Customer sent an AI-generated damage photo? What to do (UK)

A customer says the item arrived broken and sends a photo. Something about it feels off: the crack is too clean, the light is wrong, the background looks like a showroom. You’re not imagining the trend. In February 2026 the bedding brand Boll & Branch spotted damage photos of “torn” sheets where the rip didn’t look like real cotton and one image carried an AI watermark; PYMNTS covered the wider wave of AI-faked damage claims. In June 2026, Retail Rewired reported Forter data calling AI-generated damage claims one of the fastest-growing forms of returns abuse.

Here’s what to do, in order.

Step 1: Don’t accuse the customer

Most damage claims are real, and a strange-looking photo is often just a bad phone camera. Accusing also carries risk: in one Amazon seller forum thread about AI-image refund fraud, the seller says the buyer reported them and they got a policy warning.

Reply neutrally: “Sorry to hear that. So we can sort this out quickly, could you send a few more photos?” You’re gathering evidence, not making a ruling.

Step 2: How to tell if a damage photo is AI-generated or edited

No single test is conclusive. Look for several signals together (our guide on how to spot fake damage photos goes deeper).

Signs of AI edits

Damage that doesn’t behave like the material: fabric tears with no loose threads, glass cracks that bend around details, dents with no matching paint stress.
Text and labels that are garbled, or your logo slightly wrong.
Lighting and shadows on the damage that don’t match the rest of the scene.
Over-smooth, “too perfect” surfaces, odd hands or warped edges.
A visible watermark or AI logo in a corner (Boll & Branch’s case had one).

Metadata (EXIF) Open the original file and check camera make, date taken and dimensions. A photo “taken yesterday” with no camera data and square AI-style dimensions is a flag. But many apps strip metadata when images are sent, so missing EXIF proves nothing on its own.

AI watermark checks At the time of writing (October 2026), Google’s Gemini app can check an uploaded image for Google’s SynthID watermark. It only detects images made or edited with Google’s own AI, so “no watermark found” doesn’t mean the photo is genuine.

Reverse image search Run the photo through Google Lens or TinEye. If the same “damaged” item turns up on a forum, a product review or someone else’s listing, you have your answer.

Step 3: What you can reasonably ask for

Ask for evidence that’s easy for a genuine customer and hard to fake:

A fresh photo with something only they can add now. For example, a sheet of paper with today’s date and their order number written on it, next to the damage. A pre-made AI image can’t contain a note you’ve just asked for.
Multiple angles: the whole item, a close-up of the damage, and the side and back.
The packaging and shipping label, showing the outer box and inner packing. Transit damage usually leaves a mark on the box.
A short video turning the item in their hands. Boll & Branch stopped its case by asking for a FaceTime call; the customer never replied.

Keep it proportionate: one clear message, not five rounds of hoops.

Step 4: Know where UK law puts the risk

You can’t use “suspicion” to dodge a refund the law requires. Instead, understand the rules and use the reasonable-evidence route.

The goods are at your risk until delivered. Under section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods stay at the trader’s risk until the customer (or someone they name) physically has them. Courier damage is your problem, not theirs.
The short-term right to reject. A customer has 30 days from delivery to reject goods that don’t conform, such as goods that arrive damaged. Once you agree they’re entitled, you must refund within 14 days, and you bear the reasonable cost of getting the goods back. The Act doesn’t set out what evidence a trader can ask for, but nothing stops you asking reasonable questions to confirm the goods really are damaged.
The six-month presumption that a fault existed at delivery (s.19(14)) applies to repair, replacement and the final right to reject, not the short-term right to reject.
Distance-selling cancellations are separate. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, online buyers can cancel within 14 days of receiving the goods for any reason. If you haven’t offered to collect, you can refund within 14 days of getting the goods back or evidence they’ve been sent.

Step 5: When to ask for the item back

Ask for the item back when the value justifies the postage (you pay the reasonable cost of returning rejected goods), the photos are inconclusive, or you suspect the item is fine and the claim is about getting it free. The customer must make the goods available for collection when rejecting them, so asking for the item back is normal, not hostile. For cheap items, a refund without a return may cost less than postage. Our guide to returnless refunds without getting scammed covers where to draw that line.

Step 6: If you confirm the photo is fake

Decline politely. Stick to facts: “We couldn’t verify the damage from the photos provided, and the item we received back shows no damage” (or “we haven’t received the requested photos”). Don’t use words like “fraud” or “liar” in messages.

Keep the evidence. Save the original image files, your messages, timestamps, tracking, dispatch photos and anything the reverse search turned up. If you get a chargeback later, you’ll need all of it (see chargeback evidence when an item “arrived damaged”).

Report it to the marketplace. Most marketplaces have a way to report a buyer; check your platform’s help pages. In the Amazon thread above, other sellers suggest reporting the buyer for abuse and filing a SAFE-T claim if Amazon refunds them anyway.

Tell your payment provider. If the customer opens a card chargeback, it will usually come through under Visa condition 13.3, “Not as Described or Defective Merchandise/Services”. Visa’s Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants (June 2024) say you can respond with documentation showing the goods were as described, or that returned goods were never received. The guidelines also say your returns policy has no bearing on this condition. Mastercard’s equivalent is reason code 4853, “Defective or Not As Described”. If they paid by credit card for an item over £100 and up to £30,000, they may also claim against the card issuer under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Your evidence matters there too.

Report the fraud. Knowingly sending a fake photo to get a refund can be fraud by false representation under section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006, which covers representations made to a system or device as well as to a person. Action Fraud has been replaced by Report Fraud. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, report at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040. Which? confirms that the old Action Fraud site redirects there. In Scotland, the government’s fraud guidance says to call Police Scotland on 101. Keep any reference number you’re given with the rest of your evidence.

Step 7: Protect yourself next time

Policy wording. Add a short, fair clause to your returns or damage policy, for example:

“If your order arrives damaged, please contact us within 30 days. We may ask for photos taken at the time, including the packaging and label, or ask you to return the item so we can check it. This doesn’t affect your statutory rights.”

That last sentence matters. You can ask for evidence, but you can’t contract out of the Consumer Rights Act.

Dispatch photos. Photograph high-value items and the sealed box before posting: a free “before” picture.

Live-capture evidence. The strongest evidence is a photo the customer couldn’t have prepared in advance. Asking for a handwritten code in shot works by hand. Tools like ClaimCam automate it.

Worked example

Say a customer buys a £180 ceramic table lamp from your Shopify store. Four days after delivery they email one photo showing a long crack down the base and ask for a full refund.

You check the file: 1024×1024 pixels, no camera data. The crack runs smoothly over the glaze pattern without chipping it. Reverse image search finds nothing.
You reply: “Sorry about this. Could you send three photos: the whole lamp, a close-up of the crack with a note showing today’s date and your order number, and the box with the label?”
Two days later, nothing. You send one polite reminder.
The customer replies with the same photo plus a new one at a slightly different angle. The crack has moved.
You offer the legal route: “We’re happy to arrange collection so we can inspect it and refund you if it’s damaged.” You’d pay the collection cost, around £10–£15 for a parcel this size, which is worth it on £180.
They decline and open a chargeback. You submit your messages, the original files, your dispatch photo and the collection offer you made.

Checklist

How ClaimCam handles this

ClaimCam gives you a claim link to paste into your reply by email or in your shop’s helpdesk (not in Amazon or eBay messages, which don’t allow links). The customer’s phone opens a live camera in the browser with no upload button, so camera-roll or AI-edited images can’t be submitted. They write a one-time code on paper and keep it in shot for three guided photos: the whole item, the damage close-up, and the packaging and label. Each frame is fingerprinted and timestamped by the server, and an AI check reads the handwritten code and flags photos of a screen or print. You get a private evidence page you can save as a PDF for a dispute. It’s deterrence plus evidence, not proof: a customer who really damaged the item can still photograph real damage.

This is general information, not legal advice.