B.C. woman buried in Amazon packages she did not ask for and does not want

Almost every day, Anca Nitu comes home from work to find an Amazon package she did not order at her doorstep.

For the past two months, Nitu says she's received more than 50 parcels containing women's shoes at her home in Langley, B.C. They were sent by people across North America who intended to return them to the Amazon seller, with each box containing a return authorization slip to her address.

She says couriers have also abandoned packages on her porch, denying her the opportunity to refuse them. It has also resulted in more than $300 worth of Collect-on-Delivery (COD) customs charges from the United Parcel Service (UPS). The bills are mailed to her by the delivery company.

"I start shaking when I see packages at my door," said Nitu, who says the stress has cost her sleep and her appetite. "They keep coming and it just doesn't end."

While she has not determined an exact cause, Nitu suspects her residence is being used as a return address for sellers or third-party handlers to dump their unwanted products.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) says it sounds like a vendor-return scheme, where sellers, usually from overseas countries like China or India, skirt shipping and warehouse fees by using a residence to ship their returned products.

Third-party sellers who use Amazon fulfilment centres are required to pay for picking and packing orders, shipping, handling and product returns.

If an Amazon customer wishes to return a product to a third-party seller, the BBB says a company might try to save money by choosing a private return address rather than having to pay the cost of shipping packages overseas or having them processed in fulfilment centres.

When a seller's returned products can't be re-sold, the companies are charged with removal and disposal order fees.

Neesha Hothi, the director of marketing and communications at B.C.'s BBB, says she has not heard of the scam happening locally but it's common in the U.S.

"It's easier and cheaper for the sellers to have [returned products] sent to this random address than having it sent to China," said Hothi. "It could be that the warehouse has asked the seller to remove their unsold products from fulfilment centres, or their contract is ending."

The BBB also referenced the Amazon brushing scam, where companies would purchase products and have them sent to random customers so they can write verified reviews. But Nitu says what is happening to her is materially different.

Most of the shoes have a return slip that bears her name and address but are intended for shoe sellers in the U.S.

Nitu says she is disputing the duty charges from UPS.

"I refused to pay, and the dispute with UPS is still ongoing," said Nitu. "They're completely unreasonable. I tried to explain the situation and they were not nice, let's put it that way."

UPS told CBC they intend to investigate the issue but do not wish to give an official comment until they've contacted Nitu.

The BBB says it is facilitating correspondence between Nitu and UPS's corporate office.

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After numerous emails and hours on the phone talking to Amazon and UPS customer service, Nitu says she has made no progress in stopping the deliveries.

She also filed a police report with the Langley RCMP, who told her to open and dispose of the packages.

"The constable consulted with his superiors, and they don't know where to begin to investigate this," she said.

"I don't have storage, and I can't keep all these shoes indefinitely," added Nitu, who started to give away the shoes at her workplace and to Goodwill, a charity that takes secondhand clothing. "They are absolutely no use to me."

Nitu says Amazon and UPS are not handling her inquiries with urgency and that her complaint is being passed around.

In a written statement to CBC, Amazon says people in her situation can report packages online through their Report Unwanted Package form, but they did not specify what processes are in place to resolve Nitu's specific issue of unwanted volume deliveries.

"The case in question has been addressed, and corrective action is being taken to stop the packages," Amazon wrote.

However, Nitu says the issue has yet to be resolved.

"UPS has been a complete nightmare," she said, adding that other carriers like Canada Post and FedEx did not bill her and allowed her to refuse packages without charge by calling the post office.

"I have called and asked UPS to pick up their packages and they said, 'sure,' but nothing happened the next day."

In an email shared by Nitu, UPS advised her to refuse delivery and, if no one in the household is onsite, a note may be left at her door indicating her refusal to accept the delivery.

Nitu says the deliveries were tied to her dormant Amazon account.

"I don't know what Amazon is allowing them to do because they got a hold of my name, my address and my old phone number," she said.

Hothi says customers' information could be stolen in multiple ways, such as in phishing scams.

"It could be as simple as someone stealing your mail, taking a picture of your mail, or they could be selling other products and could have your information from a different place," she said.

Nitu says she is worried about eventually receiving heftier bills for seller service fees.

"These seller accounts for Amazon are not free. Amazon is charging these sellers, and my name and address are linked to a seller account," she said.

Hothi advises customers battling with companies to keep a record of all correspondence and obtain incident reports.

Ali Pitargue is an associate producer at CBC Vancouver. You can contact her at [email protected].