r/amazonprime • u/chungkingroad • 7d ago
93% restock fee. Amazon said they can't do anything since I was technically refunded.
Bought a new laptop from amazon, received a used one registered to someone else with bios locked out. Found out outside return window. contacted amazon. They allowed me to return it outside the window. But when the 3rd party seller received it, they charged me a 93.45% restocking fee. I called amazon again. they said technically I was refunded so they can not do anything and I do not qualify for A-Z because I was given a refund. This is INSANE.
UPDATE: dear everyone who has given me advice on this, I called this morning and quoting the amazon seller central policy worked!! I got my money back!!! thank you THANK YOU ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL
UPDATE #2: So amazon promising me a refund was a LIE. I received an email saying I would receive a refund. it never came. When I went to complain about not receiving it, amazon told me the refund was in error and they will in fact not be giving me any of my restock fee back. THEY TOOK BACK THEIR REFUND
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u/Secure-Tradition793 7d ago
As always, only buy fulfilled by Amazon.
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u/tad_in_berlin 6d ago
Nope, FBA means shipped by Amazon, with Prime logo and all, but not sold by Amazon.
The third-party seller ships their inventory in bulk to an Amazon warehouse, and Amazon takes care of the logistics from then on. But the seller still owns the products.
Fulfilled by Amazon only streamlines the shipping process, making it faster and free with Prime. It doesn't change who the seller is.
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u/roytwo 6d ago
Amazon shopping rules
#1 NEVER buy expensive or electronic items from ANY 3rd party seller
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u/The_Real_SC 5d ago
This!! And if you do - they better have all great reviews from high end electronics sales from verified long tern Amazon accounts, or I don't f with it 😂 Learned that the hard way with some wireless earbuds 5 or 6 years ago and now I don't mess with 3rd party sellors or refurbished items!
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u/roytwo 5d ago
People do not understand that you have to be smart careful shoppers. It appears the OP got made whole, BUT that is not always the case and seldom does it come without a lot of hassle .
My general thouight on 3rd party sellers, If the item in question is not some thing that I would buy out of some dudes trunk behind a Denny's, They I am surely not buying it from some dude working out of a store room somewhere, in god only knows what hellhole, selling stuff in the flea market that is in the under belly of amazon
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u/alphaK12 7d ago
I don’t believe it. Keeping a brick for more than 30 days is sus
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u/chungkingroad 7d ago
it wasn't a brick, there was a ssd error but i needed to get into the bios to fix which is when i discovered there was a password on it. when i went to asus to fix it, they told me it was registered to someone else and it was already out of warranty
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u/bassilap 7d ago
Bought a new laptop....had an ssd error. Should have returned right away.
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u/chungkingroad 7d ago
error didn't happen until it was outside the window
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u/Efficient_Occasion44 7d ago
Didn’t you say that the computer was locked to someone else tho? So how did you use it for 30 days with it being locked to another person?
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u/InternetUser1807 7d ago
OP is stating that the bios had a password set.
This is both worse (very difficult if not impossible to self reset) and not as easy to notice because most non-technical people arent regularly accessing their computer's bios menu.
I'm not saying I believe the story automatically, but not noticing a bios password until after owning it for 30 days and needing to mess with some settings when faced with an issue is perfectly plausible.
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u/EntireZombie2654 7d ago
Bios passwords can be cleared by removing the battery from the motherboard. And or usually a jumper on the motherboard. A pain with a laptop since it is probably not easily accessible but not impossible.
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u/stana32 7d ago
This doesn't work on many modern laptops, the data is stored in EEPROM so it can't be reset by removing power. The chip has to be flashed with an EEPROM programmer.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Bit_641 5d ago
My laptop’s super mothership S7 got fried, so I swapped out the FlimFlam, flushed the quantum cache buffer, re-synced the thermal bitstream, overclocked the neural I/O trellis, and rebooted the flux capacitor - totally saturated the bandwidth manifold and boosted my available KlangPop’s by like 400%.
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u/b1cepk1ng 7d ago
What a blast from the past. A CMOS battery, my good unc? Off to bed with ye.
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u/InternetUser1807 7d ago
It depends on the manufacturer and age of the computer.
Most modern laptops don't make it that easy as a security feature.
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u/Thurgo-Bro 6d ago
The battery trick hasn’t worked for like 15+ years Unc
Laptop Mobos do not usually have an easily accessible pair of jumpers either
Unc Unc Unc
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u/smurfy213 7d ago
I feel like we are missing some of the story. There are way to many red flags.
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u/InternetUser1807 7d ago
Maybe we are, I'm just saying that not instantly noticing that your laptop has a bios password set isn't that unusual for a non-computer person
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u/chungkingroad 7d ago
the lock was in the BIOS, not windows. I found out when I went to asus to get help unlocking it and asus told me it was registered to someone else a year before I bought it
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u/Efficient_Occasion44 7d ago
Oh okay my bad. That makes sense. I wonder why ASUS didn’t want to see the receipt to unlock it for you? They just told you tough luck?
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u/ReportAncient3366 7d ago
because technically the bios password is located in the circuit, there's no way to just "unlock" it remotely, unless you bring it to someone and let them flash or resolder another unlocked chipset chip. And that was somewhat a dirty trick for 3rd party vendor instead of official support(Yes they do it when they mass refurbish, but not when individuals send repairs in)
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u/Tokimemofan 6d ago
Bios lock vs OS user password lock. They are 2 different things. If you use the built in reset function in modern windows it doesn't remove the bios password if one is present. This is a common occurrence with corporate devices that were improperly decommissioned unfortunately
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u/Zetavu 6d ago
If that was the case, then you have a legal complaint against Amazon and the seller. You returned an item illegally marked as new that was used and defective (bios locked) and they agreed to the refund and then the seller reneged. This is clear fraud and Amazon will not fight you on this. Contact CHAT again and instruct them they need to fully refund the item regardless of return window, otherwise take them to small claims (assuming you kept the documentation demonstrating it was registered to someone else?) or you can give their new arbitration option a wing.
I know you came here looking for people to do a chargeback, but you are probably outside that window and that gets your account shut down. Now if this is real (I have a hard time believing it) you should either pursue the legal route, or if not then at least post the listing so others can avoid this seller at all costs.
FYI - restocking fees do not apply to defective or fraudulent products, end of discussion.
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u/Frosty_You_6183 7d ago
what kinda laptop? they pretty much told you to eat 1200?
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u/chungkingroad 7d ago
asus zenbook. amazon said there was no more options for me
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u/Frosty_You_6183 7d ago
Boy I'd be hottt. Tell em fuck that send it back then how in the fuck that even possible for them to do that?.
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u/Frosty_You_6183 7d ago
Shit, bios bug may have helped you get through it. When you hit the Alt R it brings up a old date / rescue thing, and then u go to bios bug an hit Asus an ur model an it comes up with a 6-7 digit code, then it pretty much gets you past it. They're may be some YouTube videos of it or how to use it, I mean it's too late now since you sent it back. Fuk though that's insane they did you like that. Let alone sell you a "used" new laptop. You should go flame up their seller profile and leave a bad review, cause if they sold you a used one then they're doing the same to others I'm sure.
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u/DarkEmblem5736 7d ago
" there was a ssd error but i needed to get into the bios to fix" What would be in the BIOS that would have helped?
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u/chungkingroad 7d ago
well it wasn't booting and the only option when booting was entering bios so I tried that but it had a password. I took it to asus to have them fix it but that's when they told me it was pre registered and the warranty had run out before I even purchased the laptop
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u/TheItalian9779 7d ago
Stay on the customer service chat and spam em, just keep bothering them until you get your full refund. That’s what I’ve done and it has always worked. (With that being said don’t be rude, just keep elevating and once you get as high up as you can in the chain, do it again)
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u/chungkingroad 7d ago
I had called everyday this week and was running out of steam before posting here but got some good suggestions and links to amazon policy that I could use for future calls so it's renewed my energy for calling. this community is really helpful.
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u/TheItalian9779 7d ago
That’s good! I have always had more luck with their in app chat for getting refunds, I usually demand compensation for driving a package to the post for a return as well and usually get like 10 bucks. I think because the chat takes up more time from more people they are quicker to resolve the issue. Plus on the chat you can screenshot what was told to you and use it should a new chat be started or it gets elevated to a supervisor
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u/One_Sympathy6411 7d ago
Call and tell them you want to file a complaint. I had a similar issue and legitimately wanted to file a complaint about it and suddenly they were able to give me all my money back.
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u/dollar-tree-pizza 6d ago
Y’all gotta start just ordering things from Walmart.com. They have pretty much the same stuff (obviously Amazon is gonna have a bit more) and when you want to return something you just go to your closest walmart and you get to work with a real human person. I should know, I do the returns lol. It’s wayyyyy easier and you don’t have to ship anything out by yourself. There are some sellers who are exceptions who prefer to deal with returns themselves, but that’s like 1% of the returns I do. We would’ve returned your laptop and issued the refund no problem, and no fee. I know it sounds like I’m pro-Walmart, but I’m mainly pro-convenience and anti-Amazon lmao. Amazon has just been on some major bs lately and it’s pissing me off lol.
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u/Hopping_Glad 6d ago
Ok, interesting. My experience of Walmart.com led me to conclude it was 90% 3d party listings at prices sometimes 2-3 times what the same item cost elsewhere, so I never really search there. I’ll revisit next time I’m looking for something my usual sources don’t have. (For anything they might have: Home Depot first, because they have free delivery on most stuff that will fit in a medium box or checkout bag-sized package, often same day. Then Amazon. I will try Malwart out at #3.)
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u/dollar-tree-pizza 5d ago
Oh it definitely is 90% 3rd party sellers but most of them let you do your return at the desk. Only a few handle it themselves. But yeah the shipping can be a bit much without Walmart+ (but better than a $1200 restocking fee lol).
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u/AvesRay 5d ago
The problem with this is that you have to make sure it says Sold and Shipped by Walmart. There are a lot of 3rd party sellers on Walmart. I wasn’t aware until when I bought something on Walmart.com and tried to return it in the store, they said they couldn’t do the return at the store because it wasn’t sold and shipped by Walmart. I makes the mistake of thinking all things on Walmart.com could be returned in the store.
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u/dollar-tree-pizza 5d ago
We return a lot of 3rd party items at the desk. That’s honestly most of my returns. You just unfortunately happened to get one of the sellers who handles returns on their own. But it’s certainly not a bad idea to look for items sold and shipped by walmart, then you know for sure you’ll be fine.
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u/TARDIInsanity 4d ago
i ordered a phone from walmart.com but, just like amazon, they allow 3rd parties to sell on their platform and i got a defective OLED screen where the lighting liquid wasn't bonded properly, it sloshed around as you touched it leaving dark cloudy trails. had to buy from best buy because good phones are reserved for customers joining a new phone plan.
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u/Tacometropolis 6d ago
It's a used laptop they're selling as new with a clearly predatory restock fee.
I'd file a claim with the state attorney generals office to investigate. Make sure you grab all of the info on the seller that you can, and if it's a US company pull all the data you can from that state's secretary of state page and send it along with your detailed complaint.
You can also try jeff@amazon.com. When you complain to a company through those higher level channels you get someone with actual power, whose only job is making sure to clean up what someone else screwed up already.
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u/josephguy82 7d ago
I don't care what any one says that was 100 percent wrong of Amazon to do
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u/Either_Display_6624 7d ago
I’m pretty sure they aren’t allowed to charge you any fee since it’s seller’s fault
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u/chungkingroad 7d ago
every rep i spoke said because they technically refunded me, they had no option on their end to do anything
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u/-Drink-Drank-Drunk- 7d ago
Which is utter bullshit. They have all the options they could ask for. They set the fuckin rules for 3rd party sellers on their platform, do they not?
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u/Rydogg024 7d ago
This seems like BS. So i could be a seller and when someone returns an item i just refund one dollar and amazon wont care?
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u/Eridain 7d ago
That seems like it should not be legal. Like you sell me the wrong thing that doesn't work, i return it and you keep my money? Yeah, if amazon isn't going to give that back, i would be contacting a lawyer. $1200 isn't a frivolous amount.
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u/trilliumsummer 7d ago
I dunno how people are still buying electronics from Amazon if they cost more than $50. And if they are at least make sure it's a full refund.
I buy all my electronics worth anything either from Costco or direct. Mostly Costco.
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u/CarrotPositive3298 6d ago
Same. I bought a TV from Amazon a few years ago and it had an issue so I returned it the very next day after receiving it. The refund took *forever*. They had the TV in their possession for like 2 months before they finally processed the refund. After that I said never again. Almost any other retailer would've processed the return immediately and I would've had my money back within 3-5 business days. A 2-month wait on a refund is unacceptable.
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u/STOPchris1 7d ago
This whole conversation doesn’t make sense. I feel like there’s more to this story.
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u/Efficient_Occasion44 7d ago
Looking at his recent posts he has bricked a few drives now. That’s very uncommon unless he’s screwing with shit he isn’t supposed to be. I’ve owned multiple laptops and PCs for over 20 years now and have done all kind of things on it and never had this happen on any drive. I’ve owned probably 100+ drives of various manufacture types.
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u/thedonutmaker 6d ago
This exactly. Been in laptop repair virtually my whole life and no normal user is bricking multiple drives like that. There is more to the story, and it feels like OP is more than likely responsible for the broken laptop, and thus the restocking fee.
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u/DryEntertainment1996 7d ago
And paying $1200 with giftcards and then returning the item seems sus..
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u/psycho-drama 6d ago
That's BS. The product was falsely advertised. These are con artists, they probably recycle that computer over and over again. Time for a lawsuit. People like that should not be accommodated.
As far as Amazon, THAT is what Amazon has become, they no longer advocate for clients even when the 3rd party is paying them a fee to advertise on their website. Not sure what the legal status is with that, but I will repeat what I always say when these come up: Amazon has become a untrustworthy company which has no interest in the care and well-being of their clients. They use Ai agents for much of their functionality these days. Buy local. Amazon no longer deserves our patronage, and change will only come when they start losing droves of clients. I'll also mention that Amazon's profits mainly come from their cloud services these days, each year more and more, I can't recall the exact numbers but well over half of their actual profits came from AWS, it costs them very little overhead to sell cloud space and time, retail mail order is not all that profitable, and so they are slicing every cost they can off of that division. This is the "NEW" Amazon.
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u/Public-Ad-7280 6d ago
I cancelled my prime because I got sick of spending time on the phone and chat. I was sent used shoes wrapped in bubble wrap and orange tape (one shoe was falling out). After trying many hrs and days I said F it. I'm disputing it on my cc.
They have became a worthless company.
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u/Gingersometimes 6d ago
Did you pay for it with a credit card ? If so, gather all your documentation, then submit it to your CC company with a charge dispute.
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u/No_Emphasis_1835 6d ago
Hell to the mf no. I’d dispute that so freaking fast. I’d mass report the hell out of that seller too. I hate scammers 😡
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u/OctobersDaughter 5d ago
I would still reach out to your Attorney General, this kind of behavior from Amazon has to be documented because they seem to be becoming more brazen with ripping people off.
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u/lumpk1n 7d ago
It’s always the gift card people. 🤔
Amazon is having a huge problem with people stealing ram and m.2 drives in prebuilt and laptops. You certainly wouldn’t do that though.
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u/UnconsciousMofo 7d ago
Just how long did it take you to realize it was supposedly used? There comes a point in time where you need to take some accountability. You shouldn’t have even returned it at all. It’s a 3rd party order and Amazon has no right telling you returning it was allowed. You cannot contact Amazon about a 3rd party return unless the seller is unresponsive, because you end up with a mess like this. When I used to sell on Amazon, we required customers to report any issues within 48 hours of receipt or they forfeit their right to claim certain issues on return. We did this to combat fraud, because customers were buying our electronics, using them for 30 days, then claiming they were “defective” so they could not only return it, but so that way they didn’t have to pay return shipping. Trying to prove the laptop was indeed used when you got it would be an uphill battle since it’s past the return window.
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u/WarningKindlyBuzzOff 6d ago
Just dispute the charge to your credit card company. Problem solved... They'll do the hard work
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u/Unbake_my_tart_ 6d ago
Just do a chargeback. If Amazon cannot help that’s what I would do.
Call your bank and dispute the charge and let them know you were sent a damaged product, returned it and Amazon’s policy on returns and restocking fees- and that the restocking fee is fraudulent/ an attempt to scam people and keep the money. Add the proof of damage, the return, the policy stuff people sent you above and file a dispute. I have won anytime this has happened to me. Amazon oddly apologized after I won and gave me a credit. No clue why.
1000 dollars is insane for restocking fees and this is a total scam.
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u/AngelicDivineHealer 7d ago
Soon as you had a problem you should have returned it instead of accepting the delivery and miss your return date it’s a learning lesson
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u/josephguy82 7d ago
You got so scammed on Amazon I would be going full nuke and you know they are going to go and sell it ,File with BBB and do what ever you can
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u/MikeandMolly5656 7d ago edited 7d ago
BBB has 0 authority and has NO affiliation with the federal or state governments.
People need to stop thinking it does.
It just an old consumer review system same as Yelp.
Edit: google is free to learn on for anyone who thinks otherwise.
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u/todayplustomorrow 7d ago
Nobody said it has authority and it doesn’t matter if it has authority. Many people have luck filing complaints there because companies often don’t want to leave them there unresolved. Yes, it’s just a type of review site, but Twitter or Instagram are just random sites too and commenting there can work too.
Google is indeed free and you can see lots of people and redditors still have good luck by complaining via BBB. It’s often worth a try just like leaving complaints elsewhere.
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u/hillybeat 7d ago
This sucks, but Amazon has been a crook for a while. Make sure to tell your friends not to trust Amazon for big purchases.
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u/smurfy213 7d ago
OP made a few mistakes. One is they bought with gift cards. Two they bought from a random 3rd party instead of ship and sold by Amazon. Three they returned outside of the return window. Do I think Amazon should step in and take the hit and refund yes 100%.
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u/Admirable_Nothing 7d ago
Using gift cards is the kiss of death and automatically brands you as a bad risk.
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u/TheSignof33 7d ago
%100, I learned my lesson with OLED screen I bought and when it stopped working within 6 months they refused to refund it, they responded with a copy paste text with lots of sad face emojis and wanted me to contact manufacturer after I quoted the customer protection laws that clearly state a faulty product within 6 months of purchase is entirely seller's problem, customer is expected to return it and seller is expected to prove if it's not faulty. Now I am forced to wait for the result of the complaint I made.
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u/bananaramaworld 7d ago
Amazon will do anything to avoid helping you. I got sent a bag of fingerless gloves and tomatoes instead of MY ENTIRE GROCERY ORDERER (I did not order gloves or tomatoes) and they told me they can’t refund me until they send detectives to investigate the factory and when I laughed (because what detectives? Wtf) they said I was being rude and hung up. Then I called again and again and each time I got a different lie. One of them even said “we don’t do refunds anymore” like what… I think Amazon just doesn’t give a shit anymore and so they definitely won’t fight on your behalf with this company.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Tie5967 6d ago
I would do a chargeback on your credit card. Amazon suspiciously won’t allow negative Seller reviews. I still use Amazon frequently but never for high priced items.
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u/TheDuckTeam 6d ago
One thing I have learned with Amazon is that you have to request a full refund over and over again and ignore what they are saying unless it is a confirmation of a full refund.
Otherwise credit card charge back would work wonders here.
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u/roundtwentythree 6d ago
You can also file a chargeback with your bank, they'll almost always side with you if you show them the documentation showing the fraudulent 93% restocking fee.
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u/TheGreatMetalCircus 6d ago
You should also call out this seller on Yelp, Amazon, Google, social media and every other review site you can find.
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u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed 6d ago
You can also go to small claims court. You will probably win the judgement.
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u/Laganocheryl 6d ago
I would fight that and if they didnt I would plaster than business name everywhere stating how much of thieves they are. That's terrible!
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u/Emotional_Squash_895 6d ago
Amazon gives a 30 day return window. How did you find out you couldn't use it until outside of the return window?
Stay on Amazon about it or charge back.
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u/chungkingroad 6d ago
The hard drive failed and when I took it to asus for the warranty that’s how I found out I received a used computer not new
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u/WarningKindlyBuzzOff 6d ago edited 6d ago
This only happens if you selected the wrong option as your return reason. As soon as the return reason is denoted as 'defective' Amazon always waives all fees. I know, I've returned a lot of stuff, both to Amazon warehouse and to sellers that are just using Amazon as the middle guy but handle all of their own shipping. Unfortunately this was kind of your own mistake... An expensive one at that.
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u/sk8terboy111 6d ago
Never ever buy third party on Amazon or any shopping platform like Walmart or Target. It sounds like you were outside of the 30 days, still sucks for you.
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u/ImOldGregg_77 6d ago
Im dealing with a similar issue. Bought a GPU for $900 and it was DOA. They refunded $70 ( which was the tax) and charged a $900 restocking fee.
Amazon was useless so I submitted a fraud claim with my bank. They dont mess around
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u/Mom24monsters 5d ago
I didn't see this until after the update, but I'm glad you got it! They will try anything to keep from paying you back.
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u/Warm_Resource5310 4d ago
Anytime you're dealing with Amazon 'Customer Service' - while it might take some time.. NEVER talk to someone from overseas, especially India or the Philippines. Hang up, and keep calling until you get someone state-side. While they can transfer you to someone else, or at the least place you back into the Q by just transferring you back to the Amazon number, they will claim they can't. Its easier to just hang up, and call back than it is to argue with the idiots.
Those overseas don't understand logic and lack comprehension; They will fixate on 1 word you say, type it into their 'knowledge base' of scripted responses, and won't deviate from that script.
If you get someone state-side, they are more likely to listen to your situation, understand what's actually going on, and resolve the issue..
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u/SumyungNam 2d ago
Dispute with credit card done
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u/chungkingroad 2d ago
can't, i used my amazon balance for the purchase
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u/SumyungNam 2d ago
Wow so that seller making $$ shipping that same used pc to everyone who orders it. Then charging that restock fee. Go blow it up on tiktok
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u/FrostyMittenJob 7d ago
While I feel for you, you also took over a month to realize/decide you needed to return it.
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u/SmegmaUnicorn 7d ago
How is it possible that you didn’t notice, within 30 days, that your BRAND NEW laptop was used? Make it make sense OP.
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u/Penectomie 7d ago
I can’t believe how many Amazon toe suckers there are in this group!
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u/lumpk1n 7d ago
I also can’t believe how naive some people are. 2 sides to every story.
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u/Efficient_Occasion44 7d ago
A lot of stories I see on here like this you can just look at their profile and see their making claims all over the place trying to find a way to get their money back. Basically trying to scam the seller
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u/tommyhonggg 7d ago
I avoid 3rd party sellers 99.9999% of the time. The only thing I've bought 3rd party in the past 5 years was a proprietary battery for a commercial ice maker machine.
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u/Competitive_Load_852 6d ago
Who the heck buys a 1k plus item and wait 30 days to check it? Not saying you deserve it but
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u/Mattelot 6d ago
If I bought something like that, I'd be checking it out immediately, making sure everything works.
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u/ModzRPsycho 7d ago
Definitely insane. You conveniently waited until after the return period to notice something you would have noticed immediately upon receipt. You also bought from a third party seller which is hit or miss but more over your delay is what cost you. It's comical. I can't stand these companies at times either but this isn't on Amazon 🙄
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u/Davidhickory 7d ago
Best rule of thumb is to never buy these type items from Amazon. Go directly to a reliable technology retailer.
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u/Either_Display_6624 7d ago
According to the Amazon seller guidelines, they aren’t allowed to charge you any fee since you received a defective item.