I bought a £7.99 book from Amazon and later noticed that my account had been debited with £7.99 in each of the subsequent four months. I assumed this was an error and placed a block on future payments, but have so far been unable to find a way of securing a refund. SL, Banstead, Surrey
It looks as though you are one of the many who inadvertently signed up to Amazon Prime, a £79-a-year service that gives you free next-day delivery on some goods plus film, music and Kindle downloads.
It’s easily done – I did it myself a couple of years back – because once you’ve unwittingly clicked on the button that commits you, there’s no on-screen confirmation, and the welcome email Amazon says it sends, likely as not ends up undetected in spam.
Amazon confirms that you are an accidental member and has now refunded your payments. “All customers who join the Prime programme actively decide to sign up and the sign-up process is clear and transparent,” it says. “We explain that free trials automatically convert to a paid membership and that the annual membership renews automatically; we also describe how customers can choose to cancel or not renew at any time.”
Anyone else who has signed up by mistake can claim a full refund if they have not used any of the membership services.
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
