Amazon Pay - waste of time

[Spoon]

We have been operating for some 15+ years and have implemented many payment processors.

This year we wanted to add Amazon Pay, and implemented the system into our shopping cart. The process to go live was ridiculously drawn out, we have a feeling that amazon are using somekind of not-so-smart-ai to do most of their communications. So our timeline went something like this:

July we completed the code and submitted the go live documents (about company).

It was refused - said we do not display company details on purchase page, we forward details of link to click (it is top right of purchase page).
Refused again, said our HTTPS was not valid (all our sites do have valid HTTPS, we checked with 3 browsers to be certain, the site had a valid HTTPS cert)
Refused - said we do not display company details, this time we created a picture, with arrows showing the 'Terms and Conditions' link which has to be clicked and the company information
Refused - said we do not display company details, sent again picture showing where to click, with arrows showing the 'Terms and Conditions' link which has to be clicked and the company information
August - Amazon went live on payment processing
September - Amazon block our account, states we sell something which contradicts their T&C, audio software produced by ourselves does not contradict T&C
Opened support ticket - got a real human saying we should submit some information which amazon require, we respond to that ticket asking what is it they want, was never replied to
There is a link on their site to reactivate the this is what happens:



There are 4 unanswered support tickets on amazon, what a rubbish way to run a company. We think amazon do not really care about amazon pay, outside of their own usage.

We use Paypal and Stripe, each of these we can have a real conversation with a real human being within 5 minutes, if there were any issues, these companies obviously take selling through them seriously that is their main core of business.

We give Amazon 1/10, would be zero, but we had working payments for 1 month, so that has to count for something. They seriously need to drop AI from handling customer support, it is clearly not up to the mark.

[Spoon]

Amazon have written back to us:

"I can see that you have published some informations about Amazon and the customer support mentioning that AI is handling the cases and the support is not upto the mark.

The replies you get are from a human who reads, investigates and replies you with the information available."

Real people, no AI...then an email:



They state here we are selling something which is against their acceptable use policy, they give a helpful link which is in German, however here is the English version:

https://pay.amazon.co.uk/help/6023

The next message will go through each of those items.

[Spoon]

Prohibited Items and Activities:

Adult Oriented Products and Services - includes pornography (including child pornography), sexually explicit materials (in all media types such as Internet, phone, and printed materials), escort services, or prostitution services.

Intoxicating liquor (except where the seller is properly licensed under applicable law) and home-made alcoholic beverages.

Cash or cash equivalent instruments - including but not limited to money orders, travelers’ checks, stored value products (other than approved) like retail or open loop gift cards or electronic stored value redemption codes.

not for sale here

Collection Agencies - includes businesses that are engaged in the collection of uncollectible debt or accounts receivable and billing companies.

Credit Services - includes credit counseling, credit repair services, credit protection, and identity theft protection.

we are not debt collectors or credit services

Drugs - includes illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, cannabidiol (CBD) products, prescription drugs, mail order pharmacies, importation of pharmaceuticals from foreign countries, and prescription devices.

Financial Intermediaries and Money Service Businesses - includes online auctions, Internet malls processing third party payments, credit card aggregators, offshore banking operations, debt financing, money transmitters, check cashing services, currency exchange and dealing, cash advance services, payday lending, escrow services, any service that receives and processes money on behalf of others, and any issuers, redeemers, and sellers of money orders, travelers checks, and stored value products (other than retail gift cards).

Firearms and Weapons - includes ammunition, guns, rifles, shotguns, pistols, other firearms, knives (automatic, spring-loaded knives, throwing, etc.), brass knuckles, or other weapons.

Gambling Businesses - includes online gambling (including poker), lotteries (including sale of lottery tickets), games of chance (including sweepstakes and raffles), sports forecasting, or odds-making.

Healthcare Discount Plans - includes discount healthcare plans or membership programs.

we do not sell drugs (although we could probably need some after all this), or any of the above

Illegal, Inappropriate or Offensive Items or Activities or products that are not safe (Must be CE marked) - includes any good or service that violates local, national, or international laws or regulations or that would be generally offensive to others. Examples include stolen goods, cable descramblers, materials that infringe other's intellectual property rights (including pirated software, recopied media, and counterfeit goods), human body parts, endangered species, items that defame or slander others, hate literature, occult materials, and any other items or activities that in our judgment are illegal, inappropriate or offensive in connection with our services.

No pirated software, all the software items we sell are created by ourselves, 100% legal and we have a perfect business record. No IP infringement. Audio software and CD Ripping is legal the world over, otherwise Apple would never have been allowed to supply iTunes, Microsoft Media Player, which both could rip CDs.

Products from restricted countries and regions: Amazon’s worldwide current business policy is to prohibit the sale of products originating, produced, or processed in the following countries or regions: North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), Cuba, Syria, Iran, Region of Crimea, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR). This includes those products that partially contain ingredients, materials, or inputs from restricted countries and regions. Note that this list may be amended due to commercial policy updates.
Marketing Businesses - includes direct marketing, marketing subscription merchants, telemarketing, multi-level marketing, "up-sell" merchants, infomercial merchants, and rebate-based businesses.
Membership Clubs - includes buyer clubs, membership clubs, and lifetime memberships or guarantees.
Miracle Cure Products - includes cures, remedies or enhancement products, and other health/nutritional products offering guaranteed results.
Money Making ("Get Rich") Businesses - includes information guides, warranty fees, mortgage reduction services, and any product or service where a prize is guaranteed, marketing media is unavailable, premiums/incentives are offered, promises of future guaranteed results are made, or any rebate or reward program.
Telecom Services - unlicensed telecom providers are prohibited. Pre-paid top-up phone cards not sold and redeemed by the merchant providing the associated telecom service are prohibited.
Regulated Activities - includes bail bonds services, security brokers, and bankruptcy attorneys.
Cigarette substitutes - electronic cigarettes (including e-shisha and e-hooka cigarettes), herbal cigarettes and herbal smoking mix are prohibited if they contain tobacco or nicotine. Other nicotine-based products are prohibited unless approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as aids to smoking cessation. Any tobacco-based product is prohibited.
Ongoing Travel and Time Share Services - includes travel membership clubs, online marketplaces, time shares, and property management companies.

nope none of those

Restricted Items and Activities:

Certain items and activities require prior approval before the person or entity can register for using our payment services.

Travel Services - includes agencies, tour operators, packages, airlines, cruise lines
Telecom Services - licensed telecom providers
Dating Services
Donations and Charitable Solicitations - includes charities and non-profit organisations, charitable solicitations, commercial fundraisers (including commercial co-venturers), or any activity associated with the solicitation of donations

none of the above

As you can all see we sell nothing which is continually rejected by Amazon.

[Spoon]

Our support requests, totally ignored:

[Spoon]

The song by the Eagles, Hotel California, forever stuck and cannot leave...Amazon have replicated this on their seller support, take a look, red is Amazons response, blue ours: