Why is my Kindle account disabled? I need help!

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By Christopher Elliott

Who can help if your Kindle account is disabled? The Elliott Advocacy team, of course. 

Question

My Kindle account has been disabled by Amazon. I need your help getting it back. Here’s what happened: A few weeks ago, I reported a computer fraud incident. I disputed the transaction on my credit card. I won the dispute and my credit card company says I owe nothing.

Amazon alleges I still owe it additional funds. My Kindle account has been disabled since last November. Numerous emails have not provided any relief. Can you help me get my Kindle account back without paying any additional fees? — Don Fleming, Daly City, Calif.

Answer

I don’t know what I’d do if Amazon disabled my Kindle account. But having it frozen for almost a year? It would be a literary nightmare!

There’s a process for disputing a fraudulent charge. First, you would contact the merchant (that would be Amazon). If you can’t resolve the issue, you would get in touch with your bank to formally dispute the fraudulent transaction.

I’m not sure if you followed all of the steps — at least to Amazon’s satisfaction. But there’s a problem with giving the process time. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, which protects credit card purchases, you only have 90 days to dispute a charge. The clock was ticking.

All we have is the email that says you owe Amazon $143. And there’s Amazon’s ultimatum: “We are writing to let you know that we have put your account on hold because your card issuer has disputed one or more transactions that you have made. As a result of the dispute, your card issuer has withdrawn the funds and we have not been paid for this order. Your account will remain on hold until we receive this payment.”

Your disabled Kindle account is back in action!

Although this is my first case involving a Kindle account that has been disabled, I see this kind of credit card dispute conflict all the time. Either a consumer jumps the gun on a dispute or the company gets confused about the charge and thinks you’re the one who made the fraudulent charge. As a result, either the company disables your account or blacklists you. And the problem with Amazon is that it’s so big, you can’t get through to a customer service representative to discuss the particulars of your case. (Related: Can you help find my missing Samsung phone and get my refund?)

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Or can you?

The Elliott Advocacy research team lists the names, numbers and email addresses of Amazon’s top executives in our giant company contacts database. You could have reached out to one of them for a faster resolution. (Here’s how to fix your own consumer problems.)

I contacted Amazon on your behalf to find out about your disabled Kindle account. The details of this case are a little murky. You don’t have all of your email correspondence, and Amazon won’t tell me what happened. However, you received an email from the company apologizing for the “frustration this matter has caused.”

“We have restored your access to this account,” the representative said. “You can now sign in and place orders.”

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Christopher Elliott

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers consumers to solve their problems and helps those who can't. He's the author of numerous books on consumer advocacy and writes three nationally syndicated columns. He also publishes the Elliott Report, a news site for consumers, and Elliott Confidential, a critically acclaimed newsletter about customer service. If you have a consumer problem you can't solve, contact him directly through his advocacy website. You can also follow him on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or sign up for his daily newsletter. He is based in Panamá City.

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