With the tens of thousands of sellers on Amazon, it’s probably a challenge to properly vet every single one. One particular China-based seller managed to slip through the cracks and turned a Californian woman’s home into a living hell. By selling faulty items to customers, the Chinese scammer used the woman’s address as its “return center,” which made it very problematic for anyone to receive refunds. The situation escalated out of control, lasting over a year, as the house became a literal landfill of scam junk and garbage products. The main issue, though — Amazon refused to help or take responsibility.
“It’s just been another form of hell,” the woman told ABC7. She contacted Amazon multiple times over the course of a year, pleading with them to remove the packages from her house. Instead, customer service forced her to resolve the problem on her own by “suggesting she give the packages away, donate them, or take them back to USPS and FedEx.” It goes without saying that the Californian eventually couldn’t take it anymore. “Why is it my responsibility to get rid of this, when your seller is not following your rules Amazon?” she gripes.
It wasn’t until ABC affiliate KGO stepped in and contacted Amazon directly to see whether the company was actually doing anything to fix the issue, which is ultimately its fault. In no time, workers showed up at her doorstep and removed the gigantic haul of junk that had piled up at her house over the year. What a relief that must have been for her to finally be free from being a non-consensual garbage can for the Chinese scammer — that Amazon allowed to do business on its site, mind you.
Facebook commenters came in with their two cents, remarking on how much money the woman could have made by selling the stuff herself. “Have a garage sale…” said one user. It’s easy for them to say. However, when you’re caring for your 88-year-old disabled mother while also managing your own livelihood, starting a business to sell trashy goods made in China is easier said than done. All those commenters saying such things probably wouldn’t have the time or want to spend the effort either if they were in the victim’s shoes.
Several Reddit users criticized Amazon for letting this happen, and rightfully so. “Why tf did it take over a year to stop this?? eBay would fix this sh*t right away,” remarks an individual. Another chimed in with a more comprehensive comment on the matter: “[I’m] Sick of Amazon first to allow it to continue after being made aware, and then to require public shaming on a TV station to actually make it right. Their cost to remove that crap from her house amounted to about what Bezos paid for a single flower table setting for his gross Venice wedding.”
Many would definitely agree with the above. Forcing the woman to be responsible for a scammer she had nothing to do with is plain harassment.
