I was home working upstairs when a loud thud in the backyard startled me. I guessed it was an enthusiastically dropped package, but I couldn't have imagined the full scope of the incident that originated the noise.
After I made my way downstairs to investigate, I found the double chain link gate on the side of my house had been kicked in by an Amazon delivery driver seemingly unable to figure out the simple butterfly latch. The brute force entry busted the gate's wooden frame, necessitating a repair that requires carpentry skills I don't possess.
How I found my gate after an Amazon driver busted their way through it. David Watsky/CNET
Two damning pieces of evidence -- my Amazon packages -- were dropped few yards inside the gate. To make matters worse, the driver left both gates wide open, leaving my yard susceptible to a canine escape.
I reported the damage and filed a claim with Amazon
Incredibly, the delivery driver didn't even bother to close the gate they had just then broken down. David Watsky/CNET
Naturally, I reported the incident through the retailer's online incident portal and contacted Amazon customer service by phone. A polite woman instructed me to file a claim. I did so within a day, including the repair cost estimate of $500 that I had secured from a local handyman, the Amazon package delivery timestamp and several photos of the busted gate, also timestamped moments after the packages were delivered.
The claims department said it would render a decision "within a couple of days."
Despite all the evidence, Amazon wouldn't pay
A week and one follow-up email later, Amazon replied and informed me that without visual evidence of the incident, they wouldn't be reimbursing me for the damage.
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