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Leaving Amazon Prime is tough to do.
A group of public interest advocates have told U.S. regulators they think Amazon deliberately makes it difficult to cancel an Amazon Prime subscription, its customer loyalty program.
In a letter sent to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday, a group led by consumer watchdog Public Citizen asked the commission to investigate whether Amazon.com Inc. has violated consumer protection laws with its process for canceling Prime membership subscriptions.
The letter draws on a report made by the Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC), which investigates the “manipulative” design choices in Amazon Prime’s subscription model.
The report, which was researched in the U.S., U.K., and E.U., says that Prime’s subscription model is a “roach motel,” where getting in is easy, but escape is an ordeal.
The steps involved in cancelling Prime are designed to unfairly and deceptively undermine the will of the consumer.
To cancel Prime, the consumer is led through a series of six pages and is ultimately pushed toward maintaining their membership, the NCC claims . The pages include “dark patterns” and deceptive “visual interference” techniques such as yellow warning triangles with an exclamation point inside and text buttons stating “keep my benefits”.
A spokesperson for Amazon told Bloomberg that it is “clear and easy” to cancel Prime online, by phone or by opting out of automatic renewal.
“Customer trust is at the heart of all of our products and services and we strongly disagree with any claim that our cancellation process creates uncertainty,” the spokesperson said. “The information we provide in the online cancellation flow gives a full view of the benefits and services members are canceling.”
TCA reached out to the FTC for comment on the recall and will update the story when we hear back. Amazon Prime, which costs $119 USD per year, is a subscription only service offering free shipping, video streaming and more to its users. According to Statistica, as of Dec. 2019, an estimated 112 million people in the U.S. were subscribed to Prime.
Although complaints often land with the FTC with minimal action taken, Bloomberg reports that at least one of the parties involved in Thursday’s letter, the Center for Digital Democracy, has encouraged commissioners to take actions in the past.
Retail giant Amazon has faced a number of claims of deceptive practices over the years, and has been hit with a range of class action lawsuits alleging the online retail giant falsely advertises its Prime membership to consumers.
Have you experienced difficulty with canceling your Amazon Prime membership? Share your experience in the comments below.
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54 thoughts onAmazon Prime Subscription Too Hard to Cancel, Watchdogs say
Add me pls
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I tried to cancel Amazon Prime twelve months ago. I tried again, nothing happenned. I tried again, I got a confirmation, and even a part-month refund, but the monthly subscripton just continued, as if nothing had happened. Eventually I discontinued my payment card method. So now I can’t order any of their products. Is that what they really want? Someone at Amazon get back to me please.
I disputed a claim from them at least 4 times. My husband as well. I have 2 accounts and they did it to both. Plus there is an ongoing credit card from them asking me for a payment, and it’s not my card. I’ve emailed , called, and it’s still there.
Had hard time canceling. I informed Amazon twice that I wanted to cancel through email and phone. And still had to pay my bank overdraft charges of 45.00 twice. After informing I wanted to cancel.
I have tried for months to cancel all Amazon Prime accounts. Unsuccessful after calling them numerous times. They always promise to cancel the Prime account and then end up billing it again. Not only do they bill you multiple times a month, they bill multiple accounts as well.
Please add me! I try to cancel 3 times so far. And amazon have getting the payment Without my consent like 4 times. Is always the same problem. You want to cancel, and the Next day you have the subcription ON again and the Charged without notification..
Please add me. It’s horrible to try to find, tried to cancel but only able to pause at this time. TO many things to go through to try to cancel.
ADD ME
Please add me