Yes, Amazon can legally hold your money under its funds withholding policy under numerous circumstances.
In almost every case, Amazon disbursed the payments for closed accounts for years. The only exclusions were cases of fraud and counterfeiting.
However, Amazon is now seizing sellers’ cash indefinitely for a variety of suspected breaches of its Business Services Agreement. And to be honest, some of these violations appear to be trivial. While the seller’s shortcomings may have justified account termination, it is surprising that they resulted in a permanent loss of earned money.
Being unable to sell on Amazon is bad enough, but Amazon will also refuse to release any money held in your account while it is suspended. Amazon will keep all the funds in your seller account balance, regardless of the transaction in question or the issue that caused the suspension.
When does Amazon hold your money?
According to Amazon’s funds withholding policy for sellers, funds in your account may be withheld:
“If we find that you have engaged in deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, have abused our systems, or repeatedly violated our policies that protect our customers and sellers, we may withhold some or all funds in your account. Examples of deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activities include, but are not limited to falsifying or misrepresenting your identity, violating Amazon’s anti-counterfeit policy, or submitting forged documents to Amazon.”
Selling counterfeit goods
Amazon will seize your cash, destroy your goods, and ban you from using the site.
Supplying forged documents
If Amazon takes notice of the fact that you have provided forged documents for getting ungated or anything else, it will treat it the same as in case of selling counterfeit goods.
Trying to sell inauthentic goods
When items are designated as inauthentic — a lower violation in the Amazon hierarchy of violations than counterfeit – Amazon refuses to refund cash in many situations.
Having multiple accounts
When clients requested a release of cash from Amazon, they received a refusal because they had several accounts without permission. This was a direct result of having numerous accounts, according to Amazon’s policy.
Exploiting customers
If you have a poor customer service program, trying to fraud them or mislead them in any way, the funds in your account are likely to get withhold when Amazon takes notice of it.
What to do when Amazon holds your money?
You can appeal your account deactivation by following the steps in your account deactivation notification or in Seller Central. Funds will be issued and dispersed according to your payout schedule if your account is reactivated as a result of the appeal.
If your account is not reinstated after an appeal or if you choose not to appeal the deactivation, you may seek cash disbursement separately by contacting disbursement-appeals@amazon.com within 90 days from the day your account was deactivated.
Amazon will investigate your account separately to see if it’s been used in an abusive, fraudulent, or other illegal way.
It may ask for more information or evidence about your identification, financial instruments, or product source throughout this procedure. Any information you supply may be verified by third parties or government authorities.
You can take legal action against Amazon if it does not release your funds even after submitting an appeal.
If you win in arbitration and the amount Amazon refuses to release to you is up to $10,000, Amazon is required to reimburse your fees. You can use the American Arbitration Association’s expedited arbitration procedure if the money Amazon refuses to release to you is over $10,000 but under $75,000.
What can you do to prevent Amazon from withholding funds?
When Amazon does choose to withhold your funds, there is only so much you can do.
It’s extremely hard for online retailers to compete with Amazon. The platform’s influence grows by the day as it expands into new areas such as food and grocery, niche designs, and handcrafted goods, and it’s evident that online merchants on other platforms have no chance. Make sure your invoices fulfil Amazon’s requirements and, if feasible, include authorisation letters.
To get into a legal battle with Amazon can cost you a fortune and the results are likely to end up in their favour. To avoid getting into the hassle of that, here are some quick tips for you to follow:
- Another step in persuading Amazon that you have legitimate ties with reputable suppliers is to have good banking records. It is easier to establish that you paid an invoice if it shows a balance.
- If you want a second account, just make sure you do it correctly with Amazon’s permission.
- Don’t provide any kind of forged documents. This implies you shouldn’t change anything about a date, a quantity, a product, or an address. Please don’t send it to Amazon if it isn’t an original invoice.
Have an excellent customer service program and have a good rapport with them to bag the reviews. Create excellent template email answers and outsource customer support to professionals who have the time to complete each transaction.
Conclusion
I hope I answered all your questions regarding whether amazon can legally hold your money or not. If you have any questions or concerns free to ask me.
