- A Delhi man ordered a laptop for his father during the Flipkart Big Billion Days sale and opted for ‘open box’ delivery.
- After unboxing the package, the victim’s father saw Ghadi detergent bars instead of a laptop inside the box.
- A Flipkart support executive told the recipient that a return was not possible, but later issued a refund.
In a LinkedIn post which has gone viral, an IIM Ahmedabad student from Delhi has claimed Flipkart sent him detergent bars instead of a laptop, which he ordered during Flipkart’s recent Big Billion Days sale. Further, the student, Yashaswi Sharma, claimed Flipkart customer support denied him a refund basis the ‘open box’ delivery system. However, in a later comment on the same post, Sharma has clarified that Flipkart later initiated a refund.
For those unaware, under the open box delivery arrangement, one has to unbox the package in front of the delivery agent and only after being satisfied with the item, the OTP can be shared to complete the delivery. Sharma claimed has father, who received the package, was not aware of the system and hence shared the OTP without unboxing.
Sharma said he had CCTV camera footage showing the Flipkart delivery person leaving without the package being opened.
Sharma further elaborated on how the Flipkart delivery boy himself was not aware of the open box delivery system, and did not even brief the recipient of the package about the same.
Talking about Flipkart customer care’s initial response regarding the incident, Sharma said the company told him it was his father’s fault for sharing the OTP without checking the order. ‘No return possible. This is our final stance. This matter cannot be escalated further,’ says the post.
In an update posted a day later, Yashaswi added: “A relative filed a complaint at the local police station with relevant proofs. The Flipkart team contacted me to inform that a refund has been processed, although I haven’t received it yet.“
Flipkart responds
In a statement to 91mobiles, Flipkart responds: “Flipkart as a customer-focused organisation observes a zero-tolerance policy on all incidents that impact customer trust. It is of utmost importance to us to ensure the best possible online shopping experience for our customers. In this specific case that offered an Open Box Delivery option, the customer shared the OTP with the delivery executive without opening the package. Once the details of the incident were verified, our customer service team initiated a refund that will be credited within 3-4working days. We have identified the issue and have also initiated action against the errant party.“
