Valid Tracking Rate Royal Mail
i had a phone call from Amazon Today saying that may account may be suspended because of my VTR
its currently 75% and steadily decreasing by 0.5% each day
my dispatch process has not changed, all of my products are large letters and sent by my royal mail business account which is linked to Amazon using Royal Mail 48
I’ve seen on here that a few people have had problems but the call made it sound like it was me alone and wanted to know how i was going to rectify the situation with Royal Mail before my account gets suspended if i can’t find an alternative carrier
any advice please?
Valid Tracking Rate Royal Mail
i had a phone call from Amazon Today saying that may account may be suspended because of my VTR
its currently 75% and steadily decreasing by 0.5% each day
my dispatch process has not changed, all of my products are large letters and sent by my royal mail business account which is linked to Amazon using Royal Mail 48
I’ve seen on here that a few people have had problems but the call made it sound like it was me alone and wanted to know how i was going to rectify the situation with Royal Mail before my account gets suspended if i can’t find an alternative carrier
any advice please?
Seller_2EG6N58tYDYmC
RM is linked to Amazon. CLR48 rate on C&D £0.86 but on Amazon £1.04. I feel like I am missing something here?
My account wasn’t suspended but like everybody else, I get a few emails saying that I might get suspended.
If the tracking codes that are not scanned are accepted, why VTR goes down and send emails that ruin the sellers day? They either fix this or scratch VTR.
333 replies
Seller_ID7Ut175EKtfB
I am not saying I am always right just looking for a remedy answer and no more-happy to accept any help. These are mainly low value under £5 items so happy to move elsewhere.
Just wanted to remedy for all concerned as have been selling well on amazon for 20 years.
Seller_EJS1iwRtjJMC4
they delisted 472 of my products because they want me to fulfill by Amazon using the VTR as an excuse I have sold 754 in last 75 days and all have been received so far so I am moving those listins to ebay etc its a load of rubbish as far as I am concerned.
Seller_2FZFv9SWVFLfI
i was going to scroll to the bottom of this thread to reply but you have really stirred some interest.
i got this warning around 2 months ago. i have always hated my vtr and it got to its lowest of around 82%. i phoned amazon to ask what is going on and like you not exactly much help so i played hell with royal mail. i spoke to one CS rep and they said their aim is to scan 96%. i asked her why their aim isnt 100% and start kicking arse when it drops to 96% but hey, they will do what they like.
so i escalated this to management and got told that RM48 & 24 isnt a guaranteed scan. the only option to get my vtr up was to send special delivery. RM are not very helpfull but the only work around was provided by another manager. buy everything through ‘buy shipping services’ amazon states that if you do this you are exempt from any comeback.
i now have 100% vtr and i can say for certain that not all the 48 & 24 are being scanned but amazon doesnt care because i am purchasing them through amazon but still on my RM account.
i really didnt like this outcome as it lets RM off the hook but at the end of the day its the sales that count and not what goes on between amazon and RM.
i am sending around 1k order per week too so i dont exactly want to give that up.
just play the game amazons way and you will be fine.
there is a few days, i think its 14 until the buy shipping will start to reflect but if amazon contact you and ask what you are doing about it you can say i am now buyong my shipping through amazon.
going off subject i think this is amazon ploy of taking RM buisness. by purchasing through amazon they see exactly what is being posted. weights, size and what it costs us. maybe its just my dream but serious competition for RM would be great for sellers.
Seller_ejkUriHRRTcgn
If you buy postage from Amazon they do not provide a VAT invoice . Not good for business sellers
Also
I can’t see an option to buy a service with a 2 have a 2D barcode like you get with Click and Drop
Seller_TSOxLjv7NZmKi
Well, we have had all our seller fulfilled listings pulled today - TBH our VTR rate has been low and we were NOT selecting the franked / stamps option (our bad). Since 18th October we have been 100% using ‘buy shipping’ from Amazon but I guess its too late for this evaluation period.
I have reached out to the VTR team to explain via email today. Anyone know the likely response time?
Seller_qs0SIvVwguCY5
Just to clarify…
You do NOT have to currently send 95% of orders via a tracked delivery method.
There are no sellers anywhere on these forums who have had listings suspended, where their VTR is below 95% only because of un-scanned RM 24/48 orders. This is in line with the VTR policy, which is in black and white clear-cut terms in the FAQs section, which says Amazon will verify un-scanned orders for delivery confirmation code orders (ie RM24/48) prior to suspending listings. This has also been corroborated on various webinars - the most recent where the head of Amazon Sellers Marketplace specifically mentioned it. He also said sellers should ignore any VTR warnings from Amazon if this is the only reason for a low VTR, since the warnings are automated. If you ask me this is a disgrace since the phone calls especially, are made from seller support staff who are absolutely clueless when it comes to knowing the VTR policy - despite claiming they are experts and you are about to get suspended. The seller support lack of knowledge on VTR has been proven many times over on these forums with evidenced replies from VTR queries which are total nonsense and contradictory. However much of a disgrace it is, it is fact as of now. This may change, but if it does then it will be against the policy and good luck to them with that one.
Standard Royal Mail untracked 1st/2nd class orders used to be exempt for the purpose of VTR. Towards the end of July, there was an announcement which made clear moving forwards from then on that this would not be the case. They are now invalid. This has caught a lot of sellers out who have not kept up with the announcements and are now coming here to ask for help. Reading a lot of the posts, this is causing others to panic and all of a sudden there is a belief, which is not true, that everything has to be sent tracked, or that Rm24/48 orders which are not scanned are now used to suspend listings. All understandable, but not true.
There are numerous posters in the last few days who have claimed to be using Royal Mail 2nd Class Stamps/Franking, which up to now at least, is exempt for the purpose of VTR, but getting listings suspended. When questions have been asked it has emerged in every single case so far that the seller did not realise that their orders were either being dispatched by themselves still as standard Royal Mail 2nd class (invalid), or they didn’t realise that after manually dispatching as Stamps/Franking that they had some sort of automation (C&D integration for example) over-riding the dispatch method to an invalid one.
There are also still sellers who do not understand that the VTR metrics are measured on promised delivery date (a 30-day rolling period), and has a ten day lag. This causes some sellers to come here claiming that they are now using stamps/franking but their VTR is still low and their orders are still invalid.
Incredibly, there once was a time when some standard Amazon buy shipping orders were showing as invalid. Another disgrace. This was fixed a long time ago. Same with the linked-RM account double billing issue, and the invalid un-scanned linked-RM Buy Shipping CRL’s - again these have been fixed.
It is advisable to any seller to read the policy, check your invalid VTR report regularly, and keep an eye on it, and keep an eye out for announcements. There’s a lot of sellers causing panic and confusion before doing any of these things and it has a domino effect.
Just to add - anybody who has C&D integrated with their Amazon account - this is NOT the same as linking your Royal Mail business account to your Amazon account so that you can purchase RM24/48 and Tracked 24/48 if you wish to, through Buy Shipping with your contracted RM rates.
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
Spot on James
Shame that post will be buried and ignored by tomorrow morning with the fresh wave…
If only a mod would pin it !
Seller_iT7zAqkV2PQG7
That post should be used to replace Amazon’s current VTR Policy…
Seller_j2BZBNIebhRVl
It’s obvious, a large number of sellers don’t fully understand the Royal Mail system, not differentiating between the various Royal Mail services ( First, Second Class, Signed For, RM24/48, Rm Tracked 24/48 - Letter LL, parcels…).
I have seen here sellers, only dealing with parcels, advising (incorrectly) sellers only dealing with LL and letter size parcels.
Not a huge surprise the Asia-based support doesn’t have a clue!
@The_Little_Shop, you are a saint for trying to explain and help countless times a day for months now! Stay strong, you are a real treasure and I know you have saved many! I wish I was as patient as you are!
This was implemented in a rush and months later the confusion is still at the same level.
But now they are handling punishments!
I think Amazon should take a step back and re-write the policy, making it very clear and make sure all the staff is very very familiar and completely understand the UK postal system!
Seller_2EG6N58tYDYmC
‘’ Just to add - anybody who has C&D integrated with their Amazon account - this is NOT the same as linking your Royal Mail business account to your Amazon account so that you can purchase RM24/48 and Tracked 24/48 if you wish to, through Buy Shipping with your contracted RM rates.’’
Buy Shipping Rates on Amazon is not the same as ‘C&D’ rates…At least for CLR48.
Can we continue to use C&D with CLR48 and add the tracking code to Amazon and would it be accepted or not?
According to my experience, it was not quite accepted.
@The_Little_Shop, thank you for pointing to post.
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
If your RM account is linked to Amazon you should get the same rates . You will know if its linked as you will be able to purchase RM48 - code CRL postage and you are billed via invoice from RM
(To link it you go to settings, account info, buy delivery preferences, manage your carrier accounts, add RM)
If its not linked, you will only be purchasing 2nd class postage - which is billed directly by amazon
Were your offers suspended ? If not, and they shouldn’t have been, then it’s accepted - as stated in their policy
Seller_2EG6N58tYDYmC
RM is linked to Amazon. CLR48 rate on C&D £0.86 but on Amazon £1.04. I feel like I am missing something here?
My account wasn’t suspended but like everybody else, I get a few emails saying that I might get suspended.
If the tracking codes that are not scanned are accepted, why VTR goes down and send emails that ruin the sellers day? They either fix this or scratch VTR.
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
Yes - you are missing the VAT and fuel surcharge
Again, it’s not broken if you are doing it properly
Seller_2EG6N58tYDYmC
Got it! I didn’t consider VAT as a cost and the fuel surcharge is very low but now I see. Thank you so much!
Seller_UbOpqpkfVVXKh
Hi,
OK an update on my situation after amazon deactivated my listings 24 hours ago with he low VTR.
As I was unsure why my VTR should be low as most items shipped Royal Mail letter I had no help or guidance to point out the issues only a warning then my listings deactivated.
Thanks to guys on the forum I have checked and the orders I have shipped using stamps/franking have changed to Royal Mail 2nd class which I presume is from Amazon linked to my Click and Drop account.
I have sent 2 emails 24 hours ago to the email supplied in my notification explaining the situation and how I will improve going forward. I have had no reply from amazon and I am not sure what I do next?
I have lost 24 hours of sales now.
Thanks to anyone who can advise what to do next.
Seller_0msMReDTskp1Y
Slight tangent. Royal Mail will never achieve 96% delivery scans on RM24 and RM48. It’s become clear to me now that Click and Drop was largely introduced so they could force customers off PPI where they were losing absolute fortunes on underdeclared mail.
Seller_dTPPOE3wi8Ow7
What a farce all this is. I’m at 92%, don’t use amazon labels etc. I just buy online at royal mail, add the 2D code in when dispatching, dispatch by royal mail 48 and hope for the best. I get the email about VTR performance every now and again including yesterday, I’ve had 5 warning emails since July 2021 but not yet had listing suspended. I’m assuming I’m doing it right and that amazon are validating my unscanned ones, if I check them myself it says on the unscanned ones on royal mail “An update will only be provided when we attempt to deliver your item” One therefore assumes amazon verify these as valid but just not scanned 
Feel for anyone who has had to deal with getting their listings back and I pray for myself and everyone else that we will not be sacrificed by the amazon bot 
Seller_GVJbZ3Sx0LoMn
Probably a stupid question but I’m going to ask anyway as there seems to be a lot of experienced sellers on here but I’ve downloaded my vtr and was going to manually change the unscanned orders to stamps / franking to get my vtr back up, does anyone know if this is allowed? I don’t want to make things worse!
Thanks in advance
Seller_aLFsXxD5mwWz3
The person who called me explained that if the parcel hasn’t been scanned as delivered and the parcel was dispatched over a month ago, then that doesn’t count towards the valid tracking rate because if the parcel hasn’t been delivered according to Royal Mail then why has the customer not contacted Amazon or complained about it. The rep also made it clear that even if the tracking says “An update will only be provided when we attempt to deliver your item” which indicates that Royal Mail recognise the number, this doesn’t count towards the vtr if the tracking isn’t updated as delivered within or around Amazon’s “delivery by” date. I asked the rep to change 1 digit from the tracking number and he would then get the “sorry we don’t recognise that number” message, which would prove that the given tracking number was valid but he wasn’t interested in that fact.
Obviously some Royal Mail parcels must not get scanned when they get delivered which I can understand with how busy Royal Mail are, but the Amazon rep told me that it’s my responsibility to contact Royal Mail and fix this myself, which is obviously ridiculous and not physically possible.
I had row with the rep who wasn’t interesting in hearing anything I had to say and we talked over each other before he informed me he had to end the call because I wasn’t listening to him, which was fair enough because I was shouting at him by the end.
Amazon’s VTR should take into account the fact that not all Royal Mail parcels get scanned and lower the VTR percentage because it’s physically impossible to have a 95% vtr if Royal Mail are scanning less than 75% of their parcels.
