Watchdog talks about Amazon closing accounts

[rjcchan]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

(SNIP) Why would they spend more money on someone their algorithm has already flagged as potentially costing them more money than their continued business is worth (right or wrong)?

And, for that matter, why should they provide back up/cloud services, or authorization services or anything else to those individuals?

Looking forward to the BBC show.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by rjcchan

And, for that matter, why should they provide back up/cloud services, or authorization services or anything else to those individuals?

Exactly.
Because they choose to.

[Barcey]

Originally Posted by rjcchan

And, for that matter, why should they provide back up/cloud services, or authorization services or anything else to those individuals?

Looking forward to the BBC show.

If they refund the purchase costs of all the media they sold to the customer they wouldn't be expected to, however they sold the electronic media including those services and in some instances requiring those services. If Amazon unilaterally terminates access to the media and doesn't allow the customer a satisfactory explanation why, I think they've earned the criticism. If they want to unilaterally decide not to accept sales transactions going forward that's fine but it shouldn't penalize past purchases.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Barcey

If they refund the purchase costs of all the media they sold to the customer they wouldn't be expected to, however they sold the electronic media including those services and in some instances requiring those services. If Amazon unilaterally terminates access to the media and doesn't allow the customer a satisfactory explanation why, I think they've earned the criticism. If they want to unilaterally decide not to accept sales transactions going forward that's fine but it shouldn't penalize past purchases.

They shouldn't...
... unless they want the criticism that will follow.

And if they decide that their customer-centric policy (with the end goal of making, rather than losing, money) entails silencing that criticism -- by ensuring continued access -- then it would be a tautology to say that they will make that call.

As for whether they can...
... why not? I still haven't heard a good reason.

I have heard a lot of people not being clear about which one they are referring to.

[FizzyWater]

For what it's worth, Amazon does have other options beyond simply blowing off requests for explanations. They'll cost them money, so as DiapDialer has implied, they have to decide the good-will PR benefit would ultimately aid their bottom line.

They could create a switch that allows them or the user to create a digital-only account, for example. We here all know it's really an illusion (thank you, Apprentice Alf and loves Cabbages and any others who keep things going over there), but most Amazon ebook/MP3/audiobook/video customers are assuming that as long as Amazon/Audible is open, they'll have access to their digital "purchases".

Or, they could completely separate their digital services from their physical goods. This is opposite to the direction they seem to be heading (I won't be surprised if Audible is eventually subsumed into the Amazon website entirely). But it is an option.

I suspect, however, any kind of special protection of the digital access won't happen until and unless enough consumers make a stink about it.

As with many folks here, I've purchased ebooks for over a decade now. I've lost access to libraries when companies went out of business. But with a company the size of Amazon now (not the Amazon that closed down its LIT and PDF business back before Kindle days), I think there would be a huge noise if access to all those books was lost.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

And how do they connect the account?

If they ban me, will they also ban my mother, my sister, my brother, my aunt, my grandfather, etc...
...everyone who ever went to school with me...
... everyone who has or had a shipping address I also have or had?


Maybe this would work better if the accounts had never been connected.

But I am pretty sure there is a bit of leeway here.

And Josieb1 has already separated her Audible and Kindle Store accounts, right?
So I'd just make the split in a slightly different location.

Ive read Amazon can be draconian in this regard. There is very little leeway if any. If you were to open or use another account to circumvent a closure, you'd better be careful about it. Amazon are like the Terminator once they mark you.

[Dopedangel]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Ive read Amazon can be draconian in this regard. There is very little leeway if any. If you were to open or use another account to circumvent a closure, you'd better be careful about it. Amazon are like the Terminator once they mark you.

Yes I have heard of people getting accounts blocked because another account that was blocked had the same address.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

This is a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad idea.

Amazon take a very dim view indeed of people opening more than one account to get around restrictions on an account.

It is the person that gets barred from Amazon, not the account. If anyone did open up a 'physical-items-only' account, and it got closed by Amazon for any reason, any other account they had would also be closed.

I think this is a very important warning, worth highlighting.

People might have reservations about Amazon, but not being able to shop from them at all must be quite a limitation for most.

[Barty]

I'm about to test Amazon's "free return" policy on apparel by returning two pairs of shoes. They're skechers walking shoes similar but not identical to a pair I bought before but is no longer made. These new ones don't feel as good or fit as well.

This thread is making me a little nervous lol. I'm doubly wary because I used my brother's prime account for the free shipping and he's not going to be happy if he gets a letter

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Barty

I'm about to test Amazon's "free return" policy on apparel by returning two pairs of shoes. They're skechers walking shoes similar but not identical to a pair I bought before but is no longer made. These new ones don't feel as good or fit as well.

This thread is making me a little nervous lol. I'm doubly wary because I used my brother's prime account for the free shipping and he's not going to be happy if he gets a letter

One return won't get you a letter.
The people that get letters tend to have at least double digit returns.
And the letter says please watch your returns.

[mrscoach]

I'm about to return something, but I ordered purple, the box says purple, but the flowers can in no way be interpreted as purple. They are blue. Not even a purplish shade of blue but a bright blue.
I'm not worried at all about the return.

[mgbino]

Originally Posted by mrscoach

I'm about to return something, but I ordered purple, the box says purple, but the flowers can in no way be interpreted as purple. They are blue. Not even a purplish shade of blue but a bright blue.
I'm not worried at all about the return.

I think you really have to abuse the return policy to get booted. I probably have returned a couple hundred dollars worth of stuff in the past couple years and I've never gotten any kind of notice. Then again, I buy almost everything from Amazon, so I imagine they look at how much is being spent vs returned when they make a decision to ban an account.

[PeterT]

I wonder if this group might be able to get anything?

The Retail Ombudsman

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/p...h-a-catch.html

Consumer complaints about shopping used to be the preserve of customer service call centres and, occasionally – if the consumer was persistent – the small claims courts. But this year, for the first time, unresolved complaints can be referred to a dispute resolution body.

More than 300 people have already turned to the new Retail Ombudsman service, an independent and unregulated body funded by retailers. It mediates customer disputes with supermarkets, high street brands and online retailers.
...

[PeterT]

Also in the UK I see there is a new Consumer Rights Act.

https://www.theretailombudsman.org.u...-act-cra-2015/

October 1, 2015

New legislation comes into effect under The Consumer Rights Act (CRA) 2015

This month we are having the biggest shake-up in consumer law in a generation
New legislation has come into effect this month under The Consumer Rights Act (CRA) 2015.

This should be your starting point if things go wrong after paying for goods or services.

It will affect everything from what you buy online, in shops and every contract you sign as a consumer.

So, if you want to make sure that you get value for your money in these cash-strapped times, get to know your NEW rights!

What’s changing
The CRA replaces three major pieces of legislation:

• The Sale of Goods Act
• The Supply of Goods and Services Act
• Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations

The CRA applies to contracts and notices between a “trader” and a “consumer” in relation to goods or services purchased on or after October 1, 2015.
...

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The UK program Watchdog is doing a segment on Amazon closing accounts for one too many returns. This will be run on October 29, 2015 at 8:00pm (UK time) in the UK on BBC One. Should be interesting to find out what Amazon has to say.

The Amazon feature isn't on until next week! Just wasted an hour watching this, at least I know not to buy a car from Derby car centre