Posts
5753
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12/7/2009
Location
Long Beach, CA
US
Just found a $107.00 charge from Amazon to my checking acct. I checked the same month a year ago and it was there too. Somehow I got signed up with Amazon Prime. I don't even know WTF it is but I would NEVER and I repeat NEVER intentionally sign up for anything that automatically draws out of my checking acct. I had a really bad experience with that about 12 years ago and will never do it again. They don't send an email or notify you in any way that they are doing it. You have to catch on your statement. I'm not one of those guys that pours over my statement with a magnifying glass and I buy from Amazon all the time so I probably just zipped right past it last year. This time it stood out because I haven't bought anything recently. I cancelled it and they say they will refund me. Why do they have to be so devious about it?
It's nice when you know you got it....
The Shop
Yes I know. I'm not a detail guy.
Get a college email and it's $40 for 4 years.
Go to community college. Sign up for classes. Get email. Drop all classes 1st day. 100% refund. And now you get Amazon prime student for the next 4 years for $49.99 a year.
Since you are an active user I would have to assume your email in your profile is up to date so like someone said before...
Check your shit bro... Can't blame ignorance here (assuming your email on file is accurate).
It pays for itself if you're a frequent shopper. I travel for work so Amazon is my "mall".
Jason
It's the same idea! You use your email for something basic, and they have a tic box that you miss, that they automatically tic for you upon sign up for an account or something, and then you have a million junk emails. I don't know why they even think junk mail works anymore, I don't read it, and it doesn't promote their brand or site to me in a positive way.
Anyways, good job on catching it. Only fool ya once then you check your statements more carefully. I'm not one to do so, but every now and again I catch myself going through it to make sure that they're totally accurate when telling me my credit card is maxed out haha!
The title of this thread should be "!@#$%^ Myself". You fucked up, didn't pay attention to what the fuck you were doing, ignored your bank statements, and then come on here and act like Amazon is at fault (based on your title). Suck it up bro. The only person you should be mad at is yourself.
I just checked my amazon too, which I RARELY use, and it had me signed up for auto renew aswell. Luckily I switched credit cards this year and the one they had on file for me was invalid.
Here is how it works; it's not theft, it's marketing. Amazon is a multi billion dollar company, and they employ many tactics to make money by appealing to consumers. What happens is when you order something they have a fancy offer like 2 day shipping that interests you, and they offer you a "free trial" for 30 days. In the terms it will tell you that if you don't cancel within that 30 day period, you will be charged the fee and considered to have chosen to keep your membership. This is marketing strategy, as most people will forget that they signed up and forget to cancel their membership with Prime- it also gives you time to try the service and decide if it is something you are interested in keeping on your account.
They send out a million frickin emails trying to get people to buy shit, it would be easy enough for them to send out an email at the end of the free trial (they definitely would if they couldn't directly charge your card and needed your approval before withdrawing funds). Anyways, I am not upset because I know this happens all the time, but there is something to be said for every single holier than thou, condescending person commenting on this angrily.
Human mistakes dude, glad you're getting your refund. Like I said, likely now we will both be a little more careful!
Pit Row
I buy my tires on Amazon (takes a bit to read and compare) prices can be extremely good. Ship freight free with Prime - again you must pay attention.
Just bought some Bib Mousse on Amazon $105 vs $150 + and with prime shipped free.
The key is to read/compare/wait and do it again - you cannot be in a rush. It is amazing what one can find on The Big A
Like you, I avoid auto drafts at all costs as its not a matter of if, but when you have crap like this happen. I hate it. If I have to do a auto then I tie it to my debit card. If a company is giving you the run around, report your card lost and that takes care of that. Having said that, I really like Amazon Prime as it really does offer a lot for the money. Since I cut the cord, I find myself more interested in Amazon than Netflix. That does wax and wane though. Im shocked at the music selection, didnt even know it came with that until my teenagers told me, of course. But, what you have been through certainly leaves a sour taste in your mouth.
I heard a few years back that using a debit card online is not a good idea. Having had a rough time with a credit card once, I swore to never use it again once it was paid of. I may have to rethink that now that I buy quite a bit on line. I also pay my utilities and car insurance on line too.
What do see as the advantage of credit over debit?
You could also get a reloadable pre-paid Visa card to use for online purchases. Just call and add money to it before making online purchases.
If you have a smartphone, I would recommend getting your banks online banking app, then you can easily check your account daily. Just scan through it at the end of each day confirming every purchase. Takes like 2 min.
Right now we have about $1400-1500 that we've earned in cash back. All without doing anything special.
2) the CC companies are constantly looking for suspicious charges, ie, fraudulent charges. I've been saved a few times when charges from India were attempted. They suspended my cc, I called them and sure enough some douchbag got my acct number . 3 days later I had new cards in the mail with all new numbers. Now with the sim chip cards maybe this won't happen so often. The cc companies really do pay attention.
3) AIRPLANE MILES! HELLO?! I absolutely love my miles
4) you must pay off the full balance every month. If you can't, don't get a CC.
5) setup bank alerts ANYTIME any of your accounts have activity. I get an instant emails. Great feature.
6) get a no annual fee card
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