Good day folks, for anyone who deals with AN regularly and/or who receives a invite to join their Prime membership, please respond right away if you don’t wish to join. My wife received a letter with two cards attached that stated as a prime member she can give the second card to a family member, this came as a shock to my wife as she has never applied to join. She phoned the telephone banking and found out she had in fact, joined in May, she had also bought an item two days prior to the date, she then phoned AN to enquire and was told that when she had bought item, she wished for it to be delivered next day and had pressed box for this, and from this, the tax did get took she wished to join Prime and took the £79 fee for year, which automatically comes out your bank unless YOU say no thanks. My wife complained, and was refunded the full amount. A flash in the pan, you think, no chance, our sister in law had same done unknowingly, and was refunded fee. So unless you check bank statements and say NO A****N will steal the money every year. How many other companies use this loophole to take your money without your consent, Brian
Hi Brian,
I have done the trial, but I was very well aware I would be debited the full £79 if I didn’t cancel before the 30 days were up, and I think Amazon even sent me a reminder! (Quite sure it’s OK to mention their name here).
I’m sorry your wife didn’t have it spelt out in this way, and not sure why.
I have several things that are “auto renewing” like this, but I think the worst culprits are insurers. I NEVER stay with the same home insurer two years running, as they invariably put the price up, even though you haven’t claimed, and don’t offer the best deal second time around. But why on earth should I have to phone or write to them just to say I don’t want to buy another year?
They try to make out it’s all done for your benefit, so that if you forget, you won’t be left without cover, as they’ll renew it automatically for you. But I firmly believe the choice should be left with the buyer. You shouldn’t be “auto enrolled” in anything - especially if the terms are less favourable than you originally signed up for. I always want to shop around.
Tina
I agree with Tina. The worst culprits are insurers. I’ve just saved my son over £100 a year on his car insurance. I use my emails as he would probably just let the auto renewal go through and pay the extra as he wouldn’t put in the hours I do shopping around for the best deal. This year I found the best price through Quidco so will also get £20 cash back in a month’s time. I always shop around for the best deal on both car insurances and the home insurance.
I’m currently looking for the best deal on broadband but that’s a complete minefield as you have to take customer service into account as well. Talk Talk are the cheapest but have a terrible reputation. There are some good deals on monthly payments but some offers require a large up-front set up fee. Anybody have a recommendation for me. I really need to reduce my monthly outlay. I currently pay EE (signed up when they were Orange) £38 per month for home phone and broadband (speed averages up to 17MB) but I’m sure I can do better.
Tracey
Plusnet have got an excellent deal on at the moment - a year unlimited broadband FREE (you only pay landline rental) and £75 cashback.
BUT, you must sign up today (Cyber Monday).
I wouldn’t normally be this cheeky, but IF you decide to go for it, PM me. I’ll tell you my username, so you can cite me as a “referrer” - and yes, I will get a small discount for putting business their way.
No skin off my nose if you don’t go for it, of course - but if you do decide to, I’d be grateful for the mention.
T.
xx
I’m also with PlusNet at present (…same as Tina) having used them twice before. Their customer service was always first rate - but since they’ve been owned by BT, they don’t seem to as good as they used to be (…victims of their own success ?)
That said, I’d still consider them to be a good co. to deal with.
Used TalkTalk before and while the service was very good, I found the customer support to be somewhat lacking. They try to blind you with jargon, and as soon as you demonstrate that you know what you’re talking about, they very quickly change their stories !!
Shop around and see what deals are available for home phone & broadband. £38 per month seems awfully expensive these days. What does that include ?
Dom
I am with Plusnet and never have had any problems. Would definitely recommend them.
We pay about 25 a month for unrestricted downloads and telephone-(removed by moderator) anytime calls incl weekends.
I have used amazon prime. I made sure I set up the cancellation for end of trial, on initial acceptance.
xx
£38 includes unlimited broadband and evening and weekend calls. The service is fairly good on the whole but can be a litte slow at peak times.
I’m afraid if you’re being charged £38 per month for those services, you’re being ripped off.
These days, unlimited broadband and evening & weekend calls should only cost about £10 per month to be competitive. (…plus ‘line rental saver’ - where you make an advanced payment for 12 months of your telephone line …which can often work out at less than £16.00 per month).
This could be monthly total of £26.00 per month, instead of £38 !!
(,and if you ever wanted to upgrade to ‘all-day every-day’ phone calls instead of ‘evenings & weekends’, it would probably only be an additional £5 per month ?!!
Maybe it’s time to look at another deal ?
Dom