amazon-returns-recovery · diff
git:20260720.678f796 to v1.0.0
42 added, 46 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: amazon-returns-recovery
- description: "Use when the user wants to audit Amazon returns or Amazon-billed subscriptions, mentions a restocking fee, short or denied refund, forgotten Prime Video Channel, Audible, Kindle Unlimited, or Prime charge, or asks whether Amazon still owes or bills them. Read order, refund, and subscription evidence first; report findings and require confirmation before chat, cancellation, or dispute. The documented cases recovered $448.31, but never promise recovery. Requires an authenticated Claude in Chrome session. NOT FOR: bank chargebacks, marketplace A-to-z seller claims, price-protection claims, or subscriptions billed outside Amazon — use subscription-recovery for those."
+ description: "Suede-affiliated Amazon money-recovery audit for restocking fees, short or denied refunds, and Amazon-billed subscriptions. Use when the user mentions a restocking fee, a short or denied Amazon refund, or a forgotten Prime Video Channel, Audible, Kindle Unlimited, or Prime charge, or asks whether Amazon still owes or bills them. Read-only discovery; no chat, cancellation, or dispute without the account owner's per-item confirmation, and never a promise of recovery. Requires an authenticated Claude in Chrome session. NOT FOR: bank chargebacks, marketplace A-to-z seller claims, price-protection claims, or subscriptions billed outside Amazon (use subscription-recovery)."
+ metadata:
+ version: 1.0.0
---
# Amazon Returns Recovery
- ## Why this exists
+ **Iron Law:**
- This started as a test of a general-purpose contract/customer-service negotiation
- tool — the goal was just to see if it could hold its own in a dispute. Pointed at a
- live Amazon account, it surfaced two restocking fees ($44.99 and $28.50) the account
- owner had no idea existed, on returns processed weeks earlier. Both got waived in the
- same sitting — the first refunded exactly the $44.99 fee, the second came back at
- $30.63 (the associate rounded up past the $28.50 fee as a goodwill gesture). Total
- recovered from fees alone: **$75.62**, on charges the account owner never would have
- gone looking for. The lesson: money like this doesn't announce itself — restocking
- fees, partial refunds, and price-protection differences sit quietly in order history
- unless something goes and checks. That's what this skill automates.
+ ```
+ Nothing is disputed, canceled, or sent without the account owner's per-item
+ confirmation. Discovery is read-only; every action phase is gated.
+ ```
- Treat this as a metal detector, not an autopilot: it surfaces what's buried and drafts
- the case, but every dispute goes through the account owner before anything gets sent.
+ ## Why this exists
- The same account also had a third case worth knowing about, even though it's outside
- this skill's default restocking-fee scope: a $372.69 electric shaver the account
- owner had already been **denied a refund on once — while still inside the return
- window**. Re-disputed two days after the window closed, hands-off, the case ended in
- a full **$372.69** refund with no return required — the associate just let the account
- owner keep it. Overturning an existing denial after the window shut is the ceiling of
- what a well-reasoned exception ask can get, not just fee waivers. See
- [references/example-cases.md](references/example-cases.md) for the full writeup of
- all three real cases, including exactly what was said and what worked.
+ 1. **Money like this doesn't announce itself.** Restocking fees, short refunds, and forgotten subscription charges sit unannounced in order history unless something checks.
+ 2. **Overturning an already-denied refund after the return window closed is the realistic ceiling of a well-reasoned exception ask** — so ask for more than a waiver when the facts support it.
+ Read [references/example-cases.md](references/example-cases.md) before drafting a dispute: three real resolved cases with the exact wording that worked.
+
## Prerequisites
- Claude in Chrome browser extension connected to the browser, and the user already
signed into the target Amazon account. If `mcp__claude-in-chrome__*` tools aren't
loaded yet, fetch them via ToolSearch first (see the extension's own MCP
instructions for the batch-load query).
- This runs against a real account. If the account is shared (family members with
separate shipping addresses on the same login), be ready to see orders that aren't
the user's — flag those, don't just fold them into the same batch without asking.
## Phase 1a — Order/return discovery (read-only, no side effects)
Goal: find every completed return where Amazon deducted a restocking fee, without
touching anything.
1. Search order history broadly by category keyword, not just exact terms — Amazon's
`your-orders/search` matches loosely, so one keyword (e.g. "razor") surfaces
adjacent items (shavers, trimmers) too. Restocking fees concentrate on
higher-value electronics/appliances, so prioritize checking those over
consumables or clothing.
- `https://www.amazon.com/your-orders/search/ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_search?opt=ab&search=<keyword>`
- Paginate through all result pages — don't stop at page 1. Older orders (a year+
back) still show up here even though they've long since dropped off `Your
Returns`.
2. For faster coverage of *recent* activity, also check
`https://www.amazon.com/your-returns` — but note it only shows roughly the last
3 months, so it's a supplement to the search sweep, not a replacement for it.
3. For each order that shows "Return complete" / "Refund Complete" / "Refund issued",
open its detail page:
`https://www.amazon.com/your-orders/order-details?orderID=<orderID>`
Find the **Refund Total** line — it has a small chevron that expands to an
itemized breakdown (Item(s) refund / Tax refund / Restocking fee / Refund Total).
Click it. Orders with no fee just show item + tax = refund total; orders with a
fee show the deduction explicitly.
4. Record every hit: order #, item name, item price, restocking fee amount, who it
shipped to, and whether it was sold by Amazon.com directly or a third-party
seller (first-party listings are the strongest cases — Amazon's own chat agents
can waive those without looping in a marketplace seller).
5. Don't try to make this exhaustive on the first pass if the account has a long
history — report what's found so far and note that more may be scattered across
older years if the user wants a deeper sweep.
- **Stop here.** Do not open the dispute chat yet.
+ **Stop here** — Iron Law. Discovery ends; nothing is opened or disputed yet.
## Phase 1b — Digital subscription audit (read-only, no side effects)
**Unvalidated click-path** — the exact URLs below are the best-known entry points as
of this writing, not yet confirmed live like the Phase 1a flow. If a URL 404s or
redirects somewhere unexpected, navigate from the account menu instead (Amazon moves
these pages periodically) and note the working path back into this file once
confirmed.
Goal: find every recurring digital subscription billed through the Amazon account —
Prime Video Channels, Audible, Kindle Unlimited, Prime itself — and flag ones that
look forgotten, unused, or worth reconsidering. This is a different shape of "money
Amazon is quietly taking" than restocking fees: it's ongoing, not a one-time
deduction, so the fix is usually "cancel it" rather than "waive it," with a refund
ask reserved for genuinely forgotten charges.
1. **Prime Video Channels** (this is how Britbox, Starz, AMC+, Paramount+, Shudder,
MGM+, etc. actually bill — they're not separate Amazon relationships, they're
add-on channels on top of Prime Video):
`https://www.primevideo.com/settings/channels` — lists every active channel
subscription, price, and next billing date. If that redirects, go to Prime
Video → Account & Settings (top right) → Channels.
2. **Audible membership**: `https://www.audible.com/account/membership-overview` —
same Amazon login, separate billing page. Shows plan tier, price, next charge
date, and credit balance (unused credits are themselves worth flagging — they
don't expire immediately but do eventually).
3. **Kindle Unlimited**: `https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/subscribe/kindle_unlimited`
or via Account → Digital Services and Devices → Kindle Unlimited.
4. **Prime membership itself**: `https://www.amazon.com/manageprime` — for cases
where the user isn't using Prime shipping/video/music benefits and it's worth
flagging (this one is more consequential to cancel than a $9 channel add-on, so
treat it as report-only unless the user specifically asks about it).
5. For each subscription found, record: name, monthly/annual price, next billing
date, and — if the page shows it — last-used or last-watched date. If usage data
isn't visible on the billing page, ask the user directly whether they still use
it rather than guessing.
- 6. Don't cancel or touch anything in this phase. Just build the list.
+ 6. Build the list only — Iron Law.
## Phase 2 — Confirm with the user
Report the findings as a plain list: for fees, item / order # / fee amount / who it
shipped to / first-party or third-party; for subscriptions, name / price / billing
cadence / next charge date / whether it looks used or forgotten. Ask which ones to
pursue and what outcome they want for each (waive a fee, dispute a charge, cancel a
subscription, or cancel *and* ask for the last charge back). Some fees are legitimate
(e.g. an opened-item policy the seller disclosed at return time) and some
subscriptions may turn out to still be wanted — don't assume every finding is worth
acting on, and say so if one looks earned or intentional rather than a mistake.
## Phase 3 — Dispute or cancel (one item at a time, only after confirmation)
For fee/refund disputes, drive Amazon's live chat to request a waiver. The exact
click-path, a critical popup-window workaround, and the escalation flow to a human
associate are documented in
[references/dispute-chat-flow.md](references/dispute-chat-flow.md) — read that file
before starting this phase, since Amazon's chat UI has a specific gotcha (it opens in
a popup window Claude in Chrome's tab tracking can't see) that will silently strand
the flow if skipped. The same chat flow and associate-facing script apply whether the
ask is "waive this restocking fee" or "cancel this channel and refund the last
charge" — only the specifics of the ask change.
For subscription cancellations, note the two distinct asks are not equally strong:
- **"Cancel this subscription"** is unconditional — the user is entitled to cancel
anytime, no negotiation needed. This can usually be done directly on the
subscription's own settings page (the URLs in Phase 1b) without needing chat at
all — try that first, it's faster than a chat dispute.
- **"Refund the last charge because I forgot to cancel / wasn't using it"** is a
- goodwill ask, same as a restocking-fee waiver — reasonable to make once, but don't
- push past a single polite counter if declined, and don't claim you tried to cancel
- earlier if that isn't true.
+ goodwill ask, same as a restocking-fee waiver — reasonable to make once, under
+ the truthfulness and single-counter rules in Boundaries.
- Ground rules while chatting with the associate:
- - State only true facts: order number or subscription name, item, price, fee amount
- (or subscription charge amount), and that it was sold/billed by Amazon.com (when
- true). Don't invent a prior contact attempt or a return/cancellation reason that
- didn't happen — the ask itself is reasonable on its own and doesn't need
- embellishment to land.
+ Two chat mechanics, beyond those Boundaries rules:
- When offered a refund method, default to original payment method unless the user
said otherwise.
- Confirm the exact refund amount and stated timeline, or the exact cancellation
effective date, before ending the chat.
## Phase 4 — Report
After each dispute or cancellation resolves (or if the associate declines), tell the
- user: amount recovered or subscription canceled, refund method, stated ETA or
- effective date, and associate name if given. If several items were pursued in one
- session, summarize as a running total across fees, refunds, and subscriptions
- canceled (report subscription savings as "$X/month going forward" separately from
- one-time dollars recovered — they're not the same kind of money).
+ user: amount, refund method, stated ETA or effective date, and associate name if
+ given. If several items were pursued in one session, summarize as a running total
+ across fees, refunds, and subscriptions canceled (report subscription savings as
+ "$X/month going forward" separately from one-time dollars recovered — they're not
+ the same kind of money).
- ## Stretch goal — not yet built
+ **Evidence rules — a promise is not money:**
- **Price-protection refunds**: some categories/sellers refund the difference if a
- listing's price drops within the return window after purchase. This would mean
- comparing paid price vs. current listing price on recent (still-returnable) orders
- and flagging drops worth claiming. Worth building once the restocking-fee and
- subscription flows are both solid, but out of scope for now — don't attempt it
- without discussing it with the user first, since it's unvalidated.
+ - Quote the associate's confirmation **verbatim from the transcript**, not paraphrased. No captured confirmation line means no amount is reported.
+ - Label every unverified amount **promised**, never "recovered." Only a posted line item counts toward a recovered total.
+ - Set the readback as a follow-up: the stated ETA is typically 3-5 business days, so it cannot resolve in-session. After that date, reopen the order detail page, expand the **Refund Total** chevron per Phase 1a step 3, and compare the breakdown against the promised amount. Tell the user the date to check and the number to look for.
+ - If the readback shows the waiver never posted, reopen it as a new case with the transcript quote as evidence.
+
+ ## Boundaries
+
+ - Nothing is disputed, canceled, or sent without the account owner's per-item confirmation; approval for one item never transfers to another. Phases 1a and 1b are read-only.
+ - On a shared login, flag orders belonging to other people instead of folding them into the batch.
+ - State only true facts to an associate: order number or subscription name, item, price, fee amount. Never invent a prior contact attempt, a return reason, or a cancellation reason.
+ - Make a goodwill ask once. Do not push past a single polite counter if declined.
+ - Never promise recovery, and never report a promised amount as recovered money.
+ - Price-protection refunds are out of scope and unvalidated — do not attempt one without discussing it with the user first.
+
+ ## Routing
+
+ - Subscriptions billed outside Amazon (by the provider, Apple, or Google rather than the Amazon account) -> use `subscription-recovery`.
+ - Bank chargebacks, marketplace A-to-z seller claims, and price-protection claims are out of scope for this skill entirely.