Amazon reserves the right to change and/or amend the terms of the SAFE-T policy at its sole
discretion, without any prior notice to sellers and the seller shall be responsible for
reviewing these changes and informing themselves of all such applicable changes.
Seller Assurance for E-Commerce Transactions (SAFE-T) claims allow sellers using Prepaid
Return Labels (PRL) in the Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN) to appeal Amazon's decision to
issue a refund to a customer. At Amazon's sole discretion, you may be issued a reimbursement
in cases where Amazon determines that you were not at fault.
Possible cases for reimbursement for
PRL in the MFN
An order must have already been fully refunded (return shipping cost or restocking fee may
be deducted from the refund in accordance with the refund policy) to be eligible for a SAFE-T claim.
Filed claims that do not meet this criterion will be automatically denied.
Below is a list of possible cases where you might be considered
eligible for a reimbursement. These situations do not guarantee a reimbursement, and Amazon
maintains sole discretion to determine what reimbursement value, if any, is issued.
You may be eligible for reimbursement if:
-
Amazon determines that the customer abused
Amazon's return or refund policy.
-
An item is returned to you in unsellable condition and Amazon determines you were not at
fault. You can find some examples of return reasons and faulted parties here.
-
A materially different item is returned to you and Amazon determines you were not at
fault.
-
The customer did not return the product, evident by lack of "Return Merchandise
Authorization (RMA)" or a carrier’s "first scan" in a return tracking.
Note: This does not
apply to items that are deemed ‘Hazmat’ or ‘Non-returnable’ by Amazon systems unless the
return reason is considered as the customer’s fault. Visit
here to learn more about when a return reason is
considered as the customer’s fault.
The customer requested a free replacement via the Online Return Center, you shipped the
replacement, the customer sent back an incorrect item or the original item (not in sellable
condition), or Amazon issued a refund to the customer.
You may be eligible for reimbursement for a free replacement if:
-
The customer requested a free replacement via the Online Return Center, you shipped the
replacement, and the customer sent back an incorrect item or the original item in an
unsellable condition.
Note: You must submit the reimbursement claim for the replacement
order within 60 calendar days after receiving the original item.
-
The customer requested a free replacement via the Online Return Center, you shipped the
replacement and Amazon issued a refund to the customer.
Note: You must submit the
reimbursement claim for the original order within 60 calendar days of a refund being
charged to your account for the original item.
Provide the tracking information,
image of the returned item, and image of the return label for the replacement order while
filing a claim. Note that Returnless Replacements are not eligible for SAFE-T
claims.
Note: After requesting a replacement order, the customer should send the original
item back to you within seven days after the replacement request date. You will receive
a notification from Amazon to ship the replacement item after the original item is
returned. You will only be eligible for a reimbursement claim for the replacement order
if the original item is sent back to you in a different condition. Orders that are in
transit are not eligible for a SAFE-T claim. For more information, visit
Replacements for
seller-fulfilled orders.
With all reimbursement claims, it is your responsibility to reply to
information requests from Amazon investigators. Failure to provide sufficient information
within 7 days will result in denial of your claim.
Reimbursement values and restrictions
The following restrictions apply to reimbursements:
-
Reimbursement claims must be submitted within 60 calendar days of a refund being charged to your account.
-
Refund window is calculated from the next calendar day after the date of refund.
-
Only refunds that issued to customers by Amazon on your behalf is eligible for
reimbursements. You are not eligible for reimbursement if you issued refund to the
customer.
-
Reimbursements for a single order will not exceed $5,000. For items valued at more
than $ 5,000, we suggest that you purchase third-party insurance.
-
You can file only one claim per Order ID.
-
Orders that are damaged or lost in return transit are not eligible for reimbursement from SAFE-T including the Amazon fees or outbound shipping label costs. Contractually, you are the shipper of record and may file a claim with the carrier to recover any loss.
Note: If the order was delivered by Amazon Shipping, you should raise a claim directly with Amazon Shipping
here.
-
If you refuse a return shipment for any reason, the order is not eligible for
reimbursement.
-
Orders with an A-to-z Guarantee claim are not eligible for SAFE-T claims (you have the
ability to Appeal an A-to-z Guarantee claim).
-
Chargeback claims are not covered by this policy. See our full chargeback policy for
details.
-
FBA orders are not covered by this policy. See FBA customer returns policy for FBA
reimbursement policy.
-
Per Restocking Fee policy, if the product is damaged by the customer, the reimbursement will be limited to a maximum of 50% of the order value of the product.
How to file a reimbursement (SAFE-T) claim
-
From the Orders tab in
Seller Central, go to Manage
SAFE-T Claims.
-
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 is 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. In your claim, provide detail as why you believe
Amazon should reimburse you. For example, you have been overcharged for the return label
or the product was returned in an unacceptable condition.
-
Attach all necessary support documentation (example: example: supportive images of damaged item, shipping label, image of the Return Mailing Label, Tracking ID, delivery proof or any additional information you see necessary to review your claim), if applicable , then click Submit Safe-T Claim. You will receive an e-mail confirming receipt of your claim.
You will receive an email regarding the decision within 7 calendar days of filing the
claim. This email is sent to the email ID assigned to receive “Returns and Claims
Notifications” in your notification preferences. You can also track the
status of your claim on the Manage SAFE-T Claims page.
Note: During the investigation process, Amazon investigators might require you to provide
additional information. In such a case, you will receive an email from
safe-t-review@amazon.com. Reply directly to this email with the information or
clarification sought by Amazon. Failure to provide sufficient information in 7 days will
result in the denial of your claim
Tracking Reimbursement Status
To track the status of your reimbursement claims, go to Orders >
Manage SAFE-T Claims.
-
The different tabs on the page allow you to view all claims, claims that await your
response, claims that have been resolved and claims that are under investigation.
-
You can search for claims in the specific time period by selecting the box next to
‘Claim Date’ at the top left to select the date range.
-
You can also search for a specific order ID, ASIN, RMA or SAFE-T ID using the search
box on the top right.
-
For every claim, you can find the information on Product Name, Quantity, Claim Amount,
SAFE-T Claim ID, Reason, Description, Attachments that you provided, Order Date, Claim
Date, Claim Status, Reimbursement Amount and Return Request Date.
Appealing SAFE-T claim decisions
-
You receive an e-mail from safe-t-review@amazon.com for each claim you filed with SAFE-T
informing you about the claim decision. If your Safe-T claim has been denied, study the
denial e-mail carefully as it will specify why the claim has been denied.
-
Do not reopen the same claim multiple times without any additional information, or you
may be flagged for abuse of SAFE-T process and action may be taken against your account.
See below for more information.
-
If you have additional information that could strengthen your case, reopen the claim
within 7 days of claim decision by replying to the denial e-mail from safe-t-review@amazon.com with additional information. You can only do this
once.
-
Do not discuss SAFE-T decisions with Selling Partner Support, because they are unable to
influence the decision on a SAFE-T claim. Instead, you should interact directly with the
SAFE-T team via e-mail at safe-t-review@amazon.com.
SAFE-T claim and reimbursement abuse for PRL in the MFN
When you file a reimbursement claim, you confirm that the details mentioned in the case are
true and that any misrepresentation or deviation from the statement may lead to removal of
your selling privileges, return of all earlier reimbursements or any other appropriate
action by Amazon. Similarly, any attempted abuse of the SAFE-T process or Seller
reimbursement policy may lead to performance action on your account.