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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
World
James Liddell

Prime mistake! Woman sent hundreds of returned Amazon packages after Chinese company used her address on labels

A San Jose woman’s life was made “hell” after being inundated with hundreds of Amazon packages linked to a Chinese seller.

It all “started with one package,” said the woman, who has declined to be publicly identified. She said the boxes began appearing on her doorstep last year.

“I was like it’s got my address, but it’s not for me,” she told ABC 7 News under a pseudonym. “I went to my neighbors and I was like, ‘Oh, has somebody put the wrong last digit on the address?’”

For about a year, the woman said she has received large, heavy packages to her home “non-stop,” blocking her driveway, mail carrier and doorway.

It made access particularly difficult for her 88-year-old mother, who is disabled.

“I couldn’t even get my mother in the house,” she said. “It’s just been another form of hell.”

Each package contained a similar set of items: faux-leather car seat covers from a Chinese online seller called Liusandedian.

According to ABC 7 News, the company sold the $129 seat covers under the brand name Etkin, claiming they fit a wide range of sedans and SUVs.

But dozens of frustrated buyers said the covers didn’t fit and were hit with steep return shipping fees to send them back to Liusandedian’s so-called “return center.”

Unbeknownst to them, the return labels listed Holton’s home address.

Hundreds of boxes piled up on her yard, but Holton says that it was a “fraction” of what could have arrived, as she often refused delivery.

The Amazon listing – now marked as “currently unavailable” with customer reviews disabled – was previously flooded with negative feedback. Over 40 percent of Liusandedian’s reviews were one-star, and buyers had no direct way to contact the seller.

Amazon reportedly finally removed the packages from the woman’s home on Tuesday (AP)

“Why haven't I received my refund? Was sent thru UPS 3 weeks ago,” one customer wrote, according to the station.

“It's going to cost me $124 to return this item!!!,” said another.

Liusandedian allegedly violated Amazon’s policy, which requires international sellers to either offer a U.S. return address, give a returnless refund, or provide a prepaid return label within two days.

Holton claimed she filed six separate complaint tickets to Amazon over the past year to try to resolve the issue.

Instead, she claimed Amazon told her to donate the packages, give them away, or return them to USPS or FedEx.

Following ABC 7 News’s investigation, Amazon said in a statement that it had “apologized to the customer and are working directly with her to pick up any packages.”

An Amazon staff member was filmed finally removing all the packages from her property on Tuesday. The company vowed to crack down on these practices, according to the news station.

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