If you have Amazon Prime, you’ve likely experienced a missed delivery. You may be entitled to compensation if you don’t receive your packages within the free two-day shipping.

There are several benefits customers have received when complaining about late packages. Some have received a free one-month extension to their Prime benefits, $5 or $10 credits, a 30% discount on the entire order or, if the purchase was a small dollar amount, some customers have reported Amazon just gave them the items.

If you’ve received a late delivery and would like to complain to Amazon go to Amazon.com and visit its Contact Us page. You’ll be given a choice to contact Amazon via live chat or phone.

Amazon doesn’t provide compensation for all late deliveries, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

•••

If you own an iPhone 7, or any later version, check out a software update that allows you to silence unknown numbers. A Coeur d’Alene reader wrote in to say that this new Apple feature, released with software update 13.1.2, silences the ringer on unknown numbers but doesn’t block the call.

Unknown numbers are sent directly to voicemail without ringing your phone, which is less disruptive. If someone really does need to get in touch, they will leave a message. This reader went from a half-dozen robocalls a day to zero. He says so far it has been working great and is a free service.

•••

Anyone who has traveled by air likely has experienced a delay. They’re inconvenient. But is the airline obliged to compensate you?

Airlines cannot guarantee their schedules because so many things are beyond its control — the weather, air traffic, mechanical issues and so on. Airlines are not required under federal law to compensate passengers when flights are delayed or canceled. It is only in certain instances, when passengers are bumped from oversold flights, that they become eligible for compensation.

Don’t kid yourself into thinking that airlines are required to put you on another airline’s flight in the event of a cancellation. They do their best to rebook passengers on the next available flight (based on availability). If for some reason you choose not to rebook your flight, the airline typically refunds the unused ticket even if non-refundable. The U.S. Department of Transportation can determine whether you are entitled to a refund on a case-by-case basis.

However, there are still ways to be compensated in the event you are inconvenienced by flight disruptions. If your flight is either delayed or canceled, see about rebooking your itinerary by standing in the customer service line and calling the airline while you are in line. This could speed up the time it takes to speak with an agent because rescheduling a flight will be done on a first-come, first-served basis.

If through your research you find a better flight on another airline, ask the first airline to transfer or endorse your ticket to an alternative carrier. There is no rule requiring the airline to do this, however, if you ask nicely you might be surprised at the customer service you received. Also, ask about other amenities like meal vouchers or hotel rooms if an overnight stay is required.

In the event the airline oversells the seat, then they typically ask for volunteers to give up their seat for compensation. However, if you are involuntarily denied boarding then compensation will vary depending on the length of the delay between the canceled flight and the next available flight the airline is able to book you on. Typically passengers with a short delay (one or two hours) can receive compensation equal to double the one-way price of the flight or up to $675. Longer delays (more than two hours) can result in payments equal to four times the one-way value of the flight they are bumped from or up to $1,350. Compensation tends to be in the form of vouchers for future travel on the airlines rather than cash.

Finally, a proposed new law introduced in the U.S. Senate July 30, 2019, would bring about an Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights, which would increase passenger compensation, restrict high airline fees and require the refund of baggage fees for lost or delayed baggage.

•••

If you have encountered a consumer issue that you have questions about or think our readers should know about, please send me an email at terridickersonadvocate@gmail.com or call me at 208-274-4458.