New Delhi: Acclaimed author and poet Vikram Seth revealed he was “scammed and then stonewalled” by e-commerce giant Amazon, in a piece that was shared by his younger sister Aradhana on Twitter.
“My brother, the writer Vikram Seth, was recently scammed by Amazon. It is appalling and here’s the story in his words,” Aradhana Seth wrote on her Twitter handle Friday and shared a screenshot of the piece written by her brother.
My brother, the writer Vikram Seth, was recently scammed by Amazon. It is appalling and here’s the story in his words. @amazonindia #amazonwoes #vikramseth pic.twitter.com/RMz2dCF0tR
— aradhana seth (@AradhanaSeth) November 10, 2022
Describing his unpleasant experience, the author said that he had ordered ten bamboo bookracks for Rs. 9,990 from Amazon earlier this month, but received only one rack when his packages were delivered. Upon being told to accept his delivery, Seth insisted he had ordered ten and not one. He was then assured by the driver that this often happens as deliveries are split up and the other nine would arrive soon. But this did not happen and his order for all ten bookracks was marked as “delivered” online.
The author of ‘A Suitable Boy‘ then took the recourse of speaking to Amazon customer service.
“I have been on the service line several times in the last two weeks, trying, to my increasing frustration, to get delivery of these 9 undelivered bookracks. I have been in chats with at least half a dozen Amazon representatives. First, Amazon kept insisting that the order had been delivered in full. Then, they agreed to institute an investigation,” he said.
Even after speaking to a member of the e-commerce’s ‘Leadership Team’, Seth said the company was persistent that the order had been “delivered in full”, although, he was neither given a refund nor the remaining nine bookracks.
Expressing frustration over the ordeal, Seth further stated, “When, after a week, their ‘investigation’ was over, and I went online with them again, they told me that they had ascertained that the order had indeed been delivered in full. (In other words, that I had been lying)”
He also highlighted the vague, bot-like responses he received from Amazon – “Have a great day ahead.” “We’ll be more than happy to provide you any help you may need in the future” – was what Seth was told, apart from the outright refusal to accept that his bookracks hadn’t been delivered.
Having been “stonewalled” every step of the way, Seth admitted that his only option now was to warn people to not trust what he had assumed to be “a reputable company”.
The tweet posted by his sister has been liked and retweeted a number of times. Amazon has responded on the thread, but it is yet to be known whether any definitive action will be taken.
Also read: India’s Appario to stop selling on Amazon after allegations of ‘preferential treatment’