Why Evidence Must Be Secured Immediately
While lawyers build the legal position, your primary task as a business owner is to preserve the evidence. Experience from previous major warehouse fires on Russian marketplaces shows that storage and inventory data in seller accounts tends to “quietly update” — or become inaccessible entirely.
Without documents, proving the extent of your loss in court becomes exponentially harder. Work through this checklist now.
Step 1. Capture All Data from Your Seller Account
Download every available report. Extract detailed stock reports for the affected warehouse in every available format: Excel, PDF, CSV. The more formats, the better — redundancy protects against questions about file authenticity.
Take screenshots with the right identifiers. Capture your product listings, the Deliveries section, and acceptance records. Each screenshot must clearly show:
- the full URL in the address bar,
- the current date and system time of the device.
A screenshot without a URL and timestamp is nearly useless in arbitration proceedings.
Step 2. Collect Primary Documents on Cost Price
Courts and pre-litigation procedures require evidence of actual loss under Articles 15 and 902 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. You need primary documents confirming your real expenditure:
- Universal transfer documents (UTDs) and invoices from suppliers;
- Contracts with manufacturers and suppliers;
- Customs declarations (GTDs) for imported goods, plus payment orders confirming you paid for the goods and logistics to the warehouse.
Without this package, the court cannot determine the amount of actual loss — and the marketplace will exploit that gap.
Step 3. Silence Mode on Any Agreements and Buttons
If the platform sends banners, surveys, or forms offering “preferential rates” or asking you to “confirm an agreement”:
Do not click “Accept” without reading the complete text. These agreements routinely contain language such as:
“By accepting these preferential conditions, the party confirms the absence of any further property or financial claims.”
One button click — and you have voluntarily waived a claim worth millions of roubles.
The Legal Foundation: Why the Law Supports You
Under Article 901 of the Civil Code, a marketplace is a professional custodian, responsible for the safety of goods in its care. Under Article 425, the new drone force-majeure clause has no retroactive effect on goods delivered to the warehouse before it was published.
If you secure the evidence correctly, your legal position will be strong.
Read Also
- Notarial Evidence Preservation After a Warehouse Fire: Why Screenshots Are Not Enough
- WB Warehouse: How to Collect Your Surviving Goods Without Waiving Your Compensation Claim
Not sure whether your document package is sufficient to file an official claim? Contact us — we will review your primary documents and tell you what is still needed.