e-scam

About two years ago I bought an e-book reader, but not a Kindle, because I was told that you can only order books from Amazon on a Kindle.  Even though Amazon has 5 million books listed I wanted to download free books and books from other sites, not only that of the company of the device. The e-reader I bought was a small tablet, in color (unlike the Kindle) that allows me to access the internet.  I thought this would be a great advantage, because then you could find the cheapest version of a given book and titles that were not available in their listing, as well as accessing e-mail

So I downloaded several books, but I found it difficult to use the websites of rival companies, they made the transfer of books into the device difficult, but I found a program designed specifically to do that and after some effort I got the books listed on the device.  Then imagine my surprise later when I went to read these books, that I had paid for and downloaded, that I got a message that said "you are not an authorized reader."  What? I am not authorized to read a book I had purchased on a device I had purchased.  When I couldn't get it to work, I wrote to the customer service department of the company.  They required me to put in the serial number of the specific device,  which I did.  However, then they wrote back and asked me for the date of purchase and the place purchased.  By then the receipt, that I had kept, was so faded that I could hardly read it.  I realize that they are playing for time, but I don't have time either to fight them.

To add insult to injury I have just received an e-mail thanking me for purchasing a book from them, that I did not buy, the book cost $9.99.  I imagine that in an office somewhere in their company there is a computer that checks your purchases and if you buy from their competitors they declare you an unauthorized reader, and then they order books for you randomly.  I tried replying to the e-mail but it is a non-receivable address.  I also tried customer service again, but it was either closed or too busy.  So its a scam, you think you have freedom to buy what you want, but you don't and then they order books for you without your approval. They know that you'll never be able to overcome their e-scam.

On the other hand, we did our first order from the supermarket via the web.  Our daughter made it possible, since I couldn't navigate the Hebrew.  After we registered and submitted the order we got two calls to confirm our credit card, but all was OK and a day later the order was delivered.   It saved traipsing out in the heat and shlapping the stuff ourselves.  We received one roll instead of a package and five red peppers instead of one, but once you've got the hang of it, it should be easy.