Categories: News

Flipkart delivers soap bars instead of iPhone 12 at its Big Billion Day Sale

Update: We have other videos too which clearly shows the wishmaster. Due to privacy concerns of Flipkart Wishmaster, we have not publicised those. Call recordings are also available. We are working with the Flipkart Escalations team and provided all the videos to the Flipkart Escalations team. 

Previously, several cheating cases against e-commerce websites have been registered due to the delivery of wrong items or faulty items. This time I personally went through such an ordeal of getting a soap bar instead of the iPhone 12 bought during the Flipkart Big Billion Day Sale.

Must See: Best Deals: Flipkart Big Billion Days sale on smartphones

Considering the last year’s fraud cases with smartphone deliveries, I asked the Wishmaster for the Flipkart Open Box Delivery*. The same helped me to sail through the troubled waters as the delivery was marked as ‘failed’ upon opening the box. In turn, I didn’t provide the OTP which is used to mark the item as ‘delivered’. 

However, the behaviour of the logistics team troubled me more, as they called me again to get the OTP or Mobile Number after ‘failed’ delivery. It raised alarm and suspicion, which further led to 2-3 hours full of stress.

Here’s the timeline of events:

4 OCT, 2021 ~3:30 PM: Flipkart Wishmaster confirms that delivery will be attempted in the next half an hour.

4 OCT, 2021 ~5:45 PM: Flipkart Wishmaster arrives, and I ask him to open the box while I started recording the video. You can see the video below:

4 OCT, 2021 ~5:49 PM: Upon finding soap bars, I tried to establish contact with Flipkart Support and in return got a call from them within 11 minutes. Then, tried to clear things with the support, but they said, the item is currently ‘Out for Delivery’ and cancellation or anything can happen when the status changes to something else. However, they said thanks for intimating us about the situation and call us later.

4 OCT, 2021 ~6:20 PM: Flipkart Wishmaster goes back with ‘failed’ delivery.

4 OCT, 2021 ~8:25 PM: Flipkart Wishmaster calls me again to get the phone number or OTP or code. I asked him why do you need a number or any input from the customer end? Flipkart already provided you with the required details. Then I asked him to hand over the call to the superior or manager. Then someone from Chandigarh Hub started asking me the same thing. To further clarify things, I opened the Flipkart Open Box Delivery FAQs page to check whether some details from the customer end are really needed, but nothing was found to confirm his superior’s claims. Then, I asked him to call me again after 15-20 minutes as I wanted to confirm with Flipkart Support on a call.

4 OCT, 2021 ~ 8:32 PM: I again connected with Flipkart Support and got a call within 11 minutes from them. I directly asked them about the situation, and added that they were asking phone number or OTP from me. The support person directly asked me not to divulge any information to them. They already have access to the required information to cancel or fail the order. Further, I asked them to cancel the order or issue a replacement. I further clarified from him whether my money is safe or not, he ensured me that it is fully safe and don’t give any information to them if they call me again. Upon further requests, the guy tried to pacify me by asking me to share my concern with his superior. However, the call got ended abruptly while passing the call superior.

4 OCT, 2021 ~8:55 PM: I called Flipkart Support again to cancel my order as it was the last resort to safeguard my money. Upon hearing my concern, he said we have already had two incidents of calling us, and you need not worry. Then I asked him to cancel my order, but got the same answer that the status is ‘Out for Delivery’ and we can’t do anything. They said, after 24 hours they can cancel or the customer can cancel the order, until then we have to wait. He again repeated that not to share any information with the Flipkart Wishmaster.

4 OCT, 2021 ~ 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM: I called Flipkart Support once more and the same answer was provided. However, they tried to pacify me and barred me from sharing details with Flipkart Wishmaster.

~ 5 OCT, 2021 1:32 AM: Finally, the order was cancelled, and the refund was processed within a few hours. However, the payment got credited after a couple of days.

The situation would have been the opposite if I had accepted the order. It would become difficult for me to prove such a fraud to the guys over at Flipkart. 

My cautiousness helped me to get rid of this chaotic situation. The issue was resolved by the Flipkart Support team and the whole amount was refunded within the span of 4-5 days. However, not everyone would be as lucky as me.

So always make sure to record video and opt for Open Box Delivery* while ordering any expensive item from e-commerce websites like Flipkart. 

*Flipkart’s Open Box Delivery is an initiative dedicated to safeguarding the customer’s interests. As part of the Open Box Delivery process, the Flipkart wishmaster (delivery partner) opens the product at the time of delivery, in front of the customer. Customers need to accept the delivery only when their orders are present in an intact state. This is an extension of the various initiatives that Flipkart has undertaken over the years to improve the overall customer experience and build a superior supply chain

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Simranpal Singh

With a decade-long journey in the tech industry, I've been actively engaged in tech reporting across various reputable publications. He currently works as a Web Developer at RightNode Media and pursues his hobby of writing on GoAndroid. Enjoy travelling, and always excited about new tech trends. He actively contributes on GizmoChina and GChromecast Hub.

View Comments

  • Yes, it is painful for customers who order expensive items and trust @Flipkart to deliver and trus…

  • I also had a similar incident , I even have a recorded video. In my case I was delivered a real me phone instead of iphone 12. When we repeatedly told the delivery person to take the product back because it was wrong she said that we need to raise this with company and not her. I have been raising complaints with flipkart from 20 days now without any resolution. Instead they blocked my account.

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