Mechanical Turk Suspensions and General Speculation

[turking_seriously]

I don't believe he ever posted publicly who the employee was to prevent spamming and things like that. I personally don't know which employee he worked with. If you've already done what that initial email asked you to, I would suggest you keep calling them by the number they provided. I've heard from others that calling usually gets better help in instances like that. Good luck, hopefully it gets resolved.

Do you know the phone number that I can reach out directly?

 

[ducky]

Do you know the phone number that I can reach out directly?

Sorry, I was mistaken when I read your post, thought it was a phone number but it's just the fax number. I was thinking of this situation but it seems like she just emailed the feedback email and kept sending her information.

 

[turking_seriously]

Sorry, I was mistaken when I read your post, thought it was a phone number but it's just the fax number. I was thinking of this situation but it seems like she just emailed the feedback email and kept sending her information.

Thanks!

 

[aveline]

I needed the email of the employee that Metallica was mentioning in this post:
https://www.mturkcrowd.com/threads/mechanical-turk-suspensions-and-general-speculation.1778/

Can someone help?

The employee that he mentioned no longer works with MTurk (he left well over a year ago). Metallica also has not worked on MTurk in some time.

I've been suspended before, so I can relate to what you're going through. I think your best bet will be to deal with MTurk through this contact form. Be prepared to receive a lot of responses that don't answer your questions, though. You just have to be persistent and not give up until you're satisfied with their response. Email them every day if you have to, and keep records of everything you send and receive. Their responses are intended to make you feel powerless. Don't allow them to just brush you off in the hopes that you'll go away. It took me nearly 2 weeks to get my account back when I was suspended. Some have taken months. Don't give up.

 

[turking_seriously]

The employee that he mentioned no longer works with MTurk (he left well over a year ago). Metallica also has not worked on MTurk in some time.

I've been suspended before, so I can relate to what you're going through. I think your best bet will be to deal with MTurk through the this contact form. Be prepared to receive a lot of responses that don't answer your questions, though. You just have to be persistent and not give up until you're satisfied with their response. Email them every day if you have to, and keep records of everything you send and receive. Their responses are intended to make you feel powerless. Don't allow them to just brush you off in the hopes that you'll go away. It took me nearly 2 weeks to get my account back when I was suspended. Some have taken months. Don't give up.

Thanks for giving me hope!
What was the reason behind your suspenion?

 

[aveline]

Thanks for giving me hope!
What was the reason behind your suspenion?

I had a requester account tied to my worker account. I had posted a HIT for a friend and MTurk misinterpreted the intent of the HIT (they thought I was paying for work done someplace else), and they suspended my requester account, which also suspended my worker account.

 

[turking_seriously]

I had a requester account tied to my worker account. I had posted a HIT for a friend and MTurk misinterpreted the intent of the HIT (they thought I was paying for work done someplace else), and they suspended my requester account, which also suspended my worker account.

I see. I think mine is different.
This is the first email I received:
"Greetings from Amazon Mechanical Turk,

We were unable to validate important details about your Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) account. As a result, your account has been suspended pending additional verification. At this time, we need you to verify your identity so we can reinstate your account.

In order to verify your identity, please send us a copy of your driver’s license or an equivalent government issued Identification Document (ID). You can provide your ID by sending a scanned copy to our secure fax line at 1-206-569-1407. In addition, please be sure to type or clearly print the following information at the top of the document to help us identify you:

-- Your first and last name
-- The email you use to log into your MTurk Worker account

Once we receive and validate this information, we will proceed with reinstating your account. Please note that if we are unable to verify your identity, you will not able to disburse your current earnings balance or otherwise participate in the MTurk marketplace. "

I sent my ID to the faxline and today I received this message:
"
Greetings from Amazon Mechanical Turk,

Thank you for your patience while we reviewed your account. After review, we have determined that you have violated the Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) Participation Agreement. As a result, your account will remain closed.

You can review the complete Participation Agreement at the link below:

https://www.mturk.com/worker/participation-agreement

Your account will not be re-opened. Note that for security purposes you will not be able to disburse the current earnings balance associated with this account or otherwise participate in the MTurk marketplace. We are not able to take any additional action regarding your Amazon Mechanical Turk Worker account suspension, or offer any additional insight"

 

[aveline]

I see. I think mine is different.
This is the first email I received:
"Greetings from Amazon Mechanical Turk,

We were unable to validate important details about your Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) account. As a result, your account has been suspended pending additional verification. At this time, we need you to verify your identity so we can reinstate your account.

In order to verify your identity, please send us a copy of your driver’s license or an equivalent government issued Identification Document (ID). You can provide your ID by sending a scanned copy to our secure fax line at 1-206-569-1407. In addition, please be sure to type or clearly print the following information at the top of the document to help us identify you:

-- Your first and last name
-- The email you use to log into your MTurk Worker account

Once we receive and validate this information, we will proceed with reinstating your account. Please note that if we are unable to verify your identity, you will not able to disburse your current earnings balance or otherwise participate in the MTurk marketplace. "

I sent my ID to the faxline and today I received this message:
"
Greetings from Amazon Mechanical Turk,

Thank you for your patience while we reviewed your account. After review, we have determined that you have violated the Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) Participation Agreement. As a result, your account will remain closed.

You can review the complete Participation Agreement at the link below:

https://www.mturk.com/worker/participation-agreement

Your account will not be re-opened. Note that for security purposes you will not be able to disburse the current earnings balance associated with this account or otherwise participate in the MTurk marketplace. We are not able to take any additional action regarding your Amazon Mechanical Turk Worker account suspension, or offer any additional insight"

Did the account originally belong to someone else or have a bank account attached to it that wasn't in your name?

 

[turking_seriously]

No. This is my own account and I have linked my own bank account as well. Do you think you can help me with any additional insights?

 

[aveline]

No. This is my own account and I have linked my own bank account as well. Do you think you can help me with any additional insights?

I'm sorry, I don't think I can. I would say keep trying though, just in case. I received a couple emails saying they weren't going to reinstate me before they reinstated me. They probably did the bare minimum when they looked into your account and they sent an email with the intent to make you go away. It's difficult to make them listen to what you have to say and get them to address you like a human being, so you just have to be persistent.

 

[turking_seriously]

I'm sorry, I don't think I can. I would say keep trying though, just in case. I received a couple emails saying they weren't going to reinstate me before they reinstated me. They probably did the bare minimum when they looked into your account and they sent an email with the intent to make you go away. It's difficult to make them listen to what you have to say and get them to address you like a human being, so you just have to be persistent.

OK, thanks! You are just so helpful and kind!

 

[aveline]

OK, thanks! You are just so helpful and kind!

You're welcome. Good luck!

 

[Metallica]

T @turking_seriously hello. As you can see, I'm not too active around here anymore. I still have the email, but I'm not sure if they've left. @aveline mentioning it is the first time I've heard that (I'm not in contact with anyone in the company at this point). If he's still there I wouldn't mind sending it your way.

 

[Metallica]

Well, it looks like that employee isn't affiliated with AMT anymore after all. Sorry, that's truthfully the last human I know of that I could direct you to.

 

[turking_seriously]

T @turking_seriously hello. As you can see, I'm not too active around here anymore. I still have the email, but I'm not sure if they've left. @aveline mentioning it is the first time I've heard that (I'm not in contact with anyone in the company at this point). If he's still there I wouldn't mind sending it your way.

@Metallica I see. But can you please tell me what was his title at Amazon so that I can search for similar titles on Linkedin to see if there are any employees currently. I am too much worried about this as this was my only income. Please help!

 

[WillowWolf]

I see. But can you please tell me what was his title at Amazon so that I can search for similar titles on Linkedin to see if there are any employees currently. I am too much worried about this as this was my only income. Please help!

Sent you a DM.

 

[turking_seriously]

Sent you a DM.

Thank you very much!

 

[Metallica]

I went ahead and edited out the bits and pieces referencing other emails.

 

[turking_seriously]

I got my account back just now

"Greetings from Amazon Mechanical Turk,

Thank you for your patience while we reviewed your account. After review, we have determined that your account was suspended in error.

As such, we have reinstated your account effective immediately. We apologize for the inconvenience that this account suspension may have caused.
We appreciate your continued participation in the Amazon Mechanical Turk marketplace. If you have additional questions, please email us using the Contact Us form on our Worker website"

I am thankful to everyone here for the support while I was in deep trouble!
Especially @WillowWolf and @Metallica

 

[WillowWolf]

I got my account back just now

"Greetings from Amazon Mechanical Turk,

Thank you for your patience while we reviewed your account. After review, we have determined that your account was suspended in error.

As such, we have reinstated your account effective immediately. We apologize for the inconvenience that this account suspension may have caused.
We appreciate your continued participation in the Amazon Mechanical Turk marketplace. If you have additional questions, please email us using the Contact Us form on our Worker website"

I am thankful to everyone here for the support while I was in deep trouble!
Especially @WillowWolf and @Metallica

Really great news. Glad things worked out for you!