It’s the delivery error every enthusiast dreams of: receiving a duplicate product, especially when it’s worth nearly £1,000. For an honest gamer, this situation could have been a real headache, but it turned into a Christmas tale before its time, thanks to Amazon! It’s a story that restores a little faith in humanity, and incidentally, in the customer services of e-commerce giants.
Imagine the scene: you’re taking advantage of a tempting promotion, perhaps during Black Friday, to finally treat yourself to the monitor of your dreams. In the case of our protagonist of the day, a user by the name of WRSA, it was the famous Alienware 32 4K QD-OLED, a beast of a monitor with a price tag of almost €1,200, which we found for around €900. After days of frantic waiting, the deliveryman finally rang. But instead of the box he’d hoped for, there were two identical boxes sitting on his doormat. It was a complete surprise!
One package, two screens: the pleasant surprise that turns into a headache
After the initial shock, the euphoria of imagining an absolutely demented dual-screen setup quickly gives way to a much more down-to-earth anxiety. What if Amazon charged me for the second screen? A €900 mistake that would really, really hurt my bank account. Far from giving in to temptation, our player decides to play the honesty card.
Armed with all his courage, he contacted Amazon’s customer service department to report the error and organise the return of the precious duplicate. It was a civic-minded move that, little did he know, was about to take a completely surreal turn…
After explaining his situation to a support agent, the latter’s response was astonishing. In a screenshot of their exchange shared on the subreddit pcmasterrace, you can read the American giant’s final decision.
The Amazon customer service agent wrote: “On checking, I can see and confirm that you have already received a refund for this item. And I can confirm that it was delivered to your address. Don’t worry about the item, you won’t be charged for it. Please consider it a gift from Amazon.”
A £900 gift is generous, to say the least! The outcome is all the more surprising given that the company is not always so lenient, as shown by other cases where customers have had great difficulty in obtaining refunds for faulty or non-compliant equipment.
The mystery of the second parcel: a fortunate logistical flaw
But how could such an error have occurred? The most plausible explanation comes from the often impenetrable intricacies of logistics. Another Reddit user, who experienced a similar situation with a €400 pair of headphones, has shed some light on the mystery. The scenario is almost always the same.
You order a product. While it’s in transit, the tracking system indicates that the parcel may have been lost. Frustrated, but understanding, you contact Amazon who, after investigating, proceeds to issue a refund or send a replacement product. Except that, a few days later, a miracle happens: the local postal service finds the lost parcel and delivers it to you as if nothing had happened.
You then end up with the original item and its replacement. In many cases, especially for bulky items, the cost of organising the return (transport, processing, restocking) is higher for Amazon than simply writing off the product. The company therefore prefers to make this great commercial gesture rather than get bogged down in a complex logistical procedure.
A stroke of luck that defies the rules: what does the law say?
Our player may have been lucky, but the law is not always so favourable. In theory, a customer who receives an excess product does not have the right to keep it. In legal terms, this is known as unjust enrichment. The customer has an obligation to report the error to the seller and to cooperate in ensuring that the goods are returned.
According to article 1302-1 of the French Civil Code: “Anyone who mistakenly or knowingly receives something that is not due to him must return it to the person from whom he received it unduly.”
However, the good news is that the seller is responsible for the initial error. It is therefore up to the seller to assume full responsibility for the costs involved in recovering the goods. By refusing to cooperate, the customer could expose themselves to legal action. In our case, by immediately contacting Amazon, the player not only demonstrated exemplary honesty, but also adopted the correct legal approach. And his uprightness was rewarded far beyond his expectations!
Total shame that the person at Amazon that accidentally sent him the 2nd monitor was without a doubt fired for that mistake. Amazon just figured easier to fire the employee than get the return of the item.