I opened a claim to be reimbursed and was done so successfully. This is what I got from support the 2 times it happend to me:
This is the response I got when contacting support about this:

Please be informed that as per Amazon policy, for Prime orders, all post-order contacts regarding Prime will be handled by Customer service and the team is at times, providing exceptional refunds to develop business and customer experience.

Please understand that as the Customer Support is a different team which is outside the reach of Seller Support, we at seller support do not have any influence over the actions and decisions taken by our Customer Support team. I really wish I could help you out on this.

Having said that, there is nothing to worry about as a feedback has been collected from many other sellers regarding the same so that our Customer Support team would not provide a refund without checking the proofs that support the buyer’s claim as well as contacting the sellers before making a decision on the refund.

However in order to not have our Seller at loss, our Business team has made a new way for Prime seller to request the reimbursement for such Prime orders. You may refer to the below mentioned help page to raise a reimbursement claim:

Seller Fulfilled Prime refund reimbursement policy:
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/help.html/ref=au_202109110_cont_201812230?ie=UTF8&itemID=202109110&referral=AJHNCF2NBFUJV_A3NHSMQRUZ8E98&referral=A10C4055JWNON8_A3NHSMQRUZ8E98

Also to expedite the process of reimbursement, you can directly write an email to the SAFE- T team at the below mentioned email alias:

Email Alias:
safe-t-review@amazon.com

I am sorry for making you take an additional step regarding this issue, it’s just to ensure we provide you a clear resolution to avoid any discrepancy.

Please be assured that this is only a short term resolution. As a long term resolution to such instances, we are already working with our teams, passing on all the valuable feedback from the sellers, to make the necessary changes in the policy.

You may as well report it directly to our team so that your response would add weight to this feedback. You may write to our team at: sfp-selection-feedback@amazon.com

That being said we do not mean to deliberately cause inconvenience to our esteemed sellers. However, please understand our limitations due to policy and compliance issues. As much as I wish to assist you further, your understanding in this issue would be highly appreciated.

I recognize that this is not the result that you were hoping for, but I want you to know that I did my best to provide you with all the information based on our current policies. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

AND THEN A SECOND TIME I GOT THIS:
I completely comprehend your concerns regarding this matter and thank you for bringing it to my attention.

At Amazon’s sole discretion, you may be issued a reimbursement in cases where Amazon determines that you were not at fault.

You can follow the next steps to request a reimbursement:

1. Go to Contact Us and then click Selling on Amazon.
2. Click Customers and orders.
3. Enter a Seller Fulfilled Prime Order ID and then click Next.
4. Click File a SAFE-T claim* and then click Next. File a SAFE-T claim only appears for Seller Fulfilled Prime orders.
5. Select the reason for your reimbursement claim.
6. In your claim, provide details as to why you should be reimbursed. For example, you have been overcharged for the return label or an item was returned to you in unacceptable condition.
7. Attach all necessary supporting documentation and then click File SAFE-T claim. You will receive an email confirming receipt of your claim.

*Note: SAFE-T claims do not count against your performance metrics and it is important to know that in order to wait for the product to be returned is recommendable to request the reimbursement after 15 days that the refund has been issued.

You can find more information about the Reimbursement policy through the following help page:

◘ Seller Fulfilled Prime refund reimbursement policy
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/202109110?referral=A3T75U04AYMHH2_A29T42AT3WGSS3

Furthermore, please keep in mind that, as per the Seller Fulfilled Prime policy, all post-order contacts regarding Prime items will be directed to Amazon Customer Service. Amazon will provide, and have sole discretion in determining, all post-order customer service, including customer returns, refunds, and adjustments, related to Prime items

You can verify the previous information through the following link:

◘ Program Terms for Seller Fulfilled Prime
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/201812300?referral=A3T75U04AYMHH2_A29T42AT3WGSS3

It is important to keep in mind that the goal of the business team is to keep the customer satisfaction at the highest level and I am sure, based on your seller performance, that this goal is also part of your business priorities, we strive to put in our best to help you make selling a better experience, however, there are situations where we have to express our inability to meet your requirements and expectations wholeheartedly.

Edited by: Discount Detailers on Jan 10, 2018 2:17 PM

When agreeing to use FBA, you relinquish control over your customer service and give it to Amazon. So, with FBA, Amazon can issue a refund or accept a return because they decide that aspect of order handling.

With respect to ‘General Adjustment’ did you confirm it is for the full value? In our experience, this is usually a way to satisfy a buyer that received the item late or some kind of complaint about how it was shipped or packaged. Regardless, the only way to know the reason is to open an FBA case with Seller Support to inquire. In the years of using FBA Amazon has always reimbursed us for ‘General Adjustment’ refunds so open your case to ask.

Click the ‘Contact Seller Support’ link at the bottom of this page. If the resulting window is grayed out with a white box to the right, click the last link under ‘Quick Actions’ (something like ‘My issue is not listed’). This will open up the page and allow you to click the options to the left. Choose ‘Customers and orders’ and provide the order number then fill in the form with your inquiry.

I had the same thing and contacted seller support and this was their answer.

"This is Nick, the associate assigned to handle your case about Order ID: *************** where your buyer was refunded more than on what they have paid for and you would like to know what general adjustment is for the order.

Our investigation shows that Customer Service has issued a goodwill concession refund of this order. This is a way to compensate buyers for any order related issues and this is being noted by the Customer Service as general adjustments.

This concession refund, however, was granted within the last 3 calendar days. After 3 calendar days have passed, we can review this order to determine if any reimbursement is due. Please note that in most cases since this is an FBA order and we are the one who’s providing customer service to your buyers, Amazon will reimbursed you for the amount deducted."

The vets have offered solid advice in terms of explaining this type of thing, and we saw precisely the explanations from Seller Support posted here when we first started. It’s been my experience over the last few years that Amazon assumes responsibility for “General adjustment” refunds; if it was given during the prevailing return period, reimbursement occurs after 45 days in accordance with the Seller Help Content’s [FBA Lost and Damaged Inventory Reimbursement Policy (link)|https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/200213130] , and if it’s given outside of the prevailing return period, reimbursement arrives much quicker - sometimes in a single day, as happened with an OOP General adjustment refund from last July brought to my attention yesterday.

YMMV - Amazon is serious about track record playing a role in this type of thing, as mentioned on that Help page - and it’s always a good idea to keep track to ensure that reimbursement actually does occur, as things have been known to fall through the cracks, but I have to admit that Amazon does a good job for us when it comes to this type of refund.

I got this the other day too. SS told me that it could be because the item was lost in transit, however because this was an FBA item, if the item was not returned within 45 days Amazon would refund me.

I asked the rep why Amazon didn’t give a better explanation as ‘General adjustment’ is far too vague. I told them that I had just wasted my time and theirs by having to contact them, but if the explanation had been better they could have avoided this.

How many more sellers have wasted time contacting them about this?

I asked the rep to pass on my comments and she said she would. I don’t suppose anything will change though.

That’s Amazon’s way of giving free money to customers to make them happy. Those weird transactions always used to show up as $0.00 in your transactions, but now, to make things harder for sellers, they’ll take the money from you. And then they’ll review it for reimbursement 3 business days later. If you even noticed and remembered to bring it up.

I had one the other day. Original purchase price: $16.95. Amount credited to my account after the sale: $11.90. Amount refunded to customer: $57.85.

When I opened a case, they said they’d review it to see if it qualified for reimbursement in 3-5 days.

Now I understand why so many sellers refuse to use FBA. Between situations like that, and how many items they lose, it makes all the sense in the world to opt not to use FBA.