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Amazon will pay for claims up to $1000 (£720) for US customers who suffer injury or property damage from faulty goods sold by independent retailers on its ecommerce platform.
Beginning September 1, for products sold through Amazon.com, Amazon will facilitate resolution of property damage and personal injury claims between the customer, the seller, and their insurance provider.
In a blog post the company said it is “going far beyond” its legal obligations and what any other marketplace service provider is doing today to “protect customers”.
The launch comes after the group was criticized for its product safety following a series of legal cases.
In July, Amazon was sued by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in an effort to force the recall of hazardous products sold on its site.
A statement, released by the commission last month, named 24,000 faulty carbon monoxide detectors that failed to alarm, numerous children’s sleepwear garments that were in “violation” of the flammable fabric safety standard, and nearly 400,000 hair dryers sold without the “required” immersion protection devices that protect consumers against shock and electrocution.
Amazon said: “When a customer files a claim, Amazon will combine our advanced fraud and abuse detection systems with external, independent insurance fraud experts to analyze the claim.
“We will present valid claims to sellers and deny unsubstantiated, frivolous, or abusive claims. By doing this work on behalf of sellers, we save them from having to investigate these claims on their own.”
It is understood that the service will first launch in the US, before being rolled out to other countries.
