Buyer Return Fraud - FBA Returns
Hello,
Could you please look into case ID 16702618611
A customer has placed repeated orders from me through FBA, returned each one (or has a return authorized), and has another pending order from me. This is a total of over $1,000 of merchandise (plus another $400 pending). These are blatantly fraudulent returns, and there's no recourse stopping this customer from continuing to order and then returning.
Thanks
Buyer Return Fraud - FBA Returns
Hello,
Could you please look into case ID 16702618611
A customer has placed repeated orders from me through FBA, returned each one (or has a return authorized), and has another pending order from me. This is a total of over $1,000 of merchandise (plus another $400 pending). These are blatantly fraudulent returns, and there's no recourse stopping this customer from continuing to order and then returning.
Thanks
12 replies
Seller_lJJ2M097dFwgT
Customer has now been refunded for another order:
701-3931137-8833848 ($399.98)
Has placed 2 more orders which will undoubtedly be returned as well:
701-1574504-3436233 ($439.97)
701-7739213-2781033 ($147.98)
This is over $2,000 worth of products now in 7 different orders. He returns every single order for one reason or another, and there's nothing that amazon can do? I have reported him through the report abuse function, but it's useless. Can a mod please look at this? This is absurd at this point. And the items keep getting returned to inventory in sellable condition - there is no way. He is opening these products, taking what he wants and returning them. But I can't get them returned to me to investigate through a removal order, because these have no priority due to the time of the year.
Seller_lJJ2M097dFwgT
Thanks Daryl.
The Nov 26, 2024 order has now been refunded as well.
Daryl_Amazon
So all the pending orders have now been refunded?
The appeals team accepted my case, and I am currently investigating the other orders.
Can you confirm this statement?
Daryl
Seller_lJJ2M097dFwgT
Hi Daryl,
Here's the current status. He normally gets refunded 4-7 days after an order, so the last 2 orders haven't been refunded yet.
Nov 11, 2024 - 701-5245625-0564239 - $73.99 - refunded
Nov 12, 2024 - 701-5590022-7758652 - $99.99 - refunded
Nov 14, 2024 - 701-6232825-9983414 - $319.98 - refunded
Nov 15, 2024 - 701-0537458-6470638 - $469.98 - refunded
Nov 20, 2024 - 701-3931137-8833848 - $399.98 - refunded
Nov 26, 2024 - 701-1574504-3436233 - $439.97 - 2 of 3 items refunded (1 was shipped later and hasn't been refunded yet)
Nov 30, 2024 - 701-7739213-2781033 - $147.98 - not yet refunded
Dec 2, 2024 - 701-9311812-5516212 - $199.98 - not yet refunded
Thank you for your help.
Seller_lJJ2M097dFwgT
Hi @Daryl_Amazon - any updates on this? 3 more items have now been refunded:
Nov 11, 2024 - 701-5245625-0564239 - $73.99 - refunded (1 of 1)
Nov 12, 2024 - 701-5590022-7758652 - $99.99 - refunded (1 of 1)
Nov 14, 2024 - 701-6232825-9983414 - $319.98 - refunded (2 of 2)
Nov 15, 2024 - 701-0537458-6470638 - $469.98 - refunded (2 of 2)
Nov 20, 2024 - 701-3931137-8833848 - $399.98 - refunded (2 of 2)
Nov 26, 2024 - 701-1574504-3436233 - $439.97 - refunded (3 of 3)
Nov 30, 2024 - 701-7739213-2781033 - $147.98 - not yet refunded (0 of 2)
Dec 2, 2024 - 701-9311812-5516212 - $199.98 - refunded (2 of 2)
So in total this guy has ordered $2,151.85 of product from me and been refunded for $2,003.87.
Daryl_Amazon
Hey @Seller_lJJ2M097dFwgT,
I asked for an update on the current escalation, will keep you posted on any relevant comments from them,
Appreciate your insight on the matter.
Daryl
Seller_lJJ2M097dFwgT
Thanks Daryl. Just to update - the buyer placed another order today, and was refunded for another 2 items. So the current status is as follows:
Nov 11, 2024 - 701-5245625-0564239 - $73.99 - refunded (1 of 1)
Nov 12, 2024 - 701-5590022-7758652 - $99.99 - refunded (1 of 1)
Nov 14, 2024 - 701-6232825-9983414 - $319.98 - refunded (2 of 2)
Nov 15, 2024 - 701-0537458-6470638 - $469.98 - refunded (2 of 2)
Nov 20, 2024 - 701-3931137-8833848 - $399.98 - refunded (2 of 2)
Nov 26, 2024 - 701-1574504-3436233 - $439.97 - refunded (3 of 3)
Nov 30, 2024 - 701-7739213-2781033 - $147.98 - refunded (2 of 2)
Dec 2, 2024 - 701-9311812-5516212 - $199.98 - refunded (2 of 2)
Dec 12, 2024 - 701-0740308-8271463 - $179.98 - just shipped today
So total orders of $2,331.83 and $2,151.85 has been refunded. To make matters worse, he puts the items back in the original boxes, and the items keep getting added back to my sellable inventory. With the items I sell, once they've been opened they have no value, so this is just leading to more customer returns. I can't get things sent back to me via removal order due to those being so backed up and CanadaPost not available, so this one customer is single-handedly having a huge impact on my business beyond just getting refunded for the products.
Daryl_Amazon
Hey @Seller_lJJ2M097dFwgT,
We've looked into the customer account associated with the order you're concerned about.
This customer has been shopping on Amazon.ca for several years and has a history of making purchases from both Amazon and third-party sellers.
We previously reviewed this account for potential misuse of our return policies, but at that time, no clear pattern of abuse was found.
In this specific case, while we understand your concerns, we haven't found enough evidence to suggest that the customer is systematically abusing our policies or taking advantage of sellers.
Based on our current buyer abuse prevention guidelines, we don't have grounds to take action against this customer's account at this time.
However, we want to assure you that we continue to monitor all accounts for patterns of behavior that could be harmful to sellers. If we see a problematic pattern develop with this customer in the future, we may take appropriate action.
This is the conclusive resolution from our payments team, I am unable to further escalate this situation.
Daryl
Seller_lJJ2M097dFwgT
Hi Daryl,
To be honest, this is unacceptable (but completely expected from amazon). He has now been fully refunded for all 9 orders from me, totaling $2,331.83. He has used several different return reasons, but the last 5 or so have been 'missed fulfillment promise'. Does it really seem likely that he ordered 5 times over a 3 week period, they all arrived after the expected delivery date, so he returned them unopened? No - He opens the sealed boxes of cards (Pokemon cards in this case), takes out the good cards, and then returns the rest in the original box. When they get back to the amazon warehouse, because they're shipped inside a box for protection, they get added back to my inventory. Then another customer orders the products, receives a box of Pokemon cards that is already opened, and files another return. This leads to people leaving me negative reviews - because a customer has learned how to game the amazon return system and there are absolutely no repercussions.
I recently had a return on a product that this customer had bought and returned, then got added back to my inventory. The second customer returned it because he said it was already opened and full of worthless baseball cards (this was supposed to be a box of Pokemon cards). This has a huge ripple effect on my ability to do business on amazon. I urge you to reinvestigate this customer. If this customer has been reviewed in the past, obviously there are other concerns as well.
Thanks
