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TL;DR
Amazon customer services phone number 08004962454
I help a number of elderly people in their day-to-day IT worlds.
One of the things I OFTEN come across is people who have been tricked into an Amazon Prime subscription! I don't think any of the group of people I see have escaped.
Amazon use 'dark patterns' to trick people into signing up.
A dark pattern is where you are asked a question or have a choice but it's not easy to see the one you want or none of the options are what you want to choose!
It seems to be getting more popular with IT companies and others.
A famous example was all the Windows 10 nagging Microsoft did -
"Do you want to upgrade now or later?" - where's the NEVER option!
It feels like the malware writers have taken over the real world.
One lady I helped last month by cancelling her unwanted Amazon Prime Trial before any money had been taken, has just been caught again by selecting the wrong option on her Amazon Fire TV stick (ITV Plus) which kicked off £3.99pm for ITV and £7.99pm for another Prime account!
This was after I had previously used the options in the Fire Stick to ask for a pin for any 'paid for' content to stop her accidentally running up a bill.
For many, hunting down the right option to cancel an unwanted Prime subscription isn't easy using their Amazon account. But you can still cancel your Prime subscription and get a refund by doing things the old way and phoning Amazon Customer Services.
It’s not an easy number to find - hence this post.
I’ve just phoned 0800 496 2454 (free number) and spoken to them to check it’s the right number for people to use.
They really don’t want you to phone, so listen to the messages and don’t hang up. Eventually it asks you to press 1. There are a few long pauses so it feels like the call may have ended just keep waiting and you eventually get to speak to a human!
There were a few very long running threads about these tricks on the Amazon forums which were full of unhappy people - I've just noticed they have recently closed their forums! Google cache still show the angry feedback they were getting.
I hope this helps someone :¬)
Post edited by Hmmm... on 22/10/2017 at 15:48.
Amazon customer services phone number 08004962454
I help a number of elderly people in their day-to-day IT worlds.
One of the things I OFTEN come across is people who have been tricked into an Amazon Prime subscription! I don't think any of the group of people I see have escaped.
Amazon use 'dark patterns' to trick people into signing up.
A dark pattern is where you are asked a question or have a choice but it's not easy to see the one you want or none of the options are what you want to choose!
It seems to be getting more popular with IT companies and others.
A famous example was all the Windows 10 nagging Microsoft did -
"Do you want to upgrade now or later?" - where's the NEVER option!
It feels like the malware writers have taken over the real world.
One lady I helped last month by cancelling her unwanted Amazon Prime Trial before any money had been taken, has just been caught again by selecting the wrong option on her Amazon Fire TV stick (ITV Plus) which kicked off £3.99pm for ITV and £7.99pm for another Prime account!
This was after I had previously used the options in the Fire Stick to ask for a pin for any 'paid for' content to stop her accidentally running up a bill.
For many, hunting down the right option to cancel an unwanted Prime subscription isn't easy using their Amazon account. But you can still cancel your Prime subscription and get a refund by doing things the old way and phoning Amazon Customer Services.
It’s not an easy number to find - hence this post.
I’ve just phoned 0800 496 2454 (free number) and spoken to them to check it’s the right number for people to use.
They really don’t want you to phone, so listen to the messages and don’t hang up. Eventually it asks you to press 1. There are a few long pauses so it feels like the call may have ended just keep waiting and you eventually get to speak to a human!
There were a few very long running threads about these tricks on the Amazon forums which were full of unhappy people - I've just noticed they have recently closed their forums! Google cache still show the angry feedback they were getting.
I hope this helps someone :¬)
[s]Hmmm...[/s]Post edited by Hmmm... on 22/10/2017 at 15:48.
Hmmm... wrote:
PS. If a staffie reads this would be possible to edit the title removing 'an' ?
I can't seem to change it and it's doing my OCD in :¬)
Done.
Interesting (but not surprising) to hear your wife has been caught by this.
Dark Patterns
Dark Patterns are tricks used in websites and apps that make you buy or sign up for things that you didn't mean to. The purpose of this site is to spread awareness and to shame companies that use them.
PS. If a staffie reads this would be possible to edit the title removing 'an' ?
I can't seem to change it and it's doing my OCD in :¬)
Dark Patterns
Dark Patterns are tricks used in websites and apps that make you buy or sign up for things that you didn't mean to. The purpose of this site is to spread awareness and to shame companies that use them.
PS. If a staffie reads this would be possible to edit the title removing 'an' ?
I can't seem to change it and it's doing my OCD in :¬)
[s]Hmmm...[/s]
Thanks for that Hmmm ... Mrs DL got 'caught' a few months ago with Prime and I managed to rectify the 'problem' online as soon as I saw her 'error'! As you say, options are within the 'dark world'!
Post edited by DL on 23/10/2017 at 19:05.
Post edited by DL on 23/10/2017 at 19:05.
TL;DR
Amazon customer services phone number 08004962454
I help a number of elderly people in their day-to-day IT worlds.
One of the things I OFTEN come across is people who have been tricked into an Amazon Prime subscription! I don't think any of the group of people I see have escaped.
Amazon use 'dark patterns' to trick people into signing up.
A dark pattern is where you are asked a question or have a choice but it's not easy to see the one you want or none of the options are what you want to choose!
It seems to be getting more popular with IT companies and others.
A famous example was all the Windows 10 nagging Microsoft did -
"Do you want to upgrade now or later?" - where's the NEVER option!
It feels like the malware writers have taken over the real world.
One lady I helped last month by cancelling her unwanted Amazon Prime Trial before any money had been taken, has just been caught again by selecting the wrong option on her Amazon Fire TV stick (ITV Plus) which kicked off £3.99pm for ITV and £7.99pm for another Prime account!
This was after I had previously used the options in the Fire Stick to ask for a pin for any 'paid for' content to stop her accidentally running up a bill.
For many, hunting down the right option to cancel an unwanted Prime subscription isn't easy using their Amazon account. But you can still cancel your Prime subscription and get a refund by doing things the old way and phoning Amazon Customer Services.
It’s not an easy number to find - hence this post.
I’ve just phoned 0800 496 2454 (free number) and spoken to them to check it’s the right number for people to use.
They really don’t want you to phone, so listen to the messages and don’t hang up. Eventually it asks you to press 1. There are a few long pauses so it feels like the call may have ended just keep waiting and you eventually get to speak to a human!
There were a few very long running threads about these tricks on the Amazon forums which were full of unhappy people - I've just noticed they have recently closed their forums! Google cache still show the angry feedback they were getting.
I hope this helps someone :¬)
Post edited by Hmmm... on 22/10/2017 at 15:48.
Amazon customer services phone number 08004962454
I help a number of elderly people in their day-to-day IT worlds.
One of the things I OFTEN come across is people who have been tricked into an Amazon Prime subscription! I don't think any of the group of people I see have escaped.
Amazon use 'dark patterns' to trick people into signing up.
A dark pattern is where you are asked a question or have a choice but it's not easy to see the one you want or none of the options are what you want to choose!
It seems to be getting more popular with IT companies and others.
A famous example was all the Windows 10 nagging Microsoft did -
"Do you want to upgrade now or later?" - where's the NEVER option!
It feels like the malware writers have taken over the real world.
One lady I helped last month by cancelling her unwanted Amazon Prime Trial before any money had been taken, has just been caught again by selecting the wrong option on her Amazon Fire TV stick (ITV Plus) which kicked off £3.99pm for ITV and £7.99pm for another Prime account!
This was after I had previously used the options in the Fire Stick to ask for a pin for any 'paid for' content to stop her accidentally running up a bill.
For many, hunting down the right option to cancel an unwanted Prime subscription isn't easy using their Amazon account. But you can still cancel your Prime subscription and get a refund by doing things the old way and phoning Amazon Customer Services.
It’s not an easy number to find - hence this post.
I’ve just phoned 0800 496 2454 (free number) and spoken to them to check it’s the right number for people to use.
They really don’t want you to phone, so listen to the messages and don’t hang up. Eventually it asks you to press 1. There are a few long pauses so it feels like the call may have ended just keep waiting and you eventually get to speak to a human!
There were a few very long running threads about these tricks on the Amazon forums which were full of unhappy people - I've just noticed they have recently closed their forums! Google cache still show the angry feedback they were getting.
I hope this helps someone :¬)
[s]Hmmm...[/s]Post edited by Hmmm... on 22/10/2017 at 15:48.