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Amazon slammed after alleged ‘theft’ of £150 of Lavazzo coffee beans in Gravesend Road, Wrotham

A householder is furious at what he is alleging is the “theft” of his Amazon delivery.

Once a year, self-confessed coffee lover Dr Stephen Dakin, of Gravesend Road, Wrotham, near Sevenoaks, bulk orders his coffee beans from an online supplier.

This year he ordered 16kgs of Lavazza rossa beans, worth £150, through Amazon, but the parcel failed to appear.

When he queried it with the firm, they said he had received it, and showed him a tracking note on which the delivery driver had recorded his coffee as being delivered at 3.58pm on Friday, August 4.

Dr Dakin has CCTV cameras at his home on the A227 and when he checked their recordings he says he found footage of a white van stopping momentarily outside his house at that exact time and then pulling away again.

Dr Stephen Dakin has complained to Amazon and contacted the police
Dr Stephen Dakin has complained to Amazon and contacted the police

There was no footage of any other deliveries or attempted deliveries around that time.

Dr Dakin, 59, said: “If the Amazon driver marks it down as delivered, you have to go through hell on earth to get anything done about it!”

He said: ”I’ve lost £150 worth of coffee.

“The Amazon driver parked his van on the main road outside my house for a few seconds, and then drove off without making any attempt to deliver the package.

“All of this is clearly displayed on my CCTV camera, which I sent to Amazon, but Amazon's response was only to tell me to report it to the police.”

The video recording show the van stopping at 15:57:39 (3.57pm).

A van appears to stop momentarily outside Dr Dakin's house and then drives off again, at the exact time that Amazon says the delivery was made
A van appears to stop momentarily outside Dr Dakin's house and then drives off again, at the exact time that Amazon says the delivery was made

Dr Dakin has reported the matter to the police, but feels strongly that Amazon’s attitude was “repugnant.”

He said: “Their proof-of-delivery system is clearly not fit for purpose.”

Kent Police said: “It is reported that on August 4, a parcel delivery to a residential address in Gravesend Road, Wrotham, was not fulfilled, despite claims from the courier that it had been.

“Police are investigating allegations the parcel may have been stolen. Inquiries are ongoing.”

The tracking note says it was delivered at 3.58pm on Friday, August 4
The tracking note says it was delivered at 3.58pm on Friday, August 4

Tim Hobden, a spokesman for Amazon, said: “I can confirm that we have reached out to the customer to apologise and make things right.

“An investigation is currently ongoing in regard to the driver.”

Dr Dakin alleged that Amazon’s “proof of delivery” was generated automatically by the van driver simply being in the vicinity of the delivery address, but Mr Hobden has denied this.

He said the delivery status was manually updated on an app by the driver.

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