I always assumed I was the ideal Amazon customer. I pay $139 for Amazon Prime, purchase 15 to 20 products each month amounting to over $5000 each year, use an Amazon Visa for my purchases, and fill my prescriptions at Amazon Pharmacy. So I was surprised to receive this email from Amazon about violating their terms and conditions because of too many returns:
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Hello,
You received multiple refunds or replacements for some of your orders. We know that occasional problems with orders are expected in the normal course of business. In these instances, a refund or replacement may be issued.
Why did this happen?
You claimed refunds for returns and the number of refunds in your account exceed the expectation and is in violation of our Conditions of Use. To learn more about our policies, go to “Amazon.com Conditions of Use”:
https://www.amazon.com/conditionsofuse
Has this message been sent in error?
If you believe that there has been an error, reply to this email to reach an Account Specialist. Our Customer Service team cannot reverse this decision or share more details on this matter. They can only confirm that this message was sent to you and they can help you with technical issues.
Account Specialist
Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com
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The email claimed that the number of my returns were in violation of their Conditions of Use. I went to the multi-page “conditions-of-use” section it referred me to, but there was no mention of a policy relating to frequency of returns. I even put the entire document into ChatGPT and asked for that information, but it said nothing could be found.
I combed through my orders for 2024 and 2025 and found I had returned 31 items out of 281 orders or 11%. (It’s even lower than 11% because many orders were for multiple items). The reasons I gave for each return were clearly stated and accurate. I never gamed the system, such as buying multiple items in the same category to compare and return all but one, or buying an expensive item to use once and return.
I’m surprised they think this is excessive when the average return rate for consumer goods was 14.5% in 2023, and about 20% for mail order sales.
But their letter was incomplete. What were the repercussions for the violation? Was my account being closed or was this a warning? It made none of this clear, so I sent the following email to them to ask for more information.
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I am surprised to receive your email. I make so many purchases that occasionally I return items that do not meet expectations, are defective, or not as described. If this message is telling me you no longer want my business, please let me know and I will take my business elsewhere, close my Amazon account and cancel my Amazon credit card. I don’t consider the number of returns to be excessive considering I buy based on a description from the seller and user reviews, some of which are not always accurate. The products are occasionally very different in person. In addition, you advertise that the Prime annual fee I pay is intended to provide the convenience of quick deliveries and easy returns.
If you don’t want me to leave, please give me some guidelines as to what is acceptable for returns. My account is under the mail xxxx@xxxx.xxx
Phil Baker
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A day later I received this response saying my account was still open:
Thank you for writing to us.
Why are we writing?
We are contacting you so we can better understand the activity on your account and learn how to improve your shopping experience. In this process, your account remains open and available for your use.
Has this message been sent in error?
Contact us if you believe that there has been an error with this action. To reach an Account Specialist, go to the appeal form:
https://account-status.amazon.com/customer-appeal-form
Our Customer Service team cannot reverse this decision or share more details on this matter. They can only confirm that this message was sent and can also assist you with technical issues.If you have any concerns about your orders or your account, go to “Amazon Customer Service”:
https://www.amazon.com/contact-us
Our Customer Service team will not be able to answer any other question about the refund on your order .
Account Specialist
Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com
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After reading this email, I contacted them once again to appeal, as they suggested. Strangley, I received a response about something entirely different. The email said “We cannot issue a refund for this order until we receive the correct item.” I have no idea what they are referring to. I have no returns in progress, nor have any previous returns ever been denied.
Hello,
We are contacting you so we can better understand the activity on your account, and learn how to improve your shopping experience.
Why are we writing?
We re-examined your account, and your order history to ensure that the decision regarding your account was made according to our policies. This decision is final.
We cannot issue a refund for this order until we receive the correct item.
To learn more about our policies, go to “Amazon.com Conditions of Use”:
https://www.amazon.com/conditionsofuse
We will not respond to further emails about this issue. If you have any questions or concerns regarding a different order, refund, or your account, go to “Amazon.com Customer Service”:https://www.amazon.com/contact-us
Account Specialist
Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com
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Then it hit me.
Am I communicating with a bot that doesn’t understand my questions? Are these answers simply a poor attempt at using AI? Are they being vague because they are purposely hiding something?
Is this simply what things have come to in this age where companies want to eliminate the human in the chain and rely on AI generated responses, secret algorithms, and a lack of interest in assisting a customer?
I did a web search and found numerous other customers puzzled by Amazon’s emails similar to mine, and confusion about what return rates result in closing an account. Some reported their accounts were suddenly closed with no reasons provided. Others got warnings when their returns were about 20%.
Frankly, it’s shocking that Amazon cannot clearly state a return policy that would allow us to follow, particularly if they use that as a criteria for canceling an account. Perhaps this is what we get for expecting overnight deliveries, free returns, and a large selection of merchandise.
Even more frightening is that this is the same company that is expanding into medical care. If they can close an account at anytime without notice, no explanation, and no clearly written policies, I would not want to rely on them for anything medically related. I may continue to use them on occasion, but they no longer will be my retailer of choice as they have been for more than fifteen years. And I certainly will stop using them to fill my prescriptions
CONCLUSION:
At a reader’s suggestion I sent the above story to three executives at Amazon. After numerous emails back and a half dozen phone calls over the ensuing three weeks, I received an apology and an explanation that the original emails were sent by mistake do to “human error.”
Nevertheless it took human intervention to fix the problem.
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Follow up (April 11)
I sent this column to Amazon’s list of executives found at elliott.org. Five days later I received this email from Amazon:
Hello Mr. Baker,
My name is Alex and I am a member of the Amazon Account Services team.
I have reviewed your e-mail correspondence you had with Amazon between 01 – 06 April, 2025 and upon review I identified that the communication shared with you was sent due to human error.
I apologize for the inconvenience caused due to this miscommunication. I want to assure you that no action has been taken on your account and you can continue to shop at Amazon. We appreciate your efforts to ensure that your buying activities are following our policies.
Furthermore, I also saw that you have some questions regarding Amazon’s returns policy. To address your questions, here is the link to the Amazon returns policy link.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=GKM69DUUYKQWKWX7
Best Regards,
Alex
Escalation Specialist
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com
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Follow up (April 14)
I received a call today from Amazon (Heather, a representative for CEO Andy Jassy) apologizing for the error. It was followed by an email, reaffirming what was said on the call:
Hello Phil,
My name is Heather and I’m with Amazon.com Executive Customer Relations. Andy Jassy wanted me to reach out to ensure that your concerns were addressed. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today.
I’m very sorry that you were mistakenly warned about return issues and that the process to have this corrected was so difficult. We are working with partner teams to fully investigate this and ensure that corrective action is taken. This is not the experience we ever want our customers to have.
Thank you for providing the screen shot of what you are seeing on your account. We will have this corrected and either myself or someone on my team will reach out to you when it’s been fixed.
Your experience here has been highly unusual and is not at all typical of what you can expect when shopping with us. You’re a long-time and valued customer of Amazon, and I hope you’ll give us another chance.
Thank you and have a great day.
Best regards,
Heather
Thank you.
Amazon.com
I had something similar although not as dire with Etsy. When I went to check the status of an order they said. I was banned. I went through the reinstatement balcony but will never order thought them again. The vendor was prompt and helpful. I was never informed as to why.
Amazon is certainly getting screwy. I never had a problem with a return until recently, regardless of price. The recent purchase was for two containers of Amazon brand steel cut oats. They come in a cardboard tube. The two containers were shipped in a Tyvec bag, and one of the lids fell off one tube in transit. They should have been shipped in a sturdy carton. I called for a refund or replacement for the one tube since I got a message online that the item was not returnable. The rep, apparently in India, kept me on the phone for 25 minutes, giving me the third degree and requiring me to send him a picture of the spilled oats in my kitchen garbage can — all for a refund of about $3.50. Bizarre. (And their brand of oats was inferior to others.)