False Product Condition Claim

We recently had an order for a product on Amazon.de. It wasn’t a great selling product and we only ever had one order for it on Amazon.de. The customer claimed that they hadn’t received it. We had tracking information and a signature. The customer opened an A to Z. We submitted the tracking details to Amazon. They granted an Amazon funded refund to the customer.

A couple of hours after the resolution of the A to Z claim, we received notification that the ASIN had been de-activated on Amazon.de due to a Product Condition Claim (used sold as new). As we had only had one order for this ASIN on Amazon.de it is obvious which customer and order the claim had come from. Clearly this has to be a malicious claim, because how would the customer know anything about the condition of the item if they definitely didn’t receive it?

Our account hasn’t been suspended, just this ASIN de-activated. I am not that concerned about getting it re-activated to be honest, it’s not a great seller. However I am worried that if I don’t successfully appeal this it may result in a full suspension of our Amazon.de. account further down the line.

I can easily provide invoices, but it is the the plan of action that is the issue. As far as I am concerned we haven’t done anything wrong, the claim can clearly be shown to be false and malicious. I am loathe to admit to a “crime” I haven’t committed. As we all know though, Amazon aren’t going to listen if we provide evidence that this is a false claim in the POA it will just get rejected, because you can’t refer to individual orders in a POA.

Here’s the original notice (translated from German):

Hello, Seller,
We have received complaints about the items listed at the end of this e-mail. These items did not exactly match the condition or description of the product on the product detail page of your offer.
Why am I receiving this message?
Amazon has several Product Details and Offers policies to help ensure a consistent shopping experience for customers and to ensure that they receive the items as expected.
For more information about our policies, see the help pages in Seller Central:
• Product Detail Page Guidelines (https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gp/help/200390640)
• Guide to State Information (https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gp/help/200339950)
• Prohibited Acts and Sales Activities (https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gp/help/200386250)
How can I reactivate my offers?
To reactivate your offers, please provide us with the following information:
1. An action plan explaining:
o the causes that triggered complaints about the condition of your items
o The actions you have taken to remedy complaints about the condition of your items
o the steps you have taken to avoid future complaints about the condition of your items
When creating your plan, keep in mind the following points:
o Source of supply: Are you purchasing the product from a trusted supplier?
o Offer: Is the product description on Amazon correct? Have you ensured that it is clear and informative for the customer?
o Packaging: Is the product in the original packaging as offered by Amazon?
o Shipping: Have you taken all necessary steps and quality checks to ensure that the product is properly stored, packaged and shipped?
o Read the messages from your buyers to better understand the issues.
o Be as specific as possible in your plan.
o Do not limit this plan to problems with specific orders.
2. Invoice copies or proof of purchase issued by your supplier within the last 365 days for the ASINs listed below
o These documents should reflect your sales in the last 365 days.
o Provide your supplier’s contact information, including name, phone number, address and website. We may contact your supplier to verify the documentation. We will treat the contact details of your supplier confidentially.
o You can remove the pricing information, but the rest of the documentation must be visible. You can mark or circle the ASIN (s) under test to speed the review.
You can only send files in PDF, JPG, PNG, or GIF format. These documents must be genuine and unchanged.
How do I send the required information?
Please send the above information to pq-product-review@amazon.de.
We’re here to help!
If you have questions about this message, our policy, or the information requested above, ask our sales service team to contact you (https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/hz/contact-us/performance ). You can also get help creating yours on the help pages in Seller Central (https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gp/help/200370560).
You can see your seller performance at (https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/performance/dashboard?ref=ah_em_pq or “Customer Satisfaction” on the homepage of the Amazon Seller App on your iOS (https://itunes.apple .com / DE / app / amazon-seller / id794141485? mt = 8) or Android device (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amazon.sellermobile.android&hl=en_US) The Customer Satisfaction dashboard shows how well your account performs in terms of seller performance statistics and policies required to be sold on Amazon.

Many Thanks,
Amazon