> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Open Claims, Amazon Prime Shipping (SFP) > Open Claims for Amazon Prime Shipping (SFP) stores. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it. **Metrics type:** [Key Metrics](/nerve-centre/overview#metrics-types-explained) • **Category:** [Shipping & Courier](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type) ## At a glance > Live count of carrier-side claims (UPS, USPS, OnTrac, Lasership, Amazon Logistics) that the seller has filed and the carrier has not resolved. Different from Amazon's A-to-Z claim system: those are customer-vs-seller disputes Amazon adjudicates; these are seller-vs-carrier service-failure claims for late, lost, or damaged Prime-promised consignments. | | | | ------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **What it counts** | `COUNT(claims WHERE status IN ('OPEN','UNDER_REVIEW','PENDING_DOCUMENTATION'))` at moment of read across all connected carriers used for SFP. | | **Claim categories** | Service-failure refund (carriage charge back), damage in transit (contents value), lost in transit (contents value), delivery-attempted-not-honored claims. | | **Filing window** | Carrier-specific: UPS 9 months for damage, 60 days for service-failure; USPS 60 days for Priority claims; OnTrac 90 days; Amazon Logistics 30 days for SFP-eligible. The card pools all carriers; merchants typically file claims via each carrier's own portal. | | **Resolution SLA** | UPS 5 to 10 business days for service-failure, 14 to 30 for damage; USPS 14 to 30 days; OnTrac 7 to 14 days. | | **Currency** | USD primarily (Amazon Prime Shipping is a US program). | | **Money-back-on-late mechanic** | Carrier-side service-failure refund returns the carriage charge to the seller. Amazon Concession (when Amazon credits the customer) is separate; carriers do not refund Amazon-side concessions. | | **B2B vs B2C** | Amazon Prime Shipping is overwhelmingly B2C consumer; B2B exists via Amazon Business Prime but is a small share of typical SFP volume. | | **Time window** | `RT` | | **Alert trigger** | `>0 unresolved >7d`. | | **Roles** | owner, operations, finance | ## Calculation Calculated automatically from your Amazon Prime Shipping (SFP) data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading. ## Worked example A US small-electronics merchant on SFP. Multi-carrier mix (UPS Ground 2-Day, OnTrac West, Amazon Logistics where available). Reading taken at 14:00 ET on 22 Mar 26. | Carrier | Open claims | Avg open age | Total claim value | | -------------------------------- | ----------- | ------------ | ----------------------- | | UPS service-failure | 24 | 5 days | \$360 (carriage refund) | | UPS damage | 8 | 11 days | \$1,640 (contents) | | OnTrac service-failure | 6 | 4 days | \$90 (carriage refund) | | USPS Priority lost | 4 | 18 days | \$480 (contents) | | Amazon Logistics service-failure | 2 | 3 days | \$30 (carriage refund) | | **Total open** | **44** | | **\$2,600** | The card reads **44** with 12 sitting >7 days, tripping the alert. Five things to notice: 1. **The 7-day threshold has 12 hits, all UPS damage and USPS lost.** Service-failure claims (smaller, faster) clear quickly; damage and lost claims stretch. The 4 USPS-lost claims at 18-day age are at the SLA boundary; chase via USPS claim portal. 2. **\$2,600 of working capital parked.** For a mid-size SFP merchant, this is meaningful. Carrier-claim recovery is a working-capital lever many merchants underutilise. 3. **Amazon Concession costs are NOT in this card.** When a Prime customer is impacted by a missed delivery, Amazon often credits them with a goodwill concession (Prime credit, refund-on-shipping); the carrier-side claim refunds the seller's carriage cost but does not offset the Concession Amazon billed. Both costs are real. 4. **UPS damage claims dominate at \$1,640.** Small-electronics shipping has structural damage exposure (drop, crush). Pair with `ama_exception_rate` to see if damage exceptions are rising; if yes, packaging review is overdue. 5. **Filing rate vs eligible-rate matters.** If the merchant had 60 service-failure-eligible misses this period and only 32 are filed (24 UPS + 6 OnTrac + 2 Amazon = 32), filing rate is 53%. Industry benchmark is 50 to 70% on Prime Shipping; UPS's longer 60-day filing window is forgiving but still rewards weekly cadence. ## Sibling cards merchants should reference together Open claims is real-time financial-recovery KPI. Pair with these: | Card | Why pair it with Open Claims | What the combination tells you | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | | [Late Shipments](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-prime-shipping/late-shipments) | Eligibility-source for service-failure claims. | Filing rate gap = unrecovered carriage. | | [Exception Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-prime-shipping/exception-rate) | Damage / loss exceptions feed claim filings. | Predictive of next week's filing volume. | | [Claim Value](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-prime-shipping/claim-value) | Financial twin. | Count vs value diverges with high-value damage. | | [Prime 1-Day / 2-Day Promise Miss Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-prime-shipping/prime-1-day-2-day-promise-miss-rate) | Each carrier-fault Prime miss is a claim candidate. | Filing rate on Prime cohort. | | Cross-connector: [`amazon.az_claims`](/nerve-centre/amazon/az_claims) | Amazon's customer-vs-seller A-to-Z disputes. Different system; both costs are real. | Combined view: A-to-Z costs + carrier claims. | | Cross-connector: [`shipbob.sb_open_claims`](/nerve-centre/shipbob/sb_open_claims) | Peer 3PL claims. | Different orders. | ## Reconciling against the vendor's own dashboard **Where to look:** Carrier-specific portals: UPS Claims (ups.com/upsclaims), USPS Claim portal (usps.com/help/claims), OnTrac claims (ontrac.com/claims), Amazon Logistics claims (Seller Central → Logistics → Claims). Each carrier maintains its own open-claims dashboard. **Why our number may legitimately differ from carrier portals:** | Reason | Direction | Why | | --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Status mapping** | Either | Each carrier uses different status labels; the card pools all non-final into "open". | | **Sync lag** | Ours \<2 min behind | Card polls each carrier API every 30 to 90 seconds. | | **Multi-account merchants** | Either | If a merchant has multiple UPS account numbers, card reads connected credentials only. | **Cross-connector reconciliation:** | Card | Expected relationship | What causes legitimate divergence | | ---------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- | | [`amazon.az_claims`](/nerve-centre/amazon/az_claims) | A-to-Z is customer-vs-seller; this is seller-vs-carrier. | Two different cost streams. | ## Known limitations / merchant FAQs **This card vs A-to-Z claims: what is the difference?** Two different systems. A-to-Z is Amazon's customer-protection program where the customer disputes the order with Amazon and Amazon adjudicates between buyer and seller. This card is the carrier-side claim where the seller files against the carrier (UPS, USPS, etc.) for service-failure or damage. A late delivery often triggers both: A-to-Z claim from customer (Amazon refunds them, charges seller), plus carrier-side claim from seller (UPS refunds carriage charge to seller). Both are real, both should be tracked. **Carrier filing windows differ; what is realistic?** UPS is most generous: 60 days for service-failure, 9 months for damage. USPS Priority is 60 days. OnTrac is 90 days. Amazon Logistics is tightest at 30 days. Multi-carrier merchants need a per-carrier filing cadence; weekly review of UPS-late and OnTrac-late, with priority on Amazon Logistics for the tighter window. **Service-failure refund: how much do carriers refund?** UPS Ground 2-Day: full carriage charge if Parcelforce-fault late. UPS pays approximately the prepaid label cost, typically $5 to $12 depending on weight and zone. OnTrac similar. Amazon Logistics matches UPS pricing for SFP. USPS Priority does not refund for service-failure (no money-back-on-late on USPS Priority); USPS does refund Express Mail and Priority Express on service failures. **Why is filing rate so often \<50%?** Three reasons. (1) Manual workflow: per-carrier portal filing takes 5 to 15 minutes each. (2) Documentation requirements vary: damage claims need photos, customer declarations. (3) Filing-window misses: events surface late in customer-service tickets. Solution: bulk-CSV upload (UPS/OnTrac support; USPS does not), weekly review cadence, automated documentation collection. **Damage claim documentation: what is needed?** UPS: photos of damaged item, damaged packaging, original carton, copy of invoice. USPS: USPS Form 1000 plus photos and proof of value. OnTrac: photos plus consignment number plus invoice. Amazon Logistics: in-portal documentation. Failing to provide all gets the claim held at PENDING\_DOCUMENTATION. **During Q4 peak, claim volume triples; will carriers keep up?** Resolution SLA stretches by 5 to 14 days. Anything sitting open >30 days during peak is normal. Pre-negotiate Q4 cadence with major carriers (UPS account managers will provide). **A-to-Z claim wins by Amazon: are they offset by carrier claims?** Sometimes. If carrier-side service-failure claim succeeds, the seller recovers carriage but not the full Amazon Concession that Amazon charged back. Net: Amazon cost minus carrier recovery = the residual customer-experience cost. Track both for the full picture. **Lost in transit on USPS Priority: realistic claim recovery?** USPS Priority insurance includes up to $100 cover by default. Above $100, declare value at shipment. Lost-claim recovery rate on USPS is moderate (\~70%); USPS often takes 14 to 30 days plus a 21-day waiting period before declaring lost. UPS Ground typically faster. **Buy with Prime claims: same as SFP?** Same carrier-side mechanic. Buy with Prime ships through same carrier mix (UPS, USPS, OnTrac, Amazon Logistics). Carrier-side claims are filed identically. **Multi-carrier merchants: how do we coordinate?** Single per-week claim-review cadence touching each carrier portal. Most ops teams allocate Friday 30-min slot for the week's claims. UPS bulk-upload helps; OnTrac and USPS are manual. Total time investment scales sub-linearly with volume because per-carrier-portal context-switch cost is fixed. *** ### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre *Open Claims* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across Amazon Prime Shipping (SFP) and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. 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