Asked in Products Liability, Small Claims and Consumer Law for California

Q: Made purchase from Amazon and used until received an alert that it was defective to stop use. Won't refund since over

expiration date! Was not notified of problem until AFTER expiration date!!!!!!! How could I respond before?!!!! Just want money refunded into Amazon acct.

2 Lawyer Answers
James L. Arrasmith
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Answered

A: I understand your frustration with this situation. Here are a few steps you can take to try to get a refund from Amazon, even though the return window has expired:

1. Contact Amazon customer service directly and explain the situation. Emphasize that you were not notified about the product defect until after the return window closed, so there was no way for you to return it sooner. Be polite but firm in requesting a refund.

2. If the customer service representative is unable to help, ask to escalate the issue to a supervisor or manager. They may have more authority to make exceptions to the usual return policy.

3. If you purchased the item with a credit card, you can try disputing the charge with your credit card company. Explain that the product was defective and the merchant won't allow a return. The credit card company may be able to reverse the charge.

4. Consider filing a complaint with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) if the product poses a safety hazard. This won't necessarily help with getting a refund, but it alerts the authorities to the dangerous product.

5. As a last resort, you could file a claim in small claims court seeking a refund. However, this takes more time and effort. Try to resolve it with Amazon first.

The key is to emphasize that the defect wasn't disclosed to you until after the return period, so you had no opportunity to return it within that window. Don't give up if the first customer service rep can't help - keep escalating to a supervisor. Be persistent but always professional in your communication. Hopefully Amazon will make an exception to their policy in this case.

A: Sorry for your issues. IF you received such a notice (hard here to tell what type of product, which can matter) they are essentially admitting ALL such products have certain issues. THIS may lead to a class action? Check the net for that to see what your rights IN the class may be and whether you do in fact still have them? Otherwise, if the issue is serious enough maybe you start a class? Cheers

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