Amazon Prime £79 Prime Swindle?

[Steinalot]

Whilst idly scanning through my bank statement I flagged a £79 direct debit from Amazon.

I knew I hadn't purchased anything of that value from them so, thinking that my account may have been breached I called Amazon.

 

It transpired that I had apparently signed-up for "Amazon Prime" membership (some kind of trade-off to get free delivery if you happen to place lots of orders, and you get to watch Amazon movies), in any case I certainly didn't authorize it.

 

After a call to their customer service centre they eventually cancelled my "membership"

(only after hearing from them what incredible offers I was losing-out on!).

I later realised how this [problem] works (see attached screen shot).

 

 

When you place an order for something they automatically store your card details and they don't give you the total cost of the purchase until you select one of 2 options:

1) "Sign up and pay" with the familiar slightly over-sized yellow PAY NOW click box, or

2) "No thanks I don't want unlimited one-day delivery" in the teeniest most unreadable light blue font, almost obscured by the white background.

 

 

Select 1) and you have inadvertently signed up for Amazon Prime and authorized them to use your card details! BEWARE!

 

Always delete your card details after a purchase (unless you want to use Amazon Prime in which case you probably buy loads of stuff from them anyway).

 

Carlos - The Consumer Avenger

Edited October 3, 2016 by Steinalot
addition

[silverfox1961]

Hi and welcome to CAG

 

As I see it, the pop-up is quite clear. Whilst it is a pain to see this, I cannot see how it could be called a swindle as it spells out quite clearly what it means.

[Steinalot]

Maybe it is "Misleading" then.....

[Steinalot]

I certainly thought I'd been conned when I saw the money gone from my account. On that occasion the operator said that since I hadn't even selected or clicked the "Amazon Prime" membership option in the first place due to "some technical error" (noting that I hadn't actually used any of it's services) so they would cancel it.

 

I found it interesting therefore to see that the method of paying for goods is laid out in such a manner that they are steering you to choose the £79 subscription rather than pay a straight £3.00 or whatever for postage, knowing full well that some are likely to select it by accident and of those, some are likely to not even notice the funds have been withdrawn, either because they are too rich and don't care or they are just blind to it?

[MaxxPower]

I wouldn't call that screenshot misleading at all really. It clearly says "Sign up and pay" and you're on the sign up page for Amazon Prime. It's stating in bold black text what you're agreeing to.

 

The only way you could accidentally sign up based on that screenshot is if you were just clicking through without reading what's on the screen, which you certainly can't hold Amazon responsible for.

[snowdragon]

sorry for jumping on here but seems they have me down as having prime? it says on my account the following

 

Membership: Prime (Free Trial)

Payment Option:

Annual (£79/year)

BEST VALUE

You will lose access to your benefits on 26 October 2016, and your card will not be charged.

Continue Membership

 

Now as far as I know I have never asked for this and rarely ever use Amazon

 

once again, apologies for jumping on this post

[silverfox1961]

sorry for jumping on here but seems they have me down as having prime? it says on my account the following

 

Membership: Prime (Free Trial)

Payment Option:

Annual (£79/year)

BEST VALUE

You will lose access to your benefits on 26 October 2016, and your card will not be charged.

Continue Membership

 

Now as far as I know I have never asked for this and rarely ever use Amazon

 

once again, apologies for jumping on this post

 

HUH!!

Has someone else signed up for Prime without your knowledge as you have to opt in. It also looks as if it has been cancelled so that you get a whole month free and don't get charged.

 

To be safe, keep an eye on your bank statements and keep a copy of that message.

[SoggyMoggy]

Did you buy anything on 26th September Snowdragon?

 

Amazon offer a deal where you get a free trial period for amazon prime in the guise of free or discounted delivery for an item you bought. They make the click box for this very prominent on the screen. You might have unwittingly signed up.

 

Sign into Amazon and check that it doesn't continue and automatically take money from your account. It seems to suggest above that they won't take money unless you agree so you might be in the clear.

[snowdragon]

I can not remember the last time I bought anything from Amazon!

I will certainly be keeping my eye on my bank account!

Thank you all

 

Sandy xx

[postmn]

wish i never signed up to amazon prime . my mother keeps on buying things on my account , totally scfews up my ' we thought you might like these list ' . and like some said it clearly states you will be charged after the free period

[Steinalot]

Thats what happened to me.

[Steinalot]

The screen appears after you try to buy something. I want avoid being stung with Amazon Prime. The first time it happened I was told by customer services that their records had shown I hadn't even clicked on anything, and that they didn't actually know how they managed to sign me up! There is no hope.

[snowdragon]

I have just has a response from them, it says they have cancelled my prime membership and sorry for any problems caused, blah, blah, I aim to keep their reply and also keep an eye on my bank account

[Steinalot]

I had a reply from trading standards saying that the practice WAS misleading and they will investigate.

Meanwhile I have removed my card details from my Amazon account (that's how they get you!).

[jacktheskipper]

I had a reply from trading standards saying that the practice WAS misleading and they will investigate.

Meanwhile I have removed my card details from my Amazon account (that's how they get you!).

 

 

 

It's more than misleading as they have clearly employed psychologists and market research to deliberately trick their customers.

 

 

Something similar happened to me earlier this year when I ordered a small item from Amazon UK. You are correct in the that the prime offer always comes up and you make a particular point of NOT signing up to it.

However they seem to have changed tack and offer instead free one delivery without mentioning the automatic sign up to prime... (especially as some of us have explicitly ticked box against it for the last 9 years). They must tailor careful people accounts too deliberately in the form of a computer program that hides the prime sign up to careful customers.

There a Amazon prime complaints page actually on amazon forums strangely and boy everyday there are scores of complainants some of which say they aren't even Amazon customers that have been signed up to Prime.

Amazon must have some form of mailing list from the credit card companies they are using.

 

 

I may have originally not noticed the free one day delivery box which is filled by default but changed it back however despite this I was still signed up as Prime customer...I am a person that orders a couple of times a year btw.

Luckily for me I did notice my Prime sign up because they e-mailed me about the benefits of my new prime membership ... perplexed by how this came about I frantically searched the internet eventually found the very very obscure cancel page. So I wasn't charged but they had started my FREE? months membership .... which like many thousands of others hadn't actually knowingly signed to at all.

 

 

The laughable and odd thing about is that the item I had ordered didn't arrive the next day!

 

 

Misleading is an understatement .... It is a deliberate contrived CON based on their American model where the consumer law isn't so tight and it where the onus of proof is on the customer. Luckily we have the direct debit guarantee and consumer law that at this time of writing allows you to get your money back in the UK.

Things could change with Tory ethos of allowing companies more power to sign people in by verbal contract etc. and softening of trading standards regulation (which is pretty limp even now)

 

 

For many the first thing they know about it is when Amazon takes a £79 payment from your card. And now looking on the complaints forum Amazon have tweaked their con... it is now apparently £7.99 a month... crafty s c a m designed so the smaller figure won't be noticed so easily.