#Amazon allowing customers to to complain in updated policy

Amazon customers can soon raise a stink directly with Amazon if they buy a faulty product from one of the company’s third party sellers.

The online giant has updated its complaint and returns policy to allow customers to complain directly to the Seattle retailer if they believe a product they bought on the site caused them property damage or that they have been harmed by it, according to a Tuesday blog post.

The change to its A-to-Z Guarantee, which become effective Sept. 1, are a shift from Amazon’s past practice of largely letting customers and third-party vendors hash out disputes between themselves.

Amazon is also agreeing to directly pay customers for property damage or injury claims below $1,000 — which it says account for 80 percent of claims — at no cost to sellers. It may also step in to pay for larger claims if the seller is unresponsive or rejects a claim that Amazon deems worthy. 

The policy addresses a chorus of complaints against Amazon — which the company has been more aggressively confronting recently — that third party sellers are not adaquately policed, leading to sales of counterfeit and fake products.

The new policy states, “customers can contact Amazon Customer Service, and we will notify the seller and help them address the claim. If a seller does not respond to a claim, Amazon will step in to directly address the immediate customer concern, bear the cost ourselves, and separately pursue the seller.”