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Original poster

has anyone been charged £79 for amazon prime without knowing that they have brought it?

161 replies

jellymaker · 08/01/2015 20:42

Just found out that I bought it in March and then have been charged for it again in December. I haven,t watched a single movie and have only brought about 3 things off amazon this year. What is going on.? Has this happened to anyone else?

OP posts:
102030 · 10/01/2015 09:52

I used the free trial over xmas (I took it out and cancelled it almost immediately) and I thought the one day service was amazing. DPD were great - I'd get a text with the hour time slot of the delivery and it was almost always accurate.

I didn't think it was worth paying £79 for though.
I did notice that a lot of products I was after were not eligible for Amazon prime, also, the exact same product was sometimes sold for a lot less money by a third party seller without Amazon prime. Iyswim

I often get items the following day with the normal non-prime free delivery.
often within 24 hours. The quickest was about 14 hours. Pretty impressive.

fingerscrossedagain · 10/01/2015 10:06

I requested free next day delivery and definitely didn't click on anything to sign up for Prime. After my purchase I went online to check my bank account and saw that they were going to charge me £79 Shock. I immediately contacted them using their online chat option rather than phoning them. They were really helpful and arranged an immediate refund. I will be very careful in future though when ordering anything.

SoupDragon · 10/01/2015 10:25

The fact that they refund quickly and without asking too many questions only goes to prove this

Personally, I think it proves they have good customer service which, IME, is confirmed by how any other problems I've had have been sorted.

weeblueberry · 10/01/2015 10:25

The thing to note now is that the £79 isn't just for Prime. You also get a full years worth of Amazon Live Video for this too (like Netflix). Now whether it's fair to bundle this in as standard is a fair argument but it's important to know the £79 isn't just getting you next day delivery.

SoupDragon · 10/01/2015 10:28

Free one day delivery when you sign up to Amazon Prime

And I blame you all for the fact that I now have a crochet book winging it's way to me Wink

has anyone been charged £79 for amazon prime without knowing that they have brought it?
PrimalLass · 10/01/2015 10:29

And if you think I'm being over dramatic, look at the figures for the taxes Amazon is swerving against how many public services are on their knees through cuts.

They employ over 1000 people near me, plus more in the call centre in Edinburgh. That's a lot for a rural-ish economy.

TeWiSavesTheDay · 10/01/2015 10:34

That's not the only place you can sign up soup.

Some places it's obvious, some it isn't - that's what's devious about it!

SoupDragon · 10/01/2015 10:36

It appears this is the one some are complaining about though - choosing next day delivery and finding it isn't free.

Weathergames · 10/01/2015 10:38

I had the free trial in December and was charged £79 in Jan but hadn't ordered anything so got complete refund.

TeWiSavesTheDay · 10/01/2015 10:50

Yes, but that isn't the only place that appears.

I just tried to do it on my phone but it didn't come up this time for some reason - it's a completely different page, looks like a full page advert that says sign up and get it delivered next day for free, in very large letters, nothing about how it works or the £79 unless you scroll down the page. It's not any of the ones screencapped on this thread but I have seen it lots in the last year or so, mostly on the mobile site. That one particular advert I think is much less clear and nearly caught me the first time (I am not interested in prime and would never sign up for it intentionally)

TeWiSavesTheDay · 10/01/2015 10:54

People who are already signed up probably never see that extra page - in fairness.

Loletta · 10/01/2015 11:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ChippingInLatteLover · 10/01/2015 11:14

I signed up for the Prime Free Trial. I think it was probably obvious that I needed to cancel it if I didn't want to pay for it, but forgot all about it until the WW thread on MN (people doing the trial up in arms they're being charged for it, despite being told they wouldn't be).

So amazon have taken the £79. I think I'll see if I can get a refund as I don't think it's worth £79 to me as I don't order a lot and having free postage is likely to tempt me into ordering stuff Grin

ChippingInLatteLover · 10/01/2015 11:31

Well, it took me a couple of minutes to find the 'Live chat ' and about 30 seconds to cancel and get a refund. Easy. Perfect.

TakeMeUpTheNorthMountain · 10/01/2015 12:08

They cancel so easy cos they don't want anyone signed up for something they don't need. Customer service is priority.

Bobby banana you can't preach ethics about taxes and continue to shop at Amazon. Customers always pull that one put of the bag when they want something like compensation!

Tewe of course you gave to scroll down the page you are in a phone, it's not all on one line you know!

I also think you are a bit ageist tbh, elderly people aren't stupid. Plus im only I'm 34 with arthritic warped hands and I can navigate a screen.

TeWiSavesTheDay · 10/01/2015 12:20

34 is not elderly!

I was thinking of my 83yo gmil who's had a fall that means she has bad heavily medicated days and buys all the kids presents on Amazon.

I have no doubt we'd realise eventually and Amazon would cancel without moaning but it would really knock her confidence.

And the page I am talking about does also appear on the main site with the same problem, I've just seen it more often on the mobile one.

I don't know if it is this particular advert that is the problem but I have seen loads of people complaining about this recently and never did years ago. I had to explain to a woman who has English as a second language a few weeks ago that this was what happened to her and she was so convinced that she hadn't signed up for anything - it turned out eventually that she had been taken in by the advert I mentioned not realising it was for prime where was had already said no to prime at other points in the transaction.

Cheers for implying I'm too thick tor knowing how my phone works and am ageist though. Hmm

Original poster
jellymaker · 10/01/2015 16:58

So mners are we sending this to a consumer group? I have looked at money supermarket but they seem very pro this deal so probably have little interest in challenging it. Any others that I can forward this to?

OP posts:
maggiethemagpie · 10/01/2015 18:40

I love amazon prime and will happily pay the £79 yearly fee. I will go to waterstones (or other shop) , choose the books or goods I want and order on prime, knowing it will come the next day guaranteed at far less cost. This saves me more than £79 over the course of the year.

I like the fact that amazon have a no quibble returns policy also.

I pretty much buy everything off there, and reckon I save more than enough to justify the prime cost

chocolatescones · 10/01/2015 18:45

Just reminded me to cancel mine as I got a free month trial just under a month ago, they're so sneaky. If you do get a free month trial another time make sure you set a reminder to cancel it.

Tyzer85 · 10/01/2015 18:59

Jellymaker why do you want to get a consumer group involved? Amazon are not doing anything wrong. If you do get a consumer group involved you'll be told what myself and others have been saying.

wol1968 · 12/01/2015 12:04

Frankly, Tyzer, I think Watchdog (BBC) might well be interested in this. Or You & Yours on R4. Yes, it's a case of caveat emptor, and yes, we need to take some responsibility for what we sign up to, but any way of raising customer awareness of these pitfalls (and rapping Amazon on the knuckles when they cross the line from sharp practice to downright deliberately misleading) can only be a good thing.

Loopylala7 · 12/01/2015 13:38

Is it just me, or the fact that they refund so quickly without argument an indicator that actually they realise what they are doing is a bit naughty and don't want it highlighted in the press by a lot of irate customers...

TravelinColour · 12/01/2015 13:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

christmaspies · 12/01/2015 13:55

I clicked on the free trial by mistake. When I got my first Bill for it I complained to Amazon and they cancelled straightaway no problem

Fruityb · 12/01/2015 16:20

I think watchdog would be more interested if amazon weren't quick to refund..it's not like they're refusing at any point