Dropped Routes, Missing Deposits, and Phantom Charges: A DSP Owner's Guide to Disputing Amazon Invoices

There are three billing errors that account for the majority of recoverable money in Amazon DSP settlements: dropped routes, missing or mismatched deposits, and phantom charges. Each one has a different detection method, a different evidence chain, and a different dispute path.

This is a step-by-step guide to finding and disputing all three.

1. Dropped Routes

What It Looks Like

Your driver completed a route — packages delivered, miles driven, shipments scanned. The Work Summary Tool (WST) shows the route as completed. But when you pull up the settlement for that period, the route isn't credited. It simply doesn't appear in the variable pay calculation.

Dropped routes are the highest-value individual billing error for most DSPs. At $180-250 per route, catching even one per week is worth $9,000-13,000 annually.

How to Identify

1. Open the Work Summary Tool for the settlement period in question. Note the total route count and list each route code with its date.
2. Open the settlement report for the same period. Find the variable pay section and note the route count.
3. Compare the two. If WST shows 168 completed routes but the settlement credits 166, two routes were dropped.
4. Identify which specific routes are missing by matching route codes between the two sources.

WST data refreshes weekly. If you wait until the next period, the data you need may no longer be visible. Screenshot or export WST data the same day you receive each settlement.

How to Dispute

• Go to the FlexPayments portal and find the invoice for the relevant period.
• Click "Start Dispute" and select the appropriate dispute reason.
• In your dispute narrative, include: the specific route code(s), the date(s), shipment counts from WST, and a clear statement that the routes were completed but not credited in the settlement.
• Attach screenshots of WST data showing the completed routes.

What to Include in Your Evidence

• WST screenshot showing the route as completed with shipment count
• Settlement report showing the route is missing from variable pay
• Date and route code for each dropped route
• Total dollar impact (route count difference times per-route rate)

2. Missing or Mismatched Deposits

What It Looks Like

Your settlement report says net settlement is $44,600. You check Payee Central and the deposit shows $44,200. Or worse — there's no corresponding deposit at all for a settlement period.

Deposit mismatches are the most common discrepancy DSP owners encounter, but they're also the most confusing because the cause can be legitimate (timing, split deposits) or an actual error (post-settlement deductions you weren't informed about).

How to Identify

1. Pull your settlement report and note the net settlement amount and period dates.
2. Open Payee Central and find payments that fall within 7-21 days after the settlement period end date. Amazon typically pays 7-14 days after the period, but delays happen.
3. Match by date range first, not by exact dollar amount. Look at the gross amount, deductions, and net on both the settlement and the Payee Central payment.
4. If the net amounts differ, compare the deduction breakdowns. The gap is usually in the deductions — a charge that appears on the payment but not on the original settlement.
5. Check your bank statement to confirm the Payee Central amount actually arrived. If even the bank deposit doesn't match Payee Central, that's a separate issue to flag with your bank.

How to Dispute

Deposit mismatches are disputed through Logistics Support Central (LSC), not the FlexPayments invoice dispute system. This is a different portal and a different process.

• Open a new case in LSC under the billing/payment category.
• Reference both the settlement period and the Payee Central payment ID.
• Describe the discrepancy: "Settlement for period [dates] shows net $X, but Payee Central payment [ID] shows net $Y. Requesting reconciliation of the $[difference] gap."
• Include the specific deduction line items that differ between the two sources.

What to Include in Your Evidence

• Settlement report with net amount highlighted
• Payee Central payment record with net deposit highlighted
• Side-by-side deduction comparison showing where the gap is
• Bank statement confirming the deposit amount received

3. Phantom Charges

What It Looks Like

A deduction appears on your settlement for something that didn't happen — or didn't happen to you. Common examples:

• A vehicle damage charge for an incident involving a different DSP's vehicle at your station.
• Technology fees (Netradyne, Mentor) for vehicles no longer in your fleet.
• Duplicate charges — the same deduction appearing on consecutive settlements.
• Training or uniform charges for drivers who never completed onboarding.
• AFS charges for routes you actually covered with your own drivers.

How to Identify

1. Review every deduction line item on your settlement — not just the totals.
2. For damage/accident charges: cross-reference against your internal incident reports. Do you have a record of this incident? Was your vehicle actually involved?
3. For technology fees: compare the per-vehicle charge count against your current active fleet. If you have 35 vehicles but are being charged for 38 cameras, three are phantom charges.
4. For AFS charges: check fleet records for the specific route code and date. Did your driver actually run that route? If so, the AFS charge is wrong.
5. For any deduction: compare against the prior two settlements. If the same charge appears twice for the same incident, it's a duplicate.

How to Dispute

• Use the FlexPayments invoice dispute for charges that appear on a specific invoice.
• In your dispute narrative: state clearly what the charge is, why it's incorrect, and what evidence you have.
• For damage charges: "Vehicle [VIN/number] was not involved in incident [reference]. Fleet records show the vehicle was [at a different location / not on route / decommissioned] on [date]."
• For duplicate charges: "This charge appears on both the [date] and [date] settlements. Requesting removal of the duplicate."

What to Include in Your Evidence

• Fleet snapshot showing vehicle location/status on the date in question
• Internal incident log showing no record of the claimed event
• Prior settlement showing the same charge (for duplicates)
• Current fleet roster vs. technology fee count (for tech overcharges)

General Dispute Best Practices

• File within 48 hours. The dispute window is 7-14 days, but evidence gets harder to gather the longer you wait. Make it a Tuesday ritual.
• Screenshot everything immediately. WST data, fleet snapshots, and Payee Central records all change over time. Capture them the day you spot the discrepancy.
• Track outcomes. Keep a simple log: date, invoice number, dispute type, dollar amount, result (approved/denied/pending). After a few months, you'll know which disputes are worth filing and which categories Amazon consistently denies.
• Follow up after 7 days. Disputes that go unanswered for more than a week should be escalated through LSC. Don't assume silence means approval.
• Be specific in narratives. "The settlement is wrong" doesn't get resolved. "Route DFW-2847 on June 15 shows 142 packages delivered in WST but is not credited in the variable pay section of invoice INV-1248" gets resolved.