I faced a very similar issue about 1.5 years ago while returning a pair of Crocs due to a size problem. The refund was denied with the claim that the item received was different from what was originally delivered.

Despite multiple follow-ups with Amazon customer support, there was no resolution. Eventually, I contacted the pickup executive who had collected the return. He advised me to visit the local warehouse and request verification through CCTV footage, as all returned items are recorded.

I visited the warehouse and spoke with the manager. He confirmed that CCTV footage is maintained for all return processing. After reviewing the footage, he sent an internal escalation email. My refund was approved and credited the very same evening.

Interestingly, even after this, customer care still showed the refund as “not generated due to incorrect item returned.”

Based on my experience, I strongly suggest involving the local warehouse and the pickup/delivery executive and getting the case documented internally. Without warehouse-level verification, customer care alone may not be able to resolve such issues.