Taking Amazon to Small claims court for not paying seller their funds?

nickopedia · #45 03-12-2019

Just go to your local courthouse and prepare a Small Claims action without actually filing it. Send that paperwork to the Legal Department at Amazon along with a Demand Letter by Certified Mail. Be sure to mention in your letter you will be filing on such & such date if they don't pay you.

You have a fairly good chance you would get your money if you do that.

mrowcp · #46 03-13-2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickopedia

Just go to your local courthouse and prepare a Small Claims action without actually filing it. Send that paperwork to the Legal Department at Amazon along with a Demand Letter by Certified Mail. Be sure to mention in your letter you will be filing on such & such date if they don't pay you.

You have a fairly good chance you would get your money if you do that.

Is there online any Small Claims paperwork template that I can use? I'm in the same position with $2k blocked.

agent006140 · #47 03-15-2019

It is my own personal experience you have to file small claims court in AMZN state which is what Seattle,WA?NOT YOUR state?
even in your own state,you have to prove you have attempted to collect the $$ by sending request via certified mail(twice in my state) before you can file claim.
Then on the court day,judge will ask you and the other party to go thru mediation,the mediator will listen to both sides and make suggestions.
if no agreement can be reached,then face the judge and he will decide.
You could win the case,but judge does not collect the money for you,so you have to hire a sherriff like the other suggested to seize his assets and if theywere merchandise you dont want to keep,hold an auction ,now you are taling more expenses,getting a sherrif and hiring an auctioneer.
of course if you win against AMZN,it should not have any problem paying,but still it would cost you if you have to file in its state

sabbiman · #48 03-16-2019

Go to the "Disputes" portion of the Amazon seller's agreement.

Right there, they tell you that if you wish to enter into arbitration to send them a letter to their legal department for that process. The company is called The Corporation Service Company. They have an address in Washington.

Seems to me this is Amazon's legal reps for these things. You send them a letter indicating that you wish to enter into a dispute. Tell them that you wish to hear from them.

In that same "Disputes" portion, they then mention that you can enter into arbitration by filing with the American Arbitration Association, and that if you wish to do so, Amazon will pick up the fees for the filing (if you win) as long as your monies are less than 10k.

I suspect, and I do not know this. ... as I have just recently sent off my own letter of dispute proceedings ... that someone will look at the intended case and make a decision whether they will simply release the funds or go ahead and let you file for arbitration.

Whatever the case, my advice is NOT to get a lawyer. You have no reason for doing that. Lawyers will simply take your money and do the exact same thing that you can do yourself.

If you need more information, PM me.

nickopedia · #49 03-16-2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by agent006140

It is my own personal experience you have to file small claims court in AMZN state which is what Seattle,WA?NOT YOUR state?
even in your own state,you have to prove you have attempted to collect the $$ by sending request via certified mail(twice in my state) before you can file claim.
Then on the court day,judge will ask you and the other party to go thru mediation,the mediator will listen to both sides and make suggestions.
if no agreement can be reached,then face the judge and he will decide.
You could win the case,but judge does not collect the money for you,so you have to hire a sherriff like the other suggested to seize his assets and if theywere merchandise you dont want to keep,hold an auction ,now you are taling more expenses,getting a sherrif and hiring an auctioneer.
of course if you win against AMZN,it should not have any problem paying,but still it would cost you if you have to file in its state

This is correct.

At least where I have filed (in California) the judge (or their clerk) has always asked me the same 3 questions before the Small Claims hearing:

1) Do you have correct Proof of Service?
2) Do you have proof you mailed the defendant a claim notice/letter?
3) Do you have proof of actual damages?

If you don't get these three things right from the get-go you already lost the case.

agent006140 · #50 03-17-2019

We have to produce such evidence when we apply for a court case,so on the day the court never ask,just say everyone goes to the designated room where a mediator will mediate,if mediation fails,then come back after lunch.
the room is 7 ft by 9 ft with no window .
The mediator is a lady who is not a lawyer and not a city employee,just get paid for what she does,in the end she sweated profusely and seem to be under a lot of stress.
On that day,most of the cases have to do with real estate transactions,but my case is just a local shop which framed a painting for me and charged me for acid free paper and did not use such,when I tried to return the material,he refused to reimburse me.
So,he wrote me a check and I deposited it same day,if the check bounced,court will no nothing ,court is not responsible for rubber check.
also there is a row call if the other party does not show up,you win