Customer reviews policy violation (correspondence with customers to write or change reviews) Warning
Hi,
we received a "customer reviews policy violation" this morning with risk of deactivation in 3 days if not addressed. We discovered that our Virtual Assistant was replying or reaching out to customers that posted bad reviews requesting them to remove them in exchange of a refund. While the VA has been working for us and we had made clear to him about Amazon's policies, for some reason he took that route in the last few days.
We submitted an appeal indicating all the messages and reviews that he requested to be removed, however the appeal was denied and this is the response:
"Hello 3D Crystal Memories,
Thank you for submitting your appeal. We received your submission, but the available information is not enough to remove the policy warning from your Account Health page.
Why did this happen?
We are taking this action because we believe that you may have asked customers to write positive reviews on your products or to remove or modify negative reviews which violates our "Customer product reviews policies":
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/YRKB5RU3FS5TURN
Note: This decision was reached through a combination of automated analysis and expert human review.
How do I address this issue?
To address this warning, go to your "Account Health" page and select "Submit new information" next to the violation and submit the information requested next.
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/performance/dashboard?ref=ah_em_ahr
What information do I have to submit?
-- A list of all reviews you obtained through prohibited methods. Provide all active review IDs or review links of those reviews.
--> Review ID example:
VBTR9XXXXMM
--> Review link example:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RVBTR9XXXXMM
Has this message been sent in error?
If you believe there has been an error, you can submit an explanation with evidence proving your account's compliance with our "Customer Product Review Policies". Go to your "Account Health" page, select "Submit Appeal," and follow the on-screen instructions.
What happens if I do not submit the required information?
If we don't receive the requested information within 3 days of the original notification, your account will be deactivated. Removing the listing for this ASIN will not address the violation or clear it from your "Account Health" page. To learn more about Account Health Rating, go to "Account Health Rating program policy":
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/external/G200205250
We are here to help.
Learn more by watching our "Intro to Customer product reviews policies" video on Seller University:
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/learn/courses?moduleId=a7e7e633-3560-436d-a5a7-9569acf75680
For more information, go to "Answers to Questions about Product Reviews":
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/201972160
If you have questions about this policy, contact us:
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/center
Seller Performance Team
Amazon.com"
What can we do next? we have spent hours going through all the customer service messages to make sure we provided Amazon with all the specific order IDs and review IDs that received a review removal request, however they keep denying it, so I don't know what to do next.
Please advice.
CC // @Emet_Amazon (since i have seen you involved in other similar cases). if you can help with this it would be greatly appreciated.
4 replies
Seller_LVZcgxAgZ2xBv
Post your appeal/POA, personal details removed.
Seller_LVZcgxAgZ2xBv
Three problems:
- Violating review policy, even though you said you understood it ("we would never ...").
- You take full responsibility for the mistake, but don't really own it - it was someone else's fault.
- Overly long and repetitive - some points are mentioned 3 or more times.
The fact that they let you file an appeal is a good sign. However, you might have blown your chances for the reasons listed above, especially #2. It's amazing how many rogue employees and VAs are cited in these POAs.
Not sure what recovery looks like here, maybe @Seller_CW0P5hgbsiqWX or @Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp have some additional insights.
Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp
"Customer reviews policy violation"
Thanks for the mention @Seller_LVZcgxAgZ2xBv but I'm not sure I have much to add here.
What I do notice about the appeal is rather striking however -
Amazon does NOT want to hear what you will do such as "are committed to taking corrective actions to ensure compliance with Amazon’s review policy."
You need to say 'we have taken these corrective actions...'
You also said that "In the past, we had explicitly instructed our Virtual Assistant not to request customers to post positive reviews or remove negative reviews. "
so your VA KNEW the rules and what was expected but they went ahead and violated the policies anyway!
What I do NOT see is this -- "because of these egregious and unauthorized violations of Amazon polices the VA has been terminated."
I would estimate the chances of recovery at close to zero.
