Account Suspension - No Option to Appeal

Account Health
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Hello, I am new to the forum. This place seems far more helpful than the NSFE. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Our account has been suspended. There is no option to appeal the suspension directly. Per the deactivation notice on 2/20/24: “Your account will be considered for reactivation once the policy violations have been successfully appealed.” They gave us 19 days before it turned into a suspension where we don’t have access to most functions, which has occurred. They state in the notice “If we do not receive the requested information within 19 days, your account will be permanently deactivated.” However, we are still able to log in, see our inventory and contact account health support.

There are received intellectual property and restricted product policy violations on our account health. I’m being told there was a recent change in the suspension process whereby successfully appealing the violations and achieving a seller health score of 100 is the only path to reactivation.

Our ability to modify the catalog is disabled so we are only able to contact account health support and ask them to forward cases if we need assistance from seller support. We have already successfully appealed some violations.

Received Intellectual Property Violations [Trademark on Product] (164)

This is likely what got us suspended since it happened shortly after we received these. One company filed over 200 complaints. We’ve been selling their products since 2012 and in that time their brand name changed. We were working with them to get this fixed in Amazon’s catalog then they filed this as a way to expedite the fix (bulk deactivation of listings). However, they did provide a letter of authorization specifically stating authorized use of trademark, images, and description information. It also includes signature, title, contact/address for both companies, specific complaint ID, our seller ID, affected ASIN and a sentence asking to release us of the complaint against us. I did relay the fact that the last part won’t work, if they want to rescind the claim they need to do it themselves. They are insistent in not doing that.

The letter of authorization worked for about 40 violations then again for about 5. Simply sending invoices also worked for 6. 164 remain. Seller support kept asking for us to go to the rights owner and modify the letter so that it is more descriptive in what intellectual property we are allowed to use and how. Now the appeals are auto-rejected. When I ask why, seller health support agents say the notes on their end show “the document appears modified or inauthentic”. No further info is provided. We sent a screenshot of the email with the attachment LOA to try to prove it is authentic. That was denied as well.

Restricted Product Policy (49 Total): Violation Details: “This product has been identified as an auto device that claims to have the same functionality as a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) delete kit, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) delete kit, or diesel particulate filter (DPF) delete kit, which violates Title II of the Clean Air Act. Amazon policy prohibits the sale of products that violate the Clean Air Act.”

Restricted Product Policy Appeal (Worked for a few, denied for most):

*The item is a muffler (also known as silencers) which attaches to the end of an exhaust pipe after emissions controls have performed their function. Their only purpose is to reduce noise levels. *

The violation states: “This product has been identified as an automotive CAT, DPF or EGR delete kit, or an aftermarket defeat device which violates Title II of the Clean Air Act”. The vehicle this product is compatible with does not have a CAT (Catalytic Converter), DPF (Disel Particular Filter) or EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculator). As stated earlier, the product by it’s nature does not defeat any device in the system of the vehicle. (See Diagram.jpg)

This item is declared by the manufacturer as “Qualified Manufacturer Declared Replacement Part” This means any aftermarket part intended to replace an original equipment emissions-related part and which is functionally identical to the original equipment part in all respects which in any way affect emissions (including durability), or a consolidated part, that has been evaluated and declared by the manufacturer to meet this definition and carry this categorization and designation label.

I’m unsure how to proceed. The vehicle doesn’t have the devices they claim it defeats and it doesn’t alter emissions. The image referenced is a vehicle parts diagram proving this. I also referenced the manufacturers page, description, image, vehicle manufacturer page, and EPA classification of the vehicle (site link and screenshot). When I called in, the account health support agents typically take my side and escalate the case but that has only worked one time. The notes on the case on their end are either non existent or as vague as possible. Mods at NSFE ask to provide a “certificate of conformity” but those are only issued to engine and vehicle manufacturers.

Restricted Product Policy (Received After Deleting ASIN [14 of 49])

A number of these violations were received after the ASIN were deleted from our seller central account. We’re actually still getting these, which is almost 60 days after the fact without a warning notification. Not sure what to do about these. Some support agents can see when we deleted them and corroborate our case when they escalate it but we keep getting the same “deleting the item does not properly address the issue” reply over the phone and in the appeals. I was asked recently by an account health agent to open a case asking selling partner support to verify the date of deletion then use that in our appeal. Not holding out hope with that one but it is a new angle.

Restricted Product Policy (Over 180 days old [19 of 49])

Violations over 180 days old are not dropping off the account. I asked and they said when an account is suspended the violations which were there at the time of suspension stay until they are appealed.

A few other notes:

Our third party integration reached out to business development because a few of the restricted product policy violations occurred due to a failure of the API to withdraw (delete). Their engineering team concluded it occurred on Amazon’s side. Our catalog is our responsibility so I’m not surprised this route hasn’t gone anywhere.

Regarding the restricted product types, we removed all exhaust related products after the deactivation. Thus we know any new violation for those products is only occurring later after they were deleted.

Each of the support calls about this end up being about 45-60 minutes. Sometimes I talk to the same people, sometimes they’re new. It’s interesting the different level of capability of each agent and how they operate. This has all been escalated internally to the point that they are starting to say “this was already escalated and rejected but I am not seeing any notes as to why”.

We’re looking at all options and wondering if any of these Amazon lawyer / appeal companies would be of any benefit in this situation. I was told this by someone who was assisting me: “Amazon silos their suspension team from every other part of the organization” Since we can’t appeal the suspension (only the violations) and there’s no case against Amazon, I’m not seeing how an outside service would be beneficial.

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This is not good.

Amazon hates screen shots

This one is going to be harder to fix

Unfortunately Amazon never admits fault, even when they do!

Good move.

I think your main focus here should be the IP Violations

Most of them are junk, with templates that never get updated.

They are correct here.

There is always the arbitration route.

EDIT: And Welcome to SAS!

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It is often more effective to print out documents and take a picture of them, then send the pictures as an attachment rather than screenshots or even .pdfs sometimes. Amazon’s bots flag screenshots and e-documents as “manipulated” more often than pictures of printed color documents, at least in my experience.

This one is tricky. I got tagged with this a couple years ago for some items that were not even car parts. I think one was a replacement washing machine water valve. If I remember correctly, the issue had to do with the sub-categories and browser nodes the items were originally listed in (I did not list these items, just joined the listings when I started selling the items). Unfortunately, to make the changes Amazon required, I needed to have brand level control over the ASIN which I didn’t have, so I ended up just deleting the listings.

Fortunately for me, they were not big sellers and I didn’t care that much, but this may not be the case for you. Since you are not the rights holder for the brand, you may not be able to make the required changes yourself, but the brand owner or whatever account Amazon thinks has that agency might be able to.

Many (but not all) Account Health violations can be removed by first deleting the ASIN, then checking a box stating that you understand you were at fault and will not relist the ASIN again. Especially since you have already deleted many of your problematic SKUs, is this an option on any of your violations? This might be the quickest and easiest pathway to getting some of those Account Health dings off your account.

Welcome to SAS. Good luck.

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First, if you are selling their product, you have an inherent right to use their trademark in the sale of their trademarked product (“nominative use”) that Amazon seems to ignore. But if you have an agreement with the trademark owner, that’s better.

You may need to have a lawyer contact the trademark owner, and use the leverage of the agreement to extract the rescinded claim from the trademark owner. Their claim was likely a violation of the agreement, as they essentially accused you of “trademark infringement” within the alternative universe where Amazon has made up its own trademark laws. This is likely the easier path, as the other company has to be easier to deal with than Amazon.

The illegal car parts claims are easy - I drive several old MGs, and none have any emissions controls at all, so your statements need to focus in what years of what models of cars these are made for, and the fact that there were no emissions systems back then, just tailpipes and mufflers. They cannot claim that something can “bypass” an emissions system that does not exist on the car at issue.

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If the brand owner authorized you to use their trademarks and then filed an infringement claim (and are refusing to rectify the situation) you should sue the brand owner.

As packet said, it’s easier to deal with the company than Amazon. Even if you take Amazon to arbitration they’ll just tell you to shove off

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Then give up any hope of selling any of their product ever again.

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A brand owner who files false infringement claims against their authorized resellers does not seem like a company that’s good for doing business with.

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The OP claims to have a relationship with them going back over a decade. If this manufacturer has always been hard to deal with and this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back, so be it. However, that is not the feel I get from reading the OP.

How much money is a lawsuit against such a company likely to yield? Even factoring in the damages from losing their Amazon account, I would say probably not enough to justify such drastic action.

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Without getting mired in a 12 year history of details, we have absolutely no interest in continuing to do business with the company that filed the intellectual property complaints. They also empowered a competitor of ours to file these complaints. Drama has ensued. They are a pretty big company.

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I have a few more avenues to go down before we get there. It appears to be a misunderstanding of cause/effect on their end. Their main concern is that retracting the claim will reactivate the listings. They are not aware that appealing the violations has the same effect if we were the only seller on the ASIN. I told them (per account health support) that they can rescind the complaint for a specific seller ID and if there are other sellers with the same violation for the ASIN it will not be reactivated.

The vehicles the parts are compatible with are offroad vehicles made prior to 2022. I’ve shown them every which way including OEM parts diagrams, manufacturer specifications, EPA guidelines, etc that there are no emissions systems thus they cannot be defeated. Also, these are mufflers and you’re probably aware that is attached downstream of emissions systems. I also showed that the vehicles are off-highway vehicles because their policy specifically references altering on-highway vehicles in a way that would make altering emissions systems illegal for use on public roads. They always reject the appeals with “We have reviewed all the information and determined that the ASIN will not be reinstated. This product has been identified as an auto device that claims to have the same functionality as a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) delete kit, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) delete kit, or diesel particulate filter (DPF) delete kit, which violates Title II of the Clean Air Act. Amazon policy prohibits the sale of products that violate the Clean Air Act.”

They can and they are. I’m running out of evidence to prove a thing is not what their AI bot says it is. It would take someone familiar with automobiles to understand what I am sending and I’m almost certain that’s not who/what is reviewing my appeals. What did you end up sending them that worked for the MG parts?

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Thank you!

Can you please elaborate on this?

What would be the appropriate way to send them an email chain? We only sent that for one of the violations after repeated denied appeals in an effort to prove the letter is authentic.

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I do understand where you are coming from, but an email chain will never be accepted as part of an appeal.

The arbitration process is outlined in the seller agreement. It is the path sellers take when they hit the Amazon Stupid/Stubborn wall.

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Thanks, I will try this.

We deleted all the ASIN with violations, some before receiving violations, some after, all prior to appealing. I do have the option to acknowledge the violation. I get the 4 check box prompt, one of the required checkboxes saying:

“I understand that by submitting these actions, the violation(s) will be removed from the Account Health page and Account Health Rating, but impacted listings will remain deactivated.”

When I click that I immediately get a reply “We received your submission, but will not remove the associated policy violation from your Account Health page due to your history of similar past violations. Listings on Amazon must comply with all applicable laws and regulations and with Amazon’s policies.”

Kind of a dirty trick. The issue it seems is that all these listings are for a similar type of part mostly from the same manufacturer so they’re saying that it is a repeat violation. We have not had violations for any of these ASIN in the past. I was told by one particularly astute account health agent that acknowledging the violation makes appealing it almost impossible. All the other agents say yes, acknowledge it then seem as frustrated as myself when the auto-reply occurs.

Again, we have no interest in selling these types of parts anymore. We don’t care if we’re right or wrong, Amazon has an issue with it and that’s all the motivation we need to move on. The appeal process is a lesson in futility and masochism and hardly worth the profit that would be gained.

Furthermore, we did delete some of the ASIN from our seller central inventory back in February and we continue to get some restricted product policy violations for them. When I ask about it, I get “if you intended to sell the product at any point that would be grounds for a violation”. It seems that deleting the product prior to it even being flagged for removal is not good enough. Account health support doesn’t seem to be aware of this because every time I call they try to escalate the issue on that basis which is always denied.

Thanks. I know I’m going to need it.

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Ah, well. If you are willing to burn bridges with this company, litigation might be a last option should all else fail.

Ewww. That bites. Unfortunately, this does box you in a bit more regarding the necessity of finding effective appeals. I’m not sure how much else I have to offer in that regard at the moment.

I have been flagged on already removed ASINs, but very rarely, and not at all in the past few years. When it did happen, I was forced to appeal them as if they were still listed, which is patently sophomoric.

Account Health support is generally better than Seller Support, but that’s a low bar, and while they are OK with normal issues they don’t do well with the fringe sort of problems that actually require their help. As if we weren’t frustrated before talking to them.

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Besides sending a picture of the actual letter (vs the scanned PDF which is being denied as inauthentic), what would be the best way to prove authenticity of the document?

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Printing out and scanning as a JPG/PNG or taking a picture of the printed document is the best way

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I don’t sell MG parts, I race and rally them, so I BUY a lot of MG parts! :wink:

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This is likely a violation of their agreement with you, as they are making it impossible for you to sell goods they sold to you under a distribution agreement. The false trademark-related claims are also a breach of contract. The new seller may have no idea of your history with the manufacturer, so they are not a target.

But your beef here seems to be more with the trademark owner than with Amazon.

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In the received intellectual property violation appeal, I have a picture I took of the letter. I’m selecting the box "I have enclosed documentary evidence stating the listing complied with policy on the date of enforcement (e.g., Letter of Authorization, product invoice, Registration certificate).

They also want us to write a short story: “Explain in few words why this listing does not violate Amazon’s policies.” Any suggestions about what I should put there?

Here are some of my previous submissions (personal info redacted for the forum, all submissions are for the same case and were denied):

“We are providing a letter of authorization from the rights owner and a
screenshot of an email showing that this letter is from the rights owner. This
includes the same name and email address on the LOA. xxxxxx is our
seller account email.”

“The attached letter of authorization is authentic and valid and was accepted
for many received intellectual property violations for the same complaint ID
xxxxx from xxxxxxx. These include, but are not limited to,
these ASIN: xxxxxxx, xxxxxx, xxxxxx, xxxxxx. Please contact
the rights owner for verification.”

“Per case ID xxxxxxxxx we are resubmitting this appeal. The document
contains seller and trademark owner address, contact info, proof of
authorization for trademark and intellectual property, complaint ID,
authorization to sell xxxxxxx products and a valid signature from the xxxxxxx.”

“We are authorized dealers of the products in question. We are providing an
updated letter of authorization from the rights owner which includes our
physical address matching our Amazon selling account address. This
information was missing in our previous submission.”

"xxxxxx has provided us with a letter stating that we are a dealer in good
standing with xxxxxxx, the manufacturer of
xxxxxxx, and we are authorized to purchase and resell
xxxxxxx through authorized channels. They are requesting that we be
released from the referenced complaint(s) in the letter.

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Because we have authorization from the brand owner

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