Looking for insight into filing a small claim against amazon.com (US) from the UK

[surfseeker71]

Hi everyone, my opening question.

Can anyone provide any insight or experience if its possible to file a small claims case against Amazon.com from the UK? It would be for $10,000 which is the general limit in the US however because I do not have a physical address in the US it would seem impossible to actually file a claim over there. I might be wrong hence the question.

Amazon lost my stock and have refused to reimburse me and it's been on going for 18 months now.

Thanks for any help
Regards

 

[AmazonGeek]

Is your company based in the UK (i.e. the one you have on your Amazon account) and did Amazon lose it in the US FBA system? A lot will depend on why it got lost. Was it properly labelled, do you have a POD showing it went into the FC system? Who delivered it and can you prove what was delivered?

 

[surfseeker71]

Is your company based in the UK (i.e. the one you have on your Amazon account) and did Amazon lose it in the US FBA system? A lot will depend on why it got lost. Was it properly labelled, do you have a POD showing it went into the FC system? Who delivered it and can you prove what was delivered?

Hi and thanks for the reply.

It’s an Amazon US account , although it was verified using my UK address. I purchased goods from a California based warehouse and had them to sent to an FBA centre via UPS. I have invoices and tracking confirmation. I also have screen shots of my Amazon shipping screen to confirm its arrival.

Originally Amazon suspended my account saying the wrong goods were sent but provided no proof and refused to return them. Then after 12 months my account was reinstated but then they could no longer find the inventory. Then the last thing they stated was nothing was ever received.

If you’ve ever been on the Amazon merry go round it’s a different support person and answer every time. 25 cases, 10 appeals, and numerous phone calls.

 

[AmazonGeek]

It’s an Amazon US account , although it was verified using my UK address.

If you go to the business details in your account, is it a UK company, or have you registered a separate company in the US?

Have you sent other shipments successfully and (don't take this the wrong way) are you experienced in doing this or was it your first time?

When Amazon said you had sent the wrong goods, what exactly did they say? You should be able to go to your shipments and see this info.

And yes, the merry go round is awful

 

[surfseeker71]

If you go to the business details in your account, is it a UK company, or have you registered a separate company in the US?

Have you sent other shipments successfully and (don't take this the wrong way) are you experienced in doing this or was it your first time?

When Amazon said you had sent the wrong goods, what exactly did they say? You should be able to go to your shipments and see this info.

And yes, the merry go round is awful

Hello, it's my UK address under the business details. I'm trading as "company name" ... sole trader not a limited company. No it was my first time sending anything to Amazon US (I have previously sold in the UK) and I used an established wholesaler in California. So when the goods first arrived my account was immediately suspended as the goods that arrived were not on the shipping plan.

So right there is enough evidence to say they received my goods plus the shipment screen still shows they arrived and the UPS tracking says it was delivered.

So whether right or wrong, they received them and then proceeded to ignore my requests to return the goods and all my appeals failed. Until 12 months later when the account was reinstated and then I have had 8 months of them saying nothing ever turned and i've emailed every email address you can find to escalate this with no success.

Small claims appears to be my only next step?

 

[AmazonGeek]

So you sent something to Amazon without first creating an FBA shipment for it in your Amazon account?

 

[surfseeker71]

So you sent something to Amazon without first creating an FBA shipment for it in your Amazon account?

No. I created a shipment plan and did everything correct. Amazon said that what arrived was not what I specified on the shipping plan.

So the point is I spent 12 months being suspended because of incorrect goods that did turn up and Amazon never disputed that my shipment arrived. Then I was unsuspended and the goods then disappeared or never turned up. Right or wrong goods is not the point. Amazon lost them and wont reimburse.

 

[Smithco]

Why not investigate if it's possible to sue them here instead? As it is the same group, I don't see why you can't use London as a service address if the entity is correct. There is a guide on sueing Amazon in the UK here.

 

[surfseeker71]

They are not one global entity. Each country has its own legal entity.

 

[Smithco]

I never suggested they were one entity. Perhaps you don't understand the concept of a service address.

I served them in London when I sued them; the entity was registered in Luxembourg.

 

[surfseeker71]

I never suggested they were one entity. Perhaps you don't understand the concept of a service address.

I served them in London when I sued them; the entity was registered in Luxembourg.

Ok sorry I didn’t understand correctly. Can you explain the process you went through?

 

[Smithco]

The process is exactly per the link I gave in post #8.

Entity matters. It’s all about the entity. If it’s Amazon.com Inc or Amazon Services LLC, you can’t simply serve at the London address unless you can show they have a UK presence or an authorised agent here, or you name one of the European Amazon entities as a co-defendant. You could also ask Eversheds, their UK lawyers, whether they’ll accept service on behalf of the US entities; if they agree, you can run the action here.

 

[surfseeker71]

The process is exactly per the link I gave in post #8.

Entity matters. It’s all about the entity. If it’s Amazon.com Inc or Amazon Services LLC, you can’t simply serve at the London address unless you can show they have a UK presence or an authorised agent here, or you name one of the European Amazon entities as a co-defendant. You could also ask Eversheds, their UK lawyers, whether they’ll accept service on behalf of the US entities; if they agree, you can run the action here.

So did you do a small claims case in the UK against the Luxembourg entity?

 

[Smithco]

Yes, Amazon EU Sarl, I believe it was.

 

[AmazonGeek]

How did you do? Did you win and are you able to let us know the circumstances?

 

[Smithco]

The case revolved around them cancelling a listing and holding stock in FBA, and refusing to return it. There is an NDA that prevents me from discussing the outcome in detail. I think I am free to say the matter was resolved.

 

[surfseeker71]

Thank you for sharing I appreciate the information. I did read the article you supplied and its very specific to UK or European sellers. I only have a seller account in the US so I cant tell from the article if that means I can or cannot cross continents. I will study in more detail and contact Eversheds to. If you have any more insight to share perhaps you can DM on here? Not sure if thats possible. Thank you !

 

[Smithco]

If you’re British and have transacted with Amazon in the US, the first step is to identify which entity you’re actually dealing with. When you trade with them, do you do it through your UK interface, or do you log in to Amazon.com and operate a separate US selling account?

If it’s the latter, find the seller agreement linked to that account and check which entity is named there for the area of claim. Once you know that, look up the company to see if it’s also dual registered in the UK or Europe, many are. If it is, you’re in a good position to start proceedings here.

If not, seek legal advice on jurisdiction to see whether you can run it here by serving the UK head office or Eversheds. If there are grounds to include a UK entity as a co-defendant, that can also work. I'd be looking for a way to do it here, personally. But entity is everything; most fail at the first hurdle by serving the wrong one.

Personally, I wouldn’t be keen to start an action in the US. The US companies are Delaware-based IIRC, and you'd need a local lawyer to do that, also to solve the address issue. And they are not cheap to feed over there.

 

[Smithco]

The US seller agreement is here. If the US entity is the only one you can serve, it appears that would be Amazon.com Services LLC in Washington. That’s likely a non-starter because of the legal costs involved over there. I’d suggest taking legal advice to see whether you could include a UK entity as a co-defendant and run it here instead.

It *might* be worth asking Eversheds if they will accept service in the UK for Amazon.com Services LLC. Costs you nothing to ask. If they say yes, you can do it here.

 

[surfseeker71]

Hello, I did manage to contact Eversheds and it wasn't a case that they could help with or even advise on. I cant seem to find anything else that helps with filing a claim from within the UK.

So my next step is this

1) Setup a virtual address in the US and file my small claim online over there using that address. The small claim fee is $75 for a claim unto $12500.
2) Once filed I can serve Amazon with notice via mail or a sheriff.
3) I would have to request a remote hearing (being in the UK) and from research the California courts seems to be more friendly with regards to remote hearings and fingers crossed the judge is sympathetic. Washington (where Amazon prefers to be home ground) that does not allow any remote hearings for small claims.

Fingers crossed.

 

[Porky]

Good luck, hope you recover your loss

I have a situation with Amazon Canada where three containers of three different products were sent UPS - the FBA took delivery, even have name of receiving person at FBA.

Initially it shows as receiving, stays like it, then changes to discrepancy- no units. I raise trace and they come back and say say, no units. I say so I sent you air freight tracked UPS three containers of products 20kg each! And you claim three containers of fresh air? The stock is somewhere.

Anyhow, they are doing screw all about it and based on comments by AG to be frank, this is unique stock to us so if someone else tries to sell it I will know. My manufacture and costs are £4k my retail value £12k so not claiming as I dont want amazon profiting from it when it shows uo - it has to be somewhere

 

[surfseeker71]

Good luck, hope you recover your loss

I have a situation with Amazon Canada where three containers of three different products were sent UPS - the FBA took delivery, even have name of receiving person at FBA.

Initially it shows as receiving, stays like it, then changes to discrepancy- no units. I raise trace and they come back and say say, no units. I say so I sent you air freight tracked UPS three containers of products 20kg each! And you claim three containers of fresh air? The stock is somewhere.

Anyhow, they are doing screw all about it and based on comments by AG to be frank, this is unique stock to us so if someone else tries to sell it I will know. My manufacture and costs are £4k my retail value £12k so not claiming as I dont want amazon profiting from it when it shows uo - it has to be somewhere

 

[surfseeker71]

Good luck, hope you recover your loss

I have a situation with Amazon Canada where three containers of three different products were sent UPS - the FBA took delivery, even have name of receiving person at FBA.

Initially it shows as receiving, stays like it, then changes to discrepancy- no units. I raise trace and they come back and say say, no units. I say so I sent you air freight tracked UPS three containers of products 20kg each! And you claim three containers of fresh air? The stock is somewhere.

Anyhow, they are doing screw all about it and based on comments by AG to be frank, this is unique stock to us so if someone else tries to sell it I will know. My manufacture and costs are £4k my retail value £12k so not claiming as I dont want amazon profiting from it when it shows uo - it has to be somewhere

Hi Porky

So were you sending your inventory from the UK to Canada? Are you on the UK platform but distributing to Canada?

Regards
Vince.

 

[Porky]

I started with a UK Amazon account then added USA account then added Canada.

When my inventory listing showed in Canada I selected replenish stock and went through the shipping process.

The three containers of product were all shipped and tracked UPS.

 

[surfseeker71]

I started with a UK Amazon account then added USA account then added Canada.

When my inventory listing showed in Canada I selected replenish stock and went through the shipping process.

The three containers of product were all shipped and tracked UPS.

And Amazon lost them? Brilliant. Since dealing with my issues Im shocked at how often this happens. If you read the Amazon forums it's daily occurrence and I believe most people like you and me just write off the loss because we feel Amazon are untouchable.

 

[Porky]

According to AG if they do ultimately compensate you its ONLY for your pure cost price NOT the retail price. BUT if the stock later shows up, they sell your stock at the retail price ahead of your own product stock and KEEP the difference - they profit at your expense!

So you not only lose out on the lost stock, future revenue also hit by the retail value of that stock.

Its absolutely shocking but they have such a strangle hold on retail its hard to ignore them.