Amazon UAE delivered a dummy phone instead of a Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra worth AED 4,207 now refusing refund and saying the decision is final
Posting this on behalf of my brother, who lives in Abu Dhabi and placed the order through Amazon UAE.
He ordered a Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 512GB for AED 4,207.20.
Instead of the actual Samsung phone, he received a DUMMY PHONE.
The issue was reported to Amazon immediately and a return was initiated.
The first problem was that the delivery/return pickup partner REFUSED to collect the item TWICE because it was not the actual Samsung phone.
We repeatedly explained to Amazon support that this was exactly the problem the dummy phone was the item delivered to us. How could we return the original Samsung phone when we never received it?
After multiple complaints to Amazon support, the return was finally picked up.
Amazon's order status initially showed:
“Your return was picked up”
It also stated that the refund would be issued once the return was processed at the Return Center, with an expected refund timeline of 4–7 days.
We waited.
After around 10 days, the Amazon order status changed to:
“Return may be lost”
and
“Your return is likely lost in-transit.”
Amazon's own app said Customer Service could help regarding the refund.
However, we then received an email with a completely different explanation. Amazon claimed that an item “different to the item ordered” had been returned.
Of course the item was different — that was our complaint from DAY ONE. A dummy phone was delivered instead of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Amazon then told us they could not issue a refund until the “correct item” was returned.
Again, how can we return a Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra that was NEVER delivered to us?
We returned exactly what we received.
Finally, Amazon sent another email stating that their “decision is final” and that they will “likely not respond to further emails about this issue.”
So the timeline is:
Return picked up → refund pending processing → return likely lost in transit → accused of returning the wrong item → asked to return a phone we never received → decision final.
After this, we checked the seller/entity name shown on the invoice and found 30+ negative public reviews online. Some reviews allege similar and even worse experiences involving missing or incorrect items.
Public review page:
I am not claiming that every online review is independently verified, but seeing multiple serious allegations raised major concerns for us.
Why are repeated complaints like these not being properly investigated?
AED 4,207.20 is a significant amount. We reported the dummy phone immediately, contacted Amazon multiple times, went through two refused pickup attempts, and finally returned exactly what was delivered.
Amazon's own order status later said the return was likely lost in transit, yet we are now being blamed for returning the wrong item.
Has anyone faced a similar issue with Amazon UAE?
What is the best way to escalate this in the UAE? Any advice on consumer protection or a credit card chargeback would be appreciated.