Most people around us have ordered something from Amazon in the past and it’s. The most normal thing we all do.
However, It is also normal to return certain items because they were not as described or they were damaged. For Amazon returning items seem to be something very annoying and in some cases, if you return to many goods your Amazon account could get suspended.
The approach to suspend or ban annoying customers from the Amazon marketplace is not an isolated case. There have been reports not only in the United States but also in Canada, Europe, Australia and beyond.
There is a recent case where Amazon has suspended a buyer’s account. This former Amazon customer from the US had ordered to 47 products since 2015 and he returned 14 items.
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So his returns were slightly more than allowed for 10% by Amazon. The behaviour Amazon is displaying is highly unacceptable as it violates basic consumer rights. How can Amazon suspend or ban customers because they got unlucky with the goods they ordered.
For Amazon buyers or sellers this system is highly intransparent. Usually, most customers don’t know exactly why their account was suspended. If you read through the terms and conditions from Amazon you will come across this very interesting paragraph:
“We reserve the right to withhold services from you or close to relatives on the Amazon.com marketplace. This applies in particular if you are in breach of applicable laws, contractual agreements or our policies. ”
What happens if your Amazon account has been suspended?
If your Amazon account has been suspended or banned that means you will no longer access to this account. Until recently this also meant that Amazon would remove all of your purchased eBooks on your Kindle device (remotely).
What does happen to your Amazon Prime membership? At the moment Amazon will not refund the remaining time left, that means that some prime membership is simply lost.
How long will be your Amazon account suspended?
Usually, Amazon account suspension is a lifetime ban from ever again buying or selling and Amazon platform around the world. If you have been banned on any of the Amazon marketplaces in any country you will not be able to ever create another Amazon account anywhere again.
Is Amazon actually allowed to treat customers like this?
Amazon is at Private Sector Company so they’re free to decide with whom they’re trading with and whom they decide not to do business with. Nevertheless, there are a few legal principles Amazon has to observe, e.g., allowing a 14-day return policy on all purchases.
Amazon actually allows a 30-day return policy. However, they are still allowed to suspend accounts because they feel individual customers excessively used the return privileges. In addition, Amazon may close buyer or seller accounts due to misuse at anytime.
What should you do if your Amazon account has been suspended?
If you have received an email or a physical letter that you have to be banned from buying or selling on the Amazon platform, don’t panic.
The first check it is a real email and not some kind of phishing attack. Again, fake emails of allegedly closed accounts have been in circulation for some time now so look very carefully.
If everything is right and Amazon has really suspended your account, you should contact customer service via email or by sending them a physical letter. Whenever dealing with Amazon stay friendly and polite to increase your chances of a successful reinstatement of your account.
How to bypass an Amazon account suspension?
To bypass an Amazon suspension temporarily, you could ask someone in your family or friends to order items for you. A new registration usually makes no sense, because even if you would give them a different email address or other payment option Amazon still would be able to link your old and new account.
Amazon is using very advanced algorithms to link accounts from customers. By the way, if Amazon refused you access to content you already purchased get in contact with the Consumer Protection Agency, they will be able to help you out.
Amazon like many other Internet giants have built a monopoly in their market, this monopoly enables them in some cases to dictate prices, to get away with horrible customer service as well getting rid of unwanted competition.
All those tech companies spend millions of dollars every year on lobbyists to get laws changed into their favors.
If we don’t change the legal framework does tech giants operate in and we don’t destroy those monopolies, we all will suffer unnecessarily from higher prices, lack of an innovation and Poor customer service in the future.
If you have your Amazon account suspended or you have some negative experience with Amazon, please leave a comment and share your story with us.
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