The Breitling Watch Source Forums

If anyone here has had experience in dealing with Amazon Direct I would appreciate hearing from them in PM. In particular, if anyone has dealt with them in attempting to return a recently purchased watch. Thanks.

I bought a Breitling directly from them last year and then returned it. They handled it like every other return. Gave me a prepaid label, and refunded me quickly.

We are having a very hard time. Bought the watch two days before Christmas, returned a few days after with a return authorization form. They sent it back claiming it had been worn - they say they have proof but won't provide it or allow us to talk to the jeweler they say verified that for them. Of course it was not worn and could not have been - I have a 7 in wrist and without significant downward re-sizing it would have fallen off my wrist! Their customer service group told my wife they would not discuss it further with her and that we had to call "legal," whatever that means!

Sorry to hear of the trouble. You're sure it was Amazon and not one of the other sellers on the site?

No, definitely Amazon Direct.

May I ask: when you returned yours did you give them a particular reason for the return and if so, what was it?

I am also wondering if the model has an impact here - this was for a Montbrillant. I am guessing you ordered a chrono or a navi, right? In other words altho Amazon promises a 30 day hassle free return when it comes to a less popular model that might be hard to resell they get nasty.

In my case it was actually defective. The winding stem came out in my hand when I unscrewed the crown.

It was a Steelfish. I'd suggest escalating with customer service. As I said before, I've usually found Amazon to be quite responsive.

- Dan

We did escalate to something called "concierge" who then told my wife she would have to call their "legal" department and that they would not talk to her again (she is tough, a CEO).

They are claiming that there are some scratches on the watch clasp that indicate that the watch was "worn" and thus in violation of their return policy.

That strikes me as an odd claim. Of course, I did not wear it, but could one damage a Breitling steel bracelet clasp just by wearing it? Then why would ADs let anyone return any watch or even try one on in a store? Of course, they refused to send us any evidence of the damage (they claim to have before and after photos).

I think the real story here is the model. It's the Montbrillant and I bet Amazon bought it from an AD on a no returns basis and now they fear they won't be able to resell it. But they made no distinction like that in their return policy.

Sounds like you ought to do a Credit Card charge back through your credit card company.

Additionally, as your wife is a CEO, she could ask her legal department to maybe write a "Demand letter" to Amazon on her behalf stating that you would like a refund, as you returned the watch in accordance with their policy, etc. (depending on what the problem was).

I'm sure your wife, as a CEO, could ask the company's counsel to do it as a personal matter, on an hourly basis. You might be out a $100, but it might get it resolved. One thing to remember in the future, is to take pictures (macro ones) prior to a return to have proof of the condition of any big ticket item prior to a return.


Forgot to add, I am not giving legal advice, just a few options that you may not consider.

Good Luck.

Thanks for the suggestions.

We have gotten legal advice and it appears that Amazon's false and misleading statements about the warranty etc. violate California's Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

It appears that what happens is that Amazon buys watches from weaker AD's who have excess inventory of certain models or returns. If the model happens to be a hot seller then they gladly take it back without any allegation that there was damage (see above post).

In my case they have now, instead, returned it to us twice. This time we kept it pending seeking legal advice. There was of course no sign of any damage other than what I had noticed when I first got it.

We also sent the serial number to Breitling USA who expressed concern about this situation and assured me it was a violation of their agreement with the AD to have done this and certainly a violation of their rules to suggest that the watch, while under Amazon's warranty, would be repaired by a B-trained/certified repairperson with genuine B-parts!

Once we explain the potential legal issues here to Amazon I am hopeful they will be happy to get their watch back! Right now they do not have a watch and, since my wife bought it on an Amazon account, no money either!

Just for complete clarity on this, and certainly not a criticism (far from it in fact). Breitling will follow up with the AD who sold the watch to Amazon and they will have some serious questions to answer. It breaches the AD agreement to sell watches to grey market dealers like Amazon.

I'd like to eavesdrop on that conversation! Thanks for the insight.

Well, after some effort - including a multi page letter asserting our rights under the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act - Amazon has taken back the watch and refunded the full purchase price. We also noted that Amazon Direct is no longer selling "Breitling" models. Thanks again for the support and feed back offered here. It was much appreciated.

Great news, just a shame that you had to go through all of the grief.

Amazon still seems to be selling Breitlings:
http://www.amazon.com/Breitling-Navitim ... 163&sr=8-1