How Long Does It Take To Get Them Resolved?
Amazon complaints can take several months to resolve. However, what if you are faced with a final decision that makes absolutely no sense?
Have you ever complained to Amazon about a decision of theirs that just doesn’t make any sense? I am an author and want to concentrate on writers’ issues here. Have you ever had a problem with a customer service representative who didn’t seem to care about your situation. My experience with getting Amazon complaints resolved in a sensible fashion is getting worse by the day.
Contact Customer Service.
If you still feel that you haven’t gotten satisfaction after contacting Amazon through the normal ‘Help’ button, you can try to contact customer service through your author page. However, you should note that Amazon’s support team does not guarantee that you will receive a response within 24 hours. Instead, you should expect to wait at least 30-45 days.
Here’s how to get it resolved faster.
If you do decide to submit a complaint to Amazon, there are some things you should keep in mind. First, you need to understand that they will not respond to every complaint. In fact, it says that it receives more than 100 million communications per day. That means that even though you might think that your complaint is unique, the chances are good that another customer has filed a similar one before you. In fact, I am convinced that Amazon, and its subsidiaries, Audible and ACX, have already started using bots to send out standard replies in dispute resolution cases.
Stupid, Irrelevant Replies
So, if you receive a stupid answer to your complaint, reply saying that you want to communicate with a human not a machine. It might not work the first time, but sooner or later, a human will reply, although he or she might not help you much.
Second, you should try to find out as much information as possible about the reason why your complaint wasn’t handled properly. You can start by asking yourself questions like “Why did I receive such a bad response?” and “Did a bot write that?” This will help you figure out whether the problem was caused by a lack of education, poor training or a stupid mistake by a human being at Amazon.
Third, you should also consider contacting other authors who have filed similar complaints. They may have received better responses, so you can learn from them. Look for these complaints by querying a search engine. Writers like writing so you can bet that some of them will have written a blog post about it.
Follow Up.
If you do not hear back from Amazon after sending them a message, or you feel that the respondent doesn’t understand your problem, follow up by phone. You can also send a letter through the mail.
Send a Letter.
In addition to contacting Amazon by email and phone, you could write a letter to the company (director) explaining why you believe the decision was unfair. Include any evidence that supports your claim.
File A Lawsuit.
If you feel that Amazon has violated its own policies or harmed you in some way, you might consider filing a lawsuit against them, although you should remember that Amazon has enough in-house lawyers to man the oars of a Roman trireme. In Britain, you can expect to pay £250-£500 per hour. A more sensible option would be to contact The Complaints Board which is nothing to do with Amazon. I have done that and will keep you informed. I am also going to scour Facebook and Twitter.
Draw up a plan of action to take your complaint down the route of alternative dispute resolution, if contacting Amazon directly doesn’t work. Leaving feedback everywhere you can might help too.
My Personal Situation
I am an indie-author who published a 24-part series on KDP between 2013 and 2022. In 2022, I started to replace the old B&W covers with new colour ones. In August 2022, I replaced the cover of book six, Megan and the Lost Cat, but Amazon has blocked the ebook completely, stating that it does not provide a significant update on the old one.
Not just the cover, the entire ebook!
They passed the paperback though.
So now, my registered ebook series, The Psychic Megan Series, runs from 1-5 and 7-24.
I have had numerous exchanges with the Amazon Content Review Team, but they are adamant.
I do not have duplicate copies of this book on sale, as scrutiny of my Amazon Author page would reveal
The following is their latest message to me:
Hello,
Thank you for your email.
We have confirmed that your books do not meet our content quality guidelines because they do not contain significantly differentiated content:
Megan and the Lost Cat: A Spirit Guide, A Ghost Tiger, and One Scary Mother!
Jones, Owen (AUTHOR)- 4512638
We only allow significantly differentiated versions of the same book on Amazon. Please unpublish the books listed above. Alternatively, you may take no action at this point do and we will remove the duplicate version(s).
To unpublish a book, please follow these steps:
1. Log in to your account at http://kdp.amazon.com/
2. Check the box at the left side of the book and then click on the “Actions” button at the top left.
3. Select “Unpublish” from the drop-down.
4. Confirm the Title and ASIN shown in confirmation window are correct and click “Unpublish.”
Best regards,
Amazon KDP
Sara
Amazon Content Review Team
PS: I have just ( 15-3-23) had the same problem with five other books. They have learned nothing.
Tiger Lily of Bangkok Series – When The Seeds of Wrath Blossom!
Daddy’s Hobby – The Story of Lek, A Bar Girl
Sister blog: The Amiable Dragon
