The protocol Amazon has established here is sound...
The story I read could be summarized as: "Amazon has no protocol for stolen Kindles and flies by the seat of their pants instead, even if that means telling paying customers things that are not true."
I'm sorry, but paying customers of what, exactly? Amazon's Kindle device? Amazon's Kindle store?
Which of these products comes with a service which helps you find your stolen goods? Amazon offers this as a convenience feature, not as part of your purchase price of the Kindle. A purchaser of a Kindle is not entitled to this service.
Okay yeah that was not kosher, but I was more addressing his sense of entitlement that, how DARE they not give him everything he wants and more?!
When you buy an item that is capable of being tracked (iPhone, car) you generally pay for a service to locate it (iCloud, onStar). Otherwise you have to get law enforcement actively involved, not just you, which raises the bar a bit for those who qualify.
Imagine the Amazon nightmare: "Hey Amazon? Yeah I misplaced my Kindle, is it at my house or Grandma's?"
The OP did get misled but I'm not so sure it's jus Amazon making things up. Given the international boundaries involved here it is not a huge stretch to say that the initial rep was mistaken.
What is the functional difference between running an organization that doesn't have protocol X and running an organization in which the boots on the ground - the people charged with implementing protocol X - do not know or follow protocol X?
The story I read could be summarized as: "Amazon has no protocol for stolen Kindles and flies by the seat of their pants instead, even if that means telling paying customers things that are not true."