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Amazon quietly un-wipes remotely wiped Kindle

But no apology or explanation for account suspension

Never let it be said posting your woes on the internet doesn’t yield results. After Linn Nygaard allowed Norwegian blogger Martin Bekkelund to reveal that Amazon had not only wiped her Kindle without warning but had refused to explain precisely why it had done so, the online retail giant has grudgingly relented and re-instated her account and her purchases.

Of course, Amazon has remained to true to its apparent principle of not giving reasons for its actions - Ms Nygaard simply checked her Amazon account yesterday and found it was active once more, Norwegian-language site NRK reports.

“I haven’t heard anything from Amazon about this, except that I got a very strange phone earlier from someone with a hidden number,” she said. “They claimed that they worked in Amazon.co.uk and would give me a new Kindle, but they would not talk to me about my account.”

Ms Nygaard hasn’t received an apology either, she indicated.

Previously, an Amazon representative told her: “We have found your account is directly related to another which has been previously closed for abuse of our policies. As such, your Amazon.co.uk account has been closed and any open orders have been cancelled”.

That followed an enquiry by Ms Nygaard after the company remotely wiped her Kindle without warning.

Further requests for more information fell upon deaf ears, leading to a final “we wish you luck in locating a retailer better able to meet your needs and will not be able to offer any additional insight or action on these matters” from the retailer.

Amazon infamously deleted without warning copies of George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm from Kindles in 2009, though it did so because the copies, sold by a third-party, had not been authorised by the owner of the works in question.

Shortly afterward, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said: “Our 'solution' to the problem was stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles.” ®

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