Account Deactivated due to Accused Fraud and Deception when we did nothing wrong

Account Health Seller Code Of Conduct
1

So on the 15th I went in to see my account and saw that my account was suspended. The first message said this.

Hello ,

Your Amazon.com seller account has been deactivated, and your listings have been removed. Ship any open orders to avoid further impact on your account. After 90 days of receiving this notification, you may request a fund disbursement by contacting [email protected] will conduct a separate investigation to evaluate your account, and if we find that you have engaged in deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, abused our system, or repeatedly violated our policies that protect our customers and selling partners, we may withhold some or all of the funds in your account.

Why is this happening?

We were unable to verify information related to your seller account or did not receive any new information regarding your listings or selling history.

To view your account performance, go to “Account Health”:

https://sellercentral.amazon.com/performance/dashboard…

You can also select “Account Health” on the home screen of the Amazon Seller app on your iOS or Android device. The “Account Health” page shows how well your account is performing against the performance metrics and policies required to sell on Amazon.

– On iOS:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/amazon-seller/id794141485

– On Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details…

Amazon.com

So I sent in our business license showing the Address, our checking account statement, and a request to reinstate our account. After sending in that response I used the call me feature and the person asked me about 4 ASINS that I had. One being our launch product that is a sports set and then 3 others which I never went ahead with that were sports cups that resembled Stanley cups. Because I was concerned with a patent issue I never went through with ordering and selling the cups. The rep told me I should delete the listings if I was not using them so I did. A few days later I got this response to my appeal.

Hello,

We received your submission but we are unable to reactivate your account. Upon review of your account, we confirmed that your Amazon seller account has been used to engage in deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity that harms our customers, other selling partners, and our store.

Why is this happening?

Your Amazon seller account has been deactivated in accordance with section 3 of Amazon Business Solutions Agreement.

Please review Amazon policy regarding Account Health by visiting “Monitor your account health”:

https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/G200205250

You can also visit the “Selling Policies and Seller Code of Conduct” Amazon policy:

https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/G1801

We may not respond to further emails about this issue.

Amazon.com

After getting this response I was like wtf. I have not done anything wrong at all as far as I knew. Unless they were viewing the listings of those sports cups as trademark infringement but I never acted on them because of that. I used the call me feature and got some really hard to understand foreign guy that said we were doing bad things and that my account could not be reinstated. When I asked what we did wrong or what they felt was deceptive he would not tell me and said they do not have to tell me. He told me I could hire a lawyer and I would get to request my stock back. And they are holding about 850 dollars of my money. We just launched our first product 45 days ago and I am losing it because this was supposed to be our answer to our future career. I have sense put in another appeal request but they have not answered and it has been 2 days. Anyone have advice or can help?

2

Contact Amazon seller support again, clearly explain your situation, and emphasize your commitment to resolving any issues. Consider seeking legal advice if needed, and continue appealing the suspension while addressing any concerns Amazon has raised.

3

They say they confirmed that your account was used to engage in illegal activity. Did you admit to dropshipping or anything like that?

3 Likes
4
  1. You more than likely did something wrong and got caught.
  2. What about sports cups ???
    Not sure how you can sell sports cups that do not contain protected IP of the sports teams. You don’t have enough money to pay the attorneys to negotiate the license agreements.
  3. Since your sales are small, highly doubt they will sue you for damages, however that $800 is gone for good.
    4.If you are telling the truth and did nothing wrong DO NOT SEND AN appeal, that is an admission of guilt. Contact a good attorney they will be able to subpeona amazon for the exact reason why you are being acted upon.
    5.You are the one that knows all the facts, not me, so its up to you to find the best path to resolution.
3 Likes
5

Hello @white33707,

thank you for joining the forum. I am sorry to hear that your Seller Account has been deactivated due to alleged violations of Seller Code of Conduct.

It would be helpful if you provided some more information about your business.

Do you happen to be registering using a virtual LLC setup in a different country than where you are based?

How did you source the products? Do you have them available for sale and fulfillment?

1 Like
6

Hello, I had the same situation. At first, they asked me for the house bill and phone bill, and since I did not have a phone or house bill, I sent the bill to my first-degree mother who lives at home, but then I received an email from Amazon accusing me of fraud, just like you, and now they are issuing a bill on us. We sent it again and we are waiting, there is no improvement. Have you solved this situation? It gives the same problem in my North American marketplaces. If you figured it out, how did you do it, thank you very much.

1 Like
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No, infact they sent my inventory back to me and told me if I keep trying to appeal that I should not expect to get a positive reaction. I have tried every single angle on the appeal. Made a plan of action. told them I reviewed the Seller code of conduct and now know all the rules. Just keep getting denied. I did do a few things that could be considered breaking the seller code of conduct but did not know at the time that I was doing anything wrong. My Mom purchased our Pickleball set and left a review to support me and one of my Facebook friends that saw my post about our new product for sale bought and left a review. I did not know that this could be considered breaking the rules. I also had these stupid cups that were similar to a popular cup with lid and straw that are being sold all over the place ready to go and even made a listing for it. After reviewing online that there could be a problem with a Patent infringement though we bailed on ordering them and creating a shipping plan. I am not sure if because they saw the dormant listings that they shut us down for that. And then finally I am worried that maybe it was one of our competitors that turned us in for having a similar product as theirs even though it is not. We designed our Pickleball paddles with our own specs and design and accessories. However when our artist created the listing main picture for us he made the picture layout similar to another brand. Layout meaning how the paddles, balls, and bag were aligned in the picture. So who knows maybe it was that. I did one last appeal which included all those possible reasons and how I was going to fix it and make things good going forward and still got the appeal denied. I think the problem is that when we appeal on Seller Central we are getting a low level employee. And when you pay the big bucks to hire a lawyer maybe they have emails and access to know how to get to a higher level of an employee that will not just say screw you and hit the deny button. Either way I am thinking I am done with Amazon. Too much control and non care for the sellers.

1 Like
8

Facing an Amazon account deactivation can be stressful. But fear not, there’s a path forward!
I have solutions to it, don’t give up yet, despite the fact that you’ve submitted an appeal letter.
Fear not

Amblee Amblee on FB

9

Unless you know how to reach a higher level than what the appeal button gives you, I do not see how there will be a success.

10

Unfortunately, when you launched as a new seller and started selling products with reviews left by friends and family members, then this may be something that they see as deceptive.

Do you have a link to any ASINs which you had listed to see if the reviews are still there and what they look like? Did the close relatives also leave you a seller feedback?

Getting feedback and reviews on Amazon is quite rare and if you only sell a few items and every buyer leaves you a rating, then this is a huge red flag.

11

Here is the listing. I am sure that was probably it. So I guess there is no coming back from this then?https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CFJQ1JVW

12

I have checked the listing and I can see that the reviews are still up…. this means that they are not the problem.

But it looks quite suspicious that as a new seller you have such a professionally looking listing. Who created the listing for you with all the brand content?

Also, the brand name on the listing looks odd. It is called Number 4. And there are thousands of listings using that brand - all of them look similar.

IMG_1380
IMG_13802732Ă—2048 404 KB

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That is so crazy that you found another Number 4 Brand. I literally hired an attorney to file for the trademark for Number 4 for our pickleball brand. Amazon even approved me for Brand approval. When we created this name for our sports brand we checked online and on Amazon and there was nothing with the name Number 4 on anything. As far as how our listing looks so professional, we went out and did a photo shoot and provided the raw pictures to a Fiverr guy we have used in the past he created our listing and Brand content. All the language was created by me.

14

There is definitely something shady going on. Dis you give the Fiverr guy access to your seller central?

You should never trust anyone whom you don’t know to assist you with Amazon.

15

No never. He supplied me with .png files and I did the rest.

16

Have you tried contacting the guy on Fiver to ask why are there hundreds of similar listings - all under your brand name?