RETURN ITEM LOST, CUSTOMER REFUNDED THROUGH SELLER-FUNDED A-TO-Z CLAIM, ROYAL MAIL REFUSED COMPENSATION CLAIM, NOW I AM TAKING AMAZON TO COURT.
Just wanted to share an important update for other sellers dealing with “refunded but not returned” situations.
Order was refunded through an A-to-Z claim, but the return parcel never arrived back to us. Tracking only showed the parcel entering the return network, not delivery to our return address.
What became very important is this:
Amazon support first told us to file a SAFE-T claim.
That advice was incorrect because SAFE-T is not available for A-to-Z funded refunds.
We were then told to claim compensation directly from Royal Mail.
We opened a Royal Mail claim and received an official written response confirming they would NOT compensate us because the return label/service was under a prepaid contract and only the contract holder can claim compensation.
In other words:
• Seller cannot use SAFE-T,
• Seller cannot claim from Royal Mail,
• Buyer already refunded,
• Item never returned,
• Seller left financially liable for a parcel lost inside Amazon’s authorised return network.
This is important because it is now official written proof from Royal Mail that sellers themselves may not be able to recover losses for Amazon prepaid return parcels.
If your return was sent using Amazon’s prepaid return system, it may be Amazon, not the seller, who legally holds the shipping contract and therefore the compensation rights against the carrier.
Hopefully this helps other sellers facing similar “refund but no return received” situations.
RETURN ITEM LOST, CUSTOMER REFUNDED THROUGH SELLER-FUNDED A-TO-Z CLAIM, ROYAL MAIL REFUSED COMPENSATION CLAIM, NOW I AM TAKING AMAZON TO COURT.
Just wanted to share an important update for other sellers dealing with “refunded but not returned” situations.
Order was refunded through an A-to-Z claim, but the return parcel never arrived back to us. Tracking only showed the parcel entering the return network, not delivery to our return address.
What became very important is this:
Amazon support first told us to file a SAFE-T claim.
That advice was incorrect because SAFE-T is not available for A-to-Z funded refunds.
We were then told to claim compensation directly from Royal Mail.
We opened a Royal Mail claim and received an official written response confirming they would NOT compensate us because the return label/service was under a prepaid contract and only the contract holder can claim compensation.
In other words:
• Seller cannot use SAFE-T,
• Seller cannot claim from Royal Mail,
• Buyer already refunded,
• Item never returned,
• Seller left financially liable for a parcel lost inside Amazon’s authorised return network.
This is important because it is now official written proof from Royal Mail that sellers themselves may not be able to recover losses for Amazon prepaid return parcels.
If your return was sent using Amazon’s prepaid return system, it may be Amazon, not the seller, who legally holds the shipping contract and therefore the compensation rights against the carrier.
Hopefully this helps other sellers facing similar “refund but no return received” situations.
6 replies
Seller_exWMdCdbEu167
This is exactly what happened to us, and yet the A‑Z team continues to uphold their decision to grant the claim, charging me the £500 refund to the customer. It’s extremely frustrating; we keep challenging the outcome but receive the same response each time, which feels wholly unreasonable.
Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ
Good luck! I hope you can keep the forums updated on how it goes.
Seller_76AUwmqvSyRIM
What a mess.
According to Amazon's policy on Amazon pre-paid return label (APRL):
"What happens if the return is lost or damaged in transit?
You will be responsible for filing a claim directly with the carrier if a return is lost or damaged in transit. If this happens, and the item was not refunded through Refund at First Scan, process a full refund to the customer and file a claim directly with the carrier to receive a reimbursement."
Pre-paid returns for Fulfilled by Merchant orders
Surely the policy is correct and approved with Royal Mail? One should hope. Maybe a mod should clarify?
Xander_Amazon
Thanks for sharing this — really useful breakdown for the community, and I appreciate you documenting the Royal Mail response as well.
You're correct that SAFE-T claims aren't available for orders where the refund was issued through an A-to-Z Guarantee claim. That's a common point of confusion, so it's worth flagging for others here. For situations where a return parcel is lost in transit and the return was sent via Amazon's prepaid return label, the recommended path is to open a case with Selling Partner Support, reference the Order ID, and specifically explain that the return was shipped using Amazon's prepaid label and never arrived. Make sure to include any tracking evidence showing the parcel entered the network but was not delivered to your return address.
I'd also encourage anyone in this situation to appeal the original A-to-Z claim decision if you haven't already, as that's a required step before further review can happen. You can do that directly from your A-to-Z Claims page in Seller Central: https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/help/hub/reference/G202174990
For more on how prepaid return labels and reimbursement policies work, this page is worth bookmarking: https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/help/hub/reference/G202175000
Thanks again for sharing your experience — this kind of detail genuinely helps other sellers navigate similar situations.
