TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Kathryn Plummer has been a long-time user of Amazon. She’s ordered food and gifts through Amazon and has several of the company’s smart speakers throughout her home.
“I guess you could say we’re an Amazon house,” she said. “But not anymore.”
That’s because, without warning, her Amazon account was put on hold. She was first asked through the app and through emails to confirm account information. Then was told her account will remain closed because the account was determined to be in violation of Amazon’s terms and conditions, but she complains no one with Amazon will tell her what term or condition she violated.
Since Plummer first forward about her Amazon account issues, dozens of emails with similar complaints have poured into Better Call Behnken from customers in numerous states. If you’re having this issue, email: BetterCallBehnken@wfla.com
“No one will tell me what that means,” she said. “If I did something wrong, I’m happy to own up to it. I’m happy to try to remedy it, but I don’t know what I’ve done wrong, and no one will tell me.”
Her echo smart speakers, kids’ tablets for home school and video security system all don’t work without an Amazon account. Plus, this lockout is costing her money.
“When our accounts are closed and we don’t have access, our cards are all still being charged for any subscriptions we had through amazon,” Plummer said.
She said some customer service representatives tell her she just needs to provide more information but others are blunt.
“A couple of people I talked to told me they account was permanently closed, there was no reversing it, there was nothing I could do, and I was not going to get more information than what was provided to me in the email,” Plummer said.
An Amazon spokesman said he can confirm this is not a scam and Plummer’s account was locked due to a concern about possible fraud. When asked what type of fraud and what happens to her subscriptions and why hasn’t she been given an explanation, the spokesman said this is all under review by Amazon.