William Rainer
This past month an Amazon delivery man accused a homeowner of using a racial slur via his Ring doorbell. This caught Amazon’s attention and so they shut down the man’s ‘smart-home’ for a week.
Videos by Rare
The claim was that Brandon Jackson, the resident, had shouted racist remarks to the delivery man as he dropped off a package at the house. According to the New York Post, Amazon took less than 24 hours to react.
The massive company decided the right thing to do was lock Brandon out of his own home. As it turns out, Brandon was not even home at the time nor was any of his family. In fact, the Jacksons did not even know they were barred from their smart home until Brandon attempted to check on the house remotely… and he could not.
Delivery Man’s Accusations Lead to Amazon Locking Out Homeowner
While Brandon could not access any of his current Amazon smart home set up, he was able to review the footage of the incident. Upon checking the doorbell’s memory he found that the doorbell gave an automated statement: “Excuse me, can I help you?” Not exactly your run of the mill racist remark.
Brandon decided that since the delivery man appeared to be wearing headphones he misheard the question. But the Jackson family is still not sure why Amazon would shut their whole house down.. for an entire week… despite phone calls and emails by Brandon. He commented saying: “Despite promptly submitting video evidence immediately upon learning of the issue, my account remained locked.”
Brandon further mentioned: “This incident has led me to question my relationship with Amazon. After nearly a decade of loyalty, I’ve been given a harsh reminder that a misunderstanding can lead to such drastic measures.”
So much for being a homeowner when Amazon controls your house!
