An Indirapuram resident received a ceramic tile instead of Vivo V7+ smartphone.
The perilous nature of online shopping claimed yet another victim today. Shubhajit Sarkar, a resident of Indirapuram received a piece of ceramic tile instead of a new smartphone, which he had ordered for his wife on Amazon.
Sarkar, a resident of Sun Tower Society, had placed an order for a Vivo V7+ smartphone on March 15 on Amazon’s website. He did not suspect anything when he received the neatly packed cardboard box, which was delivered on time. However, when he opened the box, to his horror, Sarkar found a piece of ceramic tile instead of the phone.
“A few hours ago, I received a text message saying that my package was on its way to being delivered. When the delivery boy arrived, I asked him to open the box. I had heard of such scams before and hence wanted to exercise caution. Before opening the box, he asked me to record a video of the ‘unboxing’ process. It was equally shocking for both of us to discover a piece of ceramic tile in the slot which houses the phone,” Sarkar told City Spidey.
Sarkar maintained that only the phone was missing. Other contents of the box like the USB cable, earphones, charger and user manuals, were still intact. “Although I have heard about such incidents and even read about them, I had never experienced anything like this firsthand. I am a regular online shopper and have bought things from Amazon a number of times,” he added.
Sarkar had made an online payment of Rs 19,990 for the phone to Appario Retail Private Ltd, a seller listed on Amazon. “I purchased the phone online as I was getting a discount of Rs 3, 000,” he shared.
A complaint has been registered at the Indirapuram police station about the scam. “We have received a complaint and are investigating the matter. If required, the matter will be forwarded to the cyber cell for further investigation,” said Pawan Kumar, a senior sub inspector posted at Indirapuram Police Station.
“Apart from lodging a police complaint and raising a complaint with Amazon, I have also lodged an online complaint with the consumer forum. Amazon had asked me to submit my identity proof (via my account). They are now assuring me of a solution,” Sarkar said.
Meanwhile, we at City Spidey have also raised a press query with Amazon via its website but are yet to receive a response.
