Dear ABC News Fixer: Amazon Thinks My Daughter Is Me

March 21, 2013 — -- Dear ABC News Fixer: Amazon closed my daughter's seller's account because of MY illness!

I had an Amazon seller's account and forgot to turn it to "vacation" when I was hospitalized for a thyroidectomy. They permanently closed my account because of books that were not shipped out during my hospitalization and recovery.

A few months ago, my daughter, who was home from college on winter break, started an account and sold three of her textbooks. Suddenly her account was closed without explanation.

I had appealed my account closure, so I tried to prove through pictures and school correspondence that we were two separate people, but they won't reopen her account. I don't care about mine, but she is a struggling student.

- Dawn Howard, North Canton, Ohio

Dear Dawn: You told the ABC News Fixer that you realize you should have notified Amazon about your surgery, but what bothers you is that your adult daughter is the one paying the price.

Evidently, Amazon's attempts to root out fraud include making sure blocked users don't simply open a new account under a different name.

When your daughter's account appeared using the same IP address – she had used your computer last year to create the account when she was home from school – apparently Amazon's anti-fraud system flagged it. And Amazon's rules for sellers are pretty strict. Sellers can be kicked out for poor performance, such as selling defective items or shipping things late.

We did feel bad for your daughter, though, so we asked Amazon to look into what happened. The result? They have agreed that yes, your daughter is a separate person and they have reinstated her account. And more good news: they reinstated your account, too.

- The ABC News Fixer

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