Illustration by Dustin Elliott.

By Christopher Elliott
Guest Columnist

The mobility scooter Tom Kay orders from Amazon never arrived — yet the tracking number says it’s been delivered. Is his $2,650 lost, too?

I purchased a mobility scooter last month from Amazon. The vendor contacted me through Amazon and said the color I ordered was not available and asked if I would take another one. I told them no and to cancel the order.

Christopher Elliott

The vendor said they could not cancel the order. Then I received another response through Amazon that my scooter had shipped. I have no idea what color it was because I never received it. A few days later, I received an update from the seller that said, “We are currently coordinating the shipment and delivery of your goods. Thank you for your patience and kindness.”

Obviously, they had not shipped the scooter yet. But the tracking information shows that it has been delivered. Can you help me get the $2.650 for the scooter I never received? — Tom Kay, Lawrence, Kan.

You should have received the mobility scooter you ordered and in the color you ordered. Full stop. Why? Amazon has some sophisticated systems that track the inventory of its vendors, so you should have been able to order an item that was in stock.

More surprises were in store for you. The vendor said they were out of the green scooters and wanted you to accept another color. And when you wouldn’t and tried to cancel the order, the vendor said it couldn’t. I think it meant to say it wouldn’t.

I’ve reviewed the paper trail between you and the vendor, and it gets worse. The vendor claimed to have sent you the scooter and told you to file a police report.

First of all, who steals a mobility scooter? What kind of depraved human takes an assistive device from someone’s front door? If you said, “no one,” then you are probably right. The vendor might claim to have sent you a scooter, but I think it’s wrong again. I’m betting it never sent the device.

So do you have to pay $2,650 for nothing? Absolutely not.

It looks as if Amazon had taken a hands-off approach by simply handing you off to a vendor. How very un-Amazon-like of them. Usually, the company is there to help you quickly resolve problems.

A brief, polite email to one of the Amazon executives I list on my consumer advocacy site, might have helped.

As I reviewed the back-and-forth between you, the seller and Amazon, it seems the problem was that Amazon needed a police report. But you couldn’t file a police report because you were not sure if anything was delivered — or stolen. And Amazon wouldn’t do anything until you filed a police report.

This type of bureaucracy is just maddening. Someone should have been able to look at your case and see that there was a pretty good chance the scooter wasn’t even sent to you. Instead, Amazon was just spamming you with form emails.

I contacted Amazon on your behalf. The company reviewed your case and promptly apologized and sent you a refund for $2,650.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at [email protected] or get help by contacting him.