Messed up order on Amazon, resolved but...

[StillRunningWithScissors]

Not sure if anyone can give insight in to what to do/what consumer law is.

I'll try to keep this short and not too convoluted

I had what i thought was an unsolicited delivery of a Fitness band (worth about £30). There was just a photocopied sheet of paper with a company name I'd never heard of on it, and a random Hotmail address. No invoice included. Looked very dodgy/scam like. I put it to the side awaiting any contact from them. Checked my bank account, no charges.

A week later I was checking the status of an order on Amazon I'd placed for a mobile phone. It showed up as delivered. It had not been.

I clicked through to contact the seller, sent an email letting them know it hadn't arrived.

I then clicked on their shop name, which linked through to an Amazon page with a different company/seller name, the same name that the fitness band was sent from.

There

GAH, post got hit by fat fingers...

There were numerous reviews on this page all stating they'd ordered expensive items, only to have cheap ones delivered.

I immediately contacted Amazon directly to inform them of this. They were very good, refunded me the cost of the phone.

They also stated the seller had been removed from Amazon.

Wonderful.

Except I still have the fitness band, and no way to contact them (the delivery note was binned when we hosted a family gathering about a week ago apparently).

As they are no longer selling on Amazon, I can't contact them via Amazon, and presumably they cannot contact me.

So what is the law here? They could still have my contact details from filling their orders, but as they seemed to be scamming people, they could be reluctant to try to contact me.

As I did place an order with them, I can't claim unsolicited goods, as I did contact them.

Can't find anything through Google.

Any ideas?

Have you made contact with the shop?

I can't, as they are no longer listed on Amazon, I have no contact information for them.

Any ideas?

Not quite sure what your problem is ? You're not out of pocket, and are currently the [involuntary] bailee of some goods which you did not order.

In such cases the onus is entirely on the supplier to (a) contact you and (b) arrange - at their expense and your convenience for the return of the goods supplied in error.

Unless you needed to hire a storage unit for the fitness band (and I admit I do find some of the straps a bit clunky) then it's not great inconvenience to you. Just sit and wait and see if the seller does contact you to request a return of the goods (which I somehow doubt). The general rule is 6 months is considered a reasonable time for such an approach. After that, you are entitled to recover any costs by disposing of the item.

This does ring a bell - I can't recall exactly how the scam works though. However Amazon are well versed in stamping out dodgy dealers. It's rare to have a problem (which is why people still use them). eBay .... less so.

Have you asked Amazon what they expect customers to do in the circumstances? I doubt you're under any obligation to return an item you were sent as an attempted scam.

@ProfessorSlocombe I'm not complaining, just wondering at what point (if any) I can consider it ours and open it up. DC has been eyeing it up didn't think I sounded like I was complaining, just want to make sure I don't get caught out.

@ohwheniknow I'll see if Amazon has any advice, not sure why I didn't think of that.

Thanks all

I'd just keep it. I've contacted Amazon before about deliveries sent to me in error and I've always been told to keep the item.

just wondering at what point (if any) I can consider it ours and open it up.

Well legally, title can't pass to you - as you stated, it's a order in error.

However, the fact you are now storing the item - against your choice - means there's a charge accruing. And given the value of the item, 6 months sounds about fair.

This is all civil law, so a lot of "reasonable" involved. And you have just fallen into the "9/10ths of the law is possession" quotient, because you have the item and the seller doesn't .

As a PP mentioned, for 100% peace of mind, drop Amazon customer services a line. Don't confuse them with detail. Just note that following their intervention (for which you thank them) you are currently in possession of the erroneous item and they can supply your details to the original vendor in the event they want them returned. That way you have a line in the sand for "reasonably" attempting to return the item in the extremely unlikely event the seller reappears.

The takeaway message is that this is all contract law - there's no element of dishonesty on your part to invoke criminal law. Despite what some hysterics might suggest

Merry Christmas !

@ProfessorSlocombe lol, thanks. I appreciate your fine-toothed comb approach.

Merry Christmas to you as well

@ProfessorSlocombe btw love your user name.

Whilst the love for Pratchett seems (rightly) strong with MN, I rarely see the same for Robert Rankin