to wait a week before making any claims.

A week passed, and I was then required to submit an incident report using the email tied to my Amazon account. However, my submission was declined because the email didn’t adhere to “certain security standards”.

This has put me in a frustrating predicament where using my registered email does not satisfy their security requirements, yet using any other email contradicts the need for it to be linked to my account.

Currently, the order status misleadingly states that I have requested to return the phone—a step I never took since I never received the phone in the first place. It also mentions that a refund will be processed upon the return of the item, which is impossible under the circumstances.

Despite these issues, Amazon has proceeded to deduct two £108 instalments from my account, leaving me without a phone.

SH, London

It seems quite clear that the company’s reluctance to issue a prompt refund is a tactic to avoid a significant financial loss, which does not reflect well on them. It was only after the threat of public exposure that they responded promptly.

They processed a refund within four hours after I reached out and additionally provided a £50 voucher as a goodwill gesture.

Their statement reads: “We apologize for the inconvenience caused by our error.”

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For others who find themselves in a similar situation, left without their purchase and financially strained, the solution might be to pursue a chargeback from their debit card provider, or if they used a credit card, to seek compensation under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.

We appreciate receiving letters but cannot respond individually. Please contact us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Remember to include your daytime contact number. Note that submission and publication of all letters are subject to our terms and conditions.

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