Something is amiss at Sonos towers. The company has been accidentally sending US customers more speakers than they ordered, and then charging them for them, The Verge reports. One customer bought one Sonos Move Bluetooth speaker, only to receive seven units, along with a bill for all of them.
But that customer might be in luck, as US law says unwanted extras can be kept as "gifts". Companies are also prohibited from charging customers for anything they didn't order.
The reports appeared on a Reddit thread. Sonos has since sought to reimburse customers once they return the unwanted speakers, although it is yet to offer any form of compensation for the inconvenience caused.
In an email to affected customers, the company blamed the issue on a system update that meant some orders were processed multiple times. It went on to ask customers to return their unwanted devices with a prepaid label using Sonos' couriers.
However, Sonos might be on shaky ground. The Federal Trade Commission in the US says that consumers are not legally obliged to return anything received from a company unsolicited.
The FTC states: "By law, companies can’t send unordered merchandise to you, then demand payment. That means you never have to pay for things you get but didn’t order. You also don’t have to return unordered merchandise. You’re legally entitled to keep it as a free gift."
So Sonos might be relying on the goodwill of affected customers if it wants to recoup any losses.
We've contacted Sonos for comment and will update this if we hear back.
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