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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Jess Grieveson-Smith & Ryan Merrifield

Martin Lewis in warning to customers with Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+ account

People subscribed to streaming services have been warned not to fall victim to a "powerful psychology at play".

Finance guru Martin Lewis said the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ have seen a surge in popularity during the pandemic.

But he advised anyone who is paying for any service and not using it to cancel now and save money, reports YorkshireLive.

The Money Saving Expert told Radio 5 Live: "A lot of people, I have to say, are saying they know they shouldn't have them and they don't watch that much but they don't cancel."

He explained that companies often offer free or limited-cost trials to encourage people to sign up, which he termed the "apathy dividend".

Are you paying for subscriptions you don't use? Let us know in the comments

Video streaming services have seen a surge in popularity (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

"They hope they gain as people forget to cancel for a month or two. Of course, some people love it and think it's worthwhile. But that's a short-term contributor to profits."

Martin continued: "There's a more powerful psychology at play and I call that the 'inertia dividend'. That's because we human beings are naturally predisposed to not liking to lose something that we have.

"There are many people who wouldn't sign up to a movie service they don't really need if they had to pay for it but they would do it for a free trial.

"They go in with a view to cancelling it when their trial ends but at that point they've already become accustomed to it and getting rid of it means it's a loss. And we as human beings don't like loss.

"I mean [it's the same with] the gym membership, which in normal times people keep on when they don't use it because they value the opportunity of going to the gym even if they don't actually get to it."

The finance guru concluded by telling consumers what they should do if they feel they may be paying for services they don't need.

He explained: "So what we have to do is be clinical and recognise our own emotional biases.

"It's important to try and revert your mindset back to when you first signed up for the product.

"Knowing what you know now, ask yourself, 'If I didn't have this, would I pay for it?' And if the answer to that is 'no', then be clinical and ditch it."

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