I'm scared, frustrated, don't know who to go to anymore

[ProfCrash]

People getting around geographic restrictions normally get an email that says that they have suspended the account and you need to send proof of your address or a copy of your US passport. If you don't, they won't let you buy from Amazon.US but they do not lock the account.

[ProDigit]

get a new mail account, new bank card, and new amazon account.

[Redcard]

Originally Posted by yacoob

I wonder whether they consider fraud situations where people buy books outside of their geographical region. A lot of people from mobilereads do that.

That I don't know, cause, yeah, can't go in to details I just pointed them to the threads, and they looked, and got back to me and said "Legit. Fraud." I'd wager that means like, monetary fraud, because fraud is a much different word than "TOS violation", but I can't speculate really, because they can't detail information directly from a customer record, because...

Privacy Policies

[fulltimer]

Originally Posted by ProDigit

get a new mail account, new bank card, and new amazon account.

Perhaps cleaning all the Amazon spyware from the system would be required as well.

There was some way they knew my S-I-L had used my computer.

I thought I always have cookies disabled but perhaps Amazon has some that cannot be removed or disabled.


.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by fulltimer

Perhaps cleaning all the Amazon spyware from the system would be required as well.

There was some way they knew my S-I-L had used my computer.

I thought I always have cookies disabled but perhaps Amazon has some that cannot be removed or disabled.


.

Just reformat the hard disk and re-install everything. A good idea every year or so, anyway. Your computer will run much smoother.

[jrw93]

Hello All,

Sorry for the late response. I just logged back on and saw an additional 4 pages, looks like there was quite a discussion when I was gone.

To those who don't believe my story or believe I am making up information, how does that benefit me? Do you really think I will get my account re-instated by creating a thread on a forum that Amazon most likely never reads?

Absolutely not. I am at a point of no return, and instead of sulking and moving on, I am trying to do a favor by bringing to light a dramatic issue fellow kindle members might face in the future.

It was already made clear to me that my account will not be restored. I will thus be bringing my purchases to other competitors such as Newegg.com.

My intentions with this thread was to hopefully enlighten some on the effects of DRM and digital content provided by a online retailer. For the most part, I believe I at least sparked a interest that at least helps me progress toward that goal.

To those that do not believe my story or believe I am withholding information, that is perfectly fine. Just please keep in mind this can just as well happen to you exactly like it happened to me.

[mrscoach]

Exactly when did you get this email from Amazon and start on this adventure? I am unclear on this, because you started off by stating 'recently' in your original post.

I, too, have wondered from the start why you stated that you had closed previous accounts (plural) voluntarily. Then I read your post stating you had only closed ONE previous account. Why state otherwise in the beginning?

I don't know what I believe, but I'm not sure you have given them enough time to respond. I agree with the others to give it a few weeks.

[jrw93]

Hello All -

Sorry for my delayed response.

I have just received multiple PMs asking me questions and I noticed I made some mistakes in the way I explained things -

When pat asked me how many accounts I had, I thought he mean't how many I closed myself. I have only closed 1 account by myself.

I had another account open in addition to the main account. The main account was usually used for seller while the secondary account was used to purchase. This is to separate my e-mail address in boxes so one e-mail will only get purchase/shipment confirmations from Amazon and one e-mail will only get purchase confirmations for my products and shipping label creation/delivery confirmations.

I found it much easier to separate by e-mail accounts, as g-mail separation doesn't work very well.

Also -- I was asked in the first post that I was seeking advice and later wrote about how I am trying to warn people. After about 4 days of getting no-where, I have given up hope in reinstating my account. I have tried to e-mail the department that tried and get the account reopened, but no e-mail has been answered. It has been about 30 hours since the last e-mail. I thought there was a possibility of reinstatement, but it was made very clear that there is not. That is why I changed my viewpoint on this entire issue.

I first attempted to log onto my account on Feb 17, and was notified the account was closed.

I hope this clears some confusion.

[speakingtohe]

Just a couple of suggestions.

Write a letter on paper and send it registered. Sometimes that gets looked at by a different person. If you have access to free legal help in drafting it (Law line type services) so much the better.

If you have identity theft protection or buyer protection on the credit cards you used to make your purchases you may have some recourse through the credit card company.

Good luck
Helen

[emellaich]

Re: the too many returns thing. I had this happen many years (decades?) ago. I bought a big screen TV at a place with a no questions asked return policy. I decided to return it -- I can't remember why. They accepted the return and then cancelled my account.

They were within their rights, but I sure was frustrated. Before I purchased the TV I would have liked to know that their return policy was: "you can buy it and return it no questions asked, but if you do return it you will never buy anything else from us again."

This was my only return, although it was a big ticket item. I just wish that I knew the rules going in so I could manage my returns as appropriate.

For example, WalMart changed their policy in the last couple of years. It used to be that you could return anything at any time, and without a receipt. The newer policy was (is?) you can make two returns without a receipt in a 12 month period and the return will be for store credit only. I have no problem with those terms since they tell you upfront. I wouldn't be happy if they accepted the two returns and then banned you from the store.

[Beryll Snyder]

Originally Posted by jrw93

Hello All,


To those who don't believe my story or believe I am making up information, how does that benefit me? Do you really think I will get my account re-instated by creating a thread on a forum that Amazon most likely never reads?



My intentions with this thread was to hopefully enlighten some on the effects of DRM and digital content provided by a online retailer. For the most part, I believe I at least sparked a interest that at least helps me progress toward that goal.

To those that do not believe my story or believe I am withholding information, that is perfectly fine. Just please keep in mind this can just as well happen to you exactly like it happened to me.

Some people came up with ideas to create a new account.

About DRM. I don't have a kindle, but as far as I know there is enough space to store hundreds of books on one device. So you should still be able to read your books. Am I wrong here?

And no, this is not the case "could happen to anyone" - otherwise they would be out of business by now.

[JoHunt]

jrw, since you believe yourself to be completely innocent, why are you so easily giving up your "large kindle library as WELL as a large amazon app-store library"? You don't seem willing to do anything further than to post here to tell us to back up our digital content.

Were I in your shoes, I would be outraged and would contact everyone, including the media, to try and put pressure on Amazon to reinstate my account, or at the very least to compensate me for purchases I can no longer access.

It just doesn't make sense to me to have the attitude of "oh well, Amazon banned me by mistake and screwed me out of all of my digital purchases, so I'll just start buying somewhere else".

[Beryll Snyder]

Originally Posted by FJames

So you're saying that it's ok for Amazon to terminate someone's account and lock them out of all their legitimately-purchased digital content because they asked for their mail-order goods to be delivered in undamaged condition once too often?

Well, I have hundreds of books stored on my Nook. If I am locked out, I still have the books in my possession ...

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by jrw93

I thought there was a possibility of reinstatement, but it was made very clear that there is not. That is why I changed my viewpoint on this entire issue.

I first attempted to log onto my account on Feb 17, and was notified the account was closed.

I hope this clears some confusion.

Thanks, that does help a lot.

Only five days since your account was closed, and two of those the weekend? That's really not very long. I don't think that you should give up hope yet, especially as you've lost access to purchased materials.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Beryll Snyder

Well, I have hundreds of books stored on my Nook. If I am locked out, I still have the books in my possession ...

Unlike Adobe's ebook DRM system, Kindle ebooks are tied to a particular device, not to a particular ID.

So even if he has all his Kindle ebooks on his current Kindle, if that Kindle breaks he will lose access to all the books.

For your nook, the equivalent would be deleting your Adobe ID, so that you couldn't register any new devices.