Amazon US vs UK and issues with both

TerminallyFrustrated

Hi all,
First post, purely because I'm pulling my hair out dealing with amazon and hoping someone out there may have faced anything similar.

Around 2 weeks ago I started receiving suspicious seeming texts stating an issue with my amazon.com account and telling me to click a link, which of course I did not. I spoke to amazon UK and they agreed.
Then, last thursday I tried to watch telly through my firestick and could not get in at all - it was acting like a new device but would not log me in when I tried. On a pc, when I tried to log in to Amazon.co.uk it stated my account had been temporarily locked due to concerns on the payment method of my latest transaction. On searching my email spam folders I found emails from amazon.com asking me to click on a link ( which takes me to the US Amazon site and a page of t's & c's I'm meant to have breached but that I can not access as my account is UK one ) or contact a US Amazon email address ( from which I have had no response despit numerous attempts ). I have had no contact from Amazon UK regarding the block. The emails from Amazon US have escalated, starting with my account has been "enforced", then "blocked" and now "closed".

For a 6 hour period Monday night the block was lifted. The email to state it had been lifted came from amazon.co.uk and said no more action was reqiired, 6 hours later I got another email from amazon.com stating my account was blocked.

Amazon offshore customer services have been ineffective, the dedicated team that should deal with this only seem to send automated responses that do not tie in to reality ( they told me to ignore all emails from amazon.com despite the fact that the account block has come from them for a start ) and Amazon UK states now that it does not have either a complaints department or process. And with a block on my account I can't do any of this online, it's all by phone for about 3 hours a day the last 6 days.

My first concern is my financial safety and if Amazon is saying there is suspicious activity on my account, do I not have the right to know what that activity is in case it has an impact on any other financial products I may hold?
Now that Amazon is not just a shop but a broadcaster, can they suspend my service without warning or explanation?

If anyone has faced any similar issues, has any inside knowledge of amazon processes or any other advice it would be much appreciated. I think my children may leave home if they're left without prime tv etc for much longer

born_again

Where did you buy the firestick from Uk or US Amazon?

RefluentBeans

When the emails first started to come through, what was the reason they were actually contacting you? 

Also are your Firesticks all non-modded (meaning you haven’t attempted to do something like get free access to TV)? If they’re modified and linked to your account I can see why they’d ban an account. 

It’s unlikely that your payment information would’ve been breached, but you can always check with your bank and get new cards to veer on the edge of safety.

As for what to do - you’ll have to keep trying to contact them I fear. They aren’t obligated to have a complaints process; and they can effectively choose who they do business with; so they can delete your account (but may have to pay the rest of your prime membership if it’s not been completed yet). There are reports of people having their accounts deleted and losing access to their house as they have linked their front door lock to their Amazon account. I acknowledge something needs to be done, but currently the system isn’t set up for that. 

TerminallyFrustrated

born_again said:

Where did you buy the firestick from Uk or US Amazon?

UK, I have never bought anything from US Amazon

TerminallyFrustrated

RefluentBeans said:

When the emails first started to come through, what was the reason they were actually contacting you? 

They said there was suspicious activity, no info beyond that.

RefluentBeans said:

Also are your Firesticks all non-modded (meaning you haven’t attempted to do something like get free access to TV)? If they’re modified and linked to your account I can see why they’d ban an account. 

Sorry, the mention of firestick may have confused things, that was just how I found out my amazon account was blocked. No modifications though.

RefluentBeans said:

It’s unlikely that your payment information would’ve been breached, but you can always check with your bank and get new cards to veer on the edge of safety.

But if someone has used my details to create an account or card and is using that on US Amazon, only Amazon can help me with it and I am getting zero support from them.

thanks though

RefluentBeans

TerminallyFrustrated said:

RefluentBeans said:

It’s unlikely that your payment information would’ve been breached, but you can always check with your bank and get new cards to veer on the edge of safety.

But if someone has used my details to create an account or card and is using that on US Amazon, only Amazon can help me with it and I am getting zero support from them.

thanks though

I understand that it’s scary, but if someone has managed to get access to your payment information, you would see transactions in your account. Suspicious activity could mean your account has been compromised but if you haven’t seen any charges then I wouldn’t worry too much. Like I said, doing basic financial security stuff like checking your bank accounts routinely, and checking your credit file will help with that. If you want to be sure, change your cards out. 

For accounts closed due to ‘suspicious activity’ the MO is to not divulge more information than necessary. Given your account has shut down now, and closed, could you set up another account? 

TerminallyFrustrated

RefluentBeans said:

TerminallyFrustrated said:

RefluentBeans said:

It’s unlikely that your payment information would’ve been breached, but you can always check with your bank and get new cards to veer on the edge of safety.

But if someone has used my details to create an account or card and is using that on US Amazon, only Amazon can help me with it and I am getting zero support from them.

thanks though

I understand that it’s scary, but if someone has managed to get access to your payment information, you would see transactions in your account. Suspicious activity could mean your account has been compromised but if you haven’t seen any charges then I wouldn’t worry too much. Like I said, doing basic financial security stuff like checking your bank accounts routinely, and checking your credit file will help with that. If you want to be sure, change your cards out. 

For accounts closed due to ‘suspicious activity’ the MO is to not divulge more information than necessary. Given your account has shut down now, and closed, could you set up another account? 

I would if I had access but my account has been blocked which means I can not log in and see transactions.

Would I see US transactions on my UK account anyway? There were no USD transactions on my account during the week or so in which they were sending me texts and emails (which were going to spam as they look like spam).

I have been instructed not to open another account. So Amazon's current position is: "you can't see your account, we can't credit you the credit balance that was on your account (due to a legit refund), you can't set up a new amazon account & we won't tell you why"

Try explaining that to 2 kids under 10 as to why they can't watch tv

RefluentBeans

TerminallyFrustrated said:

RefluentBeans said:

TerminallyFrustrated said:

RefluentBeans said:

It’s unlikely that your payment information would’ve been breached, but you can always check with your bank and get new cards to veer on the edge of safety.

But if someone has used my details to create an account or card and is using that on US Amazon, only Amazon can help me with it and I am getting zero support from them.

thanks though

I understand that it’s scary, but if someone has managed to get access to your payment information, you would see transactions in your account. Suspicious activity could mean your account has been compromised but if you haven’t seen any charges then I wouldn’t worry too much. Like I said, doing basic financial security stuff like checking your bank accounts routinely, and checking your credit file will help with that. If you want to be sure, change your cards out. 

For accounts closed due to ‘suspicious activity’ the MO is to not divulge more information than necessary. Given your account has shut down now, and closed, could you set up another account? 

I would if I had access but my account has been blocked which means I can not log in and see transactions.

Would I see US transactions on my UK account anyway? There were no USD transactions on my account during the week or so in which they were sending me texts and emails (which were going to spam as they look like spam).

I have been instructed not to open another account. So Amazon's current position is: "you can't see your account, we can't credit you the credit balance that was on your account (due to a legit refund), you can't set up a new amazon account & we won't tell you why"

Try explaining that to 2 kids under 10 as to why they can't watch tv

Sorry - I should’ve been clearer. I meant checking your bank account. If someone was using your account to make purchases, you’d have seen them on there? 

As for the refund - you may have to wait to see if they reinstate your account. You could potentially look at small claims court, but you’ll need to have the accurate facts with dates and stuff - and that sort of legal action would likely mean Amazon would black list you from an account in the future. Others can advise on that. 

Personally I would keep trying to push - if the automated emails have only been sent in the recent week or so - they may have a backlog.

born_again

TerminallyFrustrated said:

born_again said:

Where did you buy the firestick from Uk or US Amazon?

UK, I have never bought anything from US Amazon

So odds on US Amazon emails are scams. Plenty of that stuff floating around.
UK & US are totally separate. 

If it was a fraudulent US account, then it would be debiting your bank account in US$ & would be very clear.


Given you seem to have been engaging with the Scammers (Given you have NO US account) then stop engaging with them.
Maybe stop your card linked to UK Amazon if you have given any details of that account & change password to be safe.

TerminallyFrustrated

born_again said:

TerminallyFrustrated said:

born_again said:

Where did you buy the firestick from Uk or US Amazon?

UK, I have never bought anything from US Amazon

So odds on US Amazon emails are scams. Plenty of that stuff floating around.
UK & US are totally separate. 

If it was a fraudulent US account, then it would be debiting your bank account in US$ & would be very clear.


Given you seem to have been engaging with the Scammers (Given you have NO US account) then stop engaging with them.
Maybe stop your card linked to UK Amazon if you have given any details of that account & change password to be safe.

I would have thought that too but the instruction to block my amazon account has come from amazon US so they are not completely separate. All correspondence about my account being blocked comes from the US, the only thing I get from the UK is an email telling me to ignore anything that's not from amazon.co.uk at the same time as telling me it's amazon.com that have blocked my amazon.co.uk account

TerminallyFrustrated

and I have neither engaged with nor given any details to amazon US (or anyone claiming to be them), all I have done is try to contact them via published channels as I can't contact them through the amazon webpage because my account is blocked