reporting potential fraud to Amazon

CapricornLass

My husband has  found unexplained payments to Amazon for Prime and Audible - strange because he doesn't have accounts for either!  Lloyds told us (after we spent almost an hour trying to get through - there's no assistance via Internet Banking) that we would have to talk to Amazon about it.  Amazon's website says that we have to telephone them but when we did that, we got a recorded message saying that they were too busy helping vulnerable people to answer the phone and hung up.  Anybody got any ideas how we go forward from here?

I'm beginning to think that companies are using COVID-19 as an excuse to get rid of their customer service departments and telephones.

Pollycat

This isn't really a Coronavirus question.

There are lots of threads about people saying they have been charged for Prime but haven't signed up for it.

Here's one that runs to 9 pages:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77052616#Comment_77052616

Your husband possibly agreed to a trial of Prime when he placed an order but didn't cancel within the trial period.

Is there no email contact for Amazon?

I disagree 'that companies are using COVID-19 as an excuse to get rid of their customer service departments and telephones'.

daKlone

Were the services that Amazon provided actually provided to your household?

If not, then it's not up to you to chase Amazon for the return of your money, Lloyds should do that. If they were, then it might be a little more difficult to prove that you or someone in your household didn't actually order them.

Speak to Lloyd's fraud department and make an official report. I would imagine the payments were made via debit or credit card, and the fraud department should cancel the card and send you another one. If it was some other way, make sure that route is not available to the perpetrator any more.

CapricornLass

'I disagree 'that companies are using COVID-19 as an excuse to get rid of their customer service departments and telephones'. 

Not my experience of either Lloyds or Amazon!

Thanks daKlone.  OH has never had an Amazon account.  I have an Audible account, but I can prove that the payments for that are being paid from my own account.  We are currently on the line trying to get through to Lloyds at the moment - 10 minutes so far.

gettingtheresometime

CapricornLass said:

I'm beginning to think that companies are using COVID-19 as an excuse to get rid of their customer service departments and telephones.

Or perhaps the world and his wife are trying to contact these companies …….

Galloglass

As @Pollycat says, it is not fraud but just sharp practice by Amazon. Have had one of these bills, and Amazon replied that "I must have ticked a box somewhere to agree to it". Given that it is easy to do, I probably did, but as I did not want or use the service then I got refunded. Just keep at them.

Carrot007

CapricornLass said:

OH has never had an Amazon account.  I have an Audible account, but I can prove that the payments for that are being paid from my own account.  We are currently on the line trying to get through to Lloyds at the moment - 10 minutes so far.

So OH has never bought anything from amazon, and these charges are on a seperate account to your amazopn account (an audible account is an amazon account, sign for one works on all amazon sites (audibnle amazon, uk, amazon us, amazon es, prime now, etc etc().

If so then it sounds like stolen details, but that is hardly amazon;'s fault. it will get recitied when you can contact them (online chat is always the easiest).