A student who ordered an iPad from Amazon was left shocked when she received a box full of Dove soap instead.

Abi Chipchase from Spennymoor, County Durham bought the new gadget from Amazon to help with her studies but was surprised to find bars of soap inside the package when it arrived at her home.

Abi, 20, told The Northern Echo: “I couldn’t believe it! I’d spent nearly £600 pounds and all they’d sent me was a few bars of soap.

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“I’d been given a £500 voucher from college and our tutor recommended this iPad to help with the course.

“I ordered it on December 6, and they tried to deliver it a few days later but no one was in.

“They came again the next day and my mum took it in. When I got home from work and opened the package all that was inside was four blocks of Dove soap.”

The Northern Echo: Four bars of soap arrived instead the iPad Air Abi ordered.Four bars of soap arrived instead the iPad Air Abi ordered. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

Miss Chipchase, a visual arts student at New College Durham, used a £500 voucher given to her by the college to purchase the iPad Air 2022 edition, which was £569 when she ordered it.

The college student kept the packaging the soap arrived in and sent pictures to Amazon.

She also ordered a wireless keyboard and stylus for the iPad which arrived in a separate parcel.

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Abi, who also works part-time in a supermarket, added: “Now I think about it, it must have been swapped in the warehouse.

“I’ve seen the same thing happen to a few other people too.

“I contacted Amazon and the police, but they said it was for Amazon to sort out.

“It’s affecting my studies now as I still don’t have the iPad and I need it for my course.”

She says she has been in touch with Amazon numerous times about the issue but they failed to offer her the refund she requested.

In November last year, The Echo reported how a Yorkshire woman ordered an £850 laptop from the online retail giant, only to receive a box of Kellogg’s cornflakes.

Amazon has now issued an apology and offered Abi a full refund, although she says the price of the iPad has gone up £80 from when she first ordered it.

A spokesperson for Amazon told The Northern Echo: “We’ve contacted the customer directly, apologised and processed a full refund.”

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