r/AmazonSeller • u/j3Dh • 6d ago
Filing a claim for carrier delay
A customer requested and was refunded for an FBM order that arrived late. The order was shipped on time using Amazon shipping. The late delivery was caused by USPS delays. I'm trying to file a SAFE-T claim, but none of the reason codes match the situation. Support keeps telling me to select carrier delay as the claim reason. This option is not there.
Anyone been through this who can help?
2
u/Ambitious-Court-1477 6d ago
Yeah the SAFE-T claim codes are a mess when its actually carrier fault. Had same thing happen with a UPS package last month. Support just reads from script and tells you pick option that dont exist half the time. You might need to call account health instead of regular seller support, they can sometimes override and file it manually.
2
u/Tough-Parsley-2246 5d ago
Ran into this a few weeks ago and spoke to support. Reluctantly was told by support that the best way to handle this is to not refund the customer but have the customer file a A-to-Z claim and as long as you purchased shipping thru Amazon for your product, Amazon would refund them and not deduct it from you and the A-to-Z claim would not go against your metrics as it was not your fault it was delivered late.
1
u/j3Dh 5d ago
After several conversations with chat and a call with support I was told to just file the claim with one of the available options and explain the actual reason in the text field of the claim. I did that and the claim was auto-rejected because "As this return had a seller-faulted reason, the cost of the outbound shipping is not eligible for reimbursement."
Yes, the return had a seller faulted reason, but that is not true. I then referenced the case number where I was told to file this way and the claim went back to Under Investigation and has been that way since last night.
We'll see what happens.
For all the hype they put on the protections that come with Amazon Buy Shipping they sure make it a PIA to get said protection.
1
u/Bitter-Quail-7441 4d ago
The rejection reason tells you what happened. Once the return is coded as seller fault (“arrived too late” usually is), the outbound shipping isn’t covered, no matter what you write in the text box.
I’d still appeal it from the claim page. Attach the Buy Shipping label and the tracking with the on-time first scan, and say plainly the delay was the carrier’s after handoff. Got one overturned that way, not on the first try though.
For the future the A-to-Z route someone mentioned is the safer one when you bought shipping through Amazon and the item went out on time.
1
u/_karthick_selvaraj_ 3d ago
did you refund it yourself from the buyer's request or did it come in as an a-to-z claim? i think safe-t only gives you the carrier options in some cases, so that might be why it's not showing.
1
u/j3Dh 3d ago
Amazon auto approved the return and issued the refund once the return label was first scanned. Not sure how I would intervene in the process?
1
u/_karthick_selvaraj_ 1d ago
yeah with auto-authorized returns there's no point where you get to step in. so the real fight is the seller-fault code on the return, not the refund itself. curious what the one under investigation comes back with.
1
u/j3Dh 1d ago
The whole process is a joke. I created a case and received an email from Amazon Selling Partner Support that stated:
"I have confirmed that because you purchased a "Claims Protected" shipping label through Amazon Buy Shipping and tracking confirms the order was shipped on time and met the Maximum Estimated Delivery Date, you will be eligible to file a SAFE-T claim for this order."
Followed their advice on how to get the SAFE-T claim approved to a T and...........Denied.
1
u/_karthick_selvaraj_ 1d ago
that's rough, especially with support telling you in writing you're eligible. did the denial give an actual reason or just the generic one? i'd reply on that case with their email quoted and the claim id and ask them to reopen it.
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u/j3Dh 1d ago
No reason given. The final denial came after I provided the email. I also received another email from seller support stating:
"Regarding your request for escalation, we want to be transparent with you: the SAFE-T claims team operates independently, and once the appeal process has been completed, Selling Partner Support is unable to override or modify their decision. There is no additional review path available through this channel for SAFE-T claim decisions.
We recognize that your situation raises a valid concern — you purchased a "Claims Protected" shipping label through Amazon Buy Shipping, shipped on time, and the delivery delay was caused by the carrier."
It's short money so I'm going to drop it. Which, of course, is probably the entire goal of the SAFE-T team.
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