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AWS Lambda Support Failure & Accountability

What Happens When a Platform Crash Is Confirmed — But the Support Process Breaks Down

This post is a detailed account of how AWS failed to properly support a startup after confirming a critical platform failure in Lambda — exposing systemic failures in escalation, communication, and accountability.

After weeks of exhaustive diagnostics, reproductions, and escalation attempts, AWS silently denied engineering engagement, withheld critical logs, blamed the customer, and ultimately charged the startup for “Business Support” during an active dispute.

“A support chain that erased its own history.
An escalation path blocked by sales.
Credits promised, revoked, then offered with silence clauses.
And a bill sent while the platform was broken.”

Key Failures

• Denial Despite Confirmation: AWS reproduced the crash internally but publicly denied any platform fault.
• Escalation Roadblocks: Support engineering was replaced by sales and account managers who blocked meaningful technical escalation.
• Lack of Transparency: No internal logs, telemetry, or postmortems were shared despite repeated requests.
• Financial Coercion: A $700 charge was quietly applied during an ongoing dispute; promised $4,000 credits were revoked and reoffered with restrictive terms.
• Suppressing Disclosure: Attempts were made to condition credit release on silence about the platform failure.

Why This Matters

Platform reliability depends on trust — trust that support will engage, escalate, and provide transparency. When that trust breaks down, startups are left vulnerable, isolated, and financially exposed.

This case highlights critical gaps in AWS’s support process — especially for startups relying on serverless infrastructure for mission-critical applications.

Next Steps

This post is the second half of our story — a call for accountability, transparency, and reform. We encourage AWS and other cloud providers to uphold their promises and support customers honestly and effectively.

📄 Read the full accountability report (PDF)