Looking for opinions/advice on how I have written up this claim:
Improper shipping refunds for buyer faulted return.
Return Reason: No longer needed
Buyer Comment: Don’t need
Per Amazon policy, buyer should not have been refunded for the expedited shipping they chose.
Shipping refunded:
-$16.99
Seller should not be charged for return label postage.
Billing for return postage:
-$4.38
Please reverse these refunds and return $21.37 to my account due to buyer faulted return.
Would “Buyer should be charged for return label postage” be better than “Seller should not be charged”?
Any recommendations on how to write up this claim better?
It is ridiculous that this claim is needed, automation should have followed policy when refunding.
I offer free shipping on nearly all my orders, so I don’t have much experience with getting the outgoing shipping refunded. I’m sorry that I can’t offer much advice about your specific issue.
I would not choose option 1 since the return was within policy. Whether or not the refund was the correct amount and covered all funds refunded is a different issue.
Option 2 seems better to me. It directly addresses your issue in an Amazon-will-probably-understand sort of way.
This whole entire Safe T claim process is a shitshow now. It’s very obvious they have tried to make the new process as tedious as possible so you just give up…..regardless of whether the return was opened for a buyer faulted reason.
They also automatically deny every single claim now for a seller faulted reason at first (and within seconds)…..again, hoping you will give up.
Finally getting back to this. It looks like I was reimbursed for the return shipping label, so my claim will be only for the reason outbound ‘expedited’ shipping was refunded.
According to this, my net is 4.38, the cost of the return label.
So if they’ve reimbursed the return label fee, my claim will just be for the 16.99 outbound.
I am not finding written policy on that specific issue but certainly when a buyer changes their mind we shouldn’t be out the extra shipping cost of sending it expedited when they chose that.
Is there written policy that I am just not finding?
Years ago, before the 1May`16 launch of the BSS/MSS* INR Guarantee Program, there were several more concrete pegs in various SHC (“Seller Help Content”) pages on exactly that score than now exist; some of them were referred to in templates crafted by various of the old hands as far back as in the ‘Aces Days’ of the ASF (“Amazon Seller Forums”).
Similarly, years ago, The SAFE-T Team but-rarely balked at refunding in situations like this; that first began to change - for the worse, of course - with the advent of the 050421 Refund at First Scam Refund at First Scan (“RFS”) Program.
Reports of similar circumstances, in various biz-discussion venues over the last 4 years, has ticked up quite noticeably, year-by-year; over the last 9-10 months, it’s been cresting towards crescendo - I’ve seen perhaps even more public complaints about the SAFE-T Team balking over OSC (“Outbound Shipping Cost”) refunds over that latter period than the sum of those I read in the former - and there’s no question at all that Amazon has been reported to being particularly persnickety about refunding Expedited labels (actually used, or not) since the last Extended Holiday Returns Period ended.
By the time the n/l/a 091520 News Headline “Policy update: Updates to the seller-fulfilled returns refund workflow” produced a revamp of the SHC’s published policy pages, there was only one firm statement of the Buyer Account’s responsibility in cases like this left, and a new one that incorporated the “optional” nature of an earlier deprecated one of the originals in a decidedly-more wishy-washy way.
The RFS Initiative put paid to the former, but the latter still exists, and it’s the only (admittedly, rather slim) peg I’d choose to hang me hat on - beyond first stating that the Return Reason Code “No longer needed/wanted” ISBuyer-faulted** - if facing the conundrum you’ve posed; the point I’d emphasize in crafting a short, succinct SAFE-T Claim Appeal is that found in Bullet Point # 1 of the 3rd parenthetical phrase of the “Issue restocking fees” section of the SHC’s Issue a Partial Refund (link) (emphasis mine):
No matter were the matter a case of RFS-enabled, RFS-exempted, RFS-overlooked, or RFS- Amaglitched, I’d be inclined to assert that the whole reason Amazon created this published policy is rooted in protecting 3P Sellers from ill-chosen Buyer Account activities, in order to increase Amazon’s chance to garner further profits from 3P Sellers who choose to use BSS/MSS Shipping Templates offering enhanced options like Expedited.
As Gettin’ Amazon to Do The Right Thing becomes increasingly harder, especially in these days where the Defective By Design Business Model of Provisioning Customer Service delves ever-deeper & always-darker into LLM/GenAI “solutions,” it behooves us all to hone our tools for keepin’ the barbarian outside our gates…
*
“Buy Shipping Service”/“Merchant Shipping Service” - terms that Amazon uses interchangeably, primarily due to another of its many ills: the warm embrace of the execrable Silo-Management Model of Business Administration
Thanks for confirming the lack of clear policy. I knew if there was one, you would know of it and had you in mind when I posted my query. You and your mind are a valued asset here!
The dereliction of ‘right’ ethical behavior is sickening. And now it is programmed into the AI, by design.
In addition to @Dogtamer, this NSFE post by KJ_Amazon (although it is two years old) gives some direction and also connects the link @Dogtamer provided.
A buyer opens a return request and receives a prepaid label. The item gets shipped back to you and Amazon issues a refund. Or a buyer reaches out to customer support and receives a returnless refund from a seller using Customer Service by Amazon. It’s a smooth, frictionless process… until it isn’t.
Sometimes that new item you shipped out comes back dirty or damaged—or maybe never gets shipped back at all. Maybe that returnless refund shouldn’t have been issued.
That’s where SAFE-T claims come in.
“SAFE-T” stands for “Seller Assurance For E-commerce Transactions.” (I think it would look cooler as “S.A.F.E.-T. Claim” but nobody asked me.) SAFE-T claims allow sellers to appeal orders that were fully refunded by Amazon for returns using orders that were fully refunded by Amazon, most often for returns using prepaid return labels.
In other words: If you believe you should not be held financially responsible for a refund decision, you can file a SAFE-T claim for reimbursement and applicable restocking fees.
In this article I’ll explain:
What orders are eligible for SAFE-T claims
Steps to file a SAFE-T claim
Best practices for SAFE-T claim success
How to appeal a SAFE-T claim
SAFE-T claims: What orders are eligible for reimbursement?
You may be eligible for reimbursement if:
Amazon determines that the customer abused Amazon’s return or refund policy.
Click File a new SAFE-T claim, in the top right-hand corner of the page
Enter the order ID for the return and then click Check eligibility.
If your order is eligible, proceed to the next step. If not, there’s no appeal option to request the claim be filed and reviewed for the order ID.
Select the reason that best describes your case for your reimbursement claim.
Attach all necessary support documentation if applicable , then click Submit Safe-T Claim. You will receive an e-mail confirming receipt of your claim.
Best practices for SAFE-T claim success:
While we can’t guarantee the success of your SAFE-T claim, we do have best practices to help set you up for success.
Provide details. In your claim, provide all the details as why you believe Amazon should reimburse you. For example, state if you’ve been overcharged for the return label, or if the product was returned in an unacceptable condition. Be clear about what reimbursement you’re requesting — product cost, return or outbound shipping cost, etc. Providing all the details in the initial claim description will help reduce churn between you and the SAFE-T investigators.
Include photos — lots of them. We recommend a photo of the return packaging and label, photos of the item at different angles showing and damage or wear, the packing slip, or anything else that supports your claim.
Attach all supporting documentation. This may include a supportive image of a damaged item (comparison between damaged return vs . undamaged product), shipping label, image of the Return Mailing Label, Tracking ID, delivery proof, or invoice (or other documentation showing the item and serial number). Anything you think may be necessary when reviewing your claim — go ahead and attach it. Red boxing or highlighting areas in support documentation can help investigators determine faster and provide a resolution to you quicker.
If you don’t agree with the SAFE-T’s decision — and you have additional information and evidence to support your argument — you can appeal the SAFE-T claim. You must file your appeal within seven days of the claim decision.
To file your SAFE-T claim appeal, select the View Message button located on the Manage SAFE-T claims page for the corresponding order ID. Simply post your appeal information at the bottom of the page, replying to the claim decision.
You can appeal a SAFE-T claim only once, so study the denial reasons and provide additional information that will support your appeal.
Note: Be sure to check the reply by and appeal date. Manage SAFE-T claims page will indicate “Reply by ” against each claim. For resolved claims, the timeline to respond will be indicated as “Appeal by ” against each claim.
A standardized Safe-T Claim Form. This would make it a lot easier on the Amazon Rep reviewing it and the seller filling it in. This would especially benefit the seller because they would know up before submitting if they have the correct information.
This is what I Send:
ISSUE:
State in one sentence the reason for the claim
CLAIM AMOUNT:$XX.xx
Bullet point the fees in dispute for the claim
PRODUCT:
ORDER ID:
ASIN:
TITLE:
AMOUNT PAID:
OUTWARD SHIPPING PAID:
RETURN SHIPPING PAID;
PURCHASE HISTORY:
PRODUCT PURCHASE DATE:
PRODUCT SHIP DATE:
USPS OUTWARD TRACKING #:
PRODUCT DELIVERY DATE:
RETURN REQUEST DATE:
RETURN ARRIVAL DATE
USPS RETURN TRACKING #:
RMA;
RATIONAL:
Bullet Point the reason and/or occurring events
Misleading Supporting Statement
Why the buyer selected return reason is incorrect.
What the correct buyer return reason SHOULD be.
CONCLUSION:
A one or 2 sentence summary, including the Amounts of the claim.
PHOTOS;
Relevant to the claim.
Actual product sent
Actual product returned
Returned shipping label with matching tracking number to the one Amazon provided
Copy of Amazon policy showing what is reimbursable that RFS failed to deduct from the claim.
I wish I could remember where I saw it, but I think there was a change in policy to further push sellers into offering Free shipping. There is no longer verbiage in the return policy that states the seller is entitled to original shipping costs for buyer faulted returns for RFS. Only that the seller can be entitled to reimbursement for return shipping.
While in seller refunds there is still an option to withhold original shipping from the return, for RFS there is a 50/50 chance on Safe-T-Claims.
I sent a private message with my template response for Safe-T claims where you request the original outbound shipping for orders with Free Shipping but the buyer paid additional for Expedited shipping yet Amazon Refund At First Scan provided a refund on the original outbound Expedited.
If anyone else needs help with this same situation, feel to send me a message.
Just to follow up on this process. We file a decent amount of Safe T claims to get our outbound shipping refunded on buyer faulted return reasons. These used to be automatically approved. Sometime over the last month, they basically changed something and are now denying a lot of these initially and you have to now fight them again for even that…I am talking ones where the buyer literally picks the ordered wrong item return code.
It just re-affirms my earlier statement that they are just trying to make this process as hard as possible in hopes you will give up…a la insurance company type tactics with the immediate auto denials.
Does anyone have a really good template for these situations (return label already deducted from refund automatically but they refunded the outbound shipping)?
