Giles Coren declares war on Amazon Prime over free trial

Giles Coren has savaged restaurants with excoriating reviews, waged war against subeditors who mangle his columns, and now turned his ire against Amazon, accusing it of “cynical corporate rape” and comparing it to a “sicko porn site” in an extraordinary tirade on Twitter.

Coren unleashed his attack against Amazon – and encouraged his 164,000 followers to engage as well – after he discovered the site had been charging him £79 a year without his knowledge for its Amazon Prime service.

He joins many others who in recent years have complained that they have unknowingly clicked into Amazon Prime, some finding out only years later that money had been taken from their debit or credit card annually for the subscription payment.

Prime gives users free delivery on anything bought on Amazon, as well as a Netflix-style instant video service. When shoppers reach the “buy now” page, they are offered “free one-day delivery”, which takes them into a pop-up page where, by clicking again, they agree to a free 30 day trial, which if not cancelled turns into a £79 a year subscription, with the money debited automatically every year.

Coren only discovered he had been an Amazon Prime member since 2012 after seeing a story in the Sunday Times – and promised to retweet other people who, like him, felt they had been trapped into paying.

Many responded, complaining that they had been unfairly charged.

The Guardian’s Consumer Champions column has also received numerous complaints about Amazon Prime. Richard Brown in Oxford only discovered in late 2014 that he had been a member of Amazon Prime for two years. Amazon has only offered only a partial refund of unused membership.

Brown wrote to the chief executive of Amazon UK, saying: “Regardless of the legality of the transaction and the stance that Amazon will take that it involves selection and a follow up email each year, the structure of this service is clearly designed to benefit from the customer’s lack of attention.

“You will be very aware that the USP and perhaps the prime growth driver of Amazon is its very fast and easy use and its reliable trustworthy reputation. The mechanism of this transaction appears cynical and severely undermines that USP and the relationship between the consumer and the company.”

Amazon says it has millions of Prime customers in the UK, and tens of millions worldwide. It said: “Customers who sign up to a free trial of Prime receive an email informing them of the duration of the free trial and how to avoid continuing to paid Prime membership. Customers who become full Prime members can cancel their membership at any time and we will refund the full membership if the customer has not made any eligible purchases or used any Prime benefits.”

But on Amazon’s own website there are discussion forums where customers complain they have been ripped off. “Amazon should be absolutely ashamed of this charge. If this many people have noticed it how many people are not aware they have paid it. I had no idea what it was,” said one.

Not everyone on Twitter seems to be on Coren’s side in his campaign against Amazon Prime.

And the company appears to be offering Coren a chance at least of obtaining a refund, due to misunderstanding the terms and conditions.