I personally use Flipkart and Amazon both of the online shopping websites to purchase things online. And many times it happened that I had to return the product by submitting a return request. And believe me they every time accepted the return request and processed as requested.
But, did you ever imagine that you submit a return request to exchange your product and they close your account without any notice. And even after trying a lot, they are not reopening your account. Now, you will neither able to return your product nor buy new products with your old mobile number or email ID.
This is exactly what many Flipkart and Amazon users reported. Actually, I read many news and tweets that Flipkart and Amazon are blocking the accounts of users upon submitting the return requests of products purchased on their websites.
A Flipkart customer said, “We bought sleepers of 150 rupees from Flipkart. We got a bigger size. But when we placed a request to replace the sleeper, they blocked my Flipkart account. The Flipkart account was very old. Without any notice, they just closed my account. And now they’re not giving any response. How will I return the sleepers now?”
Many such incidents are happening these days with the users of these online shopping websites. Recently on 12 August 2020, a Flipkart user tweeted about their Flipkart ID block.
@Flipkart @flipkartsupport My Flipkart id got blocked After placing a return request of pluse oximeter Costed ₹1049/-
i received Defective Oximeter inside Sealed parcel.
Kindly help me out. Thanks in advance.— Supratim Chandra Sarkar ???????? (@SupratimCS7) August 12, 2020
There are hundreds of Flipkart users complaining about the same problem happened. The only question they are raising is that why my Flipkart account is blocked?
@flipkartsupport @Flipkart why my account is block??? What about of my recent orders pic.twitter.com/p3GsnQW3Eh
— Vinay Kasarkar (@vinay_kasarkar) August 28, 2020
Not only the Flipkart users but many Amazon users are also complaining like this. The similar incidents are happening with the users of both shopping giants. Many users are complaining about such incidents on consumer forums and Twitter.
One of the Amazon users wrote on Twitter, “My amazon account is blocked by Amazon in January 2020 and I submitted complaints many times but no answer or reply received from Amazon. I request you to give me an Email ID so I can contact Amazon.”
@AmazonHelp my amazon account are block by https://t.co/OErjbbXbmr from january-20 and i complaint for many time but no answer or reply received from amazon. i request you to give me email id so i can contact amazon and also reply must be received from https://t.co/7OLohvL16k pic.twitter.com/LR0Jp7auwa
— thumar bhadresh (@thumarbhadresh) July 10, 2020
This is how people are complaining about blocking their accounts by Flipkart and Amazon. An Amazon customer wrote on a consumer forum that he ordered three phones from Amazon for his brother and nephews on the occasion of the festival but what happened is that Amazon misunderstood him as a reseller and blocked his account.
Why Flipkart and Amazon Blocking Customers’ Accounts?
eCommerce websites like Flipkart and Amazon have some terms and conditions that users must accept before start shopping on their websites. If they find any user breaking their guidelines, they take action against such users. Even such online shopping platforms keep rights to take strict legal action but in most cases, they simply block the user account.
According to the terms and conditions of Flipkart and Amazon, resale is strictly not allowed on their websites. And this is the reason why companies like Amazon limits the number of products you can order at once. So, if these online shopping companies find you as a reseller, there are big chances that they will block your account.
When it comes to blocking accounts after requesting the return, Flipkart clearly says that they have the rights to block the accounts of any seller or buyer if they find any fraudulent activity from their accounts. And customers who will be blocked on Flipkart due to any suspicious act or fraud, they will not be able to return their purchased goods.
Are Customers Really Misusing the Return Policy?
According to online shopping websites like Flipkart, they block customers’ accounts when they find any suspicious or fraudulent activity. Account may also be blocked because of the reasons like ‘misuse of return policy’ and ‘lots of cancellations’.
But, I found many users saying that they never misused the return policy and only placed the return request when it was needed. Some customers are complaining that Flipkart blocked their very new account after submitting the return request.
Well, it’s very difficult to say what’s going wrong. But, one thing I can say is that if this is going with thousands, there’s definitely something wrong. Many innocent customers lost their money after blocking to their accounts.
What I think is online shopping giants like Flipkart and Amazon should listen to the problems of their customers whether they’re sellers or buyers, and respond to their requests.
Read Next: Flipkart Product Not Delivered Even After 20 Days
I don’t know what to say. Who is wrong and who is right. But, it must be investigated by the shopping giants.