Dear Mr Bezos,
I wrote to you on 6th November this year with a question, and received a reply from your Amazon Executive Customer Relations saying that they would look into it and get back to me in a couple of days. After a week I chased it up, to make sure I hadn’t missed an email, and was told that an update would be sent as soon as a response was received from the internal enquiry.
I tried chasing it up again today, after a month, but the emails just bounced - I assume that the response email address has expired.
I know that we’re now in the holiday season, and so I don’t expect to hear anything before the new year, but I would still like an answer - positive or negative - to my original question (original message copied below, along with other correspondence.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas,
Paul Durrant
====== ORIGINAL QUERY, sent 6th November 2015 ======
Dear Mr Bezos,
Back in 2012 there was the widely reported case of a Norwegian woman whose account was closed by Amazon, and who said she lost access to her previously purchased Kindle ebooks. See, for example, this report in The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/money/201...eletes-account
I was very pleased at the time when Amazon quickly moved to make things right, and released a statement (added as an update to the above article) "We would like to clarify our policy on this topic. Account status should not affect any customer's ability to access their library. If any customer has trouble accessing their content, he or she should contact customer service for help.”
A friend recently received a warning email about the number of returns they had made on their Amazon account, and was deeply worried about what would happen to their Kindle library (& their other digital content) if their Amazon account did get closed. As they weren’t reassured when I pointed out Amazon’s 2012 statement, I thought I would ask customer service to confirm that even if their account was closed by Amazon, they would still retain access to their Kindle library and other digital content.
I was rather surprised to be told that "At this time, I'd like to confirm that if your account is closed for any reason, it is true that you will lose access to your purchased Digital content.”
I asked for clarification, since the reply didn’t address the conflict between this statement and Amazon’s 2012 statement. After a couple more attempts to clarify that I was asking about forced account closure, and about the 2012 statement, I was told "Once your account is closed […] the following will no longer be available to you: […] * your Kindle library” and "We won't be able to provide further assistance for your request.”
I am distressed to find this disparity between Amazon’s public statement when there was a fuss in the media, and the response from customer service.
I would be most grateful to be told explicitly whether or not Amazon’s 2012 statement is still true.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Durrant
(Amazon customer since 1999)
====== FIRST RESPONSE, received 11th November 2015 ======
Dear Mr Durrant
My name is Heather and I work within Amazon Executive Customer Relations.
Thank you for contacting the office of the Managing Director.
We received your recent e-mail and are investigating your comments. I will aim to update you within 1-2 business days.
Thank you for your patience.
Heather Lyons
Executive Customer Relations
Amazon.co.uk
====== MY REPLY, sent 18th November 2015 ======
Dear Ms Lyons,
Just checking in with you in case I missed an email from you. But I’d much rather have a definitive answer than a quick answer, so I’m truly not intending to nag.
regards,
Paul Durrant
====== SECOND RESPONSE, sent 19 November, 2015 ======
Dear Mr Durrant
My name is Heather Lyons and I work within Amazon Executive Customer Relations.
Sorry for the delay in responding to you. I have chased this issue for you again today.
I will aim to update you as soon as I receive a response to my enquiries from the relevant team.
Thank you for your patience.
Heather Lyons
Executive Customer Relations
Amazon.co.uk
====== FURTHER REPLIES, 20th December 2015, bounced with this response: ======
Hello,
Our Customer Service department didn't receive the e-mail message below. If you still need help, please visit one of the pages below so we can quickly provide you with additional information or give assistance via e-mail or phone.
Your Account provides quick access to open and completed orders and other account information.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/your-account
Use the Help search to quickly find the information you need.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/help
Copy the message below into our contact form to send us an e-mail. If you'd rather talk to us on the phone, select "Phone".
http://www.amazon.co.uk/contact-us
We look forward to hearing from you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------To: "resolution-uk+A1VWITLSRKIVJP@amazon.co.uk" <resolution-uk+A1VWITLSRKIVJP@amazon.co.uk>
From: Paul Durrant <paul@durrant.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Your Correspondence with Mr Christhoper North
Dear Ms Lyons,
Just checking in with you again, in case I missed an email from you.
I realise that we are now into the holiday season, and it’s unlikely that you’ll have an answer before sometime in the New Year - I’m now on holiday myself until the 4th January.
Season’s Greetings to you.
regards,
Paul Durrant