I came across a shocking story today about a developer whose AWS account, active for 10 years, was deleted without any prior warning due to an issue with a third-party payment arrangement. He had been using a consultant who suddenly stopped covering his bills, which led to confusion during a payment verification process. Despite having a backup payment method on file, AWS took 20 days to respond and ultimately decided to terminate his account, deleting all his valuable data on his birthday. This raises a lot of questions about AWS's practices and customer support, especially since he had been a loyal customer and contributor to open source projects. Can anyone shed light on how AWS could let this happen, and is there any recourse for customers in similar situations?
5 Answers
This scenario serves as a wake-up call for anyone relying heavily on third-party payment methods. I had a similar experience years back with our AWS accounts linked to a failed payment provider and had to scramble to fix it. It's a huge risk to put all your eggs in one basket with a third-party payer. Self-management is key.
Honestly, the guy should have backed up his data off-site. For peace of mind, I always recommend having multiple copies of critical work just like my company is doing now after hearing stories like this. Better safe than sorry!
I think there's more to the story than just a payment oversight. If the provider wasn't paying and AWS wasn't able to verify payments immediately, there's usually a process for these things. Perhaps the complexity of who actually owned the account made it hard for AWS to navigate the support channels. Still, a decade's worth of data disappearing like that is pretty wild.
True, but there are mentions of multiple accounts being deleted accidentally due to internal mistakes at AWS. This makes it sound like this situation was more about AWS's internal issues than anything else.
It’s wild that this post got such attention. AWS has a reputation for reliable service, but when there's a miscommunication or support breakdown, it can lead to catastrophe. The developer’s suggestion to go public is a good idea; maybe it will force AWS to address these concerns more seriously.
Definitely. If they can brush this under the rug, they might not change practices. Sometimes public pressure is the only way to spur companies into action.
From what I've read, the account termination was blamed on a "third-party payer" issue. The developer had a payment consultant who was managing his bills, but when that consultant vanished due to financial troubles, AWS refused to switch the billing back to his own card that was already on file for 20 days. Instead of resolving the issue, they just deleted everything. It definitely seems like AWS could have handled this situation better.
Exactly! If his backup payment card was active the entire time, why not just switch to it instead of pulling the trigger on an account deletion? It feels like a major oversight on AWS's part.
Exactly! Having a backup payment method is critical, but AWS's refusal to switch to it shows they need to improve their customer support strategies. It's not just about user responsibility.