The chances of fraud on purchases through e-commerce platforms are low but never zero. Sure, there are many fraudulent sites out there in the expanse of the internet, but consumers generally have high expectations when it comes to online shopping giants like Flipkart and Amazon. Cheating cases involving these two are hence extremely disappointing and can turn ugly real quick.
One of the victims of such fraud was our colleague Simranpal Singh, who has provided a firsthand account of a shocking case where soap bars were delivered in place of an Apple iPhone 12 bought through Flipkart during the much-hyped Big Billion Days Sale.
Being aware of multiple occasions of fraud with smartphone deliveries, he had opted for the Flipkart Open Box Delivery, which actually turned out to be a lifesaver. The delivery was marked as ‘failed’ as soon as the Pandora’s box was opened and a couple of Nirma soap bars instead of Apple‘s last-generation iPhone were revealed.
Simran recorded the unboxing as well:
He further played smart by not complying with the wishmaster’s requests for the OTP. For the uninitiated, OTPs are used as a security measure to confirm the identity of the buyer, and are typically the final step before a successful delivery. But of course, a delivery getting marked as ‘successful’ is the last thing one would want in such a case.
Nonetheless, upon finding soap bars, Simran rang up Flipkart Support who claimed that the item is still showing as ‘out for delivery’ and cancellation can only be performed once its status switches to something else. Flipkart then promised to call back and their wishmaster left with the failed delivery.
However, it was the following correspondence with the logistics that was particularly odd. The Flipkart wishmaster rang up shortly afterward requesting the OTP once again, which was nonsensical considering Flipkart already had all the details they needed to clear stuff up from their end.
Simran then asked to speak to the delivery agent’s superior, who very suspiciously also asked for the same thing. FYI, the Flipkart Open Box Delivery FAQs page has nothing that speaks of the need for any details from the customer end in such cases.
He then decided to contact Flipkart support once again who now asked him not to divulge any information to the delivery agents. This call dropped abruptly though. After a couple of failed attempts, Flipkart finally canceled the order and initiated the refund. The money got credited a few days later.
In conclusion, it was the Open Box Delivery and Simran’s video recording of the unboxing that saved the day. The situation would have turned out way uglier had the order been accepted. It is thus always recommended to opt for the Open Box Delivery option for every expensive purchase. Better to be safe than sorry.
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