Topic: Amazon Payments: Pennywise - Policy Stoopid.

[8ullfrog]

So I've got a small balance on amazon, I usually use it for tax when I buy poo. I'll do some MTURK assignments, they average about five cents.

Today, Amazon was forced to notify me that the state of CA is attempting to send my balance to an unclaimed property office. That's right, reach into my digital pocket and squeeze.

Supposedly I could just log in to amazon and reactivate my account. Instead, it's asking me to file taxes on FORTY bless'ed CENTS.

I use a throwaway password on amazon because their databases have been breached in the past. The thought that I would give them my social security number is bless'ed laughable.

[Autumn]

Insane.

[8ullfrog]

Only thing I can think of is amazon is not disclosing the amount of cash in my account and the state is thinking tax evasion.

Seriously, I only do MTURK assignment to PAY TAXES. Another reason I don't feel like giving this information to amazon is that in the past, their databases have been breached.

Here is the mail with personal information scrubbed:

" In accordance with the unclaimed property laws of the state your Amazon Payments account is registered in, we will close your Amazon Payments account and transfer the unclaimed available balance to the state where your account is registered 60 days after the date of this message.  This will not impact your Amazon.com account, which will remain active.

To keep your Amazon Payments account active, please log in to your Amazon Payments account through https://payments.amazon.com within 60 days from the date this message was sent. After you log in, click the link in the banner to keep your account active.  After you do this you may withdraw the funds from your Amazon Payments account.  For more information about adding a bank account and withdrawing funds, please visit our help page on Managing Your Account."

I don't actually have a bank account attached to the account, as I've never withdrawn funds from it. I just put enough effort into it to pay tax on stuff I buy.

[smokester]

Surely somewhere along the way there will be some transactional or administrative costs.  Not borne by you, but one of the agencies for sure.

Perhaps they charge the State for this and adds to their revenue. 

[8ullfrog]

I always wondered about that because they didn't require an account be tied to it like PayPal does, but they've never sent me anything but balances notices.

Looking at Mturk now, all the jobs appear to be complete horseshit. I remember back when I did it, it was simple work like "Enter these curb street numbers we photographed" and you'd get about five cents a block.


Now it's crazy detective poo, like "Track down this businesses real details" and they want to pay .00 cents.

It's a shame, it was a cool idea. Originally I was planning to do Mturk as an actual job, but at .50 cents an hour, it really wasn't worth the effort.

The other idea was to monetize my old podcast, but actual payout on that went to poo as well, nowadays you have to sign over you actual accounts to a "distributor" and they get a contract that holds the rights "forever and in every form" like Machinima.

Looks like the state will get their .40 cents, and I'll lose my Amazon Payments account. I dropped an email asking if there was any mitigation away from entering my social security number, but I'm not holding my breath. Then again, amazon has always bent over backwards to keep my amazon experience a positive one.

(PayPal has removed my old account information)

I am not some crazy anti-tax moron, so I contacted Amazon about this, Their reply was Prompt, Succinct, and utterly unhelpful.


Under laws enacted in 2011, The IRS required Amazon Payments to file a Form 1099-K for account holders who exceed $20,000 in unadjusted payments received and 200 transactions in a calendar year.

Apparently this was "Too Hard" for amazon, and they required ALL Amazon Payment account holders to provide tax identity information.

I might trust Amazon with a Credit Card Number, but I do NOT trust them with my social. Data breaches happen every day, and Amazon has been targeted and penetrated in the past.

Oh, and I was wrong about the amount. My balance was actually Forty-seven cents, which clearly pushes me over the twenty-thousand dollar mark.

Oh wait, it doesn't.

It really bothers me that the Amazon Customer support can be so amazing, but their policies can be so stupid.