This is one of the strangest experiences I have ever had when it comes to being stuck in a bureaucratic loop.
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The problem: I am trying to send Amazon my money and it won’t let me.
There’s no issue with my bank. Amazon’s process simply isn’t allowing me to send them my money.
Here’s the backstory.
I created an Amazon account to make some purchases and ordered them in December. As it was a new Amazon account. there was only one payment method available.
During the holiday season, there was an issue with porch pirates in our neighbourhood stealing people’s credit card information, ordering things on Amazon using that information, then waiting at the end of the street for an Amazon delivery and scooping up things they ordered to our addresses. In light of this, people in our neighbourhood went over their transaction records (always a good thing to do) and looked for suspicious Amazon transactions.
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Contacting Amazon has been difficult and, in any event, contacting our bank’s fraud department is what one does when an account has been compromised. So whenever an unauthorized transaction occurred, we contacted our bank, reported the fraud and had the transactions reversed.
So problem solved, right? Wrong.
Remember that initial purchase I made to set up the account? Amazon decided to split it into multiple transactions, which did not immediately match my purchases.
Apparently, my case was swept into the suspected fraud pile. Amazon then sent me an email questioning why the package was cancelled. I realized the error and immediately contacted my bank to reverse the reversal.
Unfortunately, the bank had already credited the money back to my account, so from their view the issue had been resolved and there was nothing more they could do. The bank cannot initiate a new transaction with a vendor, the vendor has to initiate it.
So the simple solution is for me to pay Amazon again for the item we purchased. I have no problem with that. I have multiple payment methods to pay Amazon for the item they sent me and would eagerly like to resolve the matter.
But the only ways Amazon can resolve this issue are:
— Have the bank reverse the disputed amount and pay Amazon, which is impossible. Amazon has to reinitiate the transaction and contact the bank.
— Use a payment method on the account to resolve the problem, also impossible. Due to the fraud claim, the payment method was rendered invalid and a replacement card was sent. As an additional issue, a new payment method cannot be added until this ongoing issue is resolved. So there is no valid payment method that exists and Amazon won’t let me add one.
— Use a pre-existing gift card balance on the account. The problem there is this requires making a purchase with an existing payment method that they recognize. Given the second issue, this is impossible.
Customer service cannot seem to cope with this problem. Despite repeated attempts to explain what has happened, all I receive is a template or AI response, indicating they did not read the multiple emails and escalated tickets I created with their customer service department.
The bank representatives, including the fraud department, no doubt think this is hilarious. The Amazon customer service representatives no doubt think it’s hilarious. If it wasn’t for this affecting my ability to use these accounts, I would find it hilarious.
Simply put, Amazon is not letting me give them my money. So now I have gone public.
Dear Amazon: Can you please let me pay you? Please let me give you my money.
— Vezina is the CEO of Prepared Canada Corp, teaches disaster and emergency management at York University and is the author of Continuity 101; he can be reached at info@prepared.ca.
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VEZINA: Please, Amazon, will you finally take my money?
13
33
08.02.2024
This is one of the strangest experiences I have ever had when it comes to being stuck in a bureaucratic loop.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Don't have an account? Create Account
The problem: I am trying to send Amazon my money and it won’t let me.
There’s no issue with my bank. Amazon’s process simply isn’t allowing me to send them my money.
Here’s the backstory.
I created an Amazon account to make some purchases and ordered them in December. As it was a new Amazon account. there was only one payment method available.
During the holiday season, there was an issue with porch pirates in our neighbourhood stealing people’s credit card information, ordering things on Amazon using that information, then waiting at the end of the street for an Amazon delivery and scooping up things they ordered to our addresses. In light of this, people in our neighbourhood went over their transaction records (always a good thing to do) and looked for suspicious Amazon transactions.
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