WWYD - is it stealing?

Personally, I’d contact them and offer to return the money - keeping it wouldn’t sit well with my conscience.

Even if you let them know it's very unlikely that they'd make you repay it. I ordered an item a couple of weeks ago and they sent the wrong one. When I contacted them they sent the new one out and told me to keep the other (worth £50).

It is theft, or a type of theft because you know you aren't entitled to it really. I would put this in the same bracket as knowing a restaurant or shop has undercharged me, but I choose not to say anything.

Would I do anything about the refund? Small sum, probably not as I could afford to pay it back later if they came asking for it and a small sum could get overlooked in bank account. Larger sum, then I probably would want to sort it out.

Email customer service and tell them, they may not take it back as it would be so much hassle. I've also gotten refunds for late arrivals as poster above.

Check that the money has been refunded to your credit card, rather than just showing on your account.

Back when well known household brand first started doing on the day delivery we ordered a shelving unit. It was delivered to a different flat somewhere in the local area and they couldn’t tell us where otherwise we would have gone to collect it. They sent a replacement.

A day or two later a lovely couple drove round to us and delivered the wrongly delivered item.

Im mortified about anything like this and am one of those people who walks round shops worrying that the security guard will accuse me of nicking my own items I’ve walked in with, 😅 so rang up and told them the missing item had been found. They literally couldn’t have been less bothered about getting it back and let us keep it.

When a delivery driver persistently delivered to the farm up the road instead of me ('left by the tractor' - I immediately message back 'I HAVE NO TRACTOR' which he ignored) they apologised and refunded everything then told me I could keep it all when I eventually retrieved it (neighbour, being a farmer, wasn't always available, and I was fully expecting squashed/chewed boxes!)

Now I'm on some kind of bad list for a bit, as when a mobile phone case only had half of the case, despite being only 4 quid, they had me send it back (previously, the few little things like that they'd said just to dispose of myself)

So OP, it's up to you how much effort you're prepared to put into telling them - honestly, getting hold of someone at Amazon does need semi-heroic measures (finding exactly the right link that gets you through to a chat, rather than the 'help centre')

I've told them before when something arrived very late that they had refunded. They said to keep it. So I was able to keep the money AND the moral high ground. Just tell them and they may leave it.

Legally, I’d class this as unjustified enrichment, not theft, on the basis of a three-part test. You’ve been enriched, at Amazons expense, and there is no legal basis to justify your retention of the money. They’d have a legal case to get it back. When this sort of thing happens in the banking system, people say you ‘must’ or ‘have to’ return it, not because you’ve stolen it but because the bank is definitely going to want it back when they notice the error. Amazon, perhaps not so much. There’s little risk that you’d be unable to pay if they came after you in the future, as it’s only £50. Had it been a large sum, it would be unwise to spend it lest you be unable to find a spare grand should you be asked for it back.

Personal experience, Amazon delivered approximately £60 of clothing to me that was intended for someone with a similar address but on the other side of the city. I contacted Amazon and they said they would just send out a replacement to the original buyer as it wasn't worth the cost to process and return the clothing and I should just keep it with their blessing. I guess I'm answering based on that experience but I don't think it's theft.

I wouldn't worry about it, it's obviously an admin error but as far as Amazon are concerned your order was returned. Says so on your account, they're not going to go hunting round the warehouse to check it arrived.

That’s not how the law works. It is still covered by the Theft Act 1968. Surely you’ve read about people who have received huge amounts of money into their bank accounts in error and they’ve spent it or not returned it and been charged.

I view stealing as being an active decision. This is something that happened to me passively.

You are actively deciding to not be honest. If that's what you decide fine - but at least be honest with yourself.

Your question 'is it stealing' - the answer is yes. You're dishonestly keeping money from them.

The real question is 'Do I care about stealing from a juggernaut like Amazon' (probably not!) 'Is it going to impact anyone?' (Almost definitely not) and 'If they discover their mistake will you pay it back if they ask for it' (probably yes).

Its stealing if you requested the refund. If you didn't its an error and they won't want the hassle of investigating and changing/correcting what happened so its a cost of business, enjoy your good fortune.

I had this a month or so ago. It was around the same time someone had posted on here about having a refund for their order from Tesco. That thread made me decide to be honest so I told Amazon (hoping they'd say keep the money) but the guy said they'd claim it back. It was only £8. It still hasn't been taken back.

Tbh, Amazon might be an evil corp or whatever but I felt better by being honest cause if they charged me twice I'd sure as heck be asking for the money back.

Keep it. I've had this where two of the same items have been delivered. Amazon told me to keep them as it was easier than returning.

I mean with knowledge that they are doing so!

I agree these things are usually a scam. Check there is a refund on your account before you do anything else.

My experience of Amazon is that they frequently write off very small (to them) sums of money.

Was it actual amazon or individual seller via amazon. Lots of small businesses on there

Could they have been items that were recalled? I got refund for items I ordered months ago as there was possible safety issue detected.

It doesn't matter if they're a corporation or you disagree with their ethos. If you care about that, don't buy from them in the first place.

Either you're comfortable with theft or you are not. Admit which side you stand and either break the law or don't. I agree with a pp however and you can't then complain if somebody nicks something from you.