A-Z Claims - Timescale for when allowed
OK so now I am totally confused with policies regarding A-Z Claims
We know when an item is not delivered by EDD, the customer gets a message next day from Amazon telling them they can claim refund. If customer then contacts CS they get the refund straight away no questions asked.
Now a few weeks ago Royal Mail lost a sack of my parcels. Customers claimed under A-Z. Amazon refunded. Then RM found the sack and proceeded to deliver everything. I only found out this when a customer messaged me to say they had had refund but now item was delivered. I asked them if they wanted the item could they contact CS and ask for a re-charge of their card or I could provide a returns label for them to return item. Customer said they would contact CS.
Sure enough they did contact Amazon (honest customer) - and I then got this message from Amazon:
We are sending you a refund for an A-to-z Guarantee claim that was originally awarded to the customer. We granted an A-to-z Guarantee claim of £24.49 because the order 206-9071280-8680302 was not delivered by the estimated delivery date (EDD) + 3 days. We recently confirmed delivery with the carrier and reached out to the customer and asked them to authorize a reversal of the refund or return the order to you. In this instance, the customer confirmed they are keeping the order and the A-to-z Guarantee claim is no longer required. Since you were previously debited for the refund on this claim, a credit will shortly be initiated to your account for 20.74 GBP. This credit should show in your account within 72 hours.
Now this raises several important points which are confusing me:
- Message gives the impression it was Amazon who reached out to customer when they realised an item had now been delivered. This is nonsense as I think it was customer who contacted Amazon. If Amazon are now checking for late deliveries automatically and overturning A-Z then great - but I dont think they do and the message should say it was customer who contacted Amazon and not the other way round.
- They specifically say an A-Z was granted because item did not reach customer by EDD + 3 days. If this timescale is to be believed then why do they send customer message on EDD +1 to say they can claim refund? Surely, such a message should be sent on EDD + 3 at least (although I still believe Amazon should not be interfering at this level and let customer decide for themselves when an item is late)
5 replies
Seller_esvgLzKXw2YAl
I would imagine, that it’s just a standard message that they literally copy and paste order details into. Hence the impression, that they have done something.
As to the second point, if a customer uses the default method via the “Your orders” page, I think once the date has passed, it just goes straight to an A-Z.
Seller_xUKHc5xSYJmI4
If the customer had contacted the seller in the first instance then the A-Z claim could have been prevented therefore would no damage to the metrics. Sometimes there are delays in transit or customs which is beyond the seller control. I guess the difficulty is if you are dispatching all orders tracked to monitor each and every one. Also I understood Amazon will direct the customer to the seller if there is an issue with the delivery most sellers will apologise for the delay and work with the customer. I understand reading on the forum they system automatically generates and email if an order has been dispatched using a tracked service saying order is running late?
Seller_xUKHc5xSYJmI4
I think they term they use is timely delivery. Maybe if the applied the same principal as Temu less A-Z claims wiill be raised. Maybe the seller can offer some sort of compensation for lateness subject to the customer working with the seller ? Offering some sort of compensation for latenes could have prevent such claim. On Temu they give a £5 refund if the delivery is late system generated.
