Customers have been ‘misled’ into signing up for Amazon Prime accounts - this is how to cancel and get your money back

Have you accidentally signed up to Amazon Prime? (Photo: Shutterstock)Have you accidentally signed up to Amazon Prime? (Photo: Shutterstock)
Have you accidentally signed up to Amazon Prime? (Photo: Shutterstock)

Amazon has received complaints from customers who claim that they were misled into signing up to Amazon Prime, a premium service which costs £79 per year.

The advert for Prime accounts has subsequently been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Misleading customers

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When shopping online, Amazon customers were presented with a variety of check out options. A gold-coloured box that stated “order now with Prime”, another option in grey read “continue with free one-day delivery pay later” and a final option said “continue and don’t gain Amazon Prime benefits”.

However, the ASA found that the option that would allow customers to check out without signing up for Prime “was small and placed in a position which could easily be missed by consumers” and “in a faint colour”.

The ASA concluded that “the average customer was likely to view the text within the grey and gold boxes as the only two options available, with the option in the grey box allowing them to continue without signing up to Prime, when that was not the case”. They decided that “the presentation of the options was likely to mislead”.

The ASA ruled, “The page that formed part of the check out process should not continue to appear in the form complained of.

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“[Amazon should] Ensure that options relating to signing up to Amazon Prime, or to continue without doing so, are presented clearly and prominently in the future.”

How to cancel the membership

If you’ve accidentally signed up for an Amazon Prime membership, this is how to cancel it. Cancelling your Prime membership won’t affect your regular Amazon account.

To cancel:

Go to the ‘Accounts & Lists’ tab up the top of the screenSelect ‘Your Prime Account’In the top right of the screen, you’ll see a ‘manage membership’ option that says ‘update your settings’ - select thatAt the bottom of that tab, you’ll see an option to end your membership or free trial

How to get your money back

If you manage to cancel your membership within the 30 day free trial, you won’t be charged for anything. However, if you didn’t realise you were signed up for a membership, you might have been charged without realising it.

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If you’ve spotted a £79 charge for Amazon Prime on your bank account, this is how you can claim your money back.

If you haven’t used any Prime services like Prime Video or Prime Delivery, then getting your money back should prove straightforward, as Amazon says, you’ll receive a full refund.

If you’ve unknowingly used Prime services and want to cancel your account, you’ll need to get in touch with Amazon directly to explain what’s happened and that you want a refund.

You can get in contact with Amazon via their website where you can choose to chat via instant messenger or arrange a call back to talk to someone on the phone.

This article originally appeared on our sister site Edinburgh Evening News

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