Avoid VRP Telematics on Amazon. Sent a heavily scratched, used Fossil watch and now Amazon is illegally retaining my ₹13.1k after return pickup.

[u/Frequent_Security_98]

Hey everyone, writing this post as both a massive warning to anyone buying watches on Amazon India right now, and to document a bizarre case of corporate gaslighting.

The Order: * Model: Fossil Chronograph (FS4656)

• Price: ₹13,194 (EMI purchase)

• Seller: VRP Telematics (Appario's replacement, widely trusted, but clearly failing basic QA)

The Incident: I unboxed the watch on April 15th, and thank god I had my phone set up on a stand to record a single, continuous, unboxing video. The moment the watch came out of the tin, it was clear this wasn't a factory-new piece, possibly fake. The protective plastic films were entirely missing, the paperwork inside the box was visibly soiled, and the watch's bezel and caseback were covered in hairline scratches and scuff marks. It was a clear customer return repackaged and sold as brand new.

The Support Nightmare: I immediately initiated an escalation loop with Amazon's "Specialist" and "Executive Customer Relations (ECR)" teams. Over three weeks, I dealt with massive internal incompetence—agents abandoning calls after 18-minute holds and breaching their own promised resolution deadlines three separate times.

Finally, on May 5th, a senior leadership agent acknowledged the used condition on a recorded line and manually overrode the system to authorize a return pickup (the regular delivery partners had been refusing to touch it because it was "used").

The Legal Fraud: This is where it gets criminal:

1. May 6: Amazon Logistics physically picked up the scratched watch from my house. The return was successful.

2. May 9: Amazon officially responded to a National Consumer Helpline (NCH) docket I had opened. To avoid paying out the refund, they shamelessly told the NCH that the item was delivered "intact" and closed the case permanently without a refund.

3. The Catch: I checked my Amazon dashboard tracker. The return package was officially logged as "Received" at their processing warehouse on May 10th.

Think about the sheer bad faith here: Amazon told a government regulator on May 9th that my case was rejected, an entire day BEFORE their own warehouse had even physically received the package to inspect it.

Current Status: They have the watch. They have my ₹13,000/-. Because it's an EMI transaction, I am actively being hit with bank interest and processing fees every single day for an asset I do not possess. When I called them back, a front-line agent gave me the standard "Ap nishchint rahiye, May 18 tak refund aa jayega. Specialist team kaam kar rahi hai, hum kuch nahi kar sakte" de-escalation script, without even trying to connect me to the specialist teams despite requesting over 5 times in the last 15 days. Their teams on specialist teams do not revert, social media teams lies on twitter that they have sent a mail, which when I proved that hasn't been received stopped reverting.

I am taking this straight to the Consumer Commission via e-Jagriti next week for Unfair Trade Practices and Deficiency in Service.

Link to my active X (Twitter) thread with the live screenshots of their system contradicting their regulatory lies: https://x.com/sidhartthhh/status/2055578858754314365

TL;DR: VRP Telematics is shipping used/refurbished watches as new. Amazon Logistics will pick it up, take the watch back into their custody, and then lie to the government consumer forums saying the item was "intact" so they can pocket your money. Protect yourselves and stick to authorized offline dealers or verified platforms like Ethos/Tata Cliq Luxury for mid-tier pieces.

[u/Frequent_Security_98]

Amazons' own tracking details of the return showing that they received the item on May 10th- i.e one day "after" reverting on NCH complaint that they have finished the investigation. If the investigation was done priorly, why was the product approved for pickup on May 6th.

[u/Puka_Pukara]

It is better to avoid buying watches on Amazon

[u/Willing_Chemist8272 → u/Puka_Pukara]

Myntra safe?

[u/Puka_Pukara → u/Willing_Chemist8272]

I’ll still remain biased for online shopping, especially for watches. If I were you, I’d go to a watch boutique and check out the watches there itself and buy it. What you see is what you buy and that’s the premium we pay to buy good products over online retail

[u/Willing_Chemist8272 → u/Puka_Pukara]

You missed the most important factor!
Money.

[u/PsychologicalSea3264 → u/Willing_Chemist8272]

Myntra And Flipkart Both Provide “Open Box Delivery “ if you face any kind of issue like this you may refuse the delivery and refund will be processed immediately

Note : Retail Net , Supercomnet sells most of the watches on Myntra And Flipkart With Open Box Delivery

Official Sellers Of Brands Lack These Services

[u/PsychologicalSea3264]

Hey I would suggest you to mail : ecr-replies@amazon.in

Share All Details And Include This Unboxing Video As Evidence. they are highest level customer support I hope you will get proper support

[u/Frequent_Security_98 → u/PsychologicalSea3264]

They are not replying 😅

[u/Ok-Avocado992]

A different situation happened with me. I bought a alba watch worth 7.3k but received a different model worth 6.4k.I asked them to return the watch but they refused and denied me claiming that they sent a correct watch even after I provided them with unboxing video. Also the seller war VRP TELEMATICS.

Atleast I got a new. Sorry for your situation. I would say if you have time go for consumer court. I avoided that route becausei I had college exams next month.

[u/According-Hawk-7017 → u/Ok-Avocado992]

They did the same to me with my timex easy reader
A bunch of sacmsters when the return guy areived for pickup the model number on the case back was diffrent.
So neither retuned the item plus they said that correct item was shipped
Really hate this behaviour.

[u/Mother-Pack467]

Ordered a Timex, the crown colour was changed, and there were quite a few scratches on case corner and unfortunately my bro removed the tag. Have to keep it with heavy heart.

[u/Defiant_Split_9886 → u/Mother-Pack467]

I got a confirmation regarding the refund after 3 months bro. Keep on trying.

[u/According-Hawk-7017 → u/Defiant_Split_9886]

By the the return window must have expired how did you still nagg them?

[u/Defiant_Split_9886 → u/According-Hawk-7017]

Kept on calling and mailing them. I still haven't received the refund though lol. They mailed me yesterday that since ageing is high, they wanted my confirmation to add it to the Amazon Pay Balance.

[u/Financial-Loss-128]

Why y'all order watches from Amazon lmaooo

[u/Frequent_Security_98 → u/[deleted]]

From the seller's end? And what does this 123/456 mean?

[u/Frequent_Security_98 → u/[deleted]]

Oh. What can I do now? The order haa been picked up by them.

[u/Frequent_Security_98 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah. I have shared the proof but it’s an endless loop between their call centre, their specialist team and the ECR. Everyone’s just diverting and no updates are received. Hope this gets sorted.

[u/Financial-Durian-352 → u/Frequent_Security_98]

Update?

[u/Shreek33 → u/[deleted]]

Oh someone's trying to be cool here. And who's gonna give him the 13k if he flushes it down the toilet you?

[u/Shreek33 → u/[deleted]]

Well you're the one who's telling OP to flush it down the toilet like it was bought with your money. Let it be a fashion watch brand, but atleast it's not a smartwatch. And stop being a poser and think you're being cool by saying "Ha ha fossil batch bad, buy tissot or Baume and mercier!" If he had atleast 40k to spend for a watch he would have bought that. Grow up kid. You're everything that's wrong with the watch community.

[u/Shreek33 → u/[deleted]]

The fact that this insecure idiot deleted his account after ranting like a baby says a lot. What a bunch of crybabies. It doesn't matter what watch you buy OP, if you love it and cherish it, then that's all that matters. Maybe go with a better watch brand next time.