An executive steps in after a month-long lockout
For more than a month, I’ve been locked out of my own Amazon KDP account. No access to my royalties. No ability to change my bank details. And every attempt to log in ended in the same cruel loop: Amazon insisted I enter a Two-Step Verification code, even though their own emails confirmed the feature was already disabled.
What followed was a Kafkaesque sequence of form letters, automated responses, and deafening silence from Amazon’s support teams. I documented every step of the fiasco—emails, screenshots, videos—and even published an open record of the ordeal on my site.
For weeks, nothing. Influential author-advocates looked away, media outlets showed no appetite to poke the bear, and Amazon continued to act like a fortress with no doors.
Until now.
A new message—and a new hope?
This morning, I received an email from Ethan R., part of Amazon’s Executive Customer Relations team. Here’s the key passage:
“I’ve initiated an investigation with our internal teams to identify and correct the root cause of these verification problems. I expect to have an update for you by September 16th and will contact you no later than that date.”
After more than thirty days of frustration, this is the first time a human being—not a bot or a form letter—has acknowledged the depth of the problem.
What this means (and doesn’t mean)
This doesn’t restore access to my royalties yet. It doesn’t undo the weeks of lost time, income, or credibility. And it doesn’t fix the systemic problem that any indie author can suddenly find themselves shut out of their own livelihood by Amazon’s systems.
But it does show that persistence, visibility, and refusing to stay silent can eventually pierce the corporate armour.
Why this matters for all of us
I’m just one writer in Đà Lạt, Vietnam. But this lockout has revealed something bigger: the power imbalance between the world’s largest bookseller and the independent authors who keep its shelves stocked.
If an ordinary writer has to escalate to executive level just to regain access to their own account, what does that say about Amazon’s treatment of the creative workforce it profits from?
September 16th is the date Ethan has set for an update. I’ll hold Amazon to that. And I’ll keep documenting every step—because silence only protects the giant, never the creator.
Stay tuned.
Lesson for leaders
When a customer issue drags on, escalation isn’t a courtesy—it’s an obligation. The longer you hide behind form letters, the more damage you do to trust, loyalty, and reputation. Step in early, investigate transparently, and fix the root cause before it festers into a public crisis.
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