Reimbursement policy for Prepaid Return Labels (PRL) in the seller-fulfilled network

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

1. From the Orders tab in Seller Central, go to Manage SAFE-T Claims.
2. Click File a new SAFE-T Claim, in the top right-hand corner of the page.
3. Enter the Order ID for the return and then click Check Eligibility.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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. Any future correspondence on your claim should be done on the Manage SAFE-T Claims page.

Tracking Reimbursement Status

To track the status of your reimbursement claims, go to Orders > Manage SAFE-T Claims.

• The navigation menu on the ‘Manage SAFE-T Claims’ has different tabs depending upon the claim status (eg. ‘Awaiting Seller Response’, ‘Resolved’ and ‘Under Investigation’). You can click on respective tabs and the claims with status change or requiring response will be highlighted. You will also get an email notification whenever the status of any claim changes. However, it will be a no-reply email and will contain a link to direct you to the respective claims on the SAFE-T Communication Center on Seller Central.
• 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

• If you do not 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 within 7 days of claim decision via the Manage SAFE-T claims page, through the reply option available against all resolved claims. You can appeal a SAFE-T claim only once, so study the denial reason carefully and provide additional information that will support your appeal.
• Manage SAFE-T Claims page will indicate “Reply by <Date> <Time>” against each claim. For resolved claims, the timeline to respond will be indicated as “Appeal by <Date> <Time>” against each claim.
• 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.
• 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 Manage SAFE-T Claims page.

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.