HELP! AMAZON RELEASE OUR FUNDS
I have been selling for 5+ years and suddenly all my funds are in payment reserve and I missed my disbursement. My account is is perfect health with no performance notifications.
This is happening to many of us and our cases just get ignored without explanation.
PLEASE HELP THIS CANNOT BE LEGAL
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD WE MUST BE HEARD!
23 replies
CR_Amazon
@Seller_6X3tPfLFEORwH
Hello there, my name is CR and wanted to hop in here to see if I could try to get you some additional information to what is going on.
I apologize for the frustration caused up to this point, but am hopeful I can get you some answers here.
Would you mind sharing the case # that you have opened with Seller Support on this? I'd be happy to review the issue in more detail there, and read through any correspondence provided to date.
I'll hang tight here for your reply.
CR_Amazon
Seller_jDBIXSKlN1wEw
That's not a thing where you have no clue. IF Amazon doesn't disburse, there is always an obvious reason, and you have received emails for sure. The Payments tab will have all kinds of information, 100% of them look the same. What does it say your Next Date of Payment is and the Amount? Over to the left there will be RED Letters if there is a hold on something and the amount. Also your Transaction Details will show the negative entry and a description usually. Your Account Health page will provide many clues. Most typical causes in order of Happening for us were:
1. Credit card on file declined. 99.5% of the time it's this
2. Amazon Loan changed your payout date, or you have some payment due to some other loan provider which Amazon is partnered with.
3. UCC Lien has been exercised from anyone you owe money to. This can be a Bank, Merchant Cash Advance, silent partner, anyone you have signed your name with the business pledged as collateral. You will never get any kind of Warning whatsoever with a UCC activity, your money is just gone. Amazon does not email when their Legal receives one, it's a complete surprise.
3. Recent spike in sales or a Restricted product locked up a bunch of money. Check your Spam folder for emails
4. Account is under Review for any of 100 other reasons: Velocity Review, Identity Verifications such as address, Returns Spike, FBA issues with a current shipment, FDA recalls, IP complaints, Buyer complaints, legal action.
5. Amazon A.I. glitch in the matrix, just like the Pesticide issue, only now with Payments. Others will flood the Forums if that is the case!
Seller_0kkQLSM4UH0wT
I've been dealing with the same issue. Have you expressed your concern on the issue and if so have they reached back out to you?
Seller_eqDYatCavSWmz
Seller Support response this morning!! Says enough really
Seller_SyMqJCNSNIBcV
This issue is called a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order)
From user Liberty : I am seeing a lot of sellers encountering this issue and not realizing what is happening. So I want to educate everyone here since I am currently going through the same thing and was able to get my attorney to dissolve the injunction. First, please do a search on “TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) , SAD Scheme, lawsuit" to get yourself acquianted. There are also some Youtube videos from AmazonSellersLawyer about this type of scheme and I highly recommend watching
1) If you have funds in Account Level Reserve and have not received normal disbursements, please check your emails/messages ASAP. There should have been an email titled something like "Your Amazon.com selling account" and it should read like this:
Hello from Amazon;
We are writing to inform you that we removed some of your listings and your disbursements from your seller account have been placed on hold. We took this action in accordance with a Temporary Restraining Order issued by a federal court. Items that infringe another party's copyright, patent, trademark, design right, database right, or other intellectual property or other proprietary right are prohibited.
2) This means a law firm has listed your store as one of hundreds/thousands of defendants and grouped you together in the case. Amazon is forced to obey the TRO, so opening up cases with Amazon and SS is pointless and waste of time. By freezing your account/funds, plaintiff is hoping to squeeze you into settling with them, usually for a percentage of the funds frozen. They don't care whether you are guilty or not. They just want to steal from you. It's basically extortion.
3) You need to hire an attorney immediately to file a motion on your behalf. If you do nothing, then your funds remain frozen and you are now at the mercy of the court. Most sellers don't even realize this and what ends up happening is defendants don't show up to court to challenge the merits of the case, and the argument is one-sided in plaintiff's favor. Court passes a default judgment and the plaintiff will receive whatever funds are frozen in all of the remaining defendant's accounts.
4) By fighting, you increase your chances of getting dismissed from the case, as plaintiffs usually don't want anyone challenging/jeopardizing their case.
I hope this is helpful. I will try to answer anyone who has any questions on this matter.
to recap:
a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) it is a temporary hold on your funds due to someone or a company having a lawsuit against a particular product that you have sold in the past , or you have listed (without having any sales) in the past.
This results in Amazon Freezing all your account funds until such problem is results, meaning you have to bring a lawyer involve or contact the company that placed the TRO agains such brand and against amazon trying to get money. you must settle this , and until this is not solved your funds will be frozen.
How do you know if you have a TRO ?
simple, go to PERFORMANCE > Account health, and go below where it says at the bottom right : PRODUCT COMPLIANCE REQUESTS , and you will see it.
Hope this helps
Seller_rI7BZIczK8iAC
UK sellers have this problem actually when selling in USA. Maybe you get better help asking in the UK forum? It has to do with Amazon's legal obligation to collect from you VAT and to remit to the HMRC.
