Tips to deal with an unwanted Amazon Prime membership

Amazon has millions of customers with an Amazon Prime membership, and they’re always on the hunt for more. But just because they want you as a member doesn’t mean you must sign up. If you’ve been enrolled as an Amazon Prime member against your wishes, read on. You might find a solution to an unwanted Amazon Prime membership.

Dark patterns and the unwanted Amazon Prime membership

Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Amazon in which they say the company not only enrolled people against their wishes but made it difficult for those customers to unenroll and then continued to charge for the membership after the customers asked to be removed.

How did so many people get tricked into signing up for something they didn’t want? Amazon, like many other online retailers, relied on something called ‘dark patterns’ to mislead customers or obscure what was really happening. While the dark patterns term sounds like a lot of techno-voodoo, it simply refers to the use of misleading design elements on a web page. When you think about it, that’s not much different from the good old ‘fine print’ that retailers and service providers have relied on for ages.

Web pages make it easier for online retailers to do things like check an enrollment checkbox automatically, hide the choice in a barrage of colors or distracting ads, or graphics that pull your eye from the more important elements. Another trick is to run you through a long series of checkout pages. While this practice can help focus buyers on the various parts of a transaction, it can also be used to slip in selections you might not have wanted. If you want to learn more about the use of dark patterns on the web, check this straightforward article by online media expert Dr. Jasmine McNealy.

What can I do to avoid an unwanted Amazon Prime membership?

Tip 1: Watch for pre-checked boxes. Uncheck any box that signs you up for something you don’t want.

Tip 2: Watch what goes into your shopping cart. At every step in the checkout process, double-check all of the charges. If you see something you didn’t expect, deal with it before going further. 

Tip 3: Use a credit card! As a consumer, this is your ultimate solution to shady tactics by online retailers. You can find the telephone number for your credit card company on the back of your card. While you can also dispute charges on a debit card, the timeframe for doing so is much shorter than it is with a credit card.

Did you see last month’s scam tip? You can find it at A new twist on the package delivery scam. If you like this, why not follow the Friday Morning Post? Prefer social media, follow me on Twitter.