Amazon Italy & SDA Carrier Scammed Me — €800 Xiaomi 15 Phone Returned, No Refund, Conflicting Lies

[u/Embarrassed-Rip6923]

On July 18, I bought a Xiaomi 15 phone from Amazon Italy for €800, paid in installments,first payment was €160. On July 23, I returned the phone using the only method they offered: pickup by SDA Carrier.

The courier came to my house, I handed him the phone, asked to see the return label, and took a photo of it. But he didn't attach the return label to the package in front of me , he was setting in the car opened his window I gave him the phone he took the return label in his hand and ask me to take the photo so I took the photo and he left as showing in the photo ,Five days later, I checked the return status and saw this message:
"Your package was lost during transit. We lost your package."

I contacted Amazon support. They said they'd investigate. The next day, they replied:
"Your package was not lost. We received your package, but it was empty. Please return the correct item so we can issue the refund."

Excuse me? Empty?

I went straight to the SDA Carrier office to investigate. They confirmed the package was sent to Amazon with a recorded weight of 700 grams. So it wasn’t empty. Now I had three conflicting stories: - Amazon app says lost in transit - Amazon support says empty package - SDA Carrier says package was 700g and sent properly

I was furious. I made two videos: 1. At the SDA office confirming the package wasn’t empty. 2. With the same courier who picked up the phone from my house (I saw him again when returning another item).

And I send both of the videos to Amazon , in the meantime,I blocked any future payments to Amazon. I paid using Revolut, so I’m filing a dispute to recover the €160 I already paid.

Then today, I got another email from Amazon’s specialist team:
"We received an incorrect item. Once you return the correct item, we will issue the refund."

So now it’s not “empty” it’s “incorrect.”
This company is full of contradictions and lies. I don’t trust Amazon anymore, and I definitely don’t trust the carriers they send to my house. It’s too easy for someone to swap the item and claim it was empty or wrong.

I sent them a final email:
"I am leaving your platform. I will save all the evidence I have against you, and I will never buy from your platform again."

Tomorrow I’m filing my Revolut dispute for the €160. Amazon has lost my trust forever.

Advice to everyone in Italy or anywhere Amazon uses home pickup for returns:

1- Always record a full video of your return process.
2- Show yourself packing the item, sealing the box, and handing it to the courier.
3- Ask the courier to attach the return label in front of you.

Don’t ask me why. Just do it. You’ll thank yourself later.

[u/ExactlyClose]

Not surprised in the least. We hear this in many differnt versions.

You did well to protect yourself. The only thing you could have done better is paying with a credit card that would let you contest the charge. However consumer protection in Italy is likely different than the USA. (If you are a long time cardmember and spend a lot of money, you are in a stronger position.)

Havimng the shipping weight- recorded AFTER the package was out of your hands- is good.

Here is the crux of all these issues: IF YOU CAN GET SOMEONE TO ENGAGE on your issue, you sent a box that weighed 700G, they recived a box that weighed 0. The only people that had access to the box between those two locations/times were (1) the courier and (2) Amazon's return agent. BOTH of these 'people' are working FOR amazon. If they chose the carrier, paid for the carrier, arranged the pick up- this is their problem.

Again, getting that info to someone who cares and can make a decision is the issue of our time....

Finally.. only NOW you dont trust amazon? Welcome to this sad club.

[u/TaxPsychological6331]

Even if they say to ship thebitem as is, with no bag, don't do it. Pack it carefully with anything you have. Seal it with tape, and make sure they can't see what it is. Your package is handed over dozens of people. Not all of them will act professionally. Some are not even paid and worknin warehouse moving pallets (i've been told so by my local courier). If they don't see, they don't risk.

Take it for the future. It is surely a scam and you should report the item stolen to the police "carabinieri" so you have a denuncia to prove and ask SDA to be held responsible. The good thing is they stated "lost in transport" and not simply delivered.

[u/Embarrassed-Rip6923 → u/TaxPsychological6331]

If you look at how I packaged it and how I secured it, I wrapped the phone’s original box with a green bag about five times and taped it all over—at least ten times—so the original box was completely hidden. Then I placed it inside an Amazon box and taped that thoroughly as well. I did all this because, before handing it to the local carrier, I had a strong feeling that the item might get stolen, so I was extremely careful.

If you check the picture, you’ll see I even asked the carrier to show me the return label, because I suspected something like this might happen—and it did. When I went to the SDA office, I told the staff, “You’re saying one thing, and Amazon is saying another. What am I supposed to do in this situation?” She told me I needed to speak directly with Amazon.

So, from July 23rd until yesterday, August 28th, I’ve sent countless emails, called their support, and even spoke with their specialist team—nothing. No help, no support. They just keep repeating the same story.

Thank God I didn’t pay the full €800 upfront and only paid €160. Otherwise, I would’ve had a heart attack dealing with this ridiculous company.

[u/Historical-Hand-3908]

Perhaps also make video recordings of the pickup Couriers and their vehicle registration plates.

[u/Cautious_Fish_6258]

If you have something like a consumer protection tribunal. Probably time to consider sending both Amazon and your carrier company and let them sort it out amongst themselves.

Also Amazon doesn't care if you leave they've been going downhill for a bit now from what I gather.

May also consider getting the police involved to keep yourself safe and phones have an IMEI number that can be blacklisted so it makes no sense for you not to return it lol.

It may still be able to be sold as parts but that's about it

[u/R1pjaws]

Empty/different item is the same mark for them

[u/Embarrassed-Rip6923 → u/R1pjaws]

And "lost during Transit, your package has been lost"and "700 grams weight "from SDA are all the same ??? Why when ask them "ok , show me photos of the package you received " they say " sorry we cant share you any further information", so I lost my money, I lost the phone and till now I don't know what amazon received or may not received considering what their app showed me "'lost during Transit", even the local carrier when I went to their office I asked them to show me a photos for the package I gave them so I knew immediately if the package was changed with another one or been stolen during the transit, they said we can't go speak with Amazon, do you understand what is happening here ? Neither any of them provided me with photos for the package they had and neither any of them are willing to take the responsibility and they keep you in the dark not knowing what to do , investigate, discover what really happened to the real package that you handed to them

[u/R1pjaws → u/Embarrassed-Rip6923]

I say that because agent told me that in the same situation.. so i lost my money because tired

[u/Due-Tell1522]

Out of interest, why did you return?

[u/Embarrassed-Rip6923 → u/Due-Tell1522]

A few days later of buying the phone from them , I found the Xiaomi 15 Ultra (China version) listed as brand new on TradingShenzhen for €930. I thought to myself, “Why not add €130 and get this beast?” So I decided to return my Xiaomi 15 and go for the Xiaomi 15 Ultra instead.

Unfortunately, when the phone arrived, it had a scratch on one of the camera lenses and turned out to be a used device—about five months old—not new as advertised. I was really disappointed with TradingShenzhen. I returned the phone with proof, and thankfully, they issued a full refund without any issues.

This time, I recorded a full video of the phone packaging and also filmed my visit to the FedEx carrier. In the video, I asked the FedEx employee to give me a receipt or proof that he had received the phone from me. He stamped the receipt, and I sent an email to TradingShenzhen with both the videos and the stamped receipt.

They made me hate even to think about buying a phone again