Amazon execs may be personally liable for tricking users into Prime sign-ups

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/05/amazon-execs-may-be-personally-liable-for-tricking-users-into-prime-sign-ups/

by rntn • 2 years ago

57 19 2 years ago

arstechnica.com

isaacfrond• 2 years ago

It fooled me. Turns out I had accidentally entered my company into a prime subscription. It could have been embarrassing, but it turned out that my boss did the same thing.

Took only a few emails to get us of it, and reimburse the costs, fortunately.

blibble• 2 years ago

I was trying to buy something on my phone and the very small "no" was directly touching the giant "FREE TRIAL NOW" button

"no" was maybe 5mm wide, with the other button taking up half the screen

and of course it signs you up immediately without confirmation

joke's on them though, after a couple of really, really bad customer experiences I've cut my Amazon spending so much that couple of times a year I do actually buy something they offer me another "free trial"

(which is then immediately cancelled)

gryzzly• 2 years ago

They don’t even send a receipt or a confirmation you were signed up for it. I doubt it is legal to make a charge and not provide a receipt and detailed info what it’s for. My wife discovered a charge and then it turned out it was already for a second year. We did not know she had Prime, we rarely buy from Amazon and don’t use any of their services. They have returned the money, but I feel cheated and wonder if it’s possible to report it somewhere in Germany.

retrac98• 2 years ago

Good. I’m so sick of finding myself signed up to prime with no recollection of ever doing so.

The deactivation process is awful too - an obstacle course of dark patterns.

486sx33• 2 years ago

Prime seems to have moved from promoting the benefits to active trickery. Even prime video is useless everything is rent or pay extra on there.

I signed up for prime again last month to get faster shipping. Still took two days and more and more products on Amazon aren’t “prime” compatible and make you pay for shipping anyway so , cancelled again. See ya prime !

HeatrayEnjoyer• 2 years ago

What products require you to pay more for shipping?

_xerces_• 2 years ago

Only things I have seen are items sold by third parties such as used books and Amazon offering to ship same day/overnight for an extra $2.99 (unless you spend over $35). I have had issues in the past though where you get "Prime Free Two-Day Shipping!" but fail to tell you it takes several days for them to actually process before shipping the item.

blitzed• 2 years ago

I've never felt tricked into buying or renewing my Prime membership, and I think it's worth every penny. That said, getting customer service on the website is a hellish nightmare.

hi-v-rocknroll2• 2 years ago

Always call. Make the pain as expensive as possible for them.

rchaud• 2 years ago

Good luck finding a phone number. The last time I had to do a return, I could not even find the support chat option. I had to use a useless chatbot that was less helpful than those automated phone support systems.

Somewhere out there MBA programs are still teaching case studies about Amazon's "obsessive focus on the customer", oblivious to the fact that Amazon has been trash for years now.

lemme_tell_ya• 2 years ago

execs
personally liable

LOL, yeah, right.

RoyalHenOil• 2 years ago

I have accidentally signed up for Prime trials three different times, even though that is something I actively try to watch out for.

It is very frustrating, and so I've swapped over to other sites for the great bulk of my online purchases. Now I make an Amazon purchase maybe 1–2 times per year, only for those rare things I can't find anywhere else.

worik• 2 years ago

I have not bought anything from Amazon since 2004, when I double clicked on a DVD box set and got two copies, and could not undo the purchase

Never ever again. What a dreadful firm. Nothing changed

berdon• 2 years ago

Prime is nothing compared to experian. Logging in forces you through a sign up flow for their paid subscription service. Doing nearly anything in the site does.

jarbus• 2 years ago

Lina Kahn is the only thing maintaining my hope for the future

hulitu• 2 years ago

Amazon execs may be personally liable

Whatever you're smoking it must be really strong. Can i have some ? /s

Execs hold liable ? Maybe in a parallel universe.

Amazon execs may be personally liable for tricking users into Prime sign-ups

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