Amazon’s “solution” for locked authors

Start again from scratch

Amazon has now offered me what they describe as the “most efficient path forward” in resolving my locked KDP account.

Their proposal? Open an entirely new KDP account, then trust them to migrate my existing books and earnings across.

Says yet another, different, Amazon employee: “Given the difficulties you’ve faced in regaining access to your original account, would you be open to creating a new KDP account and having us transfer your existing books and earnings over? This may be the most efficient path forward.”

At this stage, dear, my faith in your company’s technical ability to do that can only be measured at the sub-atomic level.

The farce continues

Let’s be clear: this isn’t a solution. It’s an admission of systemic incompetence dressed up as customer support.

Imagine your bank saying:

“Sorry, we can’t help you access your account. Why don’t you just open a new one, and we’ll see if we can transfer your balance across?”

No regulator would tolerate that response. Yet Amazon, the self-proclaimed “Earth’s most customer-centric company,” offers it as their final word.

What they admitted in writing

Here’s what the latest response confirms:

1. No manual fix. Even when the system itself blocks the customer, Amazon refuses to intervene.
2. No ownership. No single employee will take responsibility end-to-end.
3. No continuity. Their best idea is to make authors start over and hope royalties, books, and accounts migrate “efficiently.”

Meanwhile, they admit royalties continue to accrue. Translation: Amazon is sitting on money I’ve already earned, while telling me to rebuild my professional publishing identity from scratch.

Why this matters

This isn’t just about one frustrated author. It’s about a trillion-dollar company whose systems are broken, whose culture punishes accountability, and whose idea of “customer service” is to push the work back onto the customer.

Amazon is withholding earned royalties and telling authors: start over if you want to be paid.

I call that unconscionable.

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