Customer Return 6 months later as Defective (Please Help)
Dear Sellers,
Sadly once again I require your help. In march we sold a brand new & factory sealed Nokia smart watch via SFP on Amazon. Price £149.99 and we paid DPD postage.
In September (6 months later) customer opened a return stating that item is “defective\doesn’t work”. I had no choice of rejecting\accepting return - Amazon just accepted a return.
Upon the receipt of the return:
- the item was badly scratched on the front, on the sides and on the back
- the item was heavily used with grease marks and major signs of wear and tear all over it
OK.
I charged the watch that switched on immediately and I wanted to see what exactly is wrong with it - so far after using it periodically for over 2 weeks now - it’s been working fine. It charges, it display time, all dials and arms are working fine, it measures the heart rate, alarm clocks work. It connects with my latest iPhone XS etc… I’ve not been able to find anything wrong so far except obvious heavy usage cosmetic wear.
Amazon has, of course, refunded the buyer the full original cost of £149.99, then then refunded another £4.99 (I assume for the return postage), and then further £15.00 was refunded (not sure why).
I have opened a case with Amazon (that has now gone through a 3rd escalation) and complained as to why there were 3 refunds, and I also attached at least 12 photographs of showing watch working and scratched glass etc. So far Amazon would do nothing to help me or even explain.
I cannot exactly go back to manufacturer and request for them to issue a new watch. I paid an arm and the leg for them and with small profits we earn - it’s a nightmare.
I have been selling on Amazon for over 10 years and recent 2 cases with FBA (where literally Amazon would not budge until I sent a letter before action to customer for a used software) but there is high a degree of frustration now with Amazon Seller services.
I do, obviously, still want to sell on Amazon but is this how it’s done now? Just buy and use something for a few months and then return it as faulty. Is there no way to appeal it at all? I mean a vary small percentage of people blatantly abuse return processes, steal our products (by not returning items that they received twice), where we, 3rd party sellers, pay for Amazon’s wrongly stated delivery addresses and estimated delivery dates etc…
if anyone can provide some input to the above case that would be much appreciated. I don’t know what but I cannot let it slip under the carpet
this is not right, we bend backwards to provide the best we can on Amazon. Amazon charges significant fees and yet we are treated like alien citizens with no rights whatsoever against all the UK and EU legal framework…
Customer Return 6 months later as Defective (Please Help)
Dear Sellers,
Sadly once again I require your help. In march we sold a brand new & factory sealed Nokia smart watch via SFP on Amazon. Price £149.99 and we paid DPD postage.
In September (6 months later) customer opened a return stating that item is “defective\doesn’t work”. I had no choice of rejecting\accepting return - Amazon just accepted a return.
Upon the receipt of the return:
- the item was badly scratched on the front, on the sides and on the back
- the item was heavily used with grease marks and major signs of wear and tear all over it
OK.
I charged the watch that switched on immediately and I wanted to see what exactly is wrong with it - so far after using it periodically for over 2 weeks now - it’s been working fine. It charges, it display time, all dials and arms are working fine, it measures the heart rate, alarm clocks work. It connects with my latest iPhone XS etc… I’ve not been able to find anything wrong so far except obvious heavy usage cosmetic wear.
Amazon has, of course, refunded the buyer the full original cost of £149.99, then then refunded another £4.99 (I assume for the return postage), and then further £15.00 was refunded (not sure why).
I have opened a case with Amazon (that has now gone through a 3rd escalation) and complained as to why there were 3 refunds, and I also attached at least 12 photographs of showing watch working and scratched glass etc. So far Amazon would do nothing to help me or even explain.
I cannot exactly go back to manufacturer and request for them to issue a new watch. I paid an arm and the leg for them and with small profits we earn - it’s a nightmare.
I have been selling on Amazon for over 10 years and recent 2 cases with FBA (where literally Amazon would not budge until I sent a letter before action to customer for a used software) but there is high a degree of frustration now with Amazon Seller services.
I do, obviously, still want to sell on Amazon but is this how it’s done now? Just buy and use something for a few months and then return it as faulty. Is there no way to appeal it at all? I mean a vary small percentage of people blatantly abuse return processes, steal our products (by not returning items that they received twice), where we, 3rd party sellers, pay for Amazon’s wrongly stated delivery addresses and estimated delivery dates etc…
if anyone can provide some input to the above case that would be much appreciated. I don’t know what but I cannot let it slip under the carpet
this is not right, we bend backwards to provide the best we can on Amazon. Amazon charges significant fees and yet we are treated like alien citizens with no rights whatsoever against all the UK and EU legal framework…
6 replies
Seller_EJIX7rqDNQJi2
I am sorry to hear that this happened to you. According to the Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime help page:
”You might be eligible for reimbursement if a customer has been refunded by Amazon Customer Service for one of the following reasons and the amount reimbursed to the customer has been taken from your seller account:”
-
Amazon Customer Service initiated a return on behalf of a customer for an item that is outside of the return window.
-
The item was returned in damaged condition by the customer (please send appropriate photo evidence linking the return to the purchased product).
-
Amazon Customer Service issued a refund to the customer for return delivery label, even though the buyer was responsible for paying for return delivery as per policy. (Items in the clothing, shoes and handbags categories are eligible for free customer returns and not eligible for the return label cost reimbursements)
The page also includes instructions how you can file a Safe-T claim:
And also, here is a contact e-mail address: safe-t-review@amazon.co.uk
But in general, I don’t think it’s a good idea to sell high value - low profit items like this, either by Seller Fulfilled Prime or FBA as you will only end up losing a lot of money and having ineligible returns forcibly accepted.
Seller_hC0hNVDuILaKO
This is where the safe t claims kick in, since you did not refund but Amazon did then you can request a reimbursement of a reasonable amount to reflect your loss at having received back a functioning but now used item.
