Absolutely ridiculous service – what happened to my order?

I have been a regular Amazon customer and use Amazon almost every week, both on my account and my wife’s account. One of the biggest reasons I use Amazon is because of the fast delivery and convenience.

On 7 September, I placed an order for several items, expecting them to be delivered as promised. Instead, days passed with no delivery.

Then, on 10 September, I suddenly received a notification saying that my refund had been processed.

I tracked the order, and this is where it gets absolutely ridiculous. The tracking showed that my items had already been dispatched, collected by the courier and brought to Durban. So the items were already with the courier and on their way.

Then Amazon apparently instructed the courier to collect ALL my items and return them back to Amazon.

WHY?

Why would Amazon go through the entire process of dispatching my order, handing it to the courier, having it transported to Durban, and then telling the courier to return everything?

And now I’m simply given a refund and expected to wait for my money to come back before I can order the items again.

So essentially, Amazon has wasted my time, wasted the courier’s time, cancelled my order for no clear reason, and left me without the items I ordered.

This is completely unacceptable.

What makes the situation even worse is the customer service. The app is practically useless when you have an actual problem that needs to be resolved. There is no straightforward way to speak to someone, and trying to get proper assistance is incredibly frustrating.

I have supported Amazon and used the platform regularly, but this experience has seriously changed my view of the service.

If there was a problem with the order, why was it dispatched in the first place? If Amazon knew it couldn't fulfil the order, why send it to the courier only to recall it days later?

This isn't what I expect from a company that markets itself on convenience, reliability and fast delivery.

Very poor service. Very poor communication. Complete inconvenience for the customer.

Amazon needs to seriously look at what is happening behind the scenes with its deliveries and, more importantly, give customers an actual way to speak to someone when things go wrong.

Extremely disappointed.