Amazon account closed

[mccarrsw]

Hi,

I admit, I was drawn to this forum via googling my problem and finding an older, similar previous thread that is now closed after veering off-topic.

But anyway, I have also just suffered the stress of having an Amazon account closed down without warning or detail. After a prolonged period, I eventually received the email tonight that stated:

"We've found your account is directly related to another account which has been previously closed for abuse of our policies. As such, your Amazon.com account has been closed and any open orders have been canceled. All other accounts related to yours have also been closed."

Unlike the previous poster, I have only ever had one Amazon account, in use since 2002/2003. I have never been a marketplace seller. I've had a pretty unexceptional history of buying occasional (but expensive) natural history books and random fiction, and never returned an item before.

This seems to have come about after my Kindle broke. It was frozen and wouldn't turn on. I contacted Amazon customer services, went through the technical support procedures and was told that it should be replaced. I was informed that my details would be passed onto sales and that a new device would be shipped to me ASAP. Although I received the technical support receipt, I never received a sales one.

I never thought too much of it and was busy myself, but after a week I attempted to login to Amazon to check on the status and couldn't. Whenever I would try a password reset, it didn't work.

A couple of days later I spoke to an apologetic person who passed on my problem to account services, promising a solution within 24 hours.

72 hours later, I received the email from accounts services providing the details quoted above.

Having quickly read over the other thread, I'm a bit stressed about obtaining a positive result. Although there were many cynics on that thread, I'm pretty baffled about what has gone wrong here.

Like I said, this is my sole Amazon account and until now I've never returned anything. My partner does also have an Amazon account, on a separate email address and credit card. Plus he typically ships to the UK, whereas I typically ship directly to my home in the Netherlands.

We did have a previous Kindle Keyboard in the family. I got on a flight in November only to discover that it no longer worked. Because we were on holiday and I wanted to read, I bought a new Kindle from a store. When we returned from holiday, my partner reported the broken Kindle Keyboard. It was a couple of weeks beyond one year old, so Amazon requested he pay £40 for a replacement, which he did. The replacement came and the broken model was returned.

Now my regular Kindle has broken after less than four months and I am locked out of my account without a means to get a replacement.

I am only mentioning the Kindle Keyboard story because it's also the only item that my partner has ever returned. His account even predates mine, and he's also never been a marketplace seller. What's more, his account has not been closed, so I do not believe his account is part of the problem.

I don't know if there's anyone here capable of providing me further advice that will resolve the situation. But I'm upset about three issues:

- If there has been fraudulent account activity, Amazon is not providing details or evidence, so I could still be at risk.

- I have a four-month old Kindle that is dead. If Amazon isn't going to replace it, what do I do? I have a receipt, a serial number and credit card proof of purchase.

- I have almost a decade of purchase history and now I am being told I am no longer entitled to be an Amazon customer.

[DiapDealer]

If you read the other thread, you'll know that that person got their account reinstated through persistence. Nobody here has any special Amazon-fu. If you truly have been the victim of some automated flagging system mistakenly identifying your account as suspicious, then your only option is to consistently/persistently communicate that fact to Amazon until you see results (or you give up).

Until then... this thread will flip-flop between utter disbelief of your plight and adamant belief in Amazon's inherent account-canceling evilness (and everything in between). What this thread won't do, is help you in any practical way. Talk to Amazon. We can only offer moral support or snide remarks.

[Belle2Be]

Why not just call them ??

[jgaiser]

Ok, not picking on you, but why are you posting this here?

If all of your post is true, you *really* need to be working on getting some help from *Amazon*, not MobileRead. There's nothing the folks here can do, besides say we're sorry.

And almost certainly this will veer off-topic too.

(Edit: Yeah.. What DiapDealer said )

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

We can only offer moral support or snide remarks.

And you always offer up both at the same time!

Anyway, it never hurts to let a wider audience know about your problems. It greatly increases the likelihood that Amazon steps in and decides it is not worth the bad publicity.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

(Edit: Yeah.. What DiapDealer said )

What do they call whole posts that say the exact same things, only with different words?

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

What do they call whole posts that say the exact same things, only with different words?

Yeah, but I said it in less words.

After the last episode, I just didn't want to see this one spiral down too.

[TimW]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Yeah, but I said it in less words.

After the last episode, I just didn't want to see this one spiral down too.

Well, that's a given.

[mccarrsw]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Ok, not picking on you, but why are you posting this here?

If all of your post is true, you *really* need to be working on getting some help from *Amazon*, not MobileRead. There's nothing the folks here can do, besides say we're sorry.

And almost certainly this will veer off-topic too.

(Edit: Yeah.. What DiapDealer said )

Just posting out of desperation - and because I couldn't reply to the other thread. I did say upfront that I found this forum through googling my problem.

It may be that no-one here has any magic powers to help, but as the people here are Kindle users and Amazon customers, it may still be worth documenting my scenario in case this becomes an ongoing issue for other users too.

I will take the advice to be persistent but it's very frustrating, as their latest communication states clearly that I can only respond to one email address and to have no further no contact with Amazon customer service.

And I'm unsure what to do about the broken Kindle. If I try to get it replaced via my partner's Amazon account, there seems a risk that his account could be locked too.

I was pretty upset about this last night. I just have to try remain calm and continue to present my story to Amazon. But it's especially tricky when they won't say what you're accused of.

Thanks

[tubemonkey]

File a warranty claim with Amazon.

[mccarrsw]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

File a warranty claim with Amazon.

Thanks. I'll check out what I can do there. I'm pretty confident that I have consumer rights on my side regarding the Kindle - especially as technical support already acknowledged the device was faulty and should be replaced.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Until then... this thread will flip-flop between utter disbelief of your plight and adamant belief in Amazon's inherent account-canceling evilness (and everything in between). What this thread won't do, is help you in any practical way. Talk to Amazon. We can only offer moral support or snide remarks.

Wow, that was brilliantly insightful and concise. You just saved me hours of checking back here.

And no, despite how it may sound, I do NOT mean that sarcastically.

I will be curious to hear what happens at the end, so I hope the OP will keep us posted.

(Oh, you can put me down for half a portion of disbelief, two something in-betweens, and two...no...make it one...snide remark.)

[MJK2111]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

What do they call whole posts that say the exact same things, only with different words?

Redundant?

[DiapDealer]

Redundant?

Well, I was looking for something a bit more along the lines of "great minds think alike" or "funny coincidence" since they were posted close enough together that the second was clearly still being typed while the first was being posted.

I was hoping there might be a new word for simultaneous posts that share several (and possibly all) points.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by mccarrsw

I'm pretty confident that I have consumer rights on my side regarding the Kindle - especially as technical support already acknowledged the device was faulty and should be replaced.

I firmly believe that even if your account is suspended forever [justly or otherwise] you still have your consumer rights and they have to honor your warranty even if they refuse to do further business with you. But, I am spoiled by being from EU where consumers enjoy much better protection.

You could go to your CreditCard issuer and demand your money back. But first document your attempts to resolve the issues with Amazon peacefully. Send an official letter to Amazon demanding an official answer.

Be persistent. Explain that you never had related account or a returned item. Escalate your communication - ask to speak to the supervisor of the person that is communicating with you. Write [registered paper] letter to their headquarters. In the meanwhile try contacting some consumer rights protection organization.

Demand access to your legally purchased e-books. Argue that you clicked on a "buy" button and not on "rent" button when purchasing books.

Do. Not. Give. Up.
They are trying to make impression that your case is hopeless, so you stop bothering them. Prepare for a long fight, or write of your Kindle.