While the vast majority of PS5 deliveries will have likely arrived as intended on the console’s UK launch on 19th November, the internet was flooded with reports of Amazon deliveries not arriving as intended. Some consoles were seemingly swapped out for other goods, ranging from cat litter through to kitchen appliances, while others were simply marked as delivered when they hadn’t been.
Now BBC’s consumer affairs show Watchdog TV show is investigating the matter, as discussed in a pun-laden segment on The One Show last week. Presenter Matt Allwright, who’s also known for Rogue Traders, Fake Britain and other consumer-focussed shows, joked about some of the items that people had received instead of their consoles, before ending with a call for people to get in touch at [email protected]
Amazon missing PS5 orders segment from this week’s BBC Watchdog. pic.twitter.com/9BofG8hsyR
— Andy Robinson (@AndyPlaytonic) November 29, 2020
In the wake of numerous accusations of disappearing or swapped PS5s, Amazon promised to “put it right” for their customers.
In response to the claims, Amazon issued a statement to VGC saying, “We’re all about making our customers happy, and that hasn’t happened for a small proportion of these orders. We’re really sorry about that and are investigating exactly what’s happened. We’re reaching out to every customer who’s had a problem and made us aware so we can put it right. Anyone who has had an issue with any order can contact our customer services team for help.”
However, since then, it’s seemed that “putting it right” has boiled down to offering gradually increasing gift card values depending on how much people have kicked up a fuss, but not promise to prioritise customers for new stock that is coming in. Some missed deliveries have been resolved, with our writer Nic B seeing his console labelled as “handed to resident” on the 19th, and then showing up several days later.
Others haven’t been as lucky, or have had to push Amazon into a proper response. When confronted with definitive proof of a delivery driver’s skullduggery, the parent of an expecting child having to drive to the Amazon depot and speak to the manager, a driver was fired by the company. One driver.
The whole matter puts the reputation of Amazon’s delivery network at stake – in fairness, their reputation is predominately for working their employees to the extreme while paying them as little as possible – with the allegations suggesting issues that run through Amazon’s supply chain, both within their warehouses where items are picked and with their network of delivery drivers.
Source: The One Show via VGC
ron_mcphatty
Amazon are partly to blame but the big problem is the couriers, since moving here a year ago we’ve had nearly £1500 of stuff marked as delivered or ‘received’ when it hasn’t been, we even get photos of the packages at other peoples doors but never the same bloody door! Our most recent Hermes guy is great and so is our neighbour the postie, so I wouldn’t want to slag them off, but I’m convinced there’s scumbag couriers everywhere. I mean, who steals £600s worth of Roman blinds??! Whoever it is they probably steal PS5s too.
Stefan L
Yeah, like I’ve never had any problems with DPD, but I know plenty of people who say they’re rubbish.
OK, so there was one time where I sent something up to my brother and he ended up with too many things being delivered, but that’s a special case…
MrYd
So we’ve got Amazon, who everyone pretends to hate lately, and the BBC, who clearly prefer MS to Sony. And some people moaning that they didn’t get their PS5 on time and so are clearly entitled to lots of compensation.
That’s going to be handled by Watchdog in a fair manner, isn’t it?
Also, Watchdog fake stuff. A friend was on there a couple of years back, after Deliveroo had managed to completely fail at basic security (delivering stuff to a new address without asking for payment details again?), and they had her standing in her kitchen on the phone pretending to get her card cancelled. Faked it instead of going back in time and filming her when she really did it. We all know the BBC has access to time travel. I saw it in one of their informative documentaries.