What is an A-to-Z claim? A-to-Z claim review

1. What is an Amazon A-to-z Guarantee claim?

Amazon implements a protection policy for all buyers who purchase goods on the Amazon platform. If a buyer is not satisfied with the goods or services sold by a third-party seller, the buyer can initiate an Amazon A-to-Z Guarantee claim (referred to as "A-to-Z" or "A-to-Z claim") to protect his or her own interests.

2. Reasons for Buyers to Initiate A-to-Z Claims

Generally, buyers will contact the seller before initiating an A-to-Z claim and tell the seller their real needs. Buyers will only initiate an A-to-Z claim if they are not satisfied with the seller's service and the issues raised are not resolved. Sellers can log in to their Amazon account and check whether there are any new A-to-Z claims in the backend "Performance". There are several reasons why buyers initiate claims.

1. The buyer did not receive the order

Amazon will accept claims filed by buyers for not receiving orders due to the following situations.

1) The seller has arranged for the delivery of the order, but the buyer has not received the order package. The buyer can file a claim within 3 working days after the order is placed or 30 days after the order is placed (whichever is earlier), and within 90 days from the estimated latest delivery date.

However, if Amazon finds that an investigation is needed into the matter, Amazon will still reserve the right to accept claims filed beyond this time frame.

2) If the seller provides tracking information (such as courier tracking number) for tracking the order, indicating that the goods are expected to arrive within a certain period of time, but in fact cannot be delivered within the estimated or reasonable time, the claim initiated by the buyer will be approved and the seller shall be liable for compensation.

3) For orders delivered by the seller, if the goods have been delivered and the tracking information shows that they have been delivered, but the buyer claims that they have not received the goods, the buyer can initiate an A-to-Z claim. Amazon may contact the buyer to confirm whether the ordered goods have been received, and the process of confirming the receipt of the order may have the following results:

If it is confirmed that the buyer did not sign to confirm receipt of the order package, and there is a delivery error that the seller cannot control (such as sending the wrong goods or sending to the wrong address), the seller needs to bear the responsibility for non-delivery;

If the buyer claims that the item was not received, but the name on the signature confirmation matches the buyer's name, Amazon will reject the buyer's claim; however, if the name on the signature confirmation does not match the buyer's name, Amazon will also reject the buyer's claim and require the buyer to investigate the person who signed for the package.

Claims for packages signed for by a freight forwarder or buyer's agent will be rejected, but if an investigation shows that the buyer was unable to receive the package due to the seller's fault, the seller will be held responsible.

4) If the product is delivered through Amazon Logistics (FBA) and has tracking information, and the buyer claims that he has not received the ordered goods and files a claim, Amazon will assume the responsibility and will not send a claim notice to the seller. Even if the claim is established, it will not be included in the seller's order defect rate (ORD).

2. The product does not match the description

The product received by the buyer is significantly different from the product displayed on the product details page, including damage, defects, missing parts, etc. upon receipt.

3. The buyer has returned the product but has not received a refund

The seller has agreed to refund the buyer, the buyer returned the item, but the seller has not refunded the buyer. The buyer can initiate an A-to-Z claim.

4. Refuse to return products

The seller refuses the buyer's reasonable return request that is subject to Amazon's return policy.

The above situations are the reasons why buyers initiate A-to-Z. If the seller does not provide good service, which makes the buyer dissatisfied and initiates a claim, the seller is advised to refund the buyer immediately.

3. Situations where claims are not accepted

Amazon will not accept claims when the buyer encounters the following situations:

1. After the buyer places an order, the seller has a default of two working days to deliver the goods. If the buyer makes a claim during this period, it will not be approved.

2. The tracking information of the buyer's order (express delivery number) shows that it is expected to be delivered soon. The buyer's claim at this point will not be approved. Amazon will ask the buyer to wait for the goods to be delivered, and the seller does not need to bear any responsibility for the time being.

3. If the buyer refuses to accept the package, or claims to have returned the package to the seller but cannot provide the seller with a valid tracking number, the claim initiated by the buyer will not be accepted.

4. The seller has already refunded the buyer, and the buyer can no longer initiate an A-to-Z claim.

IV. Conditions that buyers need to meet to initiate an A- to-Z claim

1. The buyer has communicated with the seller through the "Contact Seller" button in "My Account".

2. The buyer has been waiting for the seller's response for more than 2 working days, but the seller has not responded to the buyer.

3. The buyer's claim must comply with the Amazon Marketplace Transaction Protection Claim.

5. Impact of claims on sellers

Az affects the order defect rate (< 1%) in Amazon's performance indicators. If it exceeds the indicators required by Amazon and cannot be improved, Amazon will suspend your sales privileges or even close your account.

6. How to handle A to Z claims

Since A-to-Z is lurking with such a huge risk, how should sellers deal with it?

Amazon stipulates that within 7 days after the buyer files a claim, the seller needs to reply to the email notification about the claim. If the seller does not respond, Amazon will assume that the buyer wins after 7 days. Amazon approves the buyer's claim and refunds the buyer directly. At the same time, according to the agreement with the seller, the full claim amount will be deducted from the seller's account.

Amazon is a bit biased towards buyers. But it is not a solution for sellers to not respond and avoid A-to-Z claims. The only way is to respond actively. For A-to-Z claims, sellers have the following three options:

1. Refund buyer: Refund to the buyer

2. Represent to Amazon: Submit to Amazon for arbitration

3. More Actions:

To help everyone understand the process after the buyer initiates A-TO-Z.

VII. A-to-Z Claims Process

8. Several outcomes of sellers handling A-to-Z claims

The seller takes care of the A-to-Z process and it is necessary to communicate well with the buyer. In order to make the buyer withdraw the claim, some concessions can be made, such as full refund, partial refund, resending the goods, giving a small gift, etc.

However, in this communication process, sellers must not harass buyers in a harassing way. Also consider the time difference and just send more emails. The result of the claim is generally related to the following two responses from the buyer:

1. The buyer voluntarily withdraws the claim, no appeal is required

A-TO-Z claims withdrawn within 7 days will not be counted towards the ODR

If the buyer initiates an A-TO-Z (including claims caused by the buyer), and both parties reach an agreement after communication and the buyer is willing to close the claim directly, Amazon does not need to intervene in arbitration.

In addition, if the buyer actively cancels the claim within 7 days of initiating the claim, it will not be counted in the seller's ODR; if the buyer actively cancels the claim after more than 7 days, then I'm sorry, it is meaningless, and the claim will still be counted in the seller's ODR. Therefore, it is best for the seller to remind the buyer to close the claim within 7 days.

2. The buyer is unwilling to withdraw the claim, and the seller appeals

The A-to-Z processing time is 7 days. After the buyer initiates a claim, if the seller contacts the buyer several times but the buyer does not respond, or the buyer's request is unsatisfactory and the two parties cannot reach an agreement, then the seller can collect information that is beneficial to him and submit a complaint letter to Amazon.

1) About the appeal letter and the appeal process

In the appeal letter, the seller should provide Amazon with useful appeal information: such as order details, delivery or signature confirmation details, shipment tracking information, communication records with the buyer, information about partial refunds or discounts previously issued, and any other information that can support their point of view.

After drafting the content of the appeal letter, the seller enters the claim email notification sent by Amazon, clicks "Represent to Amazon", provides the information he has collected, and allows Amazon to intervene in the arbitration.

2) The probability of a seller’s appeal being successful

In fact, we also know that Amazon puts customers first and favors buyers in many policies. The same is true for claims. Despite this, sellers still need to appeal with all their heart. Although the appeal may not necessarily win, at least there is a chance to win.

There are generally two outcomes for A-TO-Z claims:

After appeal, the buyer wins

If the seller has carefully prepared materials for the appeal but still fails, this result is likely due to the seller's own problems. Then this A-to-Z claim will be counted into the seller's order defect rate (ODR).

After appeal, the seller wins

If the buyer is unreasonable and malicious, and the seller has sufficient evidence to prove it, Amazon will definitely support the seller. If the seller wins the case, the A-to-Z claim will not be counted in the Order Defect Rate (ODR).

3. Amazon pays compensation

After the buyer initiates an A-TO-Z claim, Amazon will sometimes directly compensate the buyer after investigation. Or if it is determined that the seller is not at fault, Amazon will also compensate the buyer depending on the circumstances (yes, Amazon cares about the buyer so much). However, if the buyer files a claim against Amazon due to the seller's fault, Amazon will directly refund the buyer, and later deduct the claim amount from the seller's account, and this amount will be shown in the seller's deduction record.

IX. Refunds related to A-to-Z

According to Amazon's return policy, if the product received by the buyer is defective, the buyer must contact the seller within 14 days to initiate a return request. The buyer must send it back to the seller within 30 days from the date of receipt (the return policy of a few products is slightly different). If the A-TO-Z claim involves a return refund, the seller can notify the buyer to return the goods and arrange a refund for the buyer after receiving the goods.

But in fact, in some claims cases, some buyers will ask the seller to refund first and then return the goods. Should the seller agree to this?

The editor does not recommend sellers to accept this request. Because there may be malicious buyers, which may cause sellers to lose both money and goods. Returning the goods first and then refunding is the choice that is in their own interests.

Next, after receiving the return, the seller needs to refund the full amount to the buyer. If the seller operates through the "Refund buyer" button in the claim email interface, the A-TO-Z will be automatically closed, and Amazon will assume that it is the seller's responsibility, and the A-TO-Z claim will be included in the seller's ODR, which is not good for the seller's ODR indicator. Therefore, it is best for the seller to return to the order to operate the refund.

10. Other matters needing attention

1. You can only open one A-to-Z Claim for each order. If the buyer cancels the claim, you cannot open another one.

2. If the seller directly refunds part of the amount and the buyer is not satisfied, the buyer can still file a claim; however, if the seller refunds the full amount through an authorized refund, the buyer cannot file a claim.

3. After the buyer initiates an A-to-Z claim, the product needs to be returned. If the seller cannot provide a return address, Amazon will directly assume that the buyer wins.

11. Time limit requirements

For buyers

1. Buyers can file a claim 3 calendar days before the estimated latest delivery date or within 30 days after the order date.

2. Buyers have 90 days from the estimated latest delivery date to file a claim

For sellers

Starting from November 14, 2016, the time limit for sellers to file AZ claims initiated by buyers has been shortened from 7 days to 3 days. The new regulations are intended to improve buyers' after-sales experience.

12. What to do when you encounter A-to-Z

1. First, check the A-to-Z reason given by the buyer. Is it due to the product itself, logistics, or other reasons?

2. Be sure to contact the buyer and apologize to the buyer for the problem. The email must not contain insulting or offensive language, and the buyer must be asked why he or she is filing a claim.

3. If the buyer replies to your email, it means that the buyer is still willing to negotiate with you to solve the problem. If there is a problem with the product itself, you can promise to send the customer another one. If the customer is unwilling to wait, you can also refund the customer (the prerequisite for the refund must be that the customer cancels the A-to-Z); if it is because the logistics transportation time is too long, apologize to the buyer and explain the reason, promise to mail a small gift to the customer, and suggest that the customer help cancel the A-to-Z. Generally, customers are willing to do so.

If the buyer does not reply to any of your emails, remember! You still need to send an email to the buyer, and directly state the measures you have taken to solve the problem for the buyer in the email, indicating your determination to solve the problem for the customer, and also showing Amazon that you are happy to solve the problem for the customer.

4. If it is caused by Amazon, the seller only needs to state the problem directly to Amazon, and Amazon will investigate. Generally speaking, Amazon will directly revoke the A-to-Z.

References

• 1. When Amazon sellers encounter A-to-Z, they must not refund immediately. Remember. : Sohu [cited on 2019-07-09T16:00:00.000Z]