Suspended Account - No support from Amazon 4 weeks
Hi,
Unfortunately I have had my account suspended for few items having an intellectual property rights infringement. This occurred approximately 4 weeks ago, and I have not been able to talk to anyone at Amazon covering the issue.
I was one of about five 3rd party sellers selling a multinational brands product range. I received a warning stating a complaint had been made. Which is frustrating, but I knew nothing could be done and I saw Amazon had made the listing inactive. (I thought the issue had been dealt with, I even asked a chat operative and they confirmed)
A week or two later I got a outright suspension. So I submitted a very detailed plan of action, but keep getting a response saying ‘Greater detail is required’ despite my plan being very in-depth and almost 1 full A4 page.
Every time I send a message to Amazon, it takes them 4-5 days to reply, and it is just a generic email either asking for more detail. How can I actually talk to someone at Amazon?
The last week I have decided to get in touch with the rights holder who supposedly works a large company, however after calling the UK and US head offices for the business they can not find her and have no information on her. Possibly suggesting this could be a competitor?
I really need to explain the situation on the phone to someone at Amazon, but having no luck at all.
Suspended Account - No support from Amazon 4 weeks
Hi,
Unfortunately I have had my account suspended for few items having an intellectual property rights infringement. This occurred approximately 4 weeks ago, and I have not been able to talk to anyone at Amazon covering the issue.
I was one of about five 3rd party sellers selling a multinational brands product range. I received a warning stating a complaint had been made. Which is frustrating, but I knew nothing could be done and I saw Amazon had made the listing inactive. (I thought the issue had been dealt with, I even asked a chat operative and they confirmed)
A week or two later I got a outright suspension. So I submitted a very detailed plan of action, but keep getting a response saying ‘Greater detail is required’ despite my plan being very in-depth and almost 1 full A4 page.
Every time I send a message to Amazon, it takes them 4-5 days to reply, and it is just a generic email either asking for more detail. How can I actually talk to someone at Amazon?
The last week I have decided to get in touch with the rights holder who supposedly works a large company, however after calling the UK and US head offices for the business they can not find her and have no information on her. Possibly suggesting this could be a competitor?
I really need to explain the situation on the phone to someone at Amazon, but having no luck at all.
0 replies
Seller_hC0hNVDuILaKO
Are you misinterpreting “Greater” as “Much more”
when what they mean is improve what you have written so far, not just add more and more…
Seller_rFJhzQS2UGB7q
Post the original suspension notice from Amazon here, as well as what responses/POA’s you have sent, only then can anyone help you
Seller_q68jRZJTZcv8o
Hello,
Your Amazon selling account has been deactivated. Your listings have been removed. Funds will not be transferred to you but will be held in your account while we work with you to address this issue. Please ship any open orders to avoid further impact to your account.
Why did this happen?
We arrived at this decision because we were unable to verify information related to your seller account, or did not receive any new information regarding your listings or selling history.
We’re here to help.
If you need help better understanding what is causing this, please search for “Intellectual Property Violations” in Seller Central Help (https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gp/help/external/201361070).
How do I reactivate my account?
To reactivate your selling account, please send us the following:
A plan of action that explains:
– The root cause(s).
– The actions you have taken to resolve the notices of infringement or violation of Amazon’s policies.
– The steps you have taken to prevent infringement or violating Amazon’s policies.
For security reasons, we only accept attachments in the following file formats: .jpeg, .jpg, .pjpeg, .gif, .png, .tiff. These documents must be authentic and unaltered.
How do I send the required information?
Submit this information at notice-dispute@amazon.co.uk.
What happens if I do not send the requested information?
If we do not receive the requested information, your account will remain deactivated and funds in your account may be held for 90 days or longer. Depending on your account status and activities, you may be required to complete an additional review before funds can be released. Amazon may withhold payments if we determine that your account was used to sell inauthentic or prohibited goods, commit fraud, or engage in other illegal or abusive activity.
Seller_q68jRZJTZcv8o
My POA:
Proof of Authenticity:
-
Please find attached proof of product authenticity and invoice from local shop & Costco. (retail arbitrage)
-
Products are authentic items as receipt show, and my feedback reflects that products sold are genuine
Root Caused:
-
Received a complaint from manufacture that items are not to be sold in EEA, therefore our items were made inactive.
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Received a complaint from manufacture that items infringe intellectual property - No permission to sell items on Amazon
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Right Owners decided to launch UK line. Therefore our listings were competition
Resolve Trademark Parallel Import issues:
- I now only purchase from manufactures directly and/or have written permission to sell in the EEA.
- I have instructed staff that all new products have to go through myself (owner) to ensure they comply and we have the necessary permission from the manufacturer.
- I have contacted the rights owner, to apologise and ask if there is any opportunity to continue selling in the future. (Still waiting on a reply)
Steps taken to prevent infringement going forward:
- I have removed all infringing listings. I will not resist unless permission from Amazon/rights owner
- I have contacted rights owner to let them know who we purchase from and apologise for any inconvenience caused.
- Reviewed my other listings and removed all similar listings.
- I have contacted my existing suppliers asking them to provide written permission to sell on Amazon UK
Why the error occurred:
-
Manufacture has decided to start selling in the UK themselves, therefore want to remove 3rd party sellers
-
Many other Amazon sellers were selling the products
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We were not informed by the manufacture of any infringement. Had they contacted us we would have happily removed listings without any issue
-
I contacted the rights owner via email to ask if they could retract the infringement, however we have not had a response.
Steps taken to prevent infringement going forward:
- Before listing on Amazon I will check the product does not infringe any intellectual property, trademark, copyright or patent
- I will always be asking my suppliers/manufactures for written permission to sell on Amazon UK
- I will regally re-read Amazon guidelines to refresh myself
Seller_z9CCEubowcNMh
Greater detail on the root cause(s) of the infringement.
– Greater detail on the actions you have taken to resolve infringement issues.
– Greater detail on the steps you have taken to prevent infringement going forward.
– Greater detail on why you believe an error has occurred.
Seller_q68jRZJTZcv8o
But receipts are the only invoices I have as the stock is purchased from Costco and other retail shops.
No permission to resell. However there was approx five other 3rd party sellers selling the same product, and none of their account have been deactivated.
Surely I do not need to delete other listings I am selling? I am the UK distributor for a few other major brands.
Seller_q68jRZJTZcv8o
I think the only option I have is getting in touch with the rights holder. However I have called the UK and US Head office of the company and they have no record of her or any contact information. They have been looking for over a week now.
This leads me to suggest that she may actually be a competitor? I have tried telling Amazon this, but I still have not had a single response from customer support for 3/4 weeks.
Seller_5CaidGS335rcI
Hi EJS4,
As suggested by @ Shrewsbury_Marine_S1 , please check at your end if you are authorized by the manufacturer or the brand owner to deal in the products that are the cause of Intellectual Property Right complaints on the account. If yes, then you would require to submit Proof of authenticity (e.g., invoice, Order ID, letter of authorization, licensing agreement or court order) for infringing listings.
For Plan of action, review the notification received from Seller Performance team informing about the type of infringement the account is being held accountable for. Once the infringement type is identified, review the ASINs highlighted to understand what lead to the issue on the account.
After this, prepare a Plan of action with the steps you are going to take to resolve the infringement complaints on the account and also future preventive steps that will ensure the issues are not repeated in future and the selling account is in compliance with Amazon ‘s policies.
A holistic review of the account is recommended along with entire listings being checked to spot any potential Intellectual Property Right complaints on the account.
Follow this with submission of Plan of action via seller central by browsing through Account Health tab in the below format:
–The root cause(s) of the issue.
– The actions you have taken to resolve this issue.
– The steps you have taken to prevent this issue from happening in the future.
For Intellectual Property Right Policy details please visit: https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/201361070
Best Wishes,
Fidak
Seller_q68jRZJTZcv8o
I have submitted another plan of action with the feedback. Thank you.
However my main concern is the individual who put the intellectual property claim in. I have contacted the companies Head office both in the UK and the USA and they do not have any record of her as an employee. I fear it may be a competitor who has fooled Amazon into being the rights holder to get my account shut down.
I have explained this to Amazon, and no response.
