Maryland, US

Amazon has faced criticism from a customer, based in Baltimore in the US state of Maryland after the tech giant shut off all of his smart home devices for a week following a false accusation made by a delivery driver, reported New York Post. Brandon Jackson, an engineer at Microsoft, discovered that his Amazon account was locked less than 24 hours after a delivery driver dropped off a package at his home and reported him for making racist remarks via the doorbell intercom. Jackson realised the lockout when he couldn't interact with his smart home devices and reached out to Amazon for clarification.

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Allegations 

Jackson promptly refuted the allegations, highlighting the fact that none of his family members were present at the time of the delivery. To gather evidence, he reviewed footage from his home's surveillance cameras, which revealed that an automated response from his Eufy doorbell had triggered, saying, "Excuse me, can I help you?" Jackson concluded that the driver, who was walking away and wearing headphones, must have misinterpreted the message. "My Amazon account was locked, and all my Echo devices were logged out.”

Despite submitting video evidence immediately, his account remained locked.

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Questioning Amazon's response

Although Jackson expressed support for Amazon's efforts to protect delivery drivers, he raised concerns about being locked out of his account for a week during the internal investigation.

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He emphasised the need for a more targeted approach to handling such issues, suggesting that a blanket shutdown of all services was unnecessary.

Delayed Account reinstatement

Despite Jackson's numerous calls and emails, his account was not reinstated until May 31. The incident left him questioning his loyalty to Amazon, as he believed that a misunderstanding should not lead to such drastic measures. He expressed the need for a better approach when addressing similar issues to avoid unnecessary disruptions for innocent customers.

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“It seems more reasonable to handle such issues in a more compartmentalized way, rather than a blanket shutdown of all services," Jackson said. 

Amazon's response

An Amazon spokesperson, Simone Griffin, confirmed the incident and acknowledged the need to prevent similar situations in the future. The company stated that, based on their investigation, Jackson did not act inappropriately.

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They assured that they were working directly with him to address his concerns and were also exploring ways to prevent similar incidents from occurring again. Amazon emphasised its commitment to providing a great customer experience while ensuring the safety of its delivery drivers.

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