American e-commerce giant Amazon pledged on Tuesday to directly compensate customers who are victims of dangerous products purchased from independent sellers on its platform, shortly after a complaint was filed by a consumer protection agency in USA
“In the unforeseen event that a defective product sold on Amazon.com causes property damage or bodily injury, Amazon will directly compensate customers for claims of less than $ 1,000,” the company said in an article published Tuesday in its website. And this from September 1.
Compensation may relate to higher amounts, Amazon continues, in the event the seller does not respond to claims or rejects a claim that Amazon deems valid. However, claims below this threshold now represent 80% of claims, according to the US company. This announcement by Amazon comes almost a month after the filing of a complaint by a US consumer protection agency (CPSC), aimed at forcing the group to take responsibility for the recall of products deemed dangerous. sold on your platform.
Products estimated to be at risk of injury or death to customers include 24,000 defective carbon monoxide detectors and 400,000 hair dryers that do not sufficiently protect users from the risk of shock and electrocution, according to the CPSC. “By supporting customers and products on our platform, whoever sells them, Amazon goes beyond its legal obligations and what any other online marketplace is doing today to protect consumers,” Amazon says.
To verify the validity of the complaints, Amazon plans to bring in independent insurance experts, while ruling out requests deemed exaggerated or abusive. The US giant also said Tuesday that it will not seek a refund of compensation for sellers who “respect our terms of use and have valid insurance,” but reserves the right to sue others.