A computer glitch led to a glut of packages being sent to the home of a student from Bromley, south London.
51 packages with a total value of almost $6,000 were sent to the home of 22-year-old Robert Quinn by mistake, including a 55-inch Samsung 3D television worth over $1,500. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has since told Mr. Quinn, an engineering student at the University of Liverpool, that he can keep the items.
A varied shopping basket
As well as the television, Mr. Quinn was sent a Samsung Galaxy Pro tablet, a single bed, a chest of drawers and a baby stroller. He told the Daily Mail that the items appeared to have been sent to him rather than a returns depot, because the packages were labelled with returns labels.
“At first I phoned up Amazon and they said that people must be ‘gifting’ them to me, but there’s no way that’s happening because I don’t know any of these people,” he said.
“I was worried that people were losing out on their stuff so I phoned Amazon again and said I’m happy to accept these gifts if they are footing the cost, but I’m not happy if these people are going to lose out. But Amazon said ‘it’s on us’.”
Mr. Quinn was rewarded for his honesty and now has a collection of early Christmas presents. It remains to be seen just how far Amazon’s generosity extends, with the student claiming that he is still receiving packages.
Quinn’s future plans for Amazon
It would seem that Quinn is an upstanding citizen after he claimed that he will give some of the items away as Christmas presents and others to charity. Those that are left over he will sell back to Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in order to fund the development of a cannabis grinder that he is working on, as well as treating his girlfriend to a city-break.
“I should have about £1,600 to play with this summer and I might take my girlfriend to Bruges,” he said. “And at the moment I’m working on an electrical cannabis grinder. I’m thinking about getting a patent on it.”
According to The Telegraph, an Amazon spokesman stated: “This matter has now been resolved and I can confirm that on this occasion the customer has been informed that he can keep the items that were delivered.”
