I have been an Amazon customer for years, and I have honestly never experienced anything quite like this. Sharing the whole story because the final response from Amazon's Executive Customer Relations pretty much sums up everything that is wrong with their customer service.

It all started on October 11. I ordered some laptop RAM for around $460. Amazon offered free shipping, but I paid an additional $21.47 for expedited delivery because I needed the item before travelling on October 18.

Delivery was originally expected on Friday, October 16. Then Saturday. Neither happened.

UPS then reported that the receiving premises were closed. Except I was sitting at home waiting for the package. Multiple calls to UPS went unanswered, so I drove an hour each way to their office, only to discover the package was still going through customs clearance.

So I contacted Amazon.

On October 13, an agent offered me a $25 promotional credit for the trouble. Never received it.

On October 17, after the expedited delivery deadline had been missed, I contacted Amazon again. My request was simple. Refund the additional $21.47 I paid for expedited shipping since I did not get the service I paid for.

The agent then offered something I had never asked for. A full refund of approximately $481, including the product, and said I could keep the item when it arrived.

I actually clarified that I still wanted the item. He explicitly confirmed I would receive it AND the refund.

He then stated, in writing, that he had successfully issued the refund and that it would appear on my original payment method within 5 to 7 days.

Great, I thought.

Except no refund had actually been issued.

I contacted Amazon again. Another agent confirmed that no refund had been processed but assured me that I should contact them after delivery and they would issue the full refund.

Still skeptical, I contacted a third representative. She reviewed the previous conversations, confirmed the commitment AGAIN, explained that refunding before delivery could cancel the shipment, and instructed me to wait until the item arrived.

She also assured me that she had added notes to my account so the next representative would know what to do.

She gave me a $20 gift card as compensation, explicitly confirming this was on top of the promised full refund and not the final resolution.

The $20 gift card is the only compensation I actually received.

All of this is documented in chat transcripts issued by Amazon itself.

The item finally arrived on October 18.

I contacted Amazon as instructed.

And guess what?

The next agent claimed there were no notes on my account and refused the refund. Apparently, the previous representatives had made promises that were "outside policy."

I escalated to a supervisor. Same response. Incorrect promises, sorry about that, return the item if you want a refund.

So three representatives had either made or reaffirmed the same commitment, one had claimed the refund was already processed, another had supposedly documented everything, and now Amazon was effectively telling me none of it mattered.

I asked for a formal complaint reference and written explanation. Got nowhere.

I then sent a detailed complaint to Amazon's Executive Customer Relations, copying several executive escalation addresses and attaching the original Amazon transcripts.

Later that evening, I contacted customer service one more time with ONE simple question.

Had the representative who promised to annotate my account actually done so?

What followed was almost another hour of being bounced between four representatives.

One disappeared after keeping me waiting. Another transferred me. A third started investigating a completely unrelated credit card charge despite my repeatedly explaining what I was asking.

Eventually, a supervisor confirmed that the original representative had indeed promised a refund without requiring a return, but said she could not honor it.

Still no answer about the account notes.

I then asked about the ORIGINAL $21.47 shipping charge. She transferred me to another department. Nobody connected.

I tried getting a transcript of this circus. Another agent, another transfer, another timeout.

Absolutely ridiculous.

But wait, it gets better.

On October 20, Amazon sent me a formal warning for violating its customer communication terms during my frustrated interactions with customer service. Apparently, continued behavior could result in restrictions or account suspension.

Now, I accept that I was angry and some of my language was harsh. But after multiple false assurances, hours of wasted time, and people refusing to answer straightforward questions, my patience had pretty much disappeared.

What I found particularly insulting was that Amazon had managed to investigate MY conduct and issue a formal warning while I was still waiting for an acknowledgment of my executive complaint.

Eventually, Executive Customer Relations responded.

Their position? The full refund without return was against policy, the representatives had been coached, and I could return the item if I wanted a refund.

Fine. I understand that their representatives made commitments Amazon was unwilling to honor.

So I clarified that I was no longer pursuing the full refund. I just wanted the $21.47 expedited shipping fee refunded. The same thing I had originally asked for before Amazon created this entire mess.

And this is where things become almost comical.

The executive representative kept explaining to me that expedited international shipping is a paid service and that my Prime membership does not cover it.

I KNOW IT IS A PAID SERVICE. I PAID FOR IT VOLUNTARILY.

My complaint was that the delivery missed the promised dates. Not that Amazon charged for expedited shipping.

Today, October 27, I received yet another response repeating that the full refund was against policy and that the shipping fee was applicable because it was a paid service.

She then declared the escalation closed and informed me that further inquiries would not receive a response.

Seriously???!!!

I replied one final time, explaining AGAIN that I was not asking for a full refund, just the original $21.47 shipping charge.

I have attached a screenshot of this final exchange so you can see for yourselves.

At this point, I give up.

This was never really about $21.47, or even the $481 Amazon voluntarily promised.

It is about a company whose representatives repeatedly tell customers things that are not true, whose supervisors acknowledge those statements but disclaim responsibility, and whose Executive Customer Relations team apparently cannot distinguish between a request for a full refund and a request for a shipping refund.

Add to that a formal warning to the customer for getting frustrated and a final email effectively saying "we are not responding to you anymore."

All over a $21 shipping refund that should have been a straightforward customer service issue.

I have decided not to renew my Prime membership. Not because $21 is going to make any difference to me, but because I no longer have any confidence in Amazon customer service.

If this is what happens when you escalate a complaint all the way to Executive Customer Relations, what exactly is the point?

Anyway, rant over. Amazon wins. I give up!!!

I order groceries almost daily through prime same-day delivery or overnight. Am I supposed to tip? I never noticed the option to tip.

What's the deal with Amazon saying, " Oh, your 2-day delivery is delayed until next week, " then they stop tracking it but offer to cancel the order as if that's a good solution?

Maybe this is already happening in other areas - but today for the first time I had ordered a large item (Lego set), chose gift settings to avoid the small chance of them sending it without a box with just a label slapped on (haven't actually seen that in a little while, but just in case), and it arrived just wrapped in brown paper, resulting in a completely crushed Lego box. Shipped and sold by Amazon (not a 3rd party). That's a new low in saving some $$$ at the expense of the customer yet again. Guess they are trying to save every last penny by now avoiding boxes.

I get sometimes I receive plain brown envelopes of small stuff, that's not a big deal. This is the first time I've received a large (20lb), rather fragile item not designed for shipping without a box, simply wrapped in brown paper.

I'm referring to the ones dangling down next to the lights.

It looked partially opened at first glance, but was still sealed. Someone at the warehouse took the time to seal this with nothing inside lol

But seriously, this is a glitch right? I've never encountered this situation before.

I ordered some things last week and they were delivered, but Amazon has not stopped prompting me to "add to tomorrow's delivery", which has been delivered, a week ago.

I am struggling with categorizing and reconciling Amazon Business purchases, especially those involving reward point redemptions. Bottom line is that the charge that appears on my bank statement does not match the order amount on the Amazon order receipt. Ive also tried the orders report and both reconciliation reports. If I take the charge amount on the credit card and search for that number in any of these reports, it’s not there. Most are not on the email confirmations either.

Has anyone figured out how to do this?

Received an unexpected Amazon delivery yesterday. I live in an apartment with package lockers. Notice said it was in the locked refrigerator. I was clueless. Inside was a flat bag the size of a pizza. Nope. It was hair spray in a bag like you would put produce in at the grocery store. Very strange. Even stranger is the fact that I had Received the Hairspray in an order earlier in the week. Very odd.

I’ve bought it for prices between $3.18 and $5. Now I get these $15 or $8 prices.

Just had this email today, and states that they’re closing my account and no new purchases can be made via this method from 18th March 2027.

I use this payment method probably 4 times a year maybe. Not on anything outrageous but mainly when they offer 0% interest payments.

So wondering is this just my account? Or is this worldwide and they’re adding a new service to replace it?

A friend ordered an espresso machine and got a an espresso machine with a set of blinds in it. Another friend ordered a Lego set and got a Lego box full of macaroni.

Both were from Amazon, not third party sellers. Do third party sellers on Amazon have better QC?

I have to share this story because at this point, I genuinely don't know whether to laugh or scream.

All of this over €12.38.

October 8 – It all started so innocently

I ordered two Gira light switch covers from a third-party seller on Amazon for a total of €12.38.

Unfortunately, Gira had changed the mounting mechanism with their newer generation of switches. The covers look identical from the front, but they don't fit the older switches.

The incompatibility was technically mentioned in the product description, but the pictures only showed the front. I had overlooked the warning.

My mistake. No big deal.

So I requested a return.

The problem: Amazon wanted me to pay for return shipping myself.

Since shipping would cost a significant percentage of the original purchase price, I figured I'd politely ask Amazon customer service if they could provide a prepaid return label.

Simple enough, right?

Oh, you sweet summer child.

October 8 – "Don't worry, I'll personally take care of everything!"

The first customer service representative, let's call him Kevin, was incredibly friendly.

He assured me that he would personally contact both the seller and the relevant department and arrange for a free return label to be emailed to me within three business days.

Perfect!

Problem solved.

Or so I thought.

The seller responds

A few days later, I received a message from the Marketplace seller.

Essentially:

"Thank you for your message. Please return the item using sufficient postage."

Which was exactly what I had been trying to avoid.

Looking at the message Amazon had sent to the seller, it turned out they had simply forwarded my request for a free return label.

The seller responded with their standard return instructions.

Then they sent the exact same message again.

Word for word.

Wonderful.

October 19 – Round two

Since the promised return label never arrived, I contacted Amazon again.

A new representative, let's call him Bernd, explained that I could simply pay for the return shipping myself and Amazon would reimburse me afterward.

Okay, fine. That could work.

I asked how exactly I was supposed to get reimbursed.

His response:

"Please send us the return slip back."

What return slip?

Where am I supposed to send it?

How?

After several questions, he repeated his explanation, adding that I was a valued customer and Amazon would never leave me suffering any financial losses.

Then came this masterpiece:

"Please stay online while I complete the transfer."

Immediately followed by:

"Bernd has left the chat."

WHAT TRANSFER?!

I was connected to another representative.

This one apparently read through the conversation and decided to file an Amazon A-to-z Guarantee claim.

He assured me that I would get my money back.

He also told me to keep the items for now. If the seller wanted them back, the seller would arrange to collect them.

Finally!

A solution!

Right?

October 27 – The invoice is still unpaid

I use Amazon's Pay by Invoice option.

Despite everything, the €12.38 was still showing as an outstanding balance in my account.

So I contacted customer service. Again.

All I wanted to know was the status of the existing A-to-z claim and when my invoice would be corrected.

Instead, I was asked why I wanted to return the items in the first place.

Seriously?

After explaining everything AGAIN, I was told that the A-to-z team would contact me within 24–48 hours.

I pointed out that the claim had already been submitted eight days earlier.

The response?

"Please don't worry."

Ah yes. The magical phrase.

At least the representative offered to send me written confirmation by email.

I accepted.

And that's when things got even better.

Two emails. Two completely contradictory instructions.

Shortly afterward, I received TWO emails from Amazon.

Email #1 – A-to-z Guarantee team:

I had to return the items and provide a tracking number within 72 hours.

Otherwise, my claim would be put on hold.

Email #2 – Amazon Customer Service:

I should NOT return the items myself.

If the seller wanted them back, the seller would arrange collection.

Both emails arrived on the same day.

I asked the representative which instructions I was supposed to follow.

He told me to return the items.

I pointed out that he had literally just emailed me the opposite instructions.

His brilliant solution?

"In this case, I will contact the seller on your behalf to help you obtain a prepaid return label. Would that work for you?"

NO!

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE TRIED ON OCTOBER 8!

WE HAVE COME FULL CIRCLE!

I ask for a supervisor

After explaining that we'd been going around in circles for almost three weeks, I requested a supervisor.

The response:

"My supervisor and I have the same information."

I explained that I wasn't asking for someone with more information.

I was asking for someone who could actually make a decision.

Eventually, I was transferred.

A representative named Detlef joined the chat.

Said absolutely nothing.

Left the chat.

Another representative joined.

"Hello, how can I help you today?"

I genuinely considered screaming into a pillow.

After explaining why I had specifically requested a supervisor, this representative transferred me to yet another department.

Finally, a solution?

The next representative, let's call him Günther, told me that the €12.38 would be credited against my outstanding invoice within 5–7 days.

Finally!

An actual answer!

I asked whether I needed to return the items for the refund to be processed.

His response:

"Yes, you can return the items."

FACEPALM.

I didn't ask whether I COULD return them.

I asked whether I HAD TO!

He then explained that I would receive a prepaid return label from the relevant department AFTER receiving my refund.

Wait.

So first I get the refund, THEN the return label?

I specifically asked:

"Am I understanding you correctly that the €12.38 refund will be processed independently of the return, and that I will receive a prepaid return label afterward?"

His response:

"Exactly."

Okay.

Finally.

Then he added:

"I have taken care of everything for you. I will personally handle this."

Where have I heard that before?

Oh, right.

October 8.

The grand finale

As the conversation was ending, Günther sent me this:

"You can leave the chat without ending the chat so I can write the note in the system. Close the chat window without clicking End. Click X."

I'm not even making this up.

After nearly three weeks of trying to return two light switch covers, I was now being given specific instructions on HOW TO CLOSE A CHAT WINDOW so the representative could supposedly finish processing my case.

And, of course, he ended with a very enthusiastic thank-you, wishing me a wonderful week and good health, complete with a heart emoji.

I closed the window as instructed.

Current status

• Original purchase: €12.38
• Issue ongoing since October 8
• Numerous customer service representatives
• Multiple department transfers
• Several identical copy-paste responses from the seller
• One A-to-z Guarantee claim
• Two contradictory emails on the same day
• Multiple promises of a prepaid return label
• One promised invoice credit
• Several people promising to "personally take care of everything"

Actual refund received so far: €0.00.

And here's the best part:

I NEVER ASKED FOR A REFUND WITHOUT RETURNING THE ITEMS.

All I wanted was to send back two incompatible light switch covers without spending another €5–€7 on shipping for a €12.38 purchase.

That's it.

Instead, Amazon has involved so many employees and departments that the cost of handling my case has probably exceeded the value of the items several times over.

I can only imagine what this entire process looks like internally.

Somewhere in Amazon's system, there must be a customer service ticket that has achieved sentience.

I'm now waiting to see whether the promised invoice correction actually arrives within 5–7 days.

Possible sequel coming soon.

And if anyone from Amazon happens to read this:

I would have happily returned those damn light switch covers on October 8 if you'd just sent me a prepaid return label.

Seriously.

I touched them. 😫🤢 Wtf Amazon? This was a Christmas gift for my nephew. I'm so glad I checked it. I just wanted to know what the book was like. I had no idea this would be there. I'm so grossed out rn.

The delivery driver brought the grocery bags and set them on the porch, took a photo, then walked to her car. Her trunk was still open. They looked at their phone, walked back to our porch and took the groceries back to their car and left. I have it all on my Ring camera. I called Amazon support and reported what had happened. They said "was it an Amazon delivery person or a Flex driver" which i guess is a 3rd ​party company, which it seemed to be since no Amazon markings on them or their car. Amazon supporf said "oh yes we have been getting reports of this, we will call the driver". They could not get ahold of them they said and would report it (internally?) And delivery my groceries tomorrow. I said fine. Then, the driver returns about 10 minutes later, says she had an "app issue" and Amazon told her mine was the wrong house or something. All my bags were in her trunk, open. She said "oh the other house i was told to go to They opened the bags, but you can have them if that's okay with you?" I was like no (hell no on my mind) and told her id wait for re-delivery. Ive been doing Wholefoods delivery for years and never seen something like this. Am I paranoid or was this a scammer getting caught?​

Same product but with different price tag in the name of Marketplace fee what is this? The one with 1058 is a regular Amazon account and the other one that priced at 1063 is the Prime account.

Looking back at transcripts and conversations via email and their chat, I have spent over 20 man hours trying to resolve issues.
I am not bothered about complaining - I just want a fault item, not fit for purpose item, late delivery, lost delivery and so on dealt with efficiently, where do you start?
SURE most of you that have read this far know what I am trying to say, and really and simply put across:
Over the past 10 months or more, starting in November last year - I have highlighted the time on the chats to - if lucky, an associate, or hours being asked ridiculously` closed question by the AI offering. Simply, I have transacted over £3000 plus £90 in membership. I have just cancelled amazon Music and seriously considering parting company with the whole ' prime' thing.
You have had your day Amazon,

I'm not exactly sure if there was some kind of major renovation going on over at the delivery facility over in Charlotte, but it seems like for the last five months deliveries are always 99% late. Great examples are ordering next day or ordering next week. They never show up or they do show up but they usually arrive a few days after.

I'm just curious if the AI scheduling or whatever is going on with the deliveries is screwing something up. Because it doesn't make no sense that if your delivery path is in the neighborhood where there's a large amount of dropoffs, then you have to stop and go all the way back to another side of the city just to make a delivery.

I've noticed this pattern twice already. Like me and my neighbor would have a delivery in the same neighborhood or path as their designated zone for drop-offs. But for some odd reason why they decide not to deliver, but instead go the opposite direction outside the neighborhood to another place.

I know it sounds insane, but I've seen it happen a couple times already.

Edit: I tried searching online for any type of major issues going on in the Charlotte area, but I can't find anything. Especially anything related to Amazon deliveries. Maybe they're understaffed or just don't have enough manpower?

Too busy firing their entire workforce to appease the shareholders, can't be worried about basic customer service. Time to take business elsewhere.

So a while back I ordered something on amazon and the price dropped 3 days later. I had to re-pack my item and order it again cheaper.

Now, I was thinking if someone ordered something like a TV that they've mounted, or a fan that they've installed and they see the price drop, rather than re-packing said item, can they order the EXACT same thing and refund the new item while keeping the original. Since it's the same thing, it shouldn't make a difference whether it's the new one or used one.

example. I order a fan for $250 and wire/install it. I see it drop to $200 next week.

So I request "return" and buy the same one. Rather than install the NEW fan, I just return the 'new' one that came in. That would save me the headache or taking down old fan, just to install it with the same product. Not to mention trying to figure out repacking item (if i even kept the box).

Anything wrong/unethical about this? what are you thoughts on this?

I've had to deal with crap for years now. And exactly why I don't order from Amazon anymore.

I'm one of the users who give honest and real product reviews without breaking any of their dumb rules. And I always gave photos or video as evidence if there was any issues. About 3 years ago, a amazon reseller reached out to me and asked me to change my review of their product (I forget what it was of). I refused even after they offered a full return without requesting the product. As kind as one should be, I thanked them for the offer and informed them that I can not do so as it would be a lie. And customers need to know if there are issues before purchasing.

The reseller didn't respond back but issued the refund regardless. I updated my review to inform the public of what happened. But my star review remained the same. A few days later, I was notified that my years of reviews were deleted, and I was blocked from reviewing. I tried everything to get Amazon to look into my case but never got a response. I KNOW FOR A FACT that I didn't break any of their rules.

I may have posted about it here back then but don't remember. Regardless, I bring this up again because last week I ordered a closet organizer. Today I've put it together and found 4 needed connectors missing. I went to place a review in hopes of the seller would replace them, only to be reminded I was blocked.

I've looked into this issue more and it turns out a very large number of users have the same issue. Years of reviews just wiped and blocked!

Any of you have or had this issue?

If you found a way to fix it, then please share. Customers SHOULD NOT be having their reviews removed nor be blocked. Especially when they were in great standing with thousands of "helpful" upvotes on said reviews.

Burning question because we've now had to put locks on all our gates. We live on a very large parcel in a rural area outside the city. Long driveway just to get to the fence surrounding our house. At first, drivers would come up and place packages outside the fence next to the gate. Perfect.

But lately we've been seeing them open the gate and walk all the way up to the house which is another 50ft, and they leave the gate wide open while they do. Its really starting to piss us off because we have dogs and dont want them getting out or heaven forbid, attacking a driver. We tried putting up signs but the sun and wind damage them too fast.

Im honestly surprised because a) its obvious where we live that porch pirates arent driving miles out of town and running up a 200ft driveway to steal an Amazon package and b) isnt it dangerous to the driver to be walking through people's fences like that? This wasnt an issue up until a few months ago but its different drivers doing it which makes me think they're told to.

Edit: Adding to the top because it negates much of my original post.

I figured out what's going on, and parts of my post below were wrong.

The notification only seems to happen when you use the blue "Add to delivery" button. If you check out the normal way (Add to cart, then checkout, or Buy Now), nothing is sent. I almost never use the blue button, which is why this never came up before. Apparently Amazon turned this on without telling anyone.

The "Make this order private" checkbox does exist, but it only appears at checkout if you've turned on order sharing in Amazon Family. I keep sharing off, so I never saw it. I turned sharing on to test it, the checkbox appeared under the delivery address, and I turned sharing back off afterward.

So the workaround exists, but nothing in Amazon's help pages explains any of this. They say Add to Delivery orders are visible to family and that you can mark orders private at checkout, with no mention that the option is hidden unless you turn on sharing, or that the blue button is what triggers the notification. I lost hours to support agents who couldn't point me to either one.

My complaint still stands in part: a button that tells everyone on your plan you ordered something shouldn't be the default behavior, and the privacy option shouldn't be hidden behind a setting that shares more.

Original Post:

I'm the Prime account holder in an Amazon Family. A family member on my plan has their own Amazon account. There is apparently a new “feature”. Today, for the first time, they got a notification that I had placed an order and that they could add items to it. It didn't say what I ordered, just that I ordered something and they were invited to add to my delivery.

I never agreed to that, and I can't find any way to turn it off.

From what I can tell, this is the "Add to Delivery for Amazon Family" feature. Amazon's help page says each member controls which of their deliveries are visible to family, and that to keep an order private you have to check out through the cart or Buy Now and mark it private at checkout. Here's the problem:

1. It's on by default. Nothing is private unless you opt out, one order at a time.
2. There's no account-level setting. I checked Amazon Family under Members, Sharing and Settings. Settings only covers Prime benefit sharing, wallet sharing, digital content, parental controls and device sharing. Nothing about order notifications. My order history sharing is already off, so this is a separate thing.
3. The order-level workaround doesn't seem to exist either. I looked in the iOS app and on the website and can't find where to mark an order private.

Put those together and, as far as I can tell, there is essentially no way to turn this off at all. The account has no toggle, and the per-order option Amazon points to isn't findable.

This is a consent problem. Amazon assumes I want my purchases announced to everyone on my plan, and offers no usable way to opt out. Even if the per-order option worked, it should be opt-in per order, not something I have to remember every time.

Gifts make it worse. Amazon's help page says private orders won't be combined into the same box, which means a non-private order can be. So if I'm ordering a gift for someone on my plan, they get told a delivery is coming and can add their own items to it, and their item ends up in the same box as their gift. If what they added isn't urgent, they can wait for me to open the box. If it is urgent and I'm not home, they're stuck, or they open the box and spoil their own gift. Gift options don't solve this either, since plenty of items don't offer them.

I spent over two hours in support chat trying to get an answer. The first agent was an AI that sent me to a "Family Shopping" setting that doesn't exist in my account. Human agents told me to turn off my own notifications, then to have the family member on my plan disable theirs, including turning off Amazon notifications entirely on their phone. They want their normal notifications, and none of that would stop this one from being sent. I was transferred several times mid-wait and had to re-explain each time, and in the end I was told the only options were that family member turning off their notifications or removing them from the Family, which would cost them the shared Prime benefits.

Has anyone found a way to turn this off, or where the "mark as private" option is in the app? If you're in an Amazon Family, check whether the other members of your plan are getting these.

Edit: adding that yesterday was the first time this happened.

Edit 2: See top.