The Amazon judge and jury

[Dawg52]

I would simply write them a go to hell letter and move on. I wouldn't care to do business with anyone who would not listen to my response. Obviously the letter will be canned by some grunt but I would feel better.

[Jerry1]

Sorry, can’t be much help, but if they have an arbitration clause in their terms and conditions, why not try that? Small claims court may work, but my unlicensed legal understanding is that courts require you to follow the process that is provided for in your contract.

Personally, I’d try the physical letter approach first. You might want to consider including a copy of the credit card statement for the card you do have through them and on file with them for payments to show them you are who you are. Block out all but the last for digits and send it certified.

[spncity]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry1 Personally, I’d try the physical letter approach first. You might want to consider including a copy of the credit card statement for the card you do have through them and on file with them for payments to show them you are who you are. Block out all but the last for digits and send it certified.

I'd try the letter to Jeff Bezos first, maybe including the above.

I can understand not wanting to be on TV. It would be an interesting NYT article if you could get a reporter interested. Or maybe better - Washington Post!

[mamadogmamacat]

Wow, very sorry this happened to you.

A couple ideas come to mind.

One has already been mentioned. That is, a consumer advocate. As has been said, they do help more people than just those on TV. Your case probably would not have as much public interest as say anything involving children or dogs, so probably would not be one they would put on TV anyway. But they may help. If a local one concerns you, I believe Clark Howard helps folks on a national level, not just the metro Atlanta area. So, you could google to get his website.

Another idea not yet mentioned would be to call one of your representatives. I would start with a state rep, not congressional. They like to, if they have any smart at all, develop a loyal voter base, and helping you with this, especially if they are successful, would I imagine be something you would tell other local voters about.

[Totoro]

“We seek to be Earth’s most customer-centric company for four primary customer sets: consumers, sellers, enterprises, and content creators.”

Amazon mission statement. Lately, I think they've given up on that.

It depends a bit, but I've had success in resolving issues by referring to a company mission or values.

[Amethyst]

Interesting. My first thought was, "Wow, to treat a customer that way, they are really b******s! I'm glad I never fell for that Prime membership they are always pushing." We don't buy that much from Amazon. Walmart.com often has better prices for everyday things, and our clothes and shoes come from other sites.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras You got me rethinking my gift card balance. I've converted various awards and refunds to gift cards. For example, when I re-upped my TV last year, they sent a debit cards with a balance. I promptly converted it to an Amazon gift card and have a balance. I don't think I'm going to do that anymore after reading this.

[braumeister]

They were much easier to deal with back when they were known as the Acme company. As I remember it, a certain Wile E. Coyote was able to easily order just about anything from them and receive it quickly.
Screen Shot 2018-06-09 at 7.06.10 AM.png

Seriously, this is a terrible problem and I think it would be perfect for your local media consumer advocate to tackle.

[Hopeful]

Any chance you were using a VPN? Not sure that would matter, but is one thing that I could think of were your IP address could be associated with another account.

[MuirWannabe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopeful Any chance you were using a VPN? Not sure that would matter, but is one thing that I could think of were your IP address could be associated with another account.

No, not VPN.

[cathy63]

I read Chris Elliott's newspaper column and website, and consumer advocates generally don't take Amazon cases because Amazon ignores them. At best, they might respond by informing the advocate that they can't talk about any account with a 3rd party. A very small number of people have had some luck with their cases by using the executive contacts other than Jeff Bezos on this list: Amazon customer service contacts

Once your account has been associated with credit card fraud, there is, unfortunately, very little that you can do to prove to Amazon that you don't know the fraudster. It may be that you ordered something on your tablet while at a location that was used by the fraudster; or you ordered something to be delivered to an address where someone else committed fraud; or someone who stole a credit card used it to have merchandise shipped to your address while you were away.

Another option would be to file a complaint for theft of the $170 with your state's and Washington state's Attorneys General. If enough complaints pile up, they might get eventually some action.

[MuirWannabe]

Wow. Seems nobody could get Amazon to listen.

I’m sure glad Amazon doesn’t run our criminal justice system. You’re guilty of a crime. We can’t tell you what it is. You can’t face your accusers. You can’t even discuss it with anyone. And we are giving you the death penalty. But we live to serve.

[MuirWannabe]

I’ve been thinking about my usage and dependence on the big tech companies. The FAANG companies if you will.

What if they ever collaborated with each other to share a ‘bad’ customers list? If you get on ones bad list, then suddenly you’re rejected from all of them. I’m sure this is just a thought exercise. Although there is cross pollination between these tech giants, I doubt they’d ever collaborate to that level.

I’m obviously going to have to live without Amazon now. I’m still wrapping my head around that. My life will be less convenient but I’ll adjust.

If Facebook kicked me out that would also just be an inconvenience. Id lose tracking ability and information related to family and some key hobby groups (running/hiking) that would hurt. But I’d adjust.

If Apple kicked me out that would hurt. I guess my iPhone/iPad devices couldn’t be supported and I can’t imagine not having those in this day and age.

I’d sure miss Netflix too. I’m already missing Amazon Prime video. But I’d adjust.

Getting kicked out of Google? Can they even do that? [emoji15]

Anyway, paranoia sets in.

[ERD50]

This stinks.


I have no real suggestions beyond what has been posted, but based on this, I am going to work a little harder to get into the habit of using Walmart or other online merchants. Amazon is pretty much my default 'go to', but I do check from time to time, and sometimes find better deals elsewhere.



I don't do Prime, I always am able to get free shipping by adding some 'staples' from my wish-list if needed to hit the $25 point. I rarely need something in 2-3 days versus 3-7 days that I normally get. Seeing that they didn't even refund the balance of the Prime fee is really something. And what about any reward balance you might have?



Hmm, probably way more effort than it is worth, but since it seems like there is identity theft involved, maybe talk to local law enforcement, with the angle that Amazon is withholding evidence from you? Might be interesting if they were sympathetic, and wanted to give Amazon some grief. They are probably Amazon customers too?



-ERD50

edit/add: I just installed a new OS on my computer "Xubuntu 18.04", and need to reset this double space issue in FireFox:

got to about:config , search for: editor.use_div_for_default_newlines , set to false

[Texas Proud]

I wonder what people who talk about going to court or some other legal remedy are thinking... laws are different between the states...



When I talked to the Texas Attorney General's office (well, I think it was this agency) I was told that a business can refuse to do business with you as long as they are not breaking any law.... now, I was asking about restaurant specifically, but I think it is for any business...


This might be Texas specific as I do remember when reading about the Colorado cake/gay couple case that there is a law in Colorado that requires if a business is open it must serve everybody....

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud I wonder what people who talk about going to court or some other legal remedy are thinking... laws are different between the states... When I talked to the Texas Attorney General's office (well, I think it was this agency) I was told that a business can refuse to do business with you as long as they are not breaking any law.... ....

Yes, but they are also holding $170 of his money. That part seems different than merely saying they won't do future business with you.

Can you imaging going into a B&M business, paying for something large that requires you to drive your car around to their dock, and when you get there they say "Sorry, we canceled your account while you were driving up. We are keeping your money, but won't give you the product you paid for. Can't tell you any more."?

-ERD50

[RetireAge50]

Perhaps another user was using your account with their own credit card ending in 47 or whatever. I would write them a letter asking for a list of your last 10 orders. Ask them to remove all fraudulently used credit cards from the account and reinstate or open a new account for you.

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 ... edit/add: I just installed a new OS on my computer "Xubuntu 18.04", and need to reset this double space issue in FireFox: got to about:config , search for: editor.use_div_for_default_newlines , set to false

I posted my concerns about using this workaround in the "Forum Admin" section.

[kcowan]

Wow. I am reminded of when amazon.ca cancelled all their Visa Cards in March. No reason given. Just tough luck. I thought it was arrogant of them to not give a reason. We were in Mexico and had to scramble to get another no-FX CC.

One thing I can learn from this experience is that 2FA is something I need to implement on all "essential" services.

I would definitely put together a comprehensive story about all the costs they have inflicted on you, including loss of any discounts from purchasing on their CC if applicable, loss of use of devices and any proprietary content. Where you take this is a matter that others have already suggested. State level would be my first choice BWTFDIK!

(Lucky you have not automated your home with Echo! Alexa, please sue amazon...)

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuirWannabe I’ve been thinking about my usage and dependence on the big tech companies. The FAANG companies if you will. What if they ever collaborated with each other to share a ‘bad’ customers list? If you get on ones bad list, then suddenly you’re rejected from all of them. I’m sure this is just a thought exercise. Although there is cross pollination between these tech giants, I doubt they’d ever collaborate to that level. I’m obviously going to have to live without Amazon now. I’m still wrapping my head around that. My life will be less convenient but I’ll adjust. If Facebook kicked me out that would also just be an inconvenience. Id lose tracking ability and information related to family and some key hobby groups (running/hiking) that would hurt. But I’d adjust. If Apple kicked me out that would hurt. I guess my iPhone/iPad devices couldn’t be supported and I can’t imagine not having those in this day and age. I’d sure miss Netflix too. I’m already missing Amazon Prime video. But I’d adjust. Getting kicked out of Google? Can they even do that? [emoji15] Anyway, paranoia sets in.

Yes they can, I was banned for life by Google ....
(nope, not going to provide details).

[REWahoo]

This thread certainly gives me pause in "investing" more into Amazon technology.

I have to think (hope) this sort of thing is rare or there would be something out there on the Interwebtube decrying it. Numerous Google searches fail to reveal any information about Amazon customer bans similar to what befell MuirWannabe. Lots of links to customers banned for too many returns or having seller accounts and somehow running afoul of Amazon, but nothing about consumer accounts suddenly banned with no hint of why.

MuirWannabe, maybe you should talk to these folks about taking your case: The Innocence Project