Amazon has banned my account as of 8/25/2015, defrauded me out of $451.20 in gift card balance, brazenly admitted as such on record to the BBB on 9/19/2015 and Washington Attorney General on 9/27/2015, refused to return emails or phone calls, and ducked my small claims summons on 1/13/2016 by claiming that CEO Jeff Bezos is an “employee” and legal department cannot accept summons on his behalf.
Please read my report at: http://thripp.com/files/amazon/thripp-v-amazon-report-20160123-public.pdf
Amazon.com, Inc. is a criminal corporation and my documentation serves as evidence as such.
Furthermore, Amazon’s business models are unprofitable and unsustainable; it is a Ponzi scheme ala Enron (albeit somewhat less audacious). Amazon relies on willful and systematic defrauding of its customers, sellers, and business partners such as Discover Card to maximize its free cash flow; these orders come directly from senior management and are known by CEO Jeffrey Preston Bezos.
Amazon manipulates its financial statements using non-standard accounting practices that allow it to claim profit based on future or subscription-based earnings without offsetting the profit with projected expenses, which is by definition a Ponzi scheme—it relies on a perpetually increasing number of users to continue. Amazon is also notorious for defrauding its investors by offering stock-based compensation to employees that dilute its shares, and exploits these and other schemes to inflate its valuation and stock price, to the extreme benefit of CEO Jeff Bezos, among other executives.
If a smaller and less influential corporation did what Amazon.com, Inc. does, the U.S. Department of Justice would likely be pursuing RICO charges, among other civil and criminal charges.
Richard Thripp
1/26/2016
SOURCES:
Amazon’s impressive cash flow: Don’t be fooled by it
By Timothy Green for the Motley Fool, CNN Money, 8/28/2015
Amazon: Free Cash Flow Not What The Bulls Purport It To Be
By Tom Doyle for Nasdaq.com, 12/10/2014
Letter to Amazon.com, Inc. and the Attorney General of Washington, dated 10/13/2014
By Kivin Varghese, former Product Manager of New Kindle Ad Products for Amazon.com, Inc. [Mirror]
STATEMENT OF CLAIM:
Amazon.com, Inc. has banned my customer accounts as of 8/25/2015 and seized existing balances on these accounts:
richard_thripp@falconnmail.daytonastate.edu — $451.20 Amazon Gift Card balance
thrippr@daytonastate.org — $38.02 Amazon Local Register balance
Amazon.com, Inc. has responded to my complaints with the Florida Attorney General’s office, the Washington Attorney General’s office, and the Better Business Bureau with statements such as these:
“I’d like to confirm the information Mr. Thripp’s received from our Account Specialist team is correct. As noted in our Conditions of Use, in the section, ‘Your Account’: ‘Amazon reserves the right to refuse service, terminate accounts, remove or edit content, or cancel orders in its sole discretion.’” – Mohammad of Amazon.com, 11/05/2015
“I’m sorry for any inconvenience caused by the closing of your Amazon.com account. I’ve reviewed the account and our previous communications with you, and can confirm the decision was a valid one. Please note this isn’t a decision we can reconsider, and we won’t be able to issue a refund for the gift card balance.” – Suresh Potnuru of Amazon.com, 9/27/2015
Gift card balances and PayPal-like accounts are protected by law. It is not legal for any corporation in the United States to use Conditions of Use as a method of seizing these balances.
Mr. Thripp had an outstanding textbook rental on his account, richard_thripp@falconnmail.daytonastate.edu, when it was banned. Amazon’s Textbook Rental Agreement says they provide a return shipping label, which was not offered to Mr. Thripp. He additionally requests his postage of $3.72 to return this textbook (USPS tracking # 9449009699937147766157, delivered 12/15/2015 to 1085 Aviation Blvd., Hebron, KY 41048).
The total amount stolen from Mr. Thripp is $492.94 and includes the $451.20 Amazon Gift Card balance, the $38.02 Amazon Local Register balance, and $3.72 of postage costs for the return of a rented textbook which Amazon refused to provide a postage-paid label for, contrary to their Textbook Rental Agreement.
Amazon.com, Inc. continues to send emails alleging that I have not returned my rented textbook. Amazon.com, Inc. must cease all collections activities related to this textbook, which I have photo evidence of packing and delivery confirmation of being returned.