If it isn't stressful enough with all of the COVID crap, the work issues, reading the conspiracy theories on COVID, I have encountered a rather serious issue with my Amazon account.
It all began with me putting in a different credit card as my primary payment, subsequently forgetting I had done that, and then disputing charges on the credit card as a knee jerk response to the charges I saw popping up on it. After I freaked out, I realized those were our own charges and that I had completely forgotten that I had changed the preferred payment method.
On Tuesday morning, I received a notice from Amazon that they've locked my account due to suspicious purchasing activity. When they say they have locked your account, they mean we will prevent you, the account owner, access in every form. You are left only with the ability to email them. Over 10 emails later, with absolutely no response or change at all, my friend who has an account (who doesn't??) got on and initiated a chat where I was at least able to let a customer service person know what was going on. They even called me! But nothing changed. 24 hours later, I still can't get into my account.
An indeterminate number of emails after that, still nothing. Did you know that you cannot call Amazon? And if your account is locked, you can't go through the chat help either. It is like going to work and discovering they've changed the locks and the phone number and every time to go by, there is no one there.
So yesterday I created a new account, for the sole purpose of being able to chat with customer service. The person I spoke to said ~ after a 20 minute chat session ~ that the department that handles Amazon payments will send me yet another email, and to follow the instructions. Which I've already done multiple times to no avail. I did receive an email, and I replied, and then ended up receiving a "deceptive website warning". So I had to go in to the new account again and chat with someone. Again.
I finally received the correct email, asking me to give them permission to pay for the orders involved in the ill fated dispute. Which I have done.
I would happily cancel it all, except that doing so would render my Kindle useless except for reading books I've already read. I actually have a book sample that I want to buy, but I realized that I can't do that until my account is unlocked. Yes, I could give up the streaming service and everything else but I don't want to lose my ability to read on my Kindle.
It is my own fault, my own stupidity that created the problem, which should have taken a simple phone call to resolve. into a week long series of frustrations and anger. For that, I say Amazon has to shoulder all the blame by removing themselves from contact with the exception of email.
Love, 265
nothing is easy anymore.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head, Joeh...
DeleteIt's the lack of 'person' that is bothering with so much these days. Artificial intelligence might be artificial but it has yet to achieve 'intelligent' status - the ability to respond to a real person's own particular circumstances. We are human. We make mistakes. (And we are concentrating on more important issues right now than where we last used the credit card and how much we spent at the time.) I dislike Amazon intensely for all sorts of reasons but have an account too. Somehow it seems to have become one of those 'necessary evils' in our modern lives,
ReplyDeleteand agree with your summary about being removed from contact. OK we could choose to 'go off grid' but that isn't everything that life has to offer either, and businesses like Amazon are one way we can send gifts to friends and family in distant places.
Tigger, it is the lack of person that I rail against too. What I totally don't understand is why they don't accept phone calls. Perhaps they have soooo many prime members that it is no longer feasible to have people answering the phone: but if you ask me the chat feature takes way more time than a phone call. My biggest complaint is the inability to go into my account.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could say that it wasn't convenient and handy. I wish I could use my Kindle with a different book dealer. Maybe someday......I'll give it up.