Amazon accused of tricking customers into Prime subscriptions

[Retro]

Hey, what's this? In America, Amazon, the "most customer centric company" according to their marketing slogan, is using dark patterns to trick users into Prime subscriptions and then making them difficult to get out of. tsk, naughty Amazon. I've been their customer for decades now and I've noticed that their customer service quality has dropped over the last few years. So much for the "most customer centric company", eh?

"Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money," FTC Chair Lina Khan said announcing the suit, which was filed in federal court in Seattle.
The FTC said Amazon used website designs that pushed customers into agreeing to enrol in Prime and have the subscription automatically renew as they were making purchases.
According to the FTC, Amazon attempted to make it difficult for users to opt out of auto-enrolment because "those changes would also negatively affect Amazon's bottom line".
The company also allegedly put customers seeking to cancel through a cumbersome "four-page, six-click, fifteen option" process, which the FTC said was known internally as "Iliad" in a nod to the Greek epic about the "long, arduous Trojan War".

Amazon accused of tricking Prime customers

The US has sued Amazon for allegedly manipulating customers during the Prime sign-up process.

www.bbc.co.uk

All about dark patterns here and my experience of one where I beat another retailer at their own game:

Dark Patterns

"Wassat?! 😲" you demand. That's what I said when I came across it the other day in an article. However, it's actually a group of negative behaviours from companies that we're all familiar with, I'd just never seen an overall definition of it. Here's how Wikipedia defines it: A dark pattern...

nerdzone.uk

 

[eidairman1]

Oh i know how to end prime easily

 

[Retro]

Oh i know how to end prime easily

Pray tell!

 

[eidairman1]

Pray tell!

On android, in amazon app click the human silhouette and click Your Account, then find Manage Prime Membership

 

[aussiefooty]

I don't bother with them anymore.

 

[Retro]

Another fine example of Amazon not being the world's most customer centric company. This incident is criminal and gross and the company has paid the customer lip service, simply palming it off saying it wasn't one of their drivers and having the customer do all the running around to try and sort this out.

An Amazon customer who complained to the online retailer about a delivery driver coming into her home and masturbating in her bedroom is demanding to know how the man was allowed to return to her house two days later.

Spanish police have taken a suspected semen sample allegedly left by the courier as part of a continuing investigation into the incident.

The customer, a 72-year-old retired British social worker who lives in Spain and New Zealand, had ordered a mosquito repellant on Amazon Marketplace. Jane* said: “I will not be using Amazon again. I want people to know that it’s unsafe.”

Amazon said the courier was not one of its employees but a contractor for one of its local sellers.

Amazon customer says delivery driver she found masturbating in her bedroom returned to her home

Exclusive: British woman living in Spain says she felt ‘very vulnerable’ when courier returned to her house

www.theguardian.com

 

[Mort]

Been waiting for Bambi the Reckoning to arrive on streaming (Ok - so I rather liked Blood and Honey 2!) but waiting till it's not on Amazon only. I really don't like that firm!

 

[Geffers]

I've twice accidentally subscribed to Prime, never had any issue with cancelling and reimbursement.

They are devious though, definitely encourage Prime Membership, and it suits some people.