Is there a way to counter buyers who falsely claim that their order was delivered too late when it wasn’t? The customer is getting a free return label with that return reason and then a refund at first scan. There’s no way we can recover the return label fee. In many cases, Amazon is also refunding the outbound shipping charge. Anybody have any luck with filing Safe-T claims for this recurring issue? Thanks.
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If the order was not refunded yet, you can withhold the return shipping as a restocking fee.
If the order was already Amazon refunded, Safe-T claim is your only option.
If you refunded manually, you have no options.
I have had luck with Safe-T claims for incorrect return reasons, but it is not guaranteed.
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You can try uploading an adjustment template. This is helpful in the Handmade category where there is no RFS or Auto returns and Safe-t claims are not available to HM. That’s not to say Amazon won’t claw it back but you should easily be able to prove with tracking that the buyer lied.
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This works for orders where the seller issued a refund, then tries to reduce the refund after the fact?
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Yes, we have been able to win Safe-T claims when the customer obviously chose the wrong return reason. To file a Safe-T claim, you must first allow Amazon to issue the full refund. Then be sure you carefully follow all of the instructions for the claim. IMPORTANT: As soon as you receive the package, take photos of it before you open it up. A photo of the return packaging is required.
We have won claims where the customer chooses “arrived too late” and the parcel actually arrived within the stated delivery window. We buy most of our postage through Amazon, so I’m guessing that helps, but even if you did not buy your label on Amazon, give it a shot.
Carefully examine the item once you unbox it. If there is any damage or if it’s a different item, you can request a restocking fee. Whether you get it or not is a crapshoot, but if it’s obviously damaged, used or different, take good photos to prove it. You will have to submit photos of the returned item with any claim.
If all goes well, you should be refunded at least the cost of the return label and possibly a restocking fee, depending on the circumstances. We have never been awarded our outbound shipping cost, but it does not hurt to ask for it.
In your claim, be professional, stick to the facts, keep emotion out of it, and be as brief as possible while still presenting all the pertinent facts (such as the original delivery window and the tracking showing the date of delivery – screenshot the tracking page from the carrier if possible). State that you believe the customer abused Amazon’s liberal return policies. And we usually attach screenshots from Amazon’s own help pages to quote their stated policies.
(My husband is a certified paralegal and writes up these claims as if they were legal briefs, only much shorter and in plain English. He has had a much higher success rate in winning Safe-T Claims than I have. ;0)
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sounds more like a retro charge to me which I have found near impossible to do.
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I get at least one of these a month, in which the buyer claims something that is provably false.
To combat it, I do my Columbo imitation, asking the buyer if he really means to return this item, because tracking shows that it was delivered on X date, not Y date. Perhaps customer intends to return some other item which was indeed delivered on Y date. Help me here, I’m confused.
This accomplishes two things:
- It tells the customer that I know that he is not telling the truth, yet does it very politely.
- It gets important facts in the email, so that an Amazon employee can’t miss them when deciding a SAFE-T claim.
I’ve never even had to file a claim.
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