Customer has defrauded us twice! Lost A-to-Z claim and appeal.
Hello Everyone,
We've been twice defrauded by an Amazon customer. Once in September of 2024, and once again in Feb of 2025. The customer purchased our renewed products, removed the backplate which has the serial number, swapped it with the backplate of his own unit, and returned the defective product. We have several security measures in place, atleast one of which leaves evidence of tampering. Without question, the units he returned were not our units.
We refunded the customer $10, as is advised in these situations, to prevent Amazon from issuing a refund while claiming that we did not issue a refund and therefore they did. We messaged the customer with a clear breakdown, including pictures of the item before it was shipped and after it was returned, of why his refund was limited to $10. There were no responses from the Cx in either case.
This time around, the customer filed an a-to-z claim. We lost it and we lost the appeal with reason given "We have reviewed all available information and determined the merchandise for the order was correctly returned and you have received the return... Because you did not refund the order, the claim amount has been debited from your seller account."
My team and myself, after several months of refining our Cx message template and A-to-Z response/appeal templates, are heart broken to be losing these cases. I fear to open a case because Amazon forum mods have said that once something has been denied twice, their hands are tied.
How do we proceed?
I was in the process of writing a message to the Cx to inform them that they would be reported to federal authorities should they not return our item, but I back tracked on that for the moment.
I CANNOT STAND IDLY AND ALLOW FRAUD TO HAPPEN. I WILL NOT. I will be reporting this to IC3. Has anyone filed police reports with the Cx's local city?
Amazon, please help!
Customer has defrauded us twice! Lost A-to-Z claim and appeal.
Hello Everyone,
We've been twice defrauded by an Amazon customer. Once in September of 2024, and once again in Feb of 2025. The customer purchased our renewed products, removed the backplate which has the serial number, swapped it with the backplate of his own unit, and returned the defective product. We have several security measures in place, atleast one of which leaves evidence of tampering. Without question, the units he returned were not our units.
We refunded the customer $10, as is advised in these situations, to prevent Amazon from issuing a refund while claiming that we did not issue a refund and therefore they did. We messaged the customer with a clear breakdown, including pictures of the item before it was shipped and after it was returned, of why his refund was limited to $10. There were no responses from the Cx in either case.
This time around, the customer filed an a-to-z claim. We lost it and we lost the appeal with reason given "We have reviewed all available information and determined the merchandise for the order was correctly returned and you have received the return... Because you did not refund the order, the claim amount has been debited from your seller account."
My team and myself, after several months of refining our Cx message template and A-to-Z response/appeal templates, are heart broken to be losing these cases. I fear to open a case because Amazon forum mods have said that once something has been denied twice, their hands are tied.
How do we proceed?
I was in the process of writing a message to the Cx to inform them that they would be reported to federal authorities should they not return our item, but I back tracked on that for the moment.
I CANNOT STAND IDLY AND ALLOW FRAUD TO HAPPEN. I WILL NOT. I will be reporting this to IC3. Has anyone filed police reports with the Cx's local city?
Amazon, please help!
Seller_zc50DVO3FE5fz
I wouldn't do the $10 refund thing. I'd do a 100% restocking fee with the reason materially different, and attach the pictures there. We've done this a few times without any problems, and think it's also the easier approach when it comes to defending a claim as well. It will not auto-refund when done this way. There may be threads in the past about refunding .01 or doing a small refund to prevent the auto-refund, but doing it the correct way with a 100% restocking fee for materially different works, and is the right way to do it.
25 replies
Seller_LVZcgxAgZ2xBv
What is the value of the item? That will determine whether you should file a police report.
Seller_T7bkq3pJHibSr
@Dominic_AmazonHey Dominic! Could you please assist us? Many thanks.
Seller_zc50DVO3FE5fz
I wouldn't do the $10 refund thing. I'd do a 100% restocking fee with the reason materially different, and attach the pictures there. We've done this a few times without any problems, and think it's also the easier approach when it comes to defending a claim as well. It will not auto-refund when done this way. There may be threads in the past about refunding .01 or doing a small refund to prevent the auto-refund, but doing it the correct way with a 100% restocking fee for materially different works, and is the right way to do it.
Seller_cplkfl5z2dnv4
Ah, yes. typical amazon.
They dont give a sh*t about their sellers.
Seller_a6O2rypQTzhp0
Handling an A-to-Z claim can be challenging, and I’d like to clarify the steps to determine the best course of action.
First and foremost, could you confirm whether you purchased Amazon Buy Shipping label services? If not, unfortunately, the case is considered DOA (dead on arrival), as Amazon provides protection only when their Buy Shipping service is used.
If the customer returned the item, you need to file a SAF-T claim with all the necessary supporting documentation, including:
A picture of the package as it arrived.
A picture of the shipping label.
A picture of the box before opening it.
A picture of the damaged product after opening the box.
Also, if it is an electronics Item, you can always show the invoice to show that you purchased new item with Serial number. It will always hlep.
Once these steps are completed, you can submit the SAF-T claim. However, if Amazon Buy Shipping was not used, unfortunately, none of these methods will be applicable.
Please confirm whether Amazon Buy Shipping was used so MOD can proceed accordingly.
Danny_Amazon
Hello @Seller_T7bkq3pJHibSr- thanks for highlighting this claim experience.
If you could kindly share the order ID involved, I'd be happy to take a closer look along with you!
Thanks in advance,
Danny
Seller_T7bkq3pJHibSr
I'm happy to report that the A-to-Z team has reversed their original decision and credited us for the claim!
A huge thank you to everyone for the pointers, especially on how best to document restocking fees to prevent future A-to-Z claim losses. For us, the priority is always learning how to navigate the Amazon system effectively to mitigate these issues as much as is possible, rather than dwelling on a single loss. When there’s no clear way to prevent a recurring problem, it can feel frustrating and demoralizing—like we're fighting a losing battle. That’s why actionable insights like these are so valuable.
@Danny_Amazon you're a superstar—thank you!
