Not upheld: Account closure without notice complaint against Amazon Payments UK Limited

Decision detail

Summary

S, an Amazon seller, complained that APUK wrongly restricted access to approximately £3,700 GBP and Euro funds in its seller account, which had been frozen since June 2016. The account was suspended due to a tax authority investigation and intellectual property matter, with S unable to provide required supply chain documentation. APUK withheld the funds based on information from AEU regarding these unresolved disputes. The ombudsman found APUK acted fairly as the withholding was in line with the Selling on Amazon User Agreement terms, and the suspension decision was made by AEU, which falls outside FOS jurisdiction. The complaint was not upheld, though GBP funds were subsequently agreed to be released by AEU.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

APUK's withholding of funds was in line with section 2.7 of the Selling on Amazon User Agreement, which grants APUK broad discretion to restrict account access when financial risk exists or disputes are pending. The decision to suspend the account was made by AEU, not APUK, and APUK was entitled to withhold funds based on information received from AEU regarding unresolved matters. AEU's actions fall outside FOS jurisdiction, so the fairness of AEU's decisions cannot be assessed by the ombudsman.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website