Amazon told to pay Rs 58,000 to Chandigarh woman for not refunding Rs 40,325 misused by hackers

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Chandigarh has ordered Amazon Retail India to pay Rs 58,000 to a local resident for failing to refund Rs 40,325, which was allegedly misused by hackers using her credit card.

Samita Das, a resident of PGIMER, Sector 12, Chandigarh, claimed that on September 19, 2023, fraudsters hacked her mobile phone, email ID, and ICICI Bank credit card, using her Amazon account to place online orders.

Upon noticing suspicious activity, Das immediately canceled the orders and was notified via email at 1:12 PM the same day.

Despite this, Amazon processed other fraudulent orders without verifying the details, resulting in charges to her Amazon Pay Later account. Though Amazon assured her that the orders had been canceled and a refund would be issued, the money was never returned.

Das further alleged that additional orders were fraudulently placed using her ICICI credit card, and while these orders were also canceled, the promised refund was not processed. She accused Amazon of illegally retaining the money, despite repeated requests for a refund.

Amazon's response

Amazon India and Amazon Pay Later, in their reply, said, “The complainant contacted our customer support team wherein all orders which were placed had been cancelled and proper and efficient assistance was provided to the complainant against the cancelled orders. Considering the complainant’s grievance that her account was hacked, they immediately checked internally and assisted the complainant with sanitising/suppressing her account and ensuring all orders were cancelled to avoid any further issues.”

Amazon Retail India further clarified that “the payment made into the nodal account is not a payment made to them herein, also that the nodal account is maintained and audited by a bank recognised for such purpose by the RBI, and not by them. They herein are not the account holder or owner of the nodal account and cannot transact at will without restriction on the said nodal account”.

The Consumer Commission's decision

After hearing the case, the Commission concluded that Amazon Retail India was deficient in handling the situation.

“It is a general practice of online platform that particularly a product before collection at the time of return is verified thoroughly by the collecting agent and the same is collected only after the same is found to be the same as the item delivered. In case of any difference, the product is never collected by the collecting agent. More so, this plea was never communicated at any stage to the complainant and seems afterthought of Amazon Retail India," the commission said.

It noted that online platforms typically verify products thoroughly before collecting returns, but in this instance, Amazon failed to act promptly despite knowing about the suspicious activity. The Commission also highlighted that all transactions, from sales to refunds, are managed by Amazon Retail India, and their inaction forced the complainant into unnecessary litigation.

The Commission directed Amazon Retail India to refund the Rs 40,325 and pay an additional Rs 10,000 as compensation for mental agony and harassment, along with Rs 8,000 for litigation costs.