Customer filed A to Z claim 1 hour AFTER item was returned to us
Has anyone else had this problem? We had a customer return an item. 1 hour after it was delivered when we were working on his refund we were hit with an A to Z claim from him stating the item was damaged and that he wanted a refund. We were in the process of working on refunds for returns but because he opened this claim we were unable to. Flash forward and Amazon grants him the refund and it counts against our account. I tried to appeal saying we were LITERALLY working on returns and that this shouldn't count against us but no luck. It's so frustrating. I feel like if Amazon's tracking shows delivered or that it at least shows it's in transit that a customer shouldn't be able to open an A to Z claim. Seems flawed. Anyways just wasn't sure if this happens to other people.
Customer filed A to Z claim 1 hour AFTER item was returned to us
Has anyone else had this problem? We had a customer return an item. 1 hour after it was delivered when we were working on his refund we were hit with an A to Z claim from him stating the item was damaged and that he wanted a refund. We were in the process of working on refunds for returns but because he opened this claim we were unable to. Flash forward and Amazon grants him the refund and it counts against our account. I tried to appeal saying we were LITERALLY working on returns and that this shouldn't count against us but no luck. It's so frustrating. I feel like if Amazon's tracking shows delivered or that it at least shows it's in transit that a customer shouldn't be able to open an A to Z claim. Seems flawed. Anyways just wasn't sure if this happens to other people.
2 replies
Veronica_Amazon
Hello @Seller_aFrY4RBD5rhAu,
I'm hoping my comment here allows for additional input from the community but I have seen that some buyers will proceed with an A-Z claim before seller can process a refund. You can issue a refund either after the product is returned or, if you are allowing the buyer to keep the product (return-less refund), you can issue a refund immediately. If you want the product returned, Amazon encourages you to wait until you receive it before issuing a refund, in order to evaluate its return condition. You may have the option to file an A-Z Claim Appeal and explain the summary of this order (including timeframe between receipt of item and initiation of refund), if so, you have 30 calendar days to submit an appeal an A-to-z Guarantee Claim. This is your opportunity to provide new information for our investigation to dispute the decision. When you appeal a Claim decision, either the cost of the refund or the impact to your ODR may be reversed, but neither is a guarantee. I'm providing an additional resource below for you to review.
Kindest regards,
Veronica_Amazon
Seller_smU4J8AZRxJNu
We personally have a batting average of about 1 in 100. We win about 1 claim out of 100 even though we have upheld our end of the transaction EVERY time. This is simply theft. The problem is, there is zero risk to the consumer. They aren't going to get arrested. Amazon typically doesn't even crack down on repeat offenders and close their accounts down. Why would they, it all falls on the 3rd party seller. Amazon covers themselves for their products, but if it comes from a 3rd party, you are going to lose. Raise your prices on Amazon and lower your prices on your other selling platforms where these issues do not occur. We don't deal with this on our own website (which actually now protects vendors from chargebacks). We offer a $3 additional shipping cost for "signature confirmation" and let our consumers know that they are responsible for stolen packages. We cannot be responsible for a consumer's lack of responsibility in collecting their packages and stopping porch pirates or just fraudulent claims. We are seeing an increase in consumers coming directly to our website and leaving Amazon, so it does appear to be working.
