Who enforces the law?

gatherallthethings

There's two pieces of advice here and I don't quite see how one follows from the other.

Whenever anything like this happens, I go through the Amazon return process as the first step. I never go directly to the supplier outside Amazon.

That's interesting, I hadn't even thought to do that. I'm going to go to Amazon now and raise the issue with them directly.

You need the "audit trail" through amazon as proof of your communications.

I think this is a red-herring. Talking to the vendor instead of Amazon, and maintaining an audit trail aren't mutually exclusive. There are (at least) four types of communications:

1. with Amazon directly by logging into Amazon and using their web-based / app-based tools;
2. with the third party by logging into Amazon and sending a message using their tools, which obscures both your email address and the third party's;
3. with the third party by replying to Amazon's email-based message notification, which usually comes from an email address like @marketplace.amazon.co.uk; or
4. with the third party by calling them, or emailing them directly on [EMAIL="sales@example.com"]sales@example.com[/EMAIL] using GMail / Outlook / Apple Mail etc.

I think you are saying the last one (4) is a bad choice because, as you say, it won't have an audit trail. I agree.

But using (2) and (3) should be OK because the messages go through Amazon's system there's an Amazon approved audit trail. You can see it if you go to that order in Amazon, then the "File/View Claim" button, and it's there under "Order History" as "Seller e-mailed buyer (view)" and "Buyer e-mailed seller (view)".