It was asked if I'd left anything out of the quote from the email. I quoted the key part here. The remainder was simply:
"We understand your viewpoint regarding the cancellation of your account, and we're sorry that you're so disappointed by our decision.
If you have any questions or concerns, please write to
cis@amazon.com."
Which I took to be an improvement over the previous statements that nothing said is worth the bother because I won't get reinstated.
As I said in the original post, there have been two Kindles in the household. The Kindle Keyboard was bought in October 2010 and broke in November 2011. It suffered a damaged screen and my partner paid £40 for the replacement as it was out of warranty.
The regular Kindle was purchased at the end of November and broke in March. Unlike the other Kindle, this one simply won't switch on (or the screen doesn't wake up). The screensaver is permanently on.
This weekend I'll be on holiday in the UK. I may as print out my emails from Amazon and take them to the Carphone Warehouse, which seems to be the last remains of Best Buy over in the UK. No harm in asking.