Couple Buys $7,000 Camera On Amazon, Receives Two Empty Boxes Instead
A couple in Colorado paid more than $7,000 to order a high-end camera from Amazon, but instead received two cardboard boxes.
Denver7 reported that Bill Chiles and his wife, Kelly Chiles, who live close to the city of Alamosa, ordered a sought-after Sony Camera from the e-commerce site, spending more than $7,000 in doing so.
"We've bought several cameras from Amazon, and we've never had a problem," Bill Chiles told the news channel. "Here in southern Colorado, we take anything we can get for photography: weddings, senior pictures, graduations."
Amazon reportedly took almost two months to ship the 50 megamixel camera due to a microchip shortage.
When the package finally arrived, Bill Chiles said he opened the box to find two camera boxes inside. Both were empty, he said.
Bill Chiles was shocked. "I had heard of this with third party deliveries, but not Amazon," he said.
But what added to his shock, he said, was Amazon initially refusing to give him a refund.
Speaking about a conversation he had with an Amazon representative, Bill Chiles said: "She literally told me, 'Since there's nothing more I can do for you. I'm going to disconnect you now.'"
His wife Kelly could hardly believe it, especially after sending "proof" to them — a UPS tracking label listing a weight of two pounds. On other camera sites, the same Sony camera package is listed as weighing more than three pounds, Denver7 reported.
She said they had to save for a while to purchase the gadget.
"You're angry. You're sick to your stomach. You want to give up. You want to fight. You just don't know what to do, and they won't even listen to you," Kelly Chiles said. "And you send the proof to them. I mean, it should be irrefutable proof that they won't even look at it."
The Chiles believe the cameras were stolen in the post and said it was suspicious that the camera is listed for thousands less on secondhand websites in the city their camera was supposed to be shipped from.
"I think they got ripped off. Somebody in Amazon blew it, in my opinion, and they're just trying to cover their position," Bill Chiles said.
The couple filed a police report and disputed the charge. Denver7 reported that Amazon is investigating and that Bill Chiles sent an email to Jeff Bezos and received an email back stating that once the card dispute is resolved, Amazon will provide a refund.
Bill Chiles is relieved about the promised refund, but he warns that consumers have limited protections if their order doesn't arrive in its box.
Newsweek has contacted Amazon for comment.
