Amazon Prime Member Fee? Charged £48...

chrisdcb

It is far from clear - certainly when I ordered with "free delivery" there was no indication I would be paying out regular chunks of cash - maybe the site has made it clearer now, but a simple Google of "Amazon Prime Scam" will show you that hundreds of people have been caught out by it and doubtless thousands more are still paying out unknowingly.

Nilrem

You where scammed?

IIRC when you sign up for the Prime thing, it has the information in bold, in a different (more obvious colour) which tells you the prime trial is free for a month after which you'll be charged.


"hundreds of people caught out", going by the contents of this thread many of them have been "caught out" by the fact they've not bothered to read the information that is shown when you opt for the prime trial (one the same page in fact, on the same part as the button to try it, not even hidden).

One of the other users posted a picture of the prime trial thing which is how I remember it when I signed up about 3 years ago.

[edit]
Link to post http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=44302810&postcount=370

Pollycat wrote: »

But it's NOT in the 'small print'.

It's in a whopping big box that pops up if you try to click on:

FREE One-Day Delivery with a free trial of (1 business day)

It says THIS:
Get FREE One-Day Delivery on This Order with Amazon Prime
New members are eligible to receive a Free one-month trial of Amazon Prime - Amazon's exclusive membership program that gives you and up to four of your household family members the benefits of unlimited One-Day Delivery on eligible Amazon.co.uk purchases.
AMAZON PRIME - FAST, FREE, NO-HASSLE DELIVERY Learn more


Place your order before the deadline displayed on the item detail page to get:

• Unlimited FREE One-Day Delivery on over a million eligible items
• Express Delivery (delivery before 1pm) for £4.49 per item
• Evening Delivery for £7.48 per item (London and Birmingham addresses)
• No Minimum Purchase - No need to think about delivery charges when you order

ENJOY IT FOR ONE MONTH - FREE

• The one-month trial is completely free for you to enjoy
• There's no obligation to continue beyond the trial period. You can cancel your membership through Your Account at any time during your Free Trial and you will not be charged the £49.00 annual fee

UPGRADE YOUR ORDER INSTANTLY

• We will upgrade products in your order marked 'Eligible for Amazon Prime delivery rates', to free One-Day Delivery, the moment you sign up

Click the button below to start your one-month Free Trial -- you won't be charged now. If you want to continue after your Free Trial, do nothing. Your benefits will automatically continue and we'll charge your payment method (Visa/Delta/Electron ***-0211) £49.00 for the next year. If you prefer, you can select "do not upgade" in the Manage Your Prime Account section of Your Account and your payment method won't be charged. If you continue, we'll charge your payment method annually thereafter for your full membership unless you select "do not auto renew". You can always request a refund of the most recent charge if your benefits haven't been used in the new term. If we're unable to charge the payment method above for either the first year or an annual renewal, we'll charge another payment method we have on file for you. You can manage your full membership, including payment method and renewal setting through Your Account.

Free Trial is available to new members only. Limit one per household.

By clicking the button below, you acknowledge that you have read and agreed to the Terms and Conditions and the above, and authorise us to charge the payment method above or another available on file.

Turn on 1-click ordering using my default Amazon Prime settings

Upgrade my order and start my Free Trial now


Just how much clearer do you need it to be?
What part of this statement below do people have difficulty understanding?
There's no obligation to continue beyond the trial period. You can cancel your membership through Your Account at any time during your Free Trial and you will not be charged the £49.00 annual fee

Basically, people just can't be arsed to read what's in front of them.

I'm not naive, I can see it's a FREE trial that will cost me money if I don't cancel it sometime during the trial period.
It's not exactly rocket science, is it?
Nor is it 'dubious marketing'.
It's NOT designed to mislead at all.

If people can't read and understand what they are signing up to, they shouldn't be let loose on a computer with credit/debit cards.
Amazon might 'know exactly what they are doing with deals like this offered at the point of sale' but the buyer should make sure he/she knows what they are doing too.

It's called personal accountability.

I can be sympathetic when someone has been genuinely scammed, but not when it's their own fault because they haven't read something that's right in front of their face.

custardy

chrisdcb wrote: »

It is far from clear - certainly when I ordered with "free delivery" there was no indication I would be paying out regular chunks of cash - maybe the site has made it clearer now, but a simple Google of "Amazon Prime Scam" will show you that hundreds of people have been caught out by it and doubtless thousands more are still paying out unknowingly.

its been clear from day 1
Google "we need tinfoil hats",and you will get over 8 million hits.
doesnt make it true

cajef

chrisdcb wrote: »

I have grandchildren in USA and have bought three items from Amazon.com in the last three years. I somehow got scammed into paying $79 for Amazon Prime which works out at over £52 a year. I have subsequently found I also got tricked into paying £49 per year to Amazon.co.uk.

So in three years this was taken from your bank account and you never checked or wondered what it was for, how often do you bother to check your account.:eek:

Pollycat

chrisdcb wrote: »

It is far from clear - certainly when I ordered with "free delivery" there was no indication I would be paying out regular chunks of cash - maybe the site has made it clearer now, but a simple Google of "Amazon Prime Scam" will show you that hundreds of people have been caught out by it and doubtless thousands more are still paying out unknowingly.

I can totally understand how you were tricked, scammed, conned, ripped-off - you just don't read things.

That's clear from your continued insistance that you are right and Amazon are wrong, despite being shown to the contrary.

They haven't made the site clearer now, it's been clear what you are signing up for for years.
This thread has been running for almost 4 years.
There's loads of posts from people like you who insist they didn't sign up for anything - but they did.
Read through it.

Poster says 'I've been ripped-off, tricked, scammed, conned, duped'.
Savvy people (those who check what they are signing up to) explain 'No you weren't'.

Poster says 'I've been ripped-off, tricked, scammed, conned, duped'.
Savvy people (those who check what they are signing up to) explain 'No you weren't'.

Poster says 'I've been ripped-off, tricked, scammed, conned, duped'.
Savvy people (those who check what they are signing up to) explain 'No you weren't'.

And on and on ad nauseum.

Of course there are hundreds of people shouting scam, con, rip-off - they didn't read things either.

chrisdcb

custardy wrote: »

Google "we need tinfoil hats",and you will get over 8 million hits.
doesnt make it true

4,670 actually.

"Amazon prime scam" 74,100

custardy

chrisdcb wrote: »

4,670 actually.

"Amazon prime scam" 74,100

Can't you work google either?

Pollycat

chrisdcb wrote: »

4,670 actually.

"Amazon prime scam" 74,100

All that proves to me is that there are at least 74,100 people who really should not be allowed near a computer with their credit cards. :rotfl:

custardy

Pollycat wrote: »

All that proves to me is that there are at least 74,100 people who really should not be allowed near a computer with their credit cards. :rotfl:

The top hit is here,the 2nd is an aricle with this line

The most important lesson: Read the fine print. Whether you know it or not, you have inadvertently signed up for the program during the checkout process.

Hermione_Granger

custardy wrote: »

Can't you work google either?

Don't you just love posters who will do anything rather than admit that they made a mistake.