You’re shopping on Amazon for an item that’s hard to find in stores. The seller you look at has no reviews, but you need this item.
After you purchase the item and wait two days, you receive an item that fails to meet your expectations. Maybe it’s broken, already used, or not what the listing made it out to be.
Or, maybe the item never arrives, despite being marked as “delivered” on the website.
Or, maybe the seller contacts you and asks you to pay using a different money transfer method. Instead of paying through Amazon, they may ask you to pay using Zelle, Cash App, wire transfer, Western Union, PayPal, MoneyGram, or Venmo.
Numerous scams are floating around on Amazon. If you fell for one of these scams and don’t know how to get your money back, keep reading.
Amazon’s A-to-z Guarantee Has Your Back
Amazon will go to great lengths to ensure you don’t lose money. Amazon wants third-party sellers to be held accountable. That way, future customers won’t be afraid to order through Amazon.
According to Amazon’s website, the A-to-z Guarantee protects you when you buy items sold and fulfilled by a third-party seller.
If one of the following conditions apply, you may be eligible for a refund:
- Your item didn’t arrive three days after the latest estimated delivery date.
- Your item hasn’t arrived, but tracking says it was delivered.
- The item you received was damaged, defective, materially different, or you changed your mind and returned it in line with Amazon’s Return Policies.
- You returned the item in line with Amazon’s Return Policies. Still, you haven’t received the refund, or the amount refunded was wrong.
- If this occurs, request a refund within the return period detailed in Amazon’s Return Policies.
- Return the item with tracked shipping. The return must be postmarked within 14 days after you’ve arranged the return with the seller.
- The seller agreed to issue a refund or replace the item. You still haven’t received the refund, the amount refunded was wrong, or the replacement item wasn’t sent.
- The quality of the eligible services performed by the third-party seller was unsatisfactory.
- You wanted to return an item that you bought from a seller, but any of the following occurred:
- The seller didn’t provide a return address in the U.S.
- The seller didn’t provide a prepaid return label.
- The seller didn’t offer a full refund without requesting the item’s return.
- You were charged extra in addition to the purchase price and any shipping costs you paid, and the seller didn’t cover those costs.
Usually, Amazon asks customers first to try to resolve the issue with the seller. Request a refund or replacement and give the seller 48 hours to respond and offer a solution. Be sure to file your refund 90 days from the Estimated Delivery Date.
It’s best to double-check Amazon’s website for updated information on their A-to-z Guarantee.
Requested To Use Different Monetary Transfer App
The advice above applies to customers scammed by third-party sellers and customers who were just unhappy with the purchase.
However, if a third-party listing or seller asks you to send money via another monetary transfer method, it is a scam.
Amazon is very vigilant about removing these listings because Amazon knows that these third-party sellers are likely scammers.
Moreover, Amazon’s payment methods are secure and help keep sellers accountable. Once you use a different payment method, it is more difficult for Amazon to step in and force the seller to refund you.
If this has already happened, report the seller and contact Amazon’s customer service team. Depending on the situation, they may be willing to refund you.
Many payment scams exist on Amazon, and it’s also important to remain wary of divulging personal information or accommodating a seller too much.
For example, a seller should never ask to “verify” your amazon account, phone number, or payment details. A legitimate seller will never need that nor ask that from you.
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