Shocking! Man orders laptop, gets Ghadi detergent bar; Flipkart does U-turn on refund

Flipkart Big Billion Day sale is live with the e-store giant being in the news for bumper discounts on a range of products. However, some other not-so-good reasons have also attracted attention including cancellation of orders or delivery of wrong products. One such incident has been shared by an IIM-Ahmedabad student Yashaswi Sharma, who has alleged that he received a pack of Ghadi detergent instead of the laptop that he ordered. That’s not all. The worst part is, he alleged, that Flipkart refused to arrange a return for the product. Neither did they offer any resolution for the same. “Flipkart sent detergent in place of a laptop but their customer support is only blaming me. Despite CCTV evidence,” he shared in in a LinkedIn post.

He also said that Flipkart won’t accept the unboxed package as the item was received and opened after the OTP was shared. According to “Open-Box '' concept of Flipkart, customers have to share the OTP only after confirmation of the right product that they have ordered in the presence of the delivery person. However, Flipkart has since changed its position and has sorted the issue by offering to take back the product.

Yashaswi’s father didn’t check the product before receiving it but there’s CCTV evidence of the delivery boy leaving without the box having been opened. Yashaswi wrote, “He assumed OTP was to be given upon receiving the package - as is usual for prepaid deliveries - so he gave it when the box was delivered.” Later, his father found a set of Ghadi detergent bars instead of the Laptop in what appears to be a box of electronics. He shared the incident on a professional social media platform hoping that the matter will be resolved before taking further action.

He even took it up with a customer support executive but was told, “No return possible. This is our final stance. This matter cannot be escalated further.” 

In its response, Flipkart said, "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 3-4 working days. We have identified the issue and have also initiated action against the errant party."

Important Lesson For You

If you’re planning to order anything from Flipkart or another e-commerce store, make sure that you check the product in presence of the delivery partner or it may cost you high!