Hundreds of delivery personnel, distinguishable by the large bags they carry, criss-cross the city every day. With many people preferring to shop from the comfort of their homes or offices, the volume of online shopping is growing by leaps and bounds. While many customers such as Aman Kandhari, who bought a silk sari for his sister at half the price charged by retail outlets, are overjoyed at the convenience and cost-effectiveness of shopping online, some have had bitter experiences. There have been quite a few instances in recent times of customers receiving bricks, stones and soap bars in place of the items they ordered. Many incidents have been discussed on YouTube and Facebook too.
On Friday, Ayshwarya and her husband Shyam were in for a shock when they found stones and sand inside the cardboard box instead of the Rs.15,893-smart phone they had ordered from Flipkart. “The delivery man was in a hurry and handed over the box to someone else at my husband’s office. When we received the cardboard box, there was a lot of sand coming out of it. So, we took a video while opening it and later, uploaded it on Facebook and also emailed the company,” she said.
They then contacted the delivery man who said he could not do anything without instructions from the company. Ayshwarya then contacted the consumer helpline of Flipkart and the person who answered the call said the issue had to be escalated. The issue has now been settled with the website refunding the amount. The company also apologised to her.
Though experts suggest that the payment should be made only after the item is checked, it is often not possible as the delivery personnel hand over the product only after the money is given.
