Product arrived expired, expires in a year
How come this conflicting, senseless statement is a good enough reason for Amazon to immediately issue a refund to a customer?
To make it clear, this is a grocery item that is non-returnable as per Amazon policy and has the best before date as 6/15/2025. This is our freshest product we just received from the manufacturer.
That said, we have already brought up the subject on this forum that many customers, knowing that grocery items are non-returnable, come up with fake reasons for a refund to be generated and keep items to enjoy for free. The more this kind of behavior is encouraged by Amazon by issuing refunds against customers' statements such as the one in the title of this post, the more of them will be inclined to try this method to get products for free.
What is more interesting is that the customer left the same kind of comment under another product in the same order, but didn't ask for a refund on that one that is beyond logic. So, one product that "arrived expires" is good enough to use while the other is not??? By doing their trick, the customer simply decreased the cost of their order to keep and enjoy both products.
What is worse, the product that was refunded automatically changed its status from "Excellent" to "Very poor" on the VOC dashboard that, as you know, puts the listing at risk of deactivation. BTW Amazon has just completed this same product check at its FC and stated that "the product was not found defective". The check was initiated by another, similar comment (review) of a customer who, of course, also got a refund.
This just proves that getting groceries for free against fake claims and statements is becoming a system on Amazon that is actively encouraged by Amazon generously issuing refunds at the expense of a seller not even bothering to comprehend the sense of their concerns.
We did contact Seller Support and got the usual "wait 6o days and, if found eligible, you'll be issued a reimbursement...." My comment that the product was not eligible for a refund against the insane statement made by the customer in the first place did not find any understanding with the Seller "Support" team.
Case ID: 15145746471.
Product arrived expired, expires in a year
How come this conflicting, senseless statement is a good enough reason for Amazon to immediately issue a refund to a customer?
To make it clear, this is a grocery item that is non-returnable as per Amazon policy and has the best before date as 6/15/2025. This is our freshest product we just received from the manufacturer.
That said, we have already brought up the subject on this forum that many customers, knowing that grocery items are non-returnable, come up with fake reasons for a refund to be generated and keep items to enjoy for free. The more this kind of behavior is encouraged by Amazon by issuing refunds against customers' statements such as the one in the title of this post, the more of them will be inclined to try this method to get products for free.
What is more interesting is that the customer left the same kind of comment under another product in the same order, but didn't ask for a refund on that one that is beyond logic. So, one product that "arrived expires" is good enough to use while the other is not??? By doing their trick, the customer simply decreased the cost of their order to keep and enjoy both products.
What is worse, the product that was refunded automatically changed its status from "Excellent" to "Very poor" on the VOC dashboard that, as you know, puts the listing at risk of deactivation. BTW Amazon has just completed this same product check at its FC and stated that "the product was not found defective". The check was initiated by another, similar comment (review) of a customer who, of course, also got a refund.
This just proves that getting groceries for free against fake claims and statements is becoming a system on Amazon that is actively encouraged by Amazon generously issuing refunds at the expense of a seller not even bothering to comprehend the sense of their concerns.
We did contact Seller Support and got the usual "wait 6o days and, if found eligible, you'll be issued a reimbursement...." My comment that the product was not eligible for a refund against the insane statement made by the customer in the first place did not find any understanding with the Seller "Support" team.
Case ID: 15145746471.
1 reply
Seller_0JNslkNnWLtcD
Now we need a moderator to look into this ASAP.
Sure thing, we did receive a policy violation based on the above today (not on the product that was refunded BTW), but that the buyer kept although left the claim as per the title of this discussion.
We have submitted an explanation, commercial invoice and a photo of the product with a production and expiration clearly seen on it next to its EAN, clearly stating that it was an FBA order.
We just received a response from Amazon stating this:
We reviewed the information you provided but do not have enough information to address the issues with your listings at this time.
Please submit an updated dispute on your Account Health page that provides the following:
-- Greater detail about or proof of the customer purchase or usage error, that you believe caused the policy violation. Provide proof of this error by attaching any communications between you or your business and the customer.
-- Greater detail about or proof of the customer complaint error or customer misunderstanding, that you believe caused the policy violation. Provide proof of this error by attaching any communications between you or your business and the customer.
-- Greater detail about or proof that the removal of your ASIN was done in error due to other causes. Provide proof of this error by attaching any documents that support your dispute. Note that we no longer accept Plan of Action (POA) documents for appealing or disputing product condition customer complaints.
-- Greater detail about or proof that Amazon has determined that the cause of the product complaints was due to issues pertaining to the FBA service . Provide the case ID for a resolved FBA inventory check.
-- Greater detail about or proof that Amazon has determined that the cause of the product complaints was due to issues pertaining to the Amazon Easy Ship service. Please provide the case ID for a resolved SAFE-T claim.
-- Proof from any additional transactions where your customers admitted their complaint, purchase, or usage errors that you believe caused the policy violation. If you do not have additional evidence to dispute these complaints, you can acknowledge the violation.
If submitting an updated dispute:
-- Review your communications from buyers to better understand the reason for the customer complaints.
-- Be clear, concise, and as specific as possible. Focus on the facts and events that led to the issue rather than providing an introduction of your product, business, or customer.
I specifically "like" the last two paragraphs:
- review your communication from buyers. What communication from buyers can a seller have selling FBA???
- focus on the facts and events that led to the issue... The only fact and event was that a buyer ordered a perfectly legit product that has 14 months of shelf life ahead and that was shipped to them FBA. The older batch of this product was sold out in early March, but even that batch would not have expired by now. What other facts and events are we supposed to know and mention in cases like this? This is truly ridiculous and against any common sense.
